Cold Hit - Hardcover

Cannell, Stephen J.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0312347308 ISBN 13: 9780312347307

Publisher: St Martin's Press, 2005

Synopsis

Shane Scully and his partner are assigned to the case of "The Fingertip Killer" - serial murderer preying on homeless Vietnam veterans in Los Angeles. Every two weeks he strikes: he beats his victims, and then shoots them in the back of the head. Once they're dead, he cuts off their fingertips and tosses their bodies in the river. Into this explosive mix, comes another killing that Shane believes doesn't fit the pattern. Scully suspects an elaborate copycat murder. A bullet pulled from the last victim's skull produces what police call a "cold hit"- an unexpected ballistics match linking one unsolved case to another - and the previous victim was an LA Police officer, killed ten years earlier. After FBI agents throw him off the Fingertip Killer case, Scully teams up with his wife and boss, Alexa. Outside the law and deep undercover, they fight to see justice done for the slain officer, and, possibly, to unravel a murderous plot with criminal connections high up in the U.S. government.

About this title

Review:

The action rarely lets up. "The Chicago Tribune" A thriller, a procedural, and an indictment of the Patriot Act in the wrong hands. Scully, the plots, and the characters get better with each book. "The Sunday Oklahoman" If you are hungry for a great police procedural, look no further. Cannell knows what he's doing this mystery works on every level. "Tulsa World" An intriguing, torn-from-today's-headlines premise on his fifth Shane Scully outing. "News Press (Fort Myers, FL)""

From the Back Cover:

BETWEEN A COLD WAR
Shane Scully has found his footing while his partner is going down in flames and a serial murderer rattles L.A.. Each corpse has been mysteriously defiled. Then, in the middle of the hunt, Scully gets an idea that may cost him his life.

AND COLD, HARD TRUTHS...
Scully suspects that someone with inside information has neatly "hidden" one murder inside this messy serial killer case. His copycat theory ignites a crossfire between LAPD and the Feds.

IS A WHITE-HOT CASE OF MURDER.
Now Scully knows he has a ten-year-old cop-killing to clear, while two street-smart detectives lead him into a secret world of international espionage and a powerful counter-terrorism chief from the top of the U.S. government warns him away. To do his job, Scully must risk everything--unraveling the mystery of a Cold War act of betrayal, a brutal street crime, and a killer just waiting to hit again...

"As the case spirals outward from local crime to international espionage dating back to the 1980s, the action rarely lets up. When it does, we're reintroduced to the back story that is one of the pleasures of reading the Scully series."--Los Angeles Times

About this edition

• Publisher: St Martin's Press
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0312347308
• ISBN 13: 9780312347307
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 384