| Gil Grissom was furious that his forensic evidence had been thrown out in court. If Greg Sanders hadn't been on vacation when the evidence was processed there would be no question that Thomas Lessor, a Boyle Hotels executive, would even now be in jail awaiting his sentencing. As it was, Grissom had to watch Lessor fly away, effectively getting away with the murder of Erica Hardy, his mistress, for the time being. However, a short time later, Grissom had the evidence that he needed to bring Lessor back to Las Vegas so they called the Miami-Dade police.
Lieutenant Horatio Caine was at a murder scene when Catherine Willows called to ask him to go pick up Lessor. A limousine chauffer was tied up with duct tape and left in the trunk, where he asphyxiated. Leaving a few members of his crew at the crime scene, Horatio continued to The Conquistador, where Lessor was supposed to be staying. Problem was, Lessor never showed up from the airport. Horatio had a sinking feeling that Lessor and his chauffer were linked. He had proof when they found the remains of Lessor's body, buried in garbage bags on a beach. Now Horatio was left with two bodies, an ambitious lounge singer with Mob connections, and three aging hitmen - all he had to do was connect the dots.... This is the first book that Max Allan Collins has written with the CSI: Miami team, although he has written several with the CSI: Las Vegas team. Although I did not feel that it was as good as the others he has written, it was still very well written and highly entertaining. It was a bit longer and more drawn out than the other stories, which read just like a TV episode would, and I kept trying to map out how they would cover all of the information in one episode and they simply couldn't. I was also a bit disappointed that all of the action focused on Horatio and that his team didn't play into it a bit more, but the TV show can get like that a bit too. Also, I felt that, for being so drawn out, it sure ended abruptly. I would have liked to see a tighter middle section of the plot and a smoother ending, but those are my only real complaints as, on the whole, it is fast paced, very descriptive and an interesting read. If you are a CSI fan and love to read, then this is a great book for you! | ||
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Plot & Themes Tone of story - very upbeat How difficult to spot villain? - Somewhat obvious Time/era of story: What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - 60% Misc. Murder Plotlets - 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 - 30 % Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40 % Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 10 % How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 20 % Crime Thriller Yes Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes Main Character Gender - Male Profession/status: Age: - 40's-50's Ethnicity/Race Main Adversary Identity: - Female Age: - 20's-30's Profession/status: Motive of antagonist - revenge The antagonists are: - US mafia How sensitive is this character? Sense of humor - Strong but gentle sense of humor Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters Setting United States Yes The US: - Deep South - West City? Yes City: - Dirty, dangerous (like New York) - Miami Misc setting - resort/hotel Writing Style Accounts of torture and death? - very gorey descriptions deaths/dead bodies Explicit sex in book? Yes What kind of sex: - vague references Unusual forms of death - asphyxiation - decapitated - blunt clubbing (like seals) Unusual form of death? Yes Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog |
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