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    Vigilante
    Vigilante
    Vigilante
    Audiobook (abridged)4 hours

    Vigilante

    Written by Stephen J. Cannell

    Narrated by Scott Brick

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Lita Mendez was a thorn in the LAPD’s side. An aggressive police critic and gang activist, she’d filed countless complaints against the department. So when she’s found dead in her home, Shane and Hitch fear the worst: that there’s a killer in their ranks.

    Outside the crime scene, Nixon Nash, the charismatic host of a hit reality show called Vigilante TV, has set up shop with his television crew. Nash’s show is dedicated to beating the cops at their own game, solving murders before they can. Now he has the murder of Lita Mendez in his sights and he presents the detectives with a choice: either join his team or prepare for a public takedown.

    But Scully suspects that Nash isn’t the folk hero he seems. If a detective got in his way, just how far would the TV host go in the name of self-promotion?

    On the heels of The Prostitutes’ Ball, called “the best Scully yet” (Kirkus Reviews) and “perfectly fresh” (Booklist), this new novel from the celebrated author has Detective Scully risking everything to save himself, his family, and the job he loves.

    Praise for Stephen J. Cannell

    “A master storyteller.” —Michael Connelly

    “A great storyteller who keeps you nailed to the page.” —Ted Bell

    “Cannell is the gold in crime fiction.” —Stephen Coonts

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    Release dateDec 6, 2011
    ISBN9781441893383
    Vigilante
    Author

    Stephen J. Cannell

    In his thirty-five-year career, Emmy Award-winning writer Stephen J. Cannell has created more than forty TV series. Among his hits are The Rockford Files, Silk Stalkings, The A-Team, 21 Jump Street, Hunter, Renegade, Wiseguy, and The Commish. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and children.

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    Reviews for Vigilante

    4/5

    82 ratings18 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Shane Scully and his partner Sumner Hitchens work in the Special Homicide division of the LAPD. They work the most difficult and sensitive murders. They have just landed a doozy with the murder of a Hispanic police critic, Lita Mendez. The woman's family claimed she has been murdered. The wild card in the case is a crusading journalist named Nix Nash who hosts a reality TV show devoted to police brutality. Think John Walsh gone to the dark side. Nash is ex-LAPD member, and a disbarred lawyer who has a terriffic grudge against cops and the LAPD in particular. Nash and his staff are doing all they can to disrupt the investigation and actually plant evidence and witnesses. I found the book to be suspenseful. It held my interest .
    • 4/5
      First, I'll say that this is a review of an ARC from Goodreads First Reads Program. Second, this is the 11th (?) book in a long series and I have never read any of the others.

      One good thing is that I'm not sure you need to have read the others int he series. I had no problem at all following who everyone is or the plot. I felt this was a pretty uncomplicated plot with some nice twists in it. All the characters had some good development and I was always trying to guess where the plot was taking me with little success.

