When a vacationing 'John Smith' is shot twice in the head in a hotel off the strip, the politicians are all over Grissom to get this case solved and to get it solved fast. Dead tourists are bad for business, after all. The murder is also panicking the townspeople because it looks like a mob hit, as the victim was shot execution style and then shot again to complete the signature of a famous old Mob executioner who dropped off the face of the earth about fifteen years before. Grissom, Sara and Warrick pick up the case and use the evidence from the victim, the bloody shoeprints in the hall, the hotel's security videotape and many other clues to hunt down their man. But that doesn't mean the case is over...
Meanwhile, Catherine Willows and Nick Stokes are called to investigate a body at a construction site. The body has become mummified in Vegas' dry heat and the man is completely unrecognizable. His fingers were cut off at the knuckle so there is no chance of fingerprint identification, but they still have teeth and a rather unusual ring to try and ID the body. Funny thing is, the victim was shot twice in the head, execution style with the same signature of the new victim from Grissom's case. While both teams know that the murders are probably linked, the clues lead them in different directions so Grissom keeps the cases split to avoid overlooking any clues. But when the FBI steps in, sparks fly between the teams and the Vegas CSI investigators can't help but feel that the FBI is keeping something from them... This is the first CSI book that Collins has written based on the wonderful TV show and he does a superb job at keeping the TV personalities consistent with the characters in the book. I felt like I was watching an episode from the TV show, but with more descriptions and a longer time frame to solve the case. Both of the mysteries were very interesting and I enjoyed the hunt for clues, but the ending was a little wacked. It didn't end anything like I thought it would so I was totally surprised with what happened. Still, it was a great book and I recommend it to any CSI fan. | ||
Plot & Themes Tone of story - very upbeat How difficult to spot villain? - Moderately Challenging Time/era of story: What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - 80% Misc. Murder Plotlets - solving long-past murder - - Big focus on forensic evidence - Big focus on autopsies Kind of investigator Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book Any non-mystery subplot? descript. of violence and chases - 20 % Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 30 % Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20 % How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 30 % Crime Thriller Yes Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes Main Character Gender - Male Profession/status: Age: - 20's-30's Ethnicity/Race Unusual characteristics: Main Adversary Identity: - Male Age: - 40's-50's Profession/status: Motive of antagonist - power The antagonists are: - US mafia How sensitive is this character? Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters Setting United States Yes The US: - West City? Yes Writing Style Accounts of torture and death? - very gorey descriptions deaths/dead bodies Unusual forms of death - perforation--bullets Unusual form of death? Yes Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog |