About
Reviews
Search
Submit
Home

Mystery Books for Sale

[ Home ]
[ About | Reviews | Search | Submit ]


  

DIAGNOSIS MURDER: THE SHOOTING SCRIPT
by Lee Goldberg
Signet, August 2004
248 pages
$6.99
ISBN: 0451212665


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

When the first DIAGNOSIS MURDER novel was released, I was very happy to see it as both a fan of the television show and of Lee Goldberg. I really enjoyed the book. It was like catching up with old friends. Maybe this was just a happy fluke, but with the third in the series, THE SHOOTING SCRIPT, it is apparent that Goldberg has put new life and new plots into the existence of Mark Sloan and his son Steve, the LAPD homicide detective, as well as the other regulars from the long-running show.

Mark is at the beach house he shares with Steve and ineptly trying his hand at painting the shoreline. This was a gift from Steve to give his father a hobby that might keep him away from investigating murders. As he paints, he hears gun shots from next door.

He rushes out with his medical bag, calling 911 as he runs to the house. Once there he enters the house to find a man and woman, both dead with two gun shots wounds each. But something puzzles him. He has just heard the shots, but the blood has already started to clot. With a scalpel, he decides to take the temperature of the liver when two police officers appear on the scene and arrest him. Steve rather enjoys the sight of his father in handcuffs and takes his time in getting his father out his restraints.

The victim is a big-time movie producer/director whose wife is the world's number one female action star. Only the other victim is not his wife.

The Chief of Police has a running vendetta against Mark as well as his son. He figures that a celebrity murder can be a career ender for the police involved and decides he will let the Sloans take the fall. The DA also sees the case as a way to rid himself of one of his more troublesome prosecutors.

The deck is stacked against the Sloans. They know who did it and even get an arrest, but the savvy defense attorney puts Mark on trial instead of the defendant at the preliminary hearing. Since there was no trial, double jeopardy is not in play, and the professional cop and amateur detective do not give up on bringing justice to bear.

Mark, his friends Amanda, Jesse and Jesse's girlfriend are also the target of a campaign by the new administrator of the hospital to get rid of Dr Sloan and his helpers in crime detection.

This is a very satisfying and completely entertaining novel by a talented writer who is also a master of his craft. Even if you have never seen a Diagnosis Murder show, you will enjoy this most readable mystery.

I would also recommend trying to find copies of Goldberg's MY GUN HAS BULLETS and BEYOND THE BEYOND. These are a couple of the funniest and quirkiest mysteries I've ever read and they certainly deserve to be read by many more people.

Reviewed by Doris Ann Norris, July 2004

[ Top ]


QUICK SEARCH:

 

Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


[ About | Reviews | Search | Submit ]
[ Home ]