Stephen J. Cannell (1941–2010)

BIBLIOGRAPHIC DETAILS:
Print: 1/15/2008; St. Martin's Press, First Edition; ISBN 978-0312366278; 336 pages.
Audio: 5/13/2008; Brilliance Audio; ISBN; Duration 9:33:00; Unabridged
Feature Film or tv: Not that I know of.
Series: Shane Scully book 7

Major characters:
Shane Scully--LAPD
Alexandra (Alexa) Scully—LAPD
Chooch—Shane’s son, Alexa’s step-son
Secada (Scout) Llevar – An Internal Affairs detective
Truit Hickman – An addict and small-time criminal

SUMMARY/ EVALUATION:
My husband and I enjoyed this 7th book in the Shane Scully series where an internal affairs detective tries to recruit Shane to assist in an investigation of an incarceration that looks all wrong, in the hopes that Shane can, in turn, recruit his wife to pull strings and assist with the problem of the detective’s boss having called her off the case. Alexa has her own problems and has no interest—in fact she continually rebukes Shane for his growing interest in the case. Brain injuries, politics and criminals always make for intrigue.

AUTHOR:
Stephen Cannell (February 5, 1941 – September 30, 2010). According to Wikipedia, Stephen “was an American television producer, writer, novelist, and occasional actor, and the founder of Cannell Entertainment (formerly Stephen J. Cannell Productions) and the Cannell Studios.

After starting his career as a television screenwriter, Cannell created or co-created several dozen successful TV series from the 1970s to the 1990s, often with his creative partner Frank Lupo. Cannell's creations included The Rockford Files, The A-Team, The Greatest American Hero, 21 Jump Street, and The Commish. He also wrote novels, notably the Shane Scully mystery series.”
This book merits my reading the entire series. 😊

NARRATOR:
Scott Brick. (January/30/1966).
Sn excerpt from IMDB:
“Actor, screenwriter and audiobook narrator Scott Brick definitely gives new meaning to a hyphenate career with credits in film, television, stage and radio. Born on January 30, 1966 in Santa Barbara, California, Brick studied both acting and writing at UCLA, and joined the ranks of working professionals upon leaving school in 1989.”
Scott’s “and THEN, would you believe . . .” edgy tone is perfect for this series.

GENRE:
Fiction, Mystery, thriller, crime, police procedure, suspense

LOCATIONS:
Los Angeles, Venice Beach

TIME FRAME:
contemporary

SUBJECTS:
Drugs, corruption, gangs, incarceration, brain injury

DEDICATION:
"This one's for my two girls.
Tawnia, you always see the truth and show me how to succeed with grace. You have enriched my life in so many untold ways.
Chelsea, you put a smile on my face, keep me young, and with your generosity show me how to be a better friend.
No father has ever had two more beautiful daughters. I love you guys."

SAMPLE QUOTATION:
From Chapter 1:
"Let's talk about the meds you found yesterday."
"I found them in her purse. She'd peeled the label off the bottle so I wouldn't know the doctor or what they were for. I had the police labe identify them. The results came back this morning. Carbamazepine and Sodium valporate."
"Do you know what those are commonly prescribed for?"
"According to the labe, they're for seizures."
He nodded. "Has your wife been having seizures?"
"I don't know. I haven't seen one, but if Alexa was taking this stuff, maybe. She stopped driving her car last week. She gets picked up and brought home by a department driver now. I was hoping she'd tell me on her own what's going on. So far she hasn't."
"Your wife was abducted last July and suffered a gunshot wound to the head resulting in a severe traumatic brain injury. That was less than eleven months ago. TBI seizures often crop up months afterward and can continue for years. And you say she's already back to work?"
"She had a lot of stuff pending. It's a big job. She supervises two hundred people."

RATING:
4 stars. I’m attached to these characters now.

STARTED READING – FINISHED READING
12-19-2021 to 12-27-2021… (mer)

BIBLIOGRAPHIC DETAILS:
Print: 1/6/2009; St. Martin's Press, First Edition; ISBN 978-0312366285; 320 pages.
Audio: 1/6/2009; Brilliance Audio; Duration 7:12:00; Unabridged
Feature Film or tv: Not that I know of.

SERIES: Shane Scully book 8

Major characters (recurring):
Shane Scully--LAPD
Alexandra (Alexa) Scully—LAPD
Chooch—Shane’s son, Alexa’s step-son

SUMMARY/ EVALUATION:
My husband and I enjoyed this 8th book in the Shane Scully series which begins with Shane having to seek new employment and move out of his house due to behavior unbecoming an officer, or a husband, or a father. What’s up with THAT? We found out and if you’ve been following this series up to this point, you should too.

