On the Grind
By Stephen J. Cannell
(St. Martin's Paperbacks, Hardcover, 9780312366285, 336pp.)
Publication Date: December 29, 2009
Other Editions of This Title: Mass Market Paperback
Categories: Thrillers
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Charged with felony misconduct in a high profile solicitation of murder case, Lt. Scully is faced with an impossible decision: either quietly resign from his job as a detective for the LAPD, the work he loves—or face criminal prosecution. Rather than smear the departments reputation and his own, Scully chooses to leave. Scully’s colleagues of years feel betrayed to learn that a dirty cop had been in their midst. His wife Alexa, the Chief of Detectives, leaves him, seeking out a divorce for his dalliance with the accused in the case, a beautiful, well-known Hollywood actress. His son, Chooch, horrified by these events, won’t even speak to him. Life as Scully knows it is over. Or so it seems…
In order to make a living the only way he knows how, Shane seeks employment from a police department that has been known to hire rejects from other departments: the Haven Park PD. Haven Park is an incorporated city near downtown LA, just one square mile in size and populated almost entirely by Mexican immigrants, most of them illegal. The department is a hotbed of corruption, in effect the personal goon squad and collection agency of the town’s mayor, Cecil Bratano. Ushered into the department by his new partner, Alonzo Bell, Shane takes his lessons in policing from one of the dirtiest cops around.
But things in LA are hardly ever what they seem. Relentlessly harassed by an over-zealous FBI agent, the alluring Ophelia Love, and under the constant, violent, and hyper-paranoid scrutiny of his new comrades-at-arms, Shane finds himself in snare far greater than any he could have expected. His estranged wife Alexa may be the only one who can get Shane out of this mess alive. The question is: Is she willing to?
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.
ON THE GRIND
“Stephen J. Cannell is a master storyteller and On The Grind is the proof. Cover to cover it’s a story that never lets you up for air. Read it!” —Michael Connelly, bestselling author of The Brass Verdict
“A hard-boiled cop and really scuzzy bad guys... Cannell is the gold in crime fiction.” —Stephen Coonts
"Cannell is a great storyteller who keeps you nailed to the page." —Ted Bell
THREE SHIRT DEAL
“Scully navigates the stormy waters with style and an implacable, tough-guy attitude.... Like Michael Connelly's similar Harry Bosch series, the Shane Scully enterprise seems destined for a long life.” --Booklist
“Page-turning.” --Arizona Republic
WHITE SISTER
“[A] very satisfying thriller written by a born entertainer.” --New York Post
“Cannell dishes out the action in forklift-sized servings.”--Publishers Weekly
“A strong piece of fiction that leads readers…through the harrowing underbelly of L.A.”--Daily News
“A terrific read.”--New York Sun
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