"Nevada Rose" Demille was one of the most beautiful and desired sports groupies in Las Vegas, a fixture at the trendiest casinos and clubs on the Strip. But the endless party came to a tragic end the morning her nude body was found bound and gagged in her home. As crime scene investigators Catherine Willows and Warrick Brown dig deeper, all roads (and a growing media circus) lead to Mark Baker -- a.k.a. "The Fireball" -- a hard-throwing, Cooperstown-bound major-league pitcher and fancier of gorgeous women who recently conducted a very public affair with one "Nevada Rose" Demille....
Meanwhile, miles away on the grounds of a world-class championship golf course, Gil Grissom is probing the macabre discovery of a John Doe -- an intense investigation that will unearth a bitter sibling rivalry twisted by jealousy and distrust over a "Nevada Rose" of a very different nature....
Jerome Preisler is the prolific author of almost forty books of fiction and narrative nonfiction, including all eight novels in the New York Times bestselling TOM CLANCY'S POWER PLAYS series.
His latest book is NET FORCE:DARK WEB (November 2019), the first novel in a relaunch of the New York Times bestselling series co-created by Tom Clancy. Forthcoming in May 2020 is the enovella NET FORCE: EYE OF THE DRONE.
Among Jerome's recent works of narrative history are CODE NAME CAESAR: The Secret Hunt for U-boat 864 During World War Two, and FIRST TO JUMP: How the Band of Brothers Was Aided by the Brave Paratroopers of Pathfinders Company. His next book of nonfiction, CIVIL WAR COMMANDO: William Cushing's Daring Raid to Sink the Invincible Ironclad C.S.S. Albemarle,will be published by Regnery Books in October 2020.
This book was BORING...I own and have read the majority of the previous CSI books and Nevada Rose was not even remotely up to standards. It could be due to the change in author- however even CSI Miami and CSI NY done by other authors aren't as captivating as that of Max Allan Collins, yet they still far surpass that of this novel by Jerome Preisler.
It may be due to the continuous fact stating, or maybe the lack of suspense...but the outcome of this book seemed to typical and way too predictable.
I was a huge fan of CSI on TV growing up, and reading this brought back those feels and I did enjoy investigating with Grissom and the gang again. Similar to the TV series, there were two cases in this one that the team split up to investigate. I see from other reviews that this one isn't the best, so very much looking forward to reading others. Only wish Nick featured a bit more in this one, it was almost as though he wasn't involved in the investigations at all!
1. I was unaware up until this book that our intrepid CSIs had anything approaching "rank." Mr. Preisler, I am unamused with your fact-checking.
2. What is this mysterious flood that keeps being referenced? I keep feeling that there should have been some sort of episode lead-in, like they do on the show - you know, rain, thunder, lightning, the body being washed down the mountain...Instead, zip, nada, nothing. I even googled to see if Las Vegas had been flooded any time in the past two years or so, beyond the typical flash floods (which are normal, Mr. New Yorker).
3. I am rather put out by the fact that the plot spent so much time with a unnamed, perhaps-crazy man and his woman (women?) that left this reader struggling to untangle the pronouns (and author's motivation). I was especially peeved since this directorial choice seemed to have been made at the expense of a main character - Nick Stokes, who appeared for exactly 5 pages out of 289. I've concluded in the past that tie-in novels are perhaps not the best way to get more of your favorite characters, unless they are Truly Main Characters, but five pages? Cripes.
4. Oh, lol, Sara calling people 'whippersnappers.' Haha, *headdesk*
5. Wow, another case hinging partly on a suspect's homosexuality. Color me unimpressed.
6. Very odd, sudden change in narrative style on page 270 - Mr. Preisler, here are a few verbs. No need to thank me.
I really wish the original author of the CSI books had not stopped writing them; in my opinion, he was a much better writer of these stories than the two I have just read. This one WAS better than #9 was, but it still had flaws [for me, who loved the show first and came into the books much later] and some of the writing was stilted. The stories were not bad overall, but at points, getting to the end was taking just a little too long [again IMO].