      This is a pretty good mystery novel if you like the genre.
    • 3/5
      Nix Nash, the star of a syndicated TV series that specializes on exposes of police corruption and incompetence, targets detectives Shane Scully and Sumner Hitchins for his next victim. Nash always selects a politically significant, high profile case and manipulates the detectives assigned to investigate the case by providing false leads. This forces the officers to spend time and resources investigating these red herrings. Meanwhile a bevy of investigators hired by Nash works to solve the crime. When the TV broadcast shows the bungling police detectives running here and there following false leads while the Nash and his crew solve the case with apparent ease.That's the conundrum confronting Scully and Hitch as they attempt to solve the murder of a community activist who has had countless confrontations with the police.For the first third of the book Cannell depicts Scully as too pliable, repeatedly responding when Nash's call to say he has a lead for Scully. "Just send a patrol officer to take a statement," I wanted to shout. I guess Cannell needed to establish concern on the part of the reader before Scully and Hitch began to transition to the effective detectives depicted in previous books in this series. This book is not as good as The Prostitute's Ball, Cannell's previous book in this series but still worth a read. Unfortunately, this is the last book in the series ad Cannell succumbed to complications from melanoma shortly after completing this book.
    • 4/5
      This was his last book. It was finished after his death. I, for one, will surely miss him. You know he was one of the authors that Richard Castle played cards with. I see his chair was empty and remained empty for the entire last season of Castle.
    • 5/5
      This is an interesting crime novel with well-drawn characters, likable protagonists, properly disagreeable villains, and a somewhat different and suspenseful plot line. The hero, Shane Scully, who appeared in prior Cannell books, is a police detective whose wife is the chief of detectives. He is partnered with a millionaire who prefers police work to retirement. Shane and his partner handle the more complicated and sensitive murder cases in Los Angeles. They are assigned the case of the murder of a woman who had filed over 200 cases against the police, alleging corruption, a case that raises the question, was she killed by police officers who she was harassing? What complicates the case is that a former police officer turned TV star has decided to use this case to belittle the LA police and Shane personally. He is determined to show that Shane and the LA police are incompetent. He seems to know what the police are doing, which raises the question, is there an informer among the police? While the police have small resources, the ex-cop-TV-personality has hired former cops, ex FBI profilers, retired judges and others, including a former girlfriend of Shane, to help him solve the case. He is very manipulative and uses deception to mislead the police. Shane wanders if he has another agenda for his plot against the police besides raising his ratings.
    • 4/5
      The final Shane Scully novel, Vigilante, happens to be my introduction to the late Stephen J. Cannell's books. The plot is quite intriguing. A well-known gang activist is murdered in Los Angeles. The LAPD detectives assigned to her case know that not only will it be high profile, it could also spell the end of their careers if not handled correctly. Enter NIxon Nash, the charismatic host of a reality TV show called "Vigilante TV." Nash, who had hired the dead activist as a consultant, is well known for dogging police investigations and ruining officers lives and careers. His show is dedicated to solving crimes before the police can and then rubbing their noses in it on national television. Great plot... and it was a very good read. Unfortunately, for me, it was a little more "hardboiled" than I normally prefer. Overall, it was a good book and I may go back and give Shane Scully another chance, from the beginning. Great book for anyone who likes Crime Noir.
    • 5/5
      I'm sorry that this is the last Shane Scully novel, as it is a really good series. Scully and his partner, Sumner Hitchens, are working on a new murder. Lita Mendez, an advocate for justice and a very vocal police critic has been murdered. Nix Nash, reality show host of Vigilante TV, shows up at the murder scene, and continues to trail the detectives throughout their investigation. At times he seems to be ahead of them, and also seems to be leading them to clues. Fast moving, with lots of plot twists.
    • 4/5
      Shane Scully and his millionaire partner, Sumner Hitchens, have unfortunately starred in their final adventure. Stephen J. Cannell has written a great series for Scully and his crew, this one pitting Scully against a TV hot-shot, more interested in ratings than justice.Cannell (1941-2010) has written 11 Scully novels, not to mention the hit TV series "The Rockford Files" Alas, we've lost another master of the police procedural. His novels have had a "ring of truth" to them, and we'll certainly miss his talents.This is a great ending....don't miss it.
    • 4/5
