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Cold Hit (A Shane Scully Novel)
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Manufacturer: St. Martin's Paperbacks
Author: Stephen J. Cannell
Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks
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Our Price: $6.99
You Save: $ ( % )
Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Paperbacks
Author: Stephen J. Cannell
Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks
Average Customer Rating:
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Cold Hit (A Shane Scully Novel) Description
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9780312347352
ISBN: 0312347359
Label: St. Martin's Paperbacks
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Paperbacks
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 384
Publication Date: 2006-08-01
Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks
Product Release Date: 2006-08-01
Studio: St. Martin's Paperbacks
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9780312347352
ISBN: 0312347359
Label: St. Martin's Paperbacks
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Paperbacks
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 384
Publication Date: 2006-08-01
Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks
Product Release Date: 2006-08-01
Studio: St. Martin's Paperbacks
Editorial Review of Cold Hit (A Shane Scully Novel)
BETWEEN A COLD WAR
Shane Scully has found his footing while his partner is going down in flames and a serial murderer rattles L.A.. Each corpse has been mysteriously defiled. Then, in the middle of the hunt, Scully gets an idea that may cost him his life.
AND COLD, HARD TRUTHS...
Scully suspects that someone with inside information has neatly “hidden” one murder inside this messy serial killer case. His copycat theory ignites a crossfire between LAPD and the Feds.
IS A WHITE-HOT CASE OF MURDER.
Now Scully knows he has a ten-year-old cop-killing to clear, while two street-smart detectives lead him into a secret world of international espionage and a powerful counter-terrorism chief from the top of the U.S. government warns him away. To do his job, Scully must risk everything—unraveling the mystery of a Cold War act of betrayal, a brutal street crime, and a killer just waiting to hit again...
“As the case spirals outward from local crime to international espionage dating back to the 1980s, the action rarely lets up. When it does, we’re reintroduced to the back story that is one of the pleasures of reading the Scully series.”—Los Angeles Times
Shane Scully has found his footing while his partner is going down in flames and a serial murderer rattles L.A.. Each corpse has been mysteriously defiled. Then, in the middle of the hunt, Scully gets an idea that may cost him his life.
AND COLD, HARD TRUTHS...
Scully suspects that someone with inside information has neatly “hidden” one murder inside this messy serial killer case. His copycat theory ignites a crossfire between LAPD and the Feds.
IS A WHITE-HOT CASE OF MURDER.
Now Scully knows he has a ten-year-old cop-killing to clear, while two street-smart detectives lead him into a secret world of international espionage and a powerful counter-terrorism chief from the top of the U.S. government warns him away. To do his job, Scully must risk everything—unraveling the mystery of a Cold War act of betrayal, a brutal street crime, and a killer just waiting to hit again...
“As the case spirals outward from local crime to international espionage dating back to the 1980s, the action rarely lets up. When it does, we’re reintroduced to the back story that is one of the pleasures of reading the Scully series.”—Los Angeles Times
Customer Reviews of Cold Hit (A Shane Scully Novel)
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Help! There's a FISA Under My bed
Review: This is the second book I've read in a year where the author is doing an OK job on a police procedural and for some reason veers into international intrigue and makes a mess of it. This author is wrong about every single thing he says about intelligence. Everything he says about the CIA is wrong. And it's not like he had to go thru The Farm to get the right terms, he just had to know about GOOGLE. Just one minor example. He has various embassies located in Los Angeles. This isn't secret stuff it's just knowing what you are writing about. Embassies are in capital cities. Consulates or Consulates General would be in LA and other cities. You have to be well connected enough to go to STATE.gov to know this inside stuff. His take on FISA and the PATRIOT act are befitting the Hollywood elite. They are the types who would be sure NSA started tapping their phone when they sent a check to Amnesty International. I wondered how he could be such a font of misinformation on FISA then I saw in the acknowledgements that he thanks a UCLA law prof for his expert advice. That explains it, only a law professor could so mangle a simple piece of legislation like FISA and turn it into crypto-fascism.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Cannell Gets Better With Every Book
Review: I really liked this one. I have read every SHANE SCULLY book so far and this is the best one yet.A complex plot is told in a uncluttered manner.One thing that CANNELL excels in is character dialogue. The use of police jargon and one characters down home southern quips is classic stuff.SCULLY is called to investigate a homicide in which it would appear is the latest victim of a serial murderer in LA. As certain facts common to the other victims dont add up in this one, SCULLY gets the feeling this is the work of a copycat. Soon the FBI is heading up a task force and the powers of the Patriot Act are at play. This story delves into the ramifications of abuses of power and the FISA court and unaccountable federal agents. There is a subplot dealing with SCULLY's alcoholic partner that gets old fast but over all a very fast paced story.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Better than average crime novel
Review: I'm surprised that we haven't seen Shane Scully on the big screen yet. Stephen Cannell writes crime fiction that is action packed, filled with smart-alec humor, and enough twists and turns to keep the reader turning pages. As strange as it sounds, one of the things I like most about this novel is that Shane Scully, as likeable as he is, can be a real jerk sometimes. I know this sounds odd, but it is refreshingly real. So many fictional cops (I'm talking about you Alex Cross) are annoyingly perfect. Shane is a rough and tumble guy who doesn't pull any punches, always has a witty comeback, and is tenacious when it comes to finding the truth. But he's also a hot head who makes mistakes and who finds that his tolerance for pain isn't nearly as high as he would like it to be.