Overall, a decent read. Not fabulous, but not hideous either. A nice average read.
This was an okay short read. I don't usually care for criminal novels but this one was all right I guess.
Though I really didn't like the parts between that man and a woman - it was distracting, it was annoying and when we finally find out who they were it's just ... boring and not really a plot twist.
Enjoyed this book. However I like all the CSIs Each case keeps your mind working. Sometimes the right solution comes about fast sometimes not. I enjoy the characters. They seem very believable maybe due to TV. However the book lacks the Nick character.
Ik weet niet zo heel goed hoe ik dit boek moet omschrijven... Een boek met een verhaal wat ik persoonlijk niet direct heel boeiend vind, maar daarentegen wel interessant genoeg om het uit te lezen.
Oh dear the CSI novel timeline is once again shifted. Although in the novels publishing order Nevada Rose follows In Extremis it is in the written world seemingly placed between In Extremis and Snake Eyes (or very possibly even before Snake Eyes). But even then it doesn’t quite fit.
In Nevada Rose the CSI teams are once again split in to being Graveyard Shift and Swing Shift whereas in the novel In Extremis they are once again one team. If we are to follow the timeline mentioned at the beginning of Snake Eyes that novel takes place just prior to the time when the CSI teams merge back together. Which follows with In Extremis taking place afterwards. Snake Eyes also mentions Warrick’s impending marriage although his soon to be wife is not actually seen in the novel whereas in Nevada Rose he is said to be divorced from his wife. Which means he has either married and divorced in a very short space of time (placing Nevada Rose between Snake Eyes and In Extremis) or he got divorced prior to even being married (placing Nevada Rose before Snake Eyes). Of course having different authors is going to skew the timeline slightly but keeping it cannon would have been nice just because it makes it easier to read and follow the action without constantly trying to readjust your mindset to a different period of CSI history.
The storylines and characterisations are alright. They are not the same as the Max Allan Collins books (which I am currently believing to be the best minus a few hiccups) where the standard was very high but at least it isn’t as bad as In Extremis.
I liked how there was some development to Sara and Grissom – with their relationship being more obvious in this novel whereas it was only hinted at in others. Although it does make the timeline a bit difficult again. It was interesting to hear a little about one of Sara’s foster homes and her reaction to the Belcher case.
The Rose Demille case was also interesting and I didn’t actually guess who the killer was so that at least was interesting. I did like the twist with Matt Baker and wasn’t really expecting it.
Definitely not the worst CSI book but not the best either.
I really liked this book - I enjoyed the Catherine/warrick dynamic that was never resolved on tv (a real shame!) and I liked the comedy - with Catherine moving Grissom's chess pieces without realising he knew but he wouldn't tell her because he didn't want her to know he knew. The only downsides for me were too much Grissom/Sara - I know the pairing are cannon and have a popular following but I felt like this was being thrown down my throat a little too much. Also Nick's blink and you'll miss it cameo was a little sad. I always find Nick to be a great character to watch and read, so a little disappointed he wasn't in it. The storyline is a bit whack - Warrick divorced before he was married?!
However all that said I think this is my second, maybe third favourite CSI book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
A crime by any other name is still a crime, and Gil Grissom and his team are determined to do what they do best and get to the bottom of things. Two cases under the same name, The Nevada Rose have the crime lab puzzled and in order to figure out whodunnit, they have to dive both into celebrity gossip and into the caves of Las Vegas.
Entertaining as always! The CSI novels are some of my favorite comfort reads, and this one had me gripped start to finish with two unique mysteries that felt very in character for the television show.
I have read and enjoyed other books in the series. The other book I have read were all by Max Allen Collins. I like the way he wrote them better than the new guy. Jerome’s writing was harder to follow because he would switch cases almost every paragraph so the writing was a little hard to follow.
A fun read, though it's upsetting to see that not only does Nick get the shaft in the show he does the same in this book, barely more than a few pages, it's sad really.