Customer Reviews

On the Grind (Shane Scully Series)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

ON THE GRIND, the latest Shane Scully page-turner from Stephen J. Cannell, finds Shane's personal and professional life in shambles. The only way he can earn a living is to join a small-town police department in the L.A. Barrio which is rotten to the core with corruption which riddles the entire city government right up to and including the mayor. Never before has he been in such jeopardy, and the big question is, will he fight the corruption he encounters, or will he take part in it?

I always read these Shane Scully books too quickly, because it's so hard to put them down, and that makes the wait for the next book longer. Somehow, Cannell gets better each time up to bat, so my expectations rise and are always exceeded. Some of the material in ON THE GRIND was inspired by actual events covered in various Los Angeles newspapers, which makes it all the more amazing. Don't miss this one!

Shane Scully is in disgrace. Turned out of the LAPD because of an alleged affair with a suspect, rejected by his wife, and broke, Scully turns to the one police force in the L.A. area that doesn't ask questions. Working with some of the most corrupt cops in the country, Scully soon learns that, in Haven Park, money flows uphill--but a lot of it sticks. Starting with towing legally parked cars, but going up from there, the entire city has turned into a piggy bank for the mayor and his cronies--with the cops serving both as enforcers and as legal protection.

From the mayor's perspective, there's one fly in the ointment--a former boxer is mounting a clean-up campaign. If he wins, the Haven Park P.D. will be out of their jobs, the money line stops, and the mayor will probably end up in jail. The mayor sees Scully as the perfect man to solve his problems.

Scully's options are limited. The other cops on the force don't trust him, he's constantly searched for wires, and they always seem to know where he goes when he's off duty. Letting the opposition candidate be murdered isn't in the cards--but neither can Scully figure out a way to keep himself, or the candidate, safe no matter what he does. When the police go wrong, all of the options are bad.

Author Stephen J. Cannell delivers a tight thriller with escalating stakes, and plenty of action. Scully's world, filled with illegal immigrants, smuggled guns, friction between the Feds and local law enforcement, and opportunists, is intriguing and convincing. I would have liked to see a few more twists and plant/payoffs, but Cannell definitely delivers a story that's easy to get caught up in and hard to put down.

When you are looking for a book that will not confuse or confound you, a Stephen J. Cannell novel is just what the doctor ordered. Fast paced, cleverly written and page flipping good, this latest of the Shane Scully novels continues to deliver action and excitement which is about all you can ask for a story of this sort.

The Haven Park PD is a haven of lawlessness on the edge of LA and the only place a disgraced LAPD officer can go to find employment. Shane Scully has been given a one way ticket out of the LAPD after a felony misconduct charge involving solicitation of murder. His wife is divorcing him. His son has disowned him. He is at the bottom of the barrell which adequately describes the HPPD.

As you might expect and soon find out, all is not as it seems as Scully is pulled into an underover role that is as dangerous as they come. These cops play for real.

Bang! Right off the bat, Shane is caught and charged with felony case-tampering and blackmail on an investigation into arms dealing by Harry Venture of Venture Studios in Hollywood. While Shane was investigating Venture, the FBI was investigating him also, and Shane's caught on video tape "swapping spit" all over town with Harry's starlet wife, Tiffany Roberts. Shane is forced to resign and give up his pension, but even worse Alexa kicks him out of the house for cheating on her.

With a bad record, the only place Shane can find work is with the tiny city of Haven Park, deep in the LA immigrant ghetto. Partnered with Sgt. Alonzo Bell, Shane is trained into the absolute corruptness of Haven Park. Which is what his goal was, for he's deep undercover, working with Haven Park's Chief Of Police Ricky Ross, once an LAPD officer and full time drunk. Ricky has history with Shane, and now recently sober, Ricky wants to take his job seriously and end the corruption in Haven Park. But to do this, he and Shane will have to get to the top of the ladder, Mayor Cecil Bratano. The Mayoral race is on, and popular new-comer, ex-prizefighter Rock Chacon, is running against Bratano. How far will Bratano go to keep his throne in Haven Park, and just what is his throne built upon? Shane digs for the truth despite the danger he finds himself in.

