Snake Eyes

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation #8

by Max Allan Collins

Luck is on the side of most during the incident at the Four Kings Casino and Hotel, when the simmering tension between two rival biker gangs suddenly boils over into all-out violence -- miraculously, there are only two fatalities despite the hundreds of rounds fired on the casino floor. Called to an out-of-control crime scene -- located outside Las Vegas in the legendary town of Boot Hill -- forensic investigators Gil Grissom, Catherine Willows, Nick Stokes, and Sara Sidle quickly discover that the two casino shootout victims were no innocent one was the powerful leader of the Predator gang, and the other a luckless card dealer who may have borne witness to an elaborately staged execution.

Meanwhile, back in the glitter of Sin City, CSIs Warrick Brown and Greg Sanders have their own hands full, as the dark side of this desert metropolis is about to wreak havoc on the two investigators via a seemingly endless series of crimes. . . .

Genres: Mystery, Crime, Fiction, Thriller, Media Tie In, Tv, Mystery Thriller

262 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published August 29, 2006

About the author

Received the Shamus Award, "The Eye" (Lifetime achievment award) in 2006.

He has also published under the name Patrick Culhane. He and his wife, Barbara Collins, have written several books together. Some of them are published under the name Barbara Allan.

Book Awards
Shamus Awards Best Novel winner (1984) : True Detective
Shamus Awards Best Novel winner (1992) : Stolen Away
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (1995) : Carnal Hours
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (1997) : Damned in Paradise
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (1999) : Flying Blind: A Novel about Amelia Earhart
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (2002) : Angel in Black

Japanese: マックス・アラン・コリンズ
or マックス・アラン コリンズ

Reviews

[Mauri · Rating 4 out of 5]

That's right. Not content with just spending 3-4 hours a day watching the show this summer, I branched out into tie-in novels. This one wasn't bad, from the standards of tie-in novels. The B-plot especially was enjoyable - I can believe that there must be some nights where the CSIs are just popping in and out of the lab working on an endless series of cases.

One twitchy point: Grissom's "Greg-I'm proud of you." line at the very end. Greg was deserving of the praise - I just don't think Grissom is the sort to just come out and say it.

Otherwise, my only other quibble was at the beginning, where the author seemed to be struggling with handling his huge cast. It was better once the two teams split up, but the A plot, with four CSIs to juggle, suffered a bit, especially in comparison to the Warrick-Greg moments in this novel.

Complaints aside, it only took me a day to read and I'll definitely be picking up another.

[B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another one in the series (and I'm reading them all out of order - whenever I happen on one I grab it) that serves as an "in between" to the show - cases that happened off-screen, if you will. It's set in Boot Hill and I think my biggest takeaway from this one was that I now want to visit Boot Hill Nevada. The book started off strong, but wrapped up a little too quickly for my tastes when it came to the climax and resolution of the main arc. There were three separate, smaller arcs that were also wrapped up too quickly, so much so that it became unrealistic- there just aren't enough hours in the day to make those things happen all at once. That being said, it's not accuracy that these books are focused on, and you have to read them in that spirit. Yes, these speedy wrap-ups decreased my enjoyment some, but this was still a fun read.

[Jess The dark in mansfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

Che dire se non che è il perfetto romanzo Crime? Voglio dire per una che è cresciuta guardando CSI e vari non c’è nulla di meglio.
È stato come ritornare a casa, anzi è stato meglio perché qui possiamo entrare veramente nella mente dei personaggi che abbiamo imparato a conoscere ed amare in tutti questi anni.
.....
L’apertura di questo romanzo non poteva essere migliore, un sparatoria in un casinò fuori Las Vegas? Metà del dipartimento occupato ed i tre restanti alla base sommersi da chiamate.
.....
insomma in meno di 24 ore ne passerà di acqua sotto i ponti prima che i casi vengano chiusi.
Catherine, Grissom, Sara e Nick dovranno vedersela con ben due bande di motociclisti e questa assurda scena del crimine che non porta solo domande.
.....
Circa duecento pagine che si leggono fin troppo alla svelta, soprattutto se si fa partire la colonna sonora della serie tv, e di cui senti la mancanza appena poggi il libro. Specialmente di personaggi che conosci da una vita.

La Ragazza di Jane Austen/
The dark in Mansfield

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written in the typical CSI style, this book does well to depict the CSI characters that we have come to love and enjoy on the TV series. I could easily picture the actors in their roles and could see them doing the things written in this book.

This book covers one big CSI case while a bunch of little cases happens for Warrick and Greg as they cover for the night shift crew.

Great, easy read.

[Darinda · Rating 3 out of 5]

The 8th book in the CSI series. Fast-paced and entertaining.

[Ivana Richards · Rating 2 out of 5]

The central plot was very good, but I could have done without the 4 or 5 cases that Warwick and Greg miraculously solved during the course of a single night.

[Hanna Vriens · Rating 4 out of 5]

personbaly, maybe it wasn't the main plot. But I loved the plot with Warrick and Greg. The other one wasn't as good written as usual, but still very enjoyable.

[Άρτεμις Γκ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Βασίζεται στην ομώνυμη τηλεοπτική σειρά και διαβάζεται ευχάριστα! Θα ήθελα να διαβάσω και τα υπόλοιπα της σειράς!