AUTHOR:
Stephen Cannell (February 5, 1941 – September 30, 2010). According to Wikipedia, Stephen “was an American television producer, writer, novelist, and occasional actor, and the founder of Cannell Entertainment (formerly Stephen J. Cannell Productions) and the Cannell Studios.

After starting his career as a television screenwriter, Cannell created or co-created several dozen successful TV series from the 1970s to the 1990s, often with his creative partner Frank Lupo. Cannell's creations included The Rockford Files, The A-Team, The Greatest American Hero, 21 Jump Street, and The Commish. He also wrote novels, notably the Shane Scully mystery series.”
This book merits my reading the entire series. 😊

NARRATOR:
Scott Brick. (January/30/1966).
Sn excerpt from IMDB:
“Actor, screenwriter and audiobook narrator Scott Brick definitely gives new meaning to a hyphenate career with credits in film, television, stage and radio. Born on January 30, 1966 in Santa Barbara, California, Brick studied both acting and writing at UCLA, and joined the ranks of working professionals upon leaving school in 1989.”
Scott’s “and THEN, would you believe . . .” edgy tone is perfect for this series.

GENRE:
Mystery; Fiction; Thriller; Detective; Suspense; Crime; Police Procedure

LOCATIONS:
Los Angeles, Venice Beach, (Haven and Fleetwood—fictitious Los Angeles communities)

TIME FRAME:
Contemporary

SUBJECTS:
Corruption; Gangs; Los Angeles; Bad Cops;

DEDICATION:
"This book is dedicated to Reuben Cannon, my old friend and brother from another mother. He makes me laugh, insists I pray before meals, and always makes me look to my better self.
Love you, Reub."

SAMPLE QUOTATION:
From Chapter 1:
“Five minutes later I was in Lieutenant Matthews’s car with the two IOs. One was named Stan. I didn’t catch the other guy’s name. Not much talk as we headed to Parker Center, with Alexa following us in her silver BMW a few car lengths behind. I had fallen from respected member of society and guardian of the public trust to detestable scum in the eyes of the three men riding in that maroon Crown Vic with me. In their eyes, I was a turncoat. A cop gone bad.
I thought I knew what to expect, but the truth was I had little idea of what lay before me, little understanding of the mess I had so willingly stepped into.
But that’s life. I guess if you could see all the dead ends and blind turns, it wouldn’t be as interesting. At least that’s what I kept telling myself.
The windshield wipers on the detective plain-wrap slapped at the rain as we rushed along the 10 Freeway in the dead of night, the tires singing in the rain cuts. No red light, no siren. Just a maroon Ford with four stone-faced cops. All of us in the diamond lane, heading toward the end of my career at breakneck speed.”

RATING:
4 stars. Always entertaining.

STARTED READING – FINISHED READING
2-25-2022 to 3-5-2022… (mer)

BIBLIOGRAPHIC DETAILS:
Print: 3/16/2010; St. Martin's Press, First Edition; ISBN 978-0312557294; 320 pages.
Audio: 3/16/2010; Brilliance Audio; Duration 8:52:00; Unabridged
Feature Film or tv: Not that I know of.

SERIES: Shane Scully book 9

Major characters (recurring):
Shane Scully--LAPD
Alexandra (Alexa) Scully—LAPD
Chooch—Shane’s son, Alexa’s step-son

SUMMARY/ EVALUATION:
When Shane was an angry 12 year old living at the Huntington House, the only person he could depend on was Walter Dix who ran the home. But when Walter needed him more recently, he was too busy. Now Walter is dead, and Shane feels responsible.

AUTHOR:
Stephen Cannell (February 5, 1941 – September 30, 2010). According to Wikipedia, Stephen “was an American television producer, writer, novelist, and occasional actor, and the founder of Cannell Entertainment (formerly Stephen J. Cannell Productions) and the Cannell Studios.

After starting his career as a television screenwriter, Cannell created or co-created several dozen successful TV series from the 1970s to the 1990s, often with his creative partner Frank Lupo. Cannell's creations included The Rockford Files, The A-Team, The Greatest American Hero, 21 Jump Street, and The Commish. He also wrote novels, notably the Shane Scully mystery series.”
This book merits my reading the entire series. 😊

NARRATOR:
Scott Brick. (January/30/1966).
An excerpt from IMDB:
“Actor, screenwriter and audiobook narrator Scott Brick definitely gives new meaning to a hyphenate career with credits in film, television, stage and radio. Born on January 30, 1966 in Santa Barbara, California, Brick studied both acting and writing at UCLA, and joined the ranks of working professionals upon leaving school in 1989.”
Scott’s “and THEN, would you believe . . .” edgy tone is perfect for this series.