      I was fortunate to receive an early review copy of Stephen Cannell’s Vigilante, a Shane Scully novel. This was my first time reading Cannell and even though it’s the 11th Shane Scully novel, I had no problem jumping into the story.Shane Scully and his partner, Sumner Hitchens, get handed a hot case. The murder of Lita Mendez, a gang activist with a long history of filing complaints and making enemies in the police department. To make it hotter, Nixon Nash, host of the show, Vigilante, shows up and plans to make the case the centerpiece of his show. A show which has embarrassed police and ended careers in other cities in previous seasons. This was a fast-paced, well-written and entertaining crime mystery. The characters were nicely developed and engaging. There were enough suspects to keep you uncertain who the killer was, without feeling misled with flimsy red herrings. It was also refreshing to have a protagonist who was fairly well-adjusted, without a drinking or drug problem, a skeleton in his closet, or some other emotional or moral problem to overcome. Just a good investigator in trying circumstances.Nix Nash was a villiain you love to hate. A smarmy tv host with a checkered past and vast resources. His actions and the motives behind them keep you guessing until the end. This book is in some ways an old fashioned gumshoe detective novel, but with a modern twist in the form of a tv investigation racing with the detective to solve the crime. Cannell skillfully blends the two different worlds into an entertaining novel. An interesting detective along with a complicated cast of villains and suspects makes for a very good read. I look forward to checking out other Cannell/Scully books. Recommended for any fan of crime fiction and mystery novels.
    • 3/5
      Vigilante, Stephen J. Cannell's last novel is great fun for the reader. Following LAPD detective Shane Scully has he searches for the killer of a woman who was a known police antagonizer. The question everyone was wondering is if the police did her in to keep her quiet. However, complicating things for Scully and his partner, Hitch, is a former cop turned reality TV personality whose niche is showing America bad cops, Nix Nash. Nash's show has gotten many officer fired and seems to be done with sneaky tricks such as giving the cops false leads to follow, while solving the crime themselves. Nash is a slimy, self-indulgent wannabe but is so professionally dangerous he has to be dealt with. Cannell produced a tight novel with a urgent feeling I like to get from crime thrillers. Pages turned quickly and the plot was not left hanging or too outlandish.
    • 5/5
      I enjoyed Vigilante from start to finish. I guess I expect most books to start out a little slow. Introducing characters, setting up backgrounds, scenes, getting you settled in. Don't mind a slow start, but I do want a good finish. Vigilante kept me coming back. One of those "magnet books." Draws you back until you finish it. Not complicated. Just a good read.
    • 4/5
      We lost a fantastic story teller when Stephan Cannell died, but his finalnovel lived up to the best of his other works. A typical police proceduralit is more of the Shane Scully series and it does justice as a final effort.It is a formula that has worked well in both print and on TV. A murder, and the steps to solving. I found it a page turner that was enjoyable all the way through.
    • 4/5
      While starting off a little slowly, the story took off and became quite interesting. Good plot and characters. I am sorry to know that this is the last book by Mr. Cannell, who has given us so many wonderful TV shows and stories.
    • 4/5
      Considering the sheer mass of Stephen J. Cannell's production, I wasn't sure he had any new ideas left. "Vigilante" confirmed that he did. As others have pointed out the book requires some effort to really get rolling. Once the characters are firmly in mind it reads much more quickly. I do think it's one of those stories that would be more enjoyable as a movie. Cannell can get too cute with endless character development in writing that would be obvious on screen. That said, I did enjoy the book very much. The entertainment world has lost a bright star.
    • 3/5
      "Vigilante" is the 2011 offering in Stephen J. Cannell's LAPD Det. Shane Scully series.Briefly it's the story of the investigation into the murder of a Latina police critic and its concurrent coverage by a reality TV show that specializes in bashing police departments.The novel gets off to a slow start with too little action and too many details. The plot itself is interesting enough but not especially compelling. Cannell's famed trenchant wit was much in evidence and made up for a rather predictable set of characters.
    • 3/5
      I was disappointed in this book. I found it to be slow to get into, not very exciting. I didn't care for the characters at all. It was a chore to get through this book.
    • 5/5
      Just remember, this is the guy responsible for the Rockford Files. Characters are memorable, dialogue is intense and the action just keeps rolling. The plot is guaranteed to keep you personally involved until you reach the end (whether you have time for sleep or not). Several parallel plots add to the story line but, don't detract from anything and finally merge near the end. It is hard to read this tale and recognize that the well has run dry and we'll have to find an alternative for all the entertainment that Stephen J. Cannell has provided over the last twenty years. I can hardly wait to put my hands on another work published since his death, "The Prostitutes Ball".
    • 5/5
      This is the last book by this auther and one of his best. its both fast and funny and full of twists . i highly recommend this book