With his sizzling dialogue and drop-dead surprises, Ed McBain has elevated the crime novel into fine art. Mary, Mary is vintage McBain. It is Christmas in Florida. The decorations are only slightly more false than the cheer, and a trial is going on - the kind of trial that grabs headlines and makes people wonder what kind of person could possibly represent the defendant. For in this case, the accused Mary Barton, is charged with the monstrous murder...