Shane Scully is one of those characters you cannot help but root for.
A detective for the LAPD, he solves murders, he is fiercely devoted to his family, is a wry and witty guy, and frankly, isn't above bending the rules to get his man - and reading about his scrapes and successes is just darn fun.
But then, what would you expect from Stephen J. Cannell, the creator of The A-Team, 21 Jump Street, Silk Stalkings, and The Commish?
Cannell has written eight "Shane Scully" novels to date, including The Tin Collectors, The Viking Funeral, Hollywood Tough, Vertical Coffin, Cold Hit, White Sister, Three Shirt Deal and his latest title, released in January, On the Grind.
In On the Grind, we find Scully seriously down and out on his luck - in the course of one night he finds himself unceremoniously dumped by the LAPD after striking a plea bargain for blackmailing (and presumably sleeping with) movie star Tiffany Roberts who wanted to hire a hit man to kill her husband; then he returns home to find himself dumped by his wife Alexa (who, oh yeah, happens to be his boss) and kicked out of their Venice Beach home.
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At loose ends without his family or his job, Scully joins the force of the Haven Park PD, a police department known to be full of corruption and other disgraced cops located in a small principality near LA. From his first day, Scully is launched into a hotbed of politics and corruption, while simultaneously trying to put his life back together – needless to say, the two don’t necessarily mesh well. Scully has always been a hot-headed, smart cop, but to see him as down and out as possible is as painful for the reader as it is for Scully, until things at his new department really start to heat up, and his life is put in danger...
On the Grind, just like all of Cannell's books, are fast and furious, page-turning, pulse-pounding adventures, led by a great protagonist and filled with snappy dialogue and head-slapping cliffhanger chapter ends. You feel like you are riding right along in the squad car with Scully, dodging bullets and catching the bad guys in the end. In short, Cannell brings the reader right into the page - just as he did with all his popular television shows years ago.
Shane Scully is one of those characters whose name you don't forget, and despite his flaws and bending of the rules from time to time, one you can't help rooting for him from the first page to the last. In short, this series is just darn good entertainment!
Go Team Scully!
Stephen J. Cannell has helped create more than 40 television series and written 14 novels. Cannell can be found on the web at: http://www.cannell.com/, and to view the On the Grind trailer, read character profiles and more, visit http://www.onthegrindbook.com.
If you enjoy the novels of Stephen J. Cannell, you may also enjoy T. Jefferson Parker, Harlan Coben’s Myron Bolitar series, Michael Connelly, Jonathan Kellerman, or Stuart Woods.
Have a question for the Loud Librarian? Or, want to let her know your thoughts on one of her reviews? Email her at Marissa.Priddis@CrucialPop.com.
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