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CSI: Crime Scene Investigation #13
The Killing Jar
A teenager is found dead in his motel room, the cause of death: millipede poison...Now crime scene investigator Gil Grissom must aid CSI's Nick Stokes and Riley Adams against a serial killer whose knowledge of entomology rivals his own -- a brutal murderer who is not only using insects as the tools of destruction, but actually modeling the attacks after their behavior.... In the meantime, CSIs Catherine Willows and Greg Sanders must investigate a bizarre death, where the victim had gotten mixed up with two very different groups of people -- one involved in using and dealing crystal meth, the other an avant-garde group of artists -- a collision of subcultures where everyone is a suspect and nothing is as it seems....
345 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
2 people are currently reading
453 people want to read
About the author
Donn Cortez
36 books18 followersPseudonyms: Don DeBrandt & DD Barant
Donn Cortez is a pseudonym for Canadian author Don DeBrandt. Born in Saskatchewan, he currently lives in Vancouver, British Columbia. In addition to North America, his books have been published in Germany, France, Italy, and Russia. His influences include Spider Robinson and John D. MacDonald, among others.
He took a darker turn for The Closer, a hard-edged story about a serial killer hunting other serial killers.
His follow-up, The Man Burns Tonight (set at Burning Man) was more of a classic mystery. This was followed in rapid succession by five CSI: Miami tie-in novels and two CSI: Vegas novels.He has also contributed numerous pop-culture essays to BenBella’s SmartPop anthologies, on subjects such as Angel, Firefly, The Golden Compass, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, King Kong, the X-Men, Star Wars, and Star Trek.
He was the guest editor (as well as a contributor) to the essay anthology Investigating CSI.
Donn Cortez is a pseudonym for Canadian author Don DeBrandt. Born in Saskatchewan, he currently lives in Vancouver, British Columbia. In addition to North America, his books have been published in Germany, France, Italy, and Russia. His influences include Spider Robinson and John D. MacDonald, among others.
He took a darker turn for The Closer, a hard-edged story about a serial killer hunting other serial killers.
His follow-up, The Man Burns Tonight (set at Burning Man) was more of a classic mystery. This was followed in rapid succession by five CSI: Miami tie-in novels and two CSI: Vegas novels.He has also contributed numerous pop-culture essays to BenBella’s SmartPop anthologies, on subjects such as Angel, Firefly, The Golden Compass, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, King Kong, the X-Men, Star Wars, and Star Trek.
He was the guest editor (as well as a contributor) to the essay anthology Investigating CSI.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
June 23, 2015
Was part way through when I realized I'd read this before. The Aussie entomologist and his wasps were kind of hard to forget. :p
April 14, 2016
about the author:
Pseudonyms: Don DeBrandt & DD Barant
Donn Cortez is a pseudonym for Canadian author Don DeBrandt. Born in Saskatchewan, he currently lives in Vancouver, British Columbia. In addition to North America, his books have been published in Germany, France, Italy, and Russia. His influences include Spider Robinson and John D. MacDonald, among others.
He took a darker turn for The Closer, a hard-edged story about a serial killer hunting other serial killers.
His follow-up, The Man Burns Tonight (set at Burning Man) was more of a classic mystery. This was followed in rapid succession by five CSI: Miami tie-in novels and two CSI: Vegas novels.He has also contributed numerous pop-culture essays to BenBella’s SmartPop anthologies, on subjects such as Angel, Firefly, The Golden Compass, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, King Kong, the X-Men, Star Wars, and Star Trek.
He was the guest editor (as well as a contributor) to the essay anthology Investigating CSI
book synopsis:
A teenager is found dead in his motel room, the cause of death: millipede poison...Now crime scene investigator Gil Grissom must aid CSI's Nick Stokes and Riley Adams against a serial killer whose knowledge of entomology rivals his own -- a brutal murderer who is not only using insects as the tools of destruction, but actually modeling the attacks after their behavior.... In the meantime, CSIs Catherine Willows and Greg Sanders must investigate a bizarre death, where the victim had gotten mixed up with two very different groups of people -- one involved in using and dealing crystal meth, the other an avant-garde group of artists -- a collision of subcultures where everyone is a suspect and nothing is as it seems
My rating: 5 stars
Challenges I used it for :
The Life of a Book Addict
Reading Group Challenge 2016 > Elizabeth's 2016 Reading Corner Challenge 12 plus 4 alternatives ( one of the 4 alternatives)
19th to the 25th of January 2016! #RYBSAT Round 7
what did I think of the story:
I loved it, it was a great read, had me hooked from the start and wouldn't let go, love how it was like I was watching the TV show all over again.