GENRE:
Mystery; Fiction; Thriller; Detective; Suspense; Crime; Police Procedure

LOCATIONS:
Los Angeles, CA; Seal Beach, CA; Huntington Beach, CA;

TIME FRAME:
Contemporary

SUBJECTS:
Corruption; Gangs; Criminals; Surfing; Los Angeles; Wrestling; Indian Casinos

DEDICATION:
"This is for Ivan Weinburg, my teammate and friend since youth—a promising novelist in his own right and a pretty damn good wideout on our high school football team.

SAMPLE QUOTATION:
From Chapter 1:
“I was small back then, but I didn’t take any shit. I was willing to step off with anybody at the slightest hint of insult. I got along with no one and had convinced myself that my five ex–foster families were a bunch of welfare crooks who were milking the system.
“No floatwalling,” Pop said, his blue eyes twinkling. Floatwalling was paddling out beyond the surf but never going for a wave, not to be confused with backwalling, which was acceptable behavior because you were treading water, waiting for the big one.
Then the sun peeked above the horizon, the sign that it was time for us to paddle out.
“Let’s go rhino chasing, bruddahs!” Pop said.
We picked up our boards and started down toward the early-morning break. I was fuming inside. I couldn’t believe nobody wanted me, even though I insisted I didn’t want or need anybody. Before we got to the water, Pop put out a hand and turned me toward him, as the others moved ahead. He lowered his voice and dropped the Hawaiian pidgin.
“Get your chin up, guy. There’s a place for you, Shane,” he said softly. “Sometimes we have to wait to find out where we belong. Be patient.”
I nodded, but said nothing.
“Until you get picked again, you’ve always got a place with me.” Then he flashed his big, warm grin and switched back to pidgin, trying to get me to smile. “I always want you bruddah. What’s a matta you? Your face go all jam up. You no laugh no more, haole boy?”
I glanced down at the sand, shuffled my feet. But I didn’t smile. I was too miserable
“Come on then.” Pop put a hand on my shoulder and walked with me to the water.
I was Shane Scully, a name picked for me by strangers. No mom, no dad. No chance. I had nobody, but nobody messed with me either. My nickname around the group home was Duncan because I was the ultimate yo-yo.
All any of us had was Pop Dix. He was the only one that cared, the only one who ever noticed what we were going through and tried to make it better.”

RATING:
4 stars. Always entertaining.

STARTED READING – FINISHED READING
3-5-2022 to 3-12-2022… (mer)

BIBLIOGRAPHIC DETAILS:
Print: COPYRIGHT: 6/18/1995; PUBLISHER: William Morrow & Co—1st edition; ISBN 978-0688140465; PAGES 420.
Audio: COPYRIGHT: 12/8/2014; ISBN: 9781590401507; PUBLISHER: Phoenix Books, Inc.; DURATION: 4:58:49; PARTS: 4; File Size: 143456 KB; Abridged
Feature Film or tv: Not that I know of.

SERIES: No

MAJOR CHARACTERS:
Paul Arquette
Warren Sacks
Ryan Bolt
Mickey Alo
Joseph Alo
Lucinda Alo
Cole (can’t recall his first name)
Caz (Nick name- spelling could be wrong)

SUMMARY/ EVALUATION:
How I picked it: Perhaps I have some degree of obsessive-compulsive disorder, but once I have read multiple books written by one person, I tend to feel compelled to read them all. So, I went back to read Cannell’s earlier books. The first time I did, the first one he wrote wasn’t available, so, since they were not a series, I got the second one (not noticing that only an abridgment, which I typically avoid, was available in audio format) and didn’t much like it—in fact Don (husband) quit listening with me. Still, I felt compelled to read this first one and knew better than to invite Don to listen.
I find it a little hard to believe that someone who co-created the Rockford Files could write with such all-out vulgarity. I guess he wanted to make his Mafia characters authentic, but golly. I think even a Mob Boss would blush. Maybe I’m over-reacting—It’s just the story seemed to open harshly --kind of like when you dive into cold water—it hits as a fast and unwelcome shock, however much it was anticipated.
Then, quite early on there’s a scene I’ll just categorize as ‘cruelty to animals’ that might, combined with the offensive vocabulary, have had me tossing the book in the trash, were it mine (and in print). But I figured since the thing was only some 5 hours long (again, I did not realize this was an abridgement, but am sort of thankful it was at this point), I could somehow power through. Then, I was surprised, when I actually started wondering what would happen next…and thankfully, once the plot got a hold of Stephen, the need to color it with vulgarity seemed to taper off.
What’s it about? Well, that’s actually where Cannell’s talent bleeds through—it does seem well plotted. It’s about a top Mafia fellow who schemes to get an unknown politician into the White House, at which point the plan is to control him to abolish RICO (the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act), among other things, by appointing Supreme Court Justices that they suggest, and assert manipulations wherever else they can influence things. He plots it well, and either had a broad knowledge of a large variety of things, or researched well.

