| Audiobook Review -
White Sister by Stephen J. Cannell reviewed by
Robert W. Karp |
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Mr. Cannell has a long career in producing some of the most popular
television detective/adventure series including “The A Team”, Wiseguy”, and one
my favorites, “The Rockford Files”. So it’s hard to resist him.
His novels featuring LAPD Detective Shane Scully include
Vertical Coffin
and The Tin Collectors. His latest Scully tale is White Sister.
From my vantage White Sister doesn’t make it as either a good police detective
story or an acceptable social commentary on life in Los Angeles.
I grew up in LA and lived there for almost 40 years, so I know some of the
territory that Cannell covers in this book. The story centers on a shooting of
two LAPD police officers which have a direct connection to Scully. I’m not going
to give that plot detail away. A secondary plot line involves Scully
accidentally hitting a homeless with his car has he leaves downtown Los Angeles.
That man, John Bodine is an entertaining character that has a combination of
street smarts and mental illness that seems all too possible. Yet the in every
moment of this book when Scully has a choice of action he picks the most clichéd
one. When told not to get involved in the investigation of the shooting of the
police officers, he of course becomes a “rogue cop” hiding from his superiors
and colleagues alike. He gets accused of the crime, calls in numerous favors
from partners and the assigned detectives on the case, all the while being duly
heroic and stoic in the face of ever mounting tragedy.
It all plays like an episode of one of his series. Also, to me, and I know I’m
going out a bit here, there seems to be a faint odor of racism here. Much of the
story centers on the Hip-Hop music industry and those who populate it. Mostly
black. None come off very well and possibly it’s hearing the street slang, black
dialect jumping off the printed page in this audio production that makes it all
the more unsavory to me.
The White Sister of the title is a Caucasian women who has grown up in Compton,
marries a Hip-Hop music mogul and speaks and acts like on of the gang members
who seem to frequent this story. Cannell also seems to settle some gripes with
African American politicians including a very thinly veiled portrait of congress
woman Maxine Waters of Los Angeles, the Rev. Jesse Jackson and the Rev Al
Sharpton. Let’s just say they also don’t come off well.
The audio production is good with Scott Brick getting the ghetto dialog down in
all its profanity-strewn glory.
One ear here. This story is not for everybody. I have three copies of the book.
Here’s an offer I will make to you. If you choose to read it and send me your
comments, good or bad, I will give you a $5 discount coupon for your next order.
About Robert W. Karp - Robert Karp is the owner of AudioMysteries.com. He is an avid
reader of mystery and detective fiction and collects signed first editions of
Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe and other great mystery authors.
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