Vertical Coffin, Stephen J. Cannell
Vertical Coffin, Stephen J. Cannell
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Vertical Coffin
A Shane Scully Novel

Author: Stephen J. Cannell

Narrator: Scott Brick

Abridged: 3 hr 25 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 01/01/2004

Synopsis

The Edgar and Emmy Award-winning writer and producer delivers a high-concept thriller of inter-bureau conspiracy and betrayal

A nightmarish series of events sweeps LAPD's Sergeant Shane Scully and his wife (and boss), Alexa, into the vortex of an enormous, jurisdictional firestorm. First, a sheriff's deputy, a friend of Shane's, is gunned down while serving a routine search warrant. His fellow deputies blame the incident on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, whom they angrily accuse of failing to warn them that the suspect had a huge arsenal of illegal weapons in his house. Soon thereafter, a member of the ATF Situation Response Team is shot to death, followed by the sniper murder of a member of the Sheriff's Special Enforcement Bureau. At the request of the Mayor, the LAPD—an uninvolved and unbiased agency—assigns Shane to investigate. He is given an impossible deadline to find a solution before these two elite and deadly SWAT Teams kill each other off amid a hurricane of horrible publicity. Stephen Cannell is one of television's most prolific and recognized producers. His Shane Scully series has been gaining a growing audience since the publication of The Tin Collectors, and Vertical Coffin is his best outing yet.

About Stephen J. Cannell

Stephen J. Cannell (1941-2010) was the author of the bestselling Shane Scully books, including The Prostitute's Ball, The Pallbearers, and Three Shirt Deal. He was also an Emmy Award winning television writer and producer, and in his thirty-five-year-career, he created or co-created more than forty TV series. Among his hits were The Rockford Files, Silk Stalkings, The A-Team, 21 Jump Street, Hunter, Renegade, Wiseguy, and The Commish. He received numerous awards, including the Saturn Award - Life Career Award (2004), The Marlow Lifetime Achievement Award from Mystery Writers of America (2005), and the WGA Paddy Chayefsky Laurel Award for Television Writing Achievement (2006). Having overcome severe dyslexia, Cannell was an avid spokesperson on the condition and an advocate for children and adults with learning disabilities. He was a third-generation Californian and resided in the Pasadena area with his wife, Marcia, and their children.

About Scott Brick

Scott Brick first began narrating audiobooks in 2000, and after recording almost 400 titles in five years, AudioFile magazine named Brick a Golden Voice and “one of the fastest-rising stars in the audiobook galaxy.” He has read a number of titles in Frank Herbert’s bestselling Dune series, and he won the 2003 Science Fiction Audie Award for Dune: The Butlerian Jihad. Brick has narrated for many popular authors, including Michael Pollan, Joseph Finder, Tom Clancy, and Ayn Rand. He has also won over 40 AudioFile Earphones Awards and the AudioFile award for Best Voice in Mystery and Suspense 2011. In 2007, Brick was named Publishers Weekly’s Narrator of the Year. Brick has performed on film, television and radio. He appeared on stage throughout the United States in productions of Cyrano, Hamlet, Macbeth and other plays. In addition to his acting work, Brick choreographs fight sequences, and was a combatant in films including Romeo and Juliet, The Fantasticks and Robin Hood: Men in Tights. He has also been hired by Morgan Freeman to write the screenplay adaptation of Arthur C. Clarke’s Rendezvous with Rama.

Reviews

AudiobooksNow review by Barbara on 2009-03-27 18:43:01

This is the second Shane Scully mystery I've read by [author:Stephen Cannell597338]. I liked it just as much as I liked the first one, The Viking Funeral. Shane's LAPD buddy Emo Rojas also a cop is killed in the beginning of the book and it is widely thought to have been a setup by ATF. Scully is tapped to investigate since ATF has submitted a bogus investigative report which no one at LAPD believes. This appears to be a ****ing match between Federal agents ATF and the local SWAT team LASD. Kinda like: You killed out agent so we killed yours. The danger is escalating and more cops are dying. Scully needs to figure what the hell is going on and quickly before he too is caught in the crossfire.

Goodreads review by Leon on August 31, 2012

If you are a fan of Robert Crais, Harlan Coben, Lee Child, James Lee Burke, Michael Connelly and John Sanford (to name a few), then you owe it yourself to read this series. Police stories don't get much better than this.......more

Goodreads review by Julie on January 07, 2021

This is my favorite Shane Scully book so far. I liked the development of the characters that is ongoing in each book. Shane has a "life" and many times we don't get to see that in other books of this genre.......more

Goodreads review by John on September 13, 2023

Good story, good writing, good pacing, couldn't put it down - again.......more

Goodreads review by Space on April 10, 2013

I read this one in two sittings. And so far it's my favorite Cannell book. This one really hit home - really worked. I couldn't put it down, and read it in probably about eight total hours. (view spoiler)[In this story, the vertical coffin describes the doorway - where most SWAT teams take the fall. A call comes in (hide spoiler)]......more

Goodreads review by Scott on May 27, 2011

I like Stephen J. Cannell's television series (especially <1>The Rockford Files, so when I saw this book on the bargain table I decided to pick it up. The cover advertises it as "A Shane Scully novel," so it seems as if there is a series starring the protagonist. He is a detective with the LAPD and i......more

Quotes

“Scully has ample opportunity to prove how ‘Hollywood tough' he is...veteran writer/TV producer Cannell has concocted his special brand of reader candy.” —Kirkus Reviews

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