Review: The Tin Collectors

A telephone call in the middle of the night from a cop's wife. The cop himself out of control and bent on violence. Scully grabs his clothes and gun and speeds across town to the rescue; to try and help Barbara keep another domestic violence complaint in her husband's personnel file. The situation is already bad when Scully arrives to find his old mentor, Ray Molar, beating his wife with a nightstick. In the ensuing escalation of violence, Scully kills Molar in self-defense.

At the same time, Scully has agreed to allow an old friend's son stay with him while she works undercover on a federal sting operation. The 15-year-old, Chooch, has some serious gang and attitude problems of his own mixed in with a lot of anger, confusion, and desperate vulnerability. Scully finds himself wanting to help the teenager find a better path than the one he is currently heading toward - most likely the self-destructive path to a state prison.

When the investigation into the circumstances of Molar's death sets Scully up for a murder charge, he starts a desperate investigation of his own. Enter Alexa Hamilton, the only Internal Affairs officer to ever try to end Scully's career. No one wants to represent Scully, everyone seems to be threatening him, and his investigation turns up more seemingly unrelated information than he can process. When he finds that he has put not only himself, but Chooch and his mother, in harm's way, the violence escalates yet again.

Stephen J. Cannell has created a multilayered storyline centered on police detective Shane Scully; a man with his own set of demons, insecurities, and questions. The characterizations alone make the book well worth the read. The inside look at departmental politics and bureaucratic corruption are the frosting on the cake. As always, with Cannell, there is enough action to keep you up reading late at night.

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Book Review: The Tin Collectors