Pseudonyms: Don DeBrandt & DD Barant
Donn Cortez is a pseudonym for Canadian author Don DeBrandt. Born in Saskatchewan, he currently lives in Vancouver, British Columbia. In addition to North America, his books have been published in Germany, France, Italy, and Russia. His influences include Spider Robinson and John D. MacDonald, among others.
He took a darker turn for The Closer, a hard-edged story about a serial killer hunting other serial killers.
His follow-up, The Man Burns Tonight (set at Burning Man) was more of a classic mystery. This was followed in rapid succession by five CSI: Miami tie-in novels and two CSI: Vegas novels.He has also contributed numerous pop-culture essays to BenBella’s SmartPop anthologies, on subjects such as Angel, Firefly, The Golden Compass, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, King Kong, the X-Men, Star Wars, and Star Trek.
He was the guest editor (as well as a contributor) to the essay anthology Investigating CSI
book synopsis:
A teenager is found dead in his motel room, the cause of death: millipede poison...Now crime scene investigator Gil Grissom must aid CSI's Nick Stokes and Riley Adams against a serial killer whose knowledge of entomology rivals his own -- a brutal murderer who is not only using insects as the tools of destruction, but actually modeling the attacks after their behavior.... In the meantime, CSIs Catherine Willows and Greg Sanders must investigate a bizarre death, where the victim had gotten mixed up with two very different groups of people -- one involved in using and dealing crystal meth, the other an avant-garde group of artists -- a collision of subcultures where everyone is a suspect and nothing is as it seems
My rating: 5 stars
Challenges I used it for :
The Life of a Book Addict
Reading Group Challenge 2016 > Elizabeth's 2016 Reading Corner Challenge 12 plus 4 alternatives ( one of the 4 alternatives)
19th to the 25th of January 2016! #RYBSAT Round 7
what did I think of the story:
I loved it, it was a great read, had me hooked from the start and wouldn't let go, love how it was like I was watching the TV show all over again.
February 1, 2022
Not my favorite of the group. A little bit over my head with the science and that made it difficult to follow.
Also, very creepy. If you're grossed out by anything with more than four legs, you should take a pass on this one. I wish I had.
Stepping back from the creep factor, there is solid mystery and suspense here, maybe a twist in it as well. There are a lot more parties involved in this story than need to be so there is some confusion, too.
Also, very creepy. If you're grossed out by anything with more than four legs, you should take a pass on this one. I wish I had.
Stepping back from the creep factor, there is solid mystery and suspense here, maybe a twist in it as well. There are a lot more parties involved in this story than need to be so there is some confusion, too.
July 19, 2024
Dit boek had me gelijk vanaf het begin. Ondanks dat ik echt geen insectenmens ben, vond ik het wel interessant. Het verhaal is goed opgebouwd en blijft door de verschillende plottwisten ook spannend.
Ik raad dit boek zeker aan, vooral aan CSI-fans uit de tijd dat Grissom nog in de serie zat. In dit boek lees je grotendeels over zijn zicht op de zaak die met entomologie te maken heeft. Erg leuk om zijn zienswijze daarover te lezen en net als in de serie is hij er erg serieus over.
Ik raad dit boek zeker aan, vooral aan CSI-fans uit de tijd dat Grissom nog in de serie zat. In dit boek lees je grotendeels over zijn zicht op de zaak die met entomologie te maken heeft. Erg leuk om zijn zienswijze daarover te lezen en net als in de serie is hij er erg serieus over.
June 6, 2017
This is a fun one. An entomology convention brings along a string of insectoid murders tailor-made for Grissom, while Catherine and Greg investigate a volcano-obsessed Hawaiian millionaire who died with his lungs full of hardened wax. Murder? Suicide? Something even stranger? Only the evidence can tell...