The plot: Shane and his partner are investigating a serial murder case when they discover that the gun that killed one of their victims was used to kill a cop a decade earlier. This cold hit leads Scully to a suspect with ties to the old KGB and the Russian mob and puts Shane in the crosshairs of the FBI and Homeland Security who seem intent on derailing his investigation in the interest of National Security.
While Cannell's novels fall short of Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch novels (Harry treads on the same LAPD ground), novels like Cold Hit and Vertical Coffin are entertaining to read. In Cold Hit, Cannell offers readers more than just another crime novel. He tackles some difficult issues as well. Shane must deal with his partner's downward spiral as he battles alcohol and suicide, the grinding bureaucracy of the LAPD (which his wife Alexa is a part of), and the frightening abuse of power that is the Patriot Act.
Cannell uses Cold Hit as a platform to rail against the Patriot Act. This may be valid enough (I'm Canadian - so of course I think so), but it results in some awkward unnatural sounding dialogue as the characters debate its pros and cons. While Scully is a well rounded character, much of the supporting cast is filled with stereo-types(like the arrogant FBI agent who assumes control of the investigation)
These are minor complaints though. Cold Hit is a solid thriller. Fans of Cannell and Shane Scully will not be disappointed.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: A Gripping Look at the Perils of the Patriot Act
Review: Like many of today's best novelists, Stephen J. Cannell has a political agenda to exploit in telling his story. Many people don't yet realize that the Patriot Act provides the kind of unlimited government powers that the 13 original colonies decided to separate from by revolution. If you put enough arrogant people in place who don't know what they are doing, the results can be pretty distressing. That's the major message of this book.
If you are looking for a police procedural, you'll find this story mainly interesting for its development of two key characters, Shane Scully and his partner, by the actions they take (or don't take). You'll feel like both characters are interesting and that what they do mostly rings true. For the rest of the characters, it's mostly card board and cameo roles. The investigation is severely compromised from the beginning by press interest, political pressure and police bureaucracy. Many of the "breaks" in the case seem a little dubious in terms of their probabilities.
If you are like me, you'll think that a "cold hit" is an assassination done for money (or something like that). In police parlance, a cold hit is an identification of a weapon used in two separate crimes . . . separated by some time. The ballistics evidence in this case gradually points the investigation in the right direction.
I found the plot development to be noteworthy in a couple of ways. First, Scully is allowed to be a human being . . . with weaknesses, mistakes, distractions and other limitations. Second, we get to find out what he's like outside of work.
I'm not sure that the plot complication of having Scully ultimately working for his wife is credible and valuable for story-telling, but you have to admit that it's an unusual approach.
Ultimately, the book succeeds because Mr. Cannell is a solid story teller who knows how to get our attention with unexpected events and confrontations that move the plot along at an ever stronger pace.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Fifth Book In Shane Scully Detective Series Is A Solid Hit
Review: Shane Scully has reached detective level III in Homicide Special division, run under Lieutenant Alexa Scully, who is also Shane's beautiful wife. Shane gets called out of bed on one of his cases, a serial murderer tagged as "The Fingertip Killer" because he clips the fingers off his victims. But first, he needs to pick up his old partner whom he had tagged up with again. This time, rather than Zack covering for Shane, Shane finds himself covering for Zack.