'On The Grind' is the 8th novel in Stephen J. Cannell's "Shane Scully" detective series. Once again, Cannell has written in first-person from Shane's POV, a major mistake in this particular novel. I've often wished Cannell would return to third-person so that we can see and hear more of Alexa's mind (like we used to), but this time Cannell's first person has come out extraordinarily flat - emotionless and monotonous. In the last book, 'Three Shirt Deal', Shane and Alexa has marital issues that were too neatly and quickly wrapped up, and there's no residual of their problems in this book - making their relationship even more unrealistic.

While still a fast-paced thriller, 'On The Grind' extends Scully too far out into the implausible. He's beaten too hard, stretched too thin, and put into unbelievable situations that are just too far into space to accept. The ending is far-fetched and wrapped up too neatly, like an after-thought rather than a conclusion. This particular Scully installment has the feel of being written in a single weekend with a Monday deadline. If you're a fan of the series and have read every installment like I have, you'll definitely want to read this book, but get ready for a bit of a letdown. Sorry Scully fans. Enjoy anyway!

It's 3 am, and I just finished Stephen J Cannell's latest entry into the world of Shane Scully. OMG! This book rocks! Get ready to lose some sleep, Scully fans...

The book opens with Shane at home with his wife, Alexa, who is the Chief of Detectives for the LAPD. Two officers interrupt his evening at midnight, with warrants for his arrest.

What follows next is 304 pages of a cornucopia of breathless, nailbiting suspense, from gangbangers in LA to the Mexican border, and everyone is in on the grind, a way to hustle, make some money and stay alive on the mean streets of L.A.

We see Shane Scully in a way that we never have before, and it isn't pretty. He puts his family and friends through hell, and you don't know how he will be able to redeem himself this time.

Grab this book, tell everyone to go away and leave you alone, so you can become submurged in this fantastic world of cops, creeps, crooked politicians, FBI, Homeland Security and yes! even the latest in technology that James Bond would be envious of!

Mr. Cannell, you MORE than redeemed yourself, in my eyes at least, since writing At First Sight six months ago, which is not a Scully book and which I really didn't like at all...

So, in closing, if you have enjoyed the rest of Stephen J Cannell's books, especially the Shane Scully series, you will not be disappointed.

Mystery, suspense, corruption, and a family torn apart are combined to create a riveting, fast-paced piece of crime fiction in "On the Grind" by Stephen J. Cannell.

A veteran of the LAPD, Scully finds himself charged with felony misconduct in a high-profile murder-for-hire case. Accused of having an affair with the suspect and getting rid of evidence, Scully is faced with a tough choice: resign quietly or face prosecution. His wife, Alexa, the chief of detectives, asks for a divorce and his son, Chooch is so hurt he won't even talk to him.

Unable to find work in any other police department, Scully seeks employement from the Haven Park P.D.--a department known for hiring cops other departments have rejected. He soon finds out that the Haven Park P.D. is as crooked as a dog's hind leg. His new partner, Alonzo Bell, might be the dirtiest cop ever to wear a badge. It soon becomes apparent that the entire department is merely the enforcer and collection agency for the town's mayor, Cecil Bratano.

When a Mexican prizefighter decides to run for mayor of Haven Park and promises to end the corruption, Scully is ensnared in a plot to make sure that things stay just as they are. Under constant scrutiny by his new colleagues, the situation for Scully becomes critical, and his wife, Alexa, might be the only one who can ensure he makes it out of Haven Park alive.

Already familiar with some of Cannell's television work--"The Rockford Files", "The A-Team", "Silk Stalkings" and "The Commish"--I eagerly agreed to review "On the Grind" when contacted by the author's publicist. This latest release in the Shane Scully series has left me wanting to collect all the previous books.

"On the Grind" is not cluttered with a great deal of backstory, so it moves along at a fast pace, drawing the reader in immediately and leaving her hanging on the edge of her seat until the very last page. While some of Scully's past is interwoven into the current plot, the only details provided are those that assist the reader in connecting the dots, making this a great stand-alone book. The mystery deepens, the suspense builds, and the reader will unconciously find herself biting her nails as the story races along to its satisfying conclusion.

Cannell's masterful storytelling is evident right from the start and never disappoints, keeping the reader engaged and pushing forward, afraid of what he might find, but unable to stop turning the pages.

Some might classify this as a "guy" novel, as the writing is edgy and tough in many places; but I contend that many women will also be fans of Shane Scully after reading "On the Grind".

If you are looking for crime fiction at its best, look no further than "On the Grind" by Stephen Cannell.