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

As of July 2010 this is the final CSI novel to be written by Max Allan Collins. I’m quite disappointed by this as I have very much enjoyed reading the CSI books he has written although I am looking forward to seeing how the other author tackle the series.


Thankfully this book comes with a little note at the beginning to help the reader to get in the correct time frame which the novel takes place in. I am very grateful for this piece of information as it is often difficult to place yourself in to correct period of time. Especially given the books tend to follow quite far behind the television air dates which can make the time leap quite jarring.

I found the storylines in this book to be very interesting reads. I especially enjoyed the relationship between Greg and Warrick and having the pair of them separated from the others and working together back in Vegas. It was also nice to be able to see just how Greg is adjusting from being a lab rat to a CSI. The Greg and Warrick stuff though is very much a background storyline playing second fiddle to the larger storyline which takes place in Boot Hill.

I was quite surprised with the direction the Boot Hill storyline took and was very much surprised by who the killer actually was. The bits that occurred in the police station, were very edge of your seat and definitely had me reading frantically to find out just what was going to happen. Of course I knew to an extent what wasn’t going to happen (i.e. the main CSI’s getting killed) because obviously that doesn’t happen in the TV show and nothing in the books changes the TV cannon. So in that respect there is sometimes a lack of suspense but it’s still pretty good reading.

I think Max Allan Collins has done well with the CSI books he has written. Again Tomas appears but I doubt we’ll hear any more from him in the future novels. The author has captured the characters in a way to keep them true to their television counterparts while still giving little bits of extra information here and there.

One little thing I did like was a possible reference to the television show Friends and the couple Ross and Rachel. On page 180 a breakfast cook called Mr Ross is mentioned at a place called Rachel’s. I thought that was kind of cute

[Harold Shaver · Rating 5 out of 5]

Likr all the rest of Max Collins work these CSI novelizations are as thoroughly researched and thought out as it is possible to be. The CSI series in fact was my first introduction to Collins' work and I was hooked from the get go. In the pages of these novels you get to know way more about each of the character and what makes them who they are. Further you don't have to "cast" the books as you read them unless, unlikely as it might be, you have never seen any of the TV shows. You don't have to rely on his in text descriptions because you know what they look and sound like and it give the characters even more depth.

Just as in the shows each novel is not just about a single case but follows the entire CSI staff on their various cases. In this one the "main" thread is a story about a shootout between rival bike gangs in a small Nevada town about 60 miles from Las Vegas, that left numerous people wounded and two people dead, the leader of one of the gangs and a young blackjack dealer at the Casino where it all went down. The town is in the LV CSI lab's jurisdiction and Catherine, Grissom, NIck Sara and Sofia are all hustled off to work the massive crime scene there while Grag and Warrick hold down the fort back home. It is and intense and busy 24 hour period chronicled in such a manner as to keep you turning page after page until it is all resolved.

[Stephen Levesque · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this as a TV Show, and reading to books are a good experience. They are a Good read.

[Excalibur Snape · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just love the Vegas crew or who I fondly refer to as the Original. I need my Grisim he is totally amazing.
The writing style of this book is amazing.
The story is amazing.
It is fast pace and entertaining.
Out of all the books in this series this one ranks as one of my top five.
Another favorite character of mine is Brass.
This book has a lot of reference to the wild, wild west.
It centers around one major case and four little ones.
It has drama and it has action it has a little bit of everything for everyone.
The characters are just everyday people and I really like that.
I also sort of have an odd fascination with Vegas I mean come on its Vegas Sin city a Disneyland for adults.

[Jennifer Wardrip · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great CSI read, good for an evening's entertainment.

While Catherine, Grissom, Sara, and Nick are called away to Boot Hill to deal with the aftereffects of a shoot out in a casino, Warrick, Greg, and Captain Brass must deal with a seemingly never-ending series of violent crimes back in Vegas.

Highly recommended for fans of the television show!

[EZ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of the CSI books that I have read this is the most original as far as the storyline goes and seems like it would make a good episode for the TV series. It was very entertaining and well written with the characters being laid out well and the tension building as the story went. The only problem the book had is that it was a little on the predictable side otherwise a good short read.

[Gemma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great novel based on the tv show CSI. The novels are like an extension of the show, which is what they should be, and you do get the feeling when reading that should this be an episode, that is what the characters would be doing.

This one has a part that stands out as a favourite scene for me, when Captain Brass comments on Greg's driving ability. It make me laugh.

[Alarra · Rating 1 out of 5]

Trash. Needed something mindless to pass the time. As with all these tv mystery spin-offs, stretches two rather simple mysteries with unbelievable twists and obfuscations to fill the lengh of a small novel.

[Christa]

This one actually took place in a casino. The aftermath of the initial crime was a forensic dream. All different kinds of ammunition, etc.

[Anne Marshall · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another good CSI novel. Great insight to the character of Greg.

[Esk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lekker tussendoorboek!

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked the show during the Grissom years and find these books a great read.

[Lauren Easoz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy summer vacation read!

[Nancy Fredenburgh · Rating 5 out of 5]

CSI handles 2 cases. Typical CSI book.

[Musam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great addtion to the CSI books

[Tim Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can read my review at http://tims-reviews.blogspot.com/2017...

[Peter Hennessey]

Good