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A modest home in a suburban Queens neighbourhood is the unlikely
site of a grisly crime scene: a married couple and their daughter
are found brutally murdered. Missing from the scene is the
couple's young son, and Mac Taylor and Danny Messer soon uncover
signs of a possible kidnapping. Can they find him before it's
too late? In a heavily Orthodox Jewish neighbourhood in Brooklyn,
the body of a devoutly religious man is found ritually displayed
on the floor of his synagogue. Stella Bonasera and Aiden Burn
initially suspect a fringe fundamentalist group that has had
run-ins with the victim's congregation, but the group is led
by a charismatic and antagonistic man who does everything
he can to stonewall the team's investigation. Two very different
crimes, with one thing in common: CSI investigators who won't
stop until they uncover the truth...
Blood
on the Sun
is the latest book based on the work of the CSI: New York
forensic team. Detective Mac Taylor is a dedicated crime scene
investigator who believes that everything is connected and
everyone has a story. He and Detective Stella Bonasera lead
a team of crack forensic experts through the gritty and kinetic
world of New York City as they piece together clues and eliminate
doubt to ultimately crack their cases.
This
release, like the TV series examines two crimes that come
under the jurisdiction of the CSI: New York team. The first
crime is the brutal slaughter of three members of one family
(and possible rape of one member) and the second revolves
around what appears to be a serial killer who is killing men
of God. There
is also a third crime... of sorts - the impending death of
Bonasera. The book opens with a stalker watching her apartment
and it soon becomes apparent that he is planning on murdering
her.
Author
Stuart M. Kaminsky certainly knows his subject matter. It's
always refreshing to read a book like this where the author's
writing flows as easily as one of the TV episodes. It's also
great to actually be able to hear the characters talking as
the words come off the page. Kaminsky has certainly done his
homework where it counts.
I
did have a few issues, be they minor, with this book though.
Firstly I was a little unsure of the accuracy of the computer
technology that was described briefly in this book. There
is a scene where the CSI team is trying to piece together
how a number of murders were committed in one room. A computer
simulation is used, and altered on the fly. This software
allows the user to input certain information and see how the
murders may have happened. Firstly the software seemed to
perform a little too quickly to be believable, and secondly
I couldn't understand what the point of the description of
the computer generated face of one of the characters in the
programme was all about. Surely software used for that sort
of application would not be so detailed (it would slow the
running speed down) and secondly wouldn't the programmer have
to input that sort of information?
I
also had a slight, but only very slight, problem keeping up
with all the new names introduced as the stories unfolded.
That's a general problem with books of this type, and to be
honest wasn't something that was overly problematic.
The
conclusion to both crimes was interesting. While you'll probably
work out the true account of the family slaying before the
final reveal, it's doubtful that you'll be able to work out
the killer behind the religious murders - there are so many
red herrings along the way.
On
the whole this is an almost faultless execution of a gripping
CSI: NY tale.
Nick
Smithson
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