McBain, fortunately, is not concerned with writing according to the McBain formula, and can sometimes depart from it almost entirely. This latest ["See Them Die"] is not a detective exploit of the 87th Precinct, but something close to a straight novel about life in the precinct, in which the police are among the characters. A bigtime Puerto Rican hood, half-despised, half-idolized by his compatriots, is hiding out from the law. The spectacular police siege of his hideaway serves as dramatic focus for a number of other plots, including an oddly realistic love story and an attempted teen-age killing. The action is tight-packed into a couple of sharply illuminating hours.