In "On the Grind", Scully goes undercover, joining the corrupt Haven Park Police Department. Among many nefarious enterprises, a street gang (with police protection) is smuggling assault weapons from Mexico. Once Scully is accepted in the department he is charged with assassinating Rocky Chacon, a reformist Latino candidate for mayor of Haven Park. That's the setup.

"On the Grind" is a straightforward police thriller. The plot is predictable in a good sense (i.e., there are no Deaveresque off-the-wall twists) but with sufficient zigs and zags to keep the story interesting. The ending is satisfying, with the good guys prevailing, and the bad guys getting beat.

There is little character development, but most readers will know Scully and Alexa by now. "On the Grind" will not enlighten you, inspire you, nor expand your horizons, but it is great entertainment.

Cannell does not appear to be a very well known author as it seems that his name is not thrown around as much as some of the "bestseller" authors, who I might add are much worse writers. But Cannell is a very good writer. That might have something to do with his being a script writer, which means they have to be dumbed down for the audience.

His books are very, very easy to read and I can typically go through his books in 2 days, and more importantly, I want to. They are well written and easy to understand, without jumping from one subplot to another, or starting in the middle of stories, which some other authors tend to (or try to do) in order to make their stories "more interesting". Cannell doesn't do any of that stuff, he just writes his books in a straight forward linear manner.

The Shane Scully books are all LAPD books. They are not as exciting or gripping as the Michael Connolly books, which are the gold standard. The Scully books don't go into character development or suspense as much detail as those. One thing that stands out about the Scully series, especially this book is that it goes into much more detail regarding the current ethno-political situation in LA, which is to say the least, skirting a very fine line in political correctness, but which the author gets around by having the diverse characters in his book saying those things.

The Scully books are all one of a series, which means, you should read them from book #1. The pros of this is that once you're into them, they're like old friends and you already know where everybody stands, who's good, who's bad. The character and story development is good, but not great, a more apt term might be that the characters and story is entertaining, after all, we're not reading this book to write a thesis, it's for entertainment.

If you're wondering when I start talking about what's in the book, I typically don't get into the story in my reviews because I don't want to know what happens or even what the plot is. I just want to know if it's a good book or not. So to answer that, this is a good police book, it's easy to read and get into, and if you're a fan of Cannell, you won't need any encouragement, just get it. If you're not a fan of Cannell's, try it, it'll be a few day's worth or good reading.

Shane Scully is an LAPD detective. He has been on the right side of the law his entire career, but everything seemingly falls apart in scandal. He is charged with intentionally losing evidence and sleeping with a film star who tried to hire him--as an undercover cop--to kill her wealthy husband. He is unceremoniously kicked off the force and as a last resort, since no other respectable agency will hire him, he settles into the corrupt Haven Park Police Department.

Haven Park is corrupt from top to bottom. There is a car towing scam, a local gang that is protected by the department, and so many other little rip-offs and grinds that the department has only one rule: take your share and pass the rest to the guy above you. The guy at the top is the mayor and the reason it works and nobody complains is because Haven Park is a city of mostly illegal immigrants who don't dare say a word.

There is only one problem for the Haven Park status quo. There is a former boxer--a hero to most of the Hispanic population--who wants the mayor's job, and it looks like he's going to win at the polls. And the mayor and his corrupt police department will do anything to make sure it doesn't happen.

ON THE GRIND is the first Stephen J. Cannell novel I have read. It is the eighth novel to feature Shane Scully and I was impressed. The story hits overdrive in a hurry; there is no idling, no coasting, and not much of anything between actions scenes. The chapters are short and the prose is tight and sparse. It has the feel of a good episode of Cannell's old television series "Renegade"--less the Harley, Hummer, and long hair--mixed with a modern and very unsentimental thriller.

-Gravetapping

This is my first Stephen J Cannel book. It will not be my last. I really enjoyed tis book. I haven't read a good police/detective story in a long time.

I am unfamiliar with Shane Scully, so when he goes from making love to his wife to being arrested for 'losing' evidence and sleeping with a suspect, I didn't know what to expect. He is fired from the LAPD and is hired on with the Haven Park PD, a one-square mile unincorporated city within LA, and suddenly you feel as hemmed in by this hell-hole as Shane does. I was wondering how he was going to redeem himself. The twists and turns, the unsavory characters, and the characters you were ready to hate but couldn't, are all here. There was decent humor throughout, despite Scully's predicament, but the love scenes could have been better. Overall, this was a great read, and I would definitely read more from this author.