December 21, 2020
The 13th book in the CSI series. Fast-paced and entertaining.
January 31, 2021
Grissom does it again
December 14, 2024
So far my favourite CSI book!
February 16, 2025
The main characters are portrayed well, but the killer's methods are too o.t.t to believable.
September 12, 2022
1.5 actually
February 17, 2017
I loved this as a TV Show, and reading to books are a good experience. They are a Good read.
January 31, 2010
You can guarantee that life for the members of CSI is never boring.
Gil Grissom and his team have their hands full with a new murder case. Only this one is a little different. A teenage boy was found in a motel room dead. He was killed by a millipede. Someone is killing people using deadly bugs to kill people. This killer has a very extensive knowledge about insects and their behaviors. Grissom will have to ask help from his fellow entomologists to solve the murders,
The Killing Jar is book thirteen in this line of books based around the hit television series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. These books can be read as stand alone novels. I have only watched a few episodes of this series and have to say that this book was a close second to the series. This book had all the elements that make CSI good, though there were just a few parts in the middle of the book where it moved a little slow for me. The plot for this book was intriguing. Who knew that there were so many different deadly insects that you could use to kill someone. Though, from what I read millipedes do not produce poison but they do produce stinky odors. Fans of CSI, who have not read these books, should check them out.
Gil Grissom and his team have their hands full with a new murder case. Only this one is a little different. A teenage boy was found in a motel room dead. He was killed by a millipede. Someone is killing people using deadly bugs to kill people. This killer has a very extensive knowledge about insects and their behaviors. Grissom will have to ask help from his fellow entomologists to solve the murders,
The Killing Jar is book thirteen in this line of books based around the hit television series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. These books can be read as stand alone novels. I have only watched a few episodes of this series and have to say that this book was a close second to the series. This book had all the elements that make CSI good, though there were just a few parts in the middle of the book where it moved a little slow for me. The plot for this book was intriguing. Who knew that there were so many different deadly insects that you could use to kill someone. Though, from what I read millipedes do not produce poison but they do produce stinky odors. Fans of CSI, who have not read these books, should check them out.
March 5, 2011
This was probably the worst CSI: book I've read. Usually I can't put a CSI: book down because I can't wait to find out who did it. This one I couldn't put down because I wanted to get to the end and get it over with. The ending was a major let down. The constant jumps between the two cases was irritating and usually pointless. I think the author was trying to capture the witty-banter-cut-to-a-commerical style of the show...but what works in a TV show often doesn't work well in a book. I found it difficult to keep up with each case because I'd get about 2 tidbits of information before a page break and then...onto the next case. Usually it left me going, "Wait, who was this person again?" and I'd have to flip back a few pages (usually only one or two, because of the constant jumping between cases) and read again what had happened in the previous scene.
The characters were flat (though this wasn't the worst part, since I know the characters well enough that I can fill in facial expressions, etc.) and the cases were uninteresting and disappointing.
If you want to read a good CSI: book, go to either Max Allan Collins' or Jeff Mariotte's works.
The characters were flat (though this wasn't the worst part, since I know the characters well enough that I can fill in facial expressions, etc.) and the cases were uninteresting and disappointing.
If you want to read a good CSI: book, go to either Max Allan Collins' or Jeff Mariotte's works.
September 15, 2010
Las Vegas has a serial killer that uses bugs as murder weapons. At the same time, there's a entomology seminar going on in town. Grissom suspects one of the experts is his killer. The first victim is a teenager bound to a bed with plastic taped around his head. Inside the bag are a species of centipede that emits a cyanide gas. A swarm of killer bees in a motel room kills the occupant and a teenage boy when the door is opened.
At the same time, Catharine and Greg are investigating the death of a Hawaiin male found encased in wax, also inside his lungs, found in the desert.
At the same time, Catharine and Greg are investigating the death of a Hawaiin male found encased in wax, also inside his lungs, found in the desert.
April 25, 2015
The Killing Jar is the thirteenth installment of the original CSI tie-in series. Donn Cortez wrote it, