Um... this story didn't work for me.
I got tired of it real quick. And I became embroiled in a subplot, that was actually the real plot, that I completely forgot about the first plot
and the second plot! WHAT??? Yeah, WHAT???
First plot (not necessarily in order): a sinister comment by a mysterious high profile hollywood hotshot piques one tough guy cop's, Shane Scully, interest enough to launch his own "private" investigation. Hmmmm...
Second plot: one of Shane's grifter contacts (to eventually proven to be a lying, conniving grifter contact) from the street asks for help finding an old friend; after Shane finds the old friend, said friend ends up dead. Hmmmm...
Third plot: Shane, feeling responsible, starts investigating the death, which leads him back to the grifter, which leads him to a mob boss transplanted from the East Coast out to hustle Hollywood; Shane will have none of that, being the tough guy cop that he is, so he congers up an elaborate, intricate, confusing sting that involves corrupt cops, mob connections and the LAPD
producing (seriously????) a ridiculous movie with idiotic swelled heads and an equally idiotic inflated budget. Hmmm....
Fourth plot: Shane's wife, Alexa, also a cop, and their son, Chooch, are both absorbed, each in their own way, in a gang war showdown quickly spiraling out of control with increasing tension & bloodshed at almost every turn that involves kidnappings, drive-by shootings, drugs, tanker trucks, a trip to Arizona, ICU and an essay on "Heroes." Hmmm....
WHAT???
I muddled thru but I certainly don't believe it all came together in the end. It was confusing and frustrating and out of control and pretty much hard to swallow. I mean,
really? Ugh. I usually like serial story lines, my favs being Dennis LeHane's Kenzie & Gennaro and Sandford's Lucas Davenport, but I am not very interested in reading any more Shane Scully. Too bad because I do like Stephen J. Cannell as a Hollywood writer - but maybe I don't like him as a novel writer? Hmmm....
As with all books, I usually find something to take away & hang on to... not much this time but there was one thing. "Occam's Razor," which ia theory that when things are extremely complicated, the simpliest answer is usually the right one. Hmmm... well, this story was extremely complicated and I suppose the simpliest answer is the author tried too hard. He tried too hard to make it interesting and intriguing and captivating and it just did NOT work for me.
Bummer.
