Gladly the Cross-Eyed Bear

September 2, 1996
Hero/narrator Matthew Hope, recovered from gunshots and a coma (There Was a Little Girl, 1994) and, true to his earlier resolve, practicing only civil law in (fictional) Calusa, Fla., represents the plaintiff in a suit involving the eponymous teddy bear, named after a mis-heard line in a hymn ("Gladly the cross I'd bear"). Young toy designer Lainie Commins is suing her ex-boss, toy manufacturer Brett Toland, for copyright and patent infringement, contending that his cross-eyed bear is a direct steal from hers. When Brett is found shot to death on his yacht, Lainie is arrested and charged with murder. She persuades Hope to represent her even as, we later learn, she commits the first legal sin, lying to her lawyer. From mansions to shacks and yacht club to sleazy venues for lingerie "models," McBain gives us a tour of Gulf Coast Florida that's seldom grand. Unable to reach his usual investigators (the main subplot has PI Warren Chambers urging his colleague Toots Kiley to kick her crack cocaine habit cold turkey), Hope hires 60-something Guthrie Lamb, an old-style PI with major male chauvinist traits. McBain, as he has for more than 40 years, keeps his readers riveted through this entire, satisfying tale.

July 1, 1996
Lainie Commins is a cross-eyed toy designer who appears to have struck it rich with a cross-eyed teddy bear she calls Gladly. Two major toy companies are bidding big bucks for the bear, but Commins' former employer, Toyland, is suing the designer, claiming she designed Gladly while on their payroll. Commins hires Florida lawyer Matthew Hope, recently recovered from a bullet-induced coma ("There Was a Little Girl," 1994), to plead her case. Meanwhile, someone murders Toyland honcho Brett Toland, and Commins becomes the top suspect. Soon Hope has a murder case on his hands and is forced to construct an elaborate, Simpson-like timeline defense. Though the Matthew Hope novels still play second fiddle in most readers' minds to the author's more-celebrated 87th Precinct tales, this "other" McBain series has developed a devoted audience. Fans will be ecstatic to see that Hope survived his coma--it wasn't a sure thing at the conclusion of "Little Girl"but they may find themselves a bit disappointed with this slightly tepid effort. There's nothing wrong with the book exactly, but it lacks the emotional intensity of its predecessor. Still, even McBain can't hit a grand slam every time, so fans should just be glad that Hope springs eternal. ((Reviewed July 1996))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1996, American Library Association.)