Investigating this victim of "The Fingertip Killer" gets a little squeaky when Shane finds some discrepancies. For one thing, the bullet is left behind allowing for a ballistics trace, and the bum who was the target has some strange items on his person for a homeless person. Is this a real "Fingertip" killing, or is Shane facing a copycat?
New pressure comes down when its discovered the bullet matches ballistics on a ten year old cop murder. Plus, with the serial aspect increasing an abrasive, toughened FBI agent is assigned to lead the team under the new Homeland Security Act because one of the street bums turned out to be a wanted Russian agent.
Shane seems likes he's trapped by bureaucracy from all sides until he sidles in with a pair of CTB Intelligence officers named Roger Broadway, a sleek and slick aristocratic black man and Emdee Perry, a trash talking redneck. With this unlikely mutt-and-jeff team, Scully may just have a chance.
But as usual something goes wrong, and knowing Shane and Alexa, it will boil all the way to the top of the blackened pot before the creeps come crawling out of the woodwork.
I love Stephen J. Cannell's 'Scully' series because there is never a dry or dull moment in them. Extra-ordinarily fast-paced entertainment that grabs you by the collar and doesn't let go until it has drug you through the last dregs of the sleazy societies Shane and Alexa investigate.
Using very precise and tight prose, Cannell manages to get a great deal across to the reader using vivid scenes without sacrificing speed or characterizations. Shane, Alexa, and their son Chooch are real people, and you will know Broadway and Perry well enough to sit down and talk awhile by the time the book is finished. It always amazes me how full and rich Cannell's books are without stuffiness, boredom, or excessive length. Keep writing, Stephen! Enjoy!
Review Summary: Help! There's a FISA Under My bed
Review: This is the second book I've read in a year where the author is doing an OK job on a police procedural and for some reason veers into international intrigue and makes a mess of it. This author is wrong about every single thing he says about intelligence. Everything he says about the CIA is wrong. And it's not like he had to go thru The Farm to get the right terms, he just had to know about GOOGLE. Just one minor example. He has various embassies located in Los Angeles. This isn't secret stuff it's just knowing what you are writing about. Embassies are in capital cities. Consulates or Consulates General would be in LA and other cities. You have to be well connected enough to go to STATE.gov to know this inside stuff. His take on FISA and the PATRIOT act are befitting the Hollywood elite. They are the types who would be sure NSA started tapping their phone when they sent a check to Amnesty International. I wondered how he could be such a font of misinformation on FISA then I saw in the acknowledgements that he thanks a UCLA law prof for his expert advice. That explains it, only a law professor could so mangle a simple piece of legislation like FISA and turn it into crypto-fascism.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Cannell Gets Better With Every Book
Review: I really liked this one. I have read every SHANE SCULLY book so far and this is the best one yet.A complex plot is told in a uncluttered manner.One thing that CANNELL excels in is character dialogue. The use of police jargon and one characters down home southern quips is classic stuff.SCULLY is called to investigate a homicide in which it would appear is the latest victim of a serial murderer in LA. As certain facts common to the other victims dont add up in this one, SCULLY gets the feeling this is the work of a copycat. Soon the FBI is heading up a task force and the powers of the Patriot Act are at play. This story delves into the ramifications of abuses of power and the FISA court and unaccountable federal agents. There is a subplot dealing with SCULLY's alcoholic partner that gets old fast but over all a very fast paced story.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Better than average crime novel
Review: I'm surprised that we haven't seen Shane Scully on the big screen yet. Stephen Cannell writes crime fiction that is action packed, filled with smart-alec humor, and enough twists and turns to keep the reader turning pages. As strange as it sounds, one of the things I like most about this novel is that Shane Scully, as likeable as he is, can be a real jerk sometimes. I know this sounds odd, but it is refreshingly real. So many fictional cops (I'm talking about you Alex Cross) are annoyingly perfect. Shane is a rough and tumble guy who doesn't pull any punches, always has a witty comeback, and is tenacious when it comes to finding the truth. But he's also a hot head who makes mistakes and who finds that his tolerance for pain isn't nearly as high as he would like it to be.
The plot: Shane and his partner are investigating a serial murder case when they discover that the gun that killed one of their victims was used to kill a cop a decade earlier. This cold hit leads Scully to a suspect with ties to the old KGB and the Russian mob and puts Shane in the crosshairs of the FBI and Homeland Security who seem intent on derailing his investigation in the interest of National Security.
While Cannell's novels fall short of Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch novels (Harry treads on the same LAPD ground), novels like Cold Hit and Vertical Coffin are entertaining to read. In Cold Hit, Cannell offers readers more than just another crime novel. He tackles some difficult issues as well. Shane must deal with his partner's downward spiral as he battles alcohol and suicide, the grinding bureaucracy of the LAPD (which his wife Alexa is a part of), and the frightening abuse of power that is the Patriot Act.
Cannell uses Cold Hit as a platform to rail against the Patriot Act. This may be valid enough (I'm Canadian - so of course I think so), but it results in some awkward unnatural sounding dialogue as the characters debate its pros and cons. While Scully is a well rounded character, much of the supporting cast is filled with stereo-types(like the arrogant FBI agent who assumes control of the investigation)
These are minor complaints though. Cold Hit is a solid thriller. Fans of Cannell and Shane Scully will not be disappointed.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: A Gripping Look at the Perils of the Patriot Act
Review: Like many of today's best novelists, Stephen J. Cannell has a political agenda to exploit in telling his story. Many people don't yet realize that the Patriot Act provides the kind of unlimited government powers that the 13 original colonies decided to separate from by revolution. If you put enough arrogant people in place who don't know what they are doing, the results can be pretty distressing. That's the major message of this book.
If you are looking for a police procedural, you'll find this story mainly interesting for its development of two key characters, Shane Scully and his partner, by the actions they take (or don't take). You'll feel like both characters are interesting and that what they do mostly rings true. For the rest of the characters, it's mostly card board and cameo roles. The investigation is severely compromised from the beginning by press interest, political pressure and police bureaucracy. Many of the "breaks" in the case seem a little dubious in terms of their probabilities.
If you are like me, you'll think that a "cold hit" is an assassination done for money (or something like that). In police parlance, a cold hit is an identification of a weapon used in two separate crimes . . . separated by some time. The ballistics evidence in this case gradually points the investigation in the right direction.
I found the plot development to be noteworthy in a couple of ways. First, Scully is allowed to be a human being . . . with weaknesses, mistakes, distractions and other limitations. Second, we get to find out what he's like outside of work.
I'm not sure that the plot complication of having Scully ultimately working for his wife is credible and valuable for story-telling, but you have to admit that it's an unusual approach.
Ultimately, the book succeeds because Mr. Cannell is a solid story teller who knows how to get our attention with unexpected events and confrontations that move the plot along at an ever stronger pace.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Fifth Book In Shane Scully Detective Series Is A Solid Hit
Review: Shane Scully has reached detective level III in Homicide Special division, run under Lieutenant Alexa Scully, who is also Shane's beautiful wife. Shane gets called out of bed on one of his cases, a serial murderer tagged as "The Fingertip Killer" because he clips the fingers off his victims. But first, he needs to pick up his old partner whom he had tagged up with again. This time, rather than Zack covering for Shane, Shane finds himself covering for Zack.
Investigating this victim of "The Fingertip Killer" gets a little squeaky when Shane finds some discrepancies. For one thing, the bullet is left behind allowing for a ballistics trace, and the bum who was the target has some strange items on his person for a homeless person. Is this a real "Fingertip" killing, or is Shane facing a copycat?
New pressure comes down when its discovered the bullet matches ballistics on a ten year old cop murder. Plus, with the serial aspect increasing an abrasive, toughened FBI agent is assigned to lead the team under the new Homeland Security Act because one of the street bums turned out to be a wanted Russian agent.
Shane seems likes he's trapped by bureaucracy from all sides until he sidles in with a pair of CTB Intelligence officers named Roger Broadway, a sleek and slick aristocratic black man and Emdee Perry, a trash talking redneck. With this unlikely mutt-and-jeff team, Scully may just have a chance.
But as usual something goes wrong, and knowing Shane and Alexa, it will boil all the way to the top of the blackened pot before the creeps come crawling out of the woodwork.
I love Stephen J. Cannell's 'Scully' series because there is never a dry or dull moment in them. Extra-ordinarily fast-paced entertainment that grabs you by the collar and doesn't let go until it has drug you through the last dregs of the sleazy societies Shane and Alexa investigate.
Using very precise and tight prose, Cannell manages to get a great deal across to the reader using vivid scenes without sacrificing speed or characterizations. Shane, Alexa, and their son Chooch are real people, and you will know Broadway and Perry well enough to sit down and talk awhile by the time the book is finished. It always amazes me how full and rich Cannell's books are without stuffiness, boredom, or excessive length. Keep writing, Stephen! Enjoy!