AUTHOR:
Stephen Cannell (February 5, 1941 – September 30, 2010). According to Wikipedia, Stephen “was an American television producer, writer, novelist, and occasional actor, and the founder of Cannell Entertainment (formerly Stephen J. Cannell Productions) and the Cannell Studios.
After starting his career as a television screenwriter, Cannell created or co-created several dozen successful TV series from the 1970s to the 1990s, often with his creative partner Frank Lupo. Cannell's creations included The Rockford Files, The A-Team, The Greatest American Hero, 21 Jump Street, and The Commish. He also wrote novels, notably the Shane Scully mystery series.”

NARRATOR:
Stephen Cannell. (see above).
Stephen was also an actor, so it’s no surprise he read his own first novels—especially considering that, at least I am guessing; few self-respecting narrators would be willing to utter so much vulgarity. There were only a few deliveries that I thought, ‘How is it when an author is reading his very own lines, that he delivers them “wrong”? Maybe not everyone hears intonations and word stresses as I do and he’s saying it exactly as he meant it to be said?” But like I said, it wasn’t prevalent—well, but then, how could it have been when I would never say some of those words at all?

GENRE:
Fiction; Political Thriller;

LOCATIONS:
New Jersey; Rhode Island; California; Catalina; Israel

TIME FRAME:
Contemporary (1994)

SUBJECTS:
Murder; Psychology; Mafia; Corruption; Radio Frequency (RF) engineering; Politics; News networks; Crime; Murder; Violence; Animal abuse; Death: Loss

DEDICATION:
"To Marcia
who sees me through
and to
Derek, Naja, N’Gai,
and Garret who all left too soon

SAMPLE QUOTATION:
From Chapter 1: “The Sporting Club: January 3, 1996”
“Mickey Alo tipped the seat back but didn’t sleep. He looked out the window of the Lear-55 at the blue-green reef fifteen thousand feet below. His father’s pilot, Milo Duelo, had just announced that they were about to make their descent into Grand Bahama island. Mickey rubbed the stubble on his chin and wondered what the hell Paul Arquette was trying to pull. The call had been screwy. Paul’s voice screeched at him through fifteen hundred miles of Atlantic Bell cable.
“I can’t tell you on the phone . . . but it’s important. You can land at the deserted military field at Sand Dollar Beach. You won’t have to clear customs or immigration. Nobody will ever know you’re down here.
In the two rear seats of the plane, New York Tony Demarco and Little Pussy Bono were snoring contentedly. New York Tony had been Mickey’s bodyguard since he was at Harvard back in the late seventies; now he was his capo, or right hand. Tony was short and muscular with a head as big as a truck tire and a complexion like lunar lava. Little Pussy Bono had gotten his name and reputation as a cat burglar in New York, but now he handled special assignments for the Alo family. He had been working mostly for Mickey, now that Joseph Alo was sick. Little Pussy was slender and hawk-faced. Like most cat-burglars, God had designed him for air-conditioning vents and small openings.
The pressure in the rich gray and burl-wood cabin changed as New York Tony and Little Pussy sat up and rubbed their eyes.
Two minutes later, the plane touched down at the end of the apron and taxied to a stop. Mickey turned to face the two men in the seats behind him. ‘I don’t know what’s going on. Get a map of this fucking place and line up a car, don’t rent it, steal something, and stay handy. In case I need you, I want you ready to move. No phone calls, no contact with anyone, no record we were ever here.’ Mickey didn’t quite know why, but he sensed impending disaster.”

RATING:
2 stars. I can’t say it wasn’t written well, I just didn’t care for how graphic it was.

STARTED READING – FINISHED READING
6-7-2022 to 6-9-2022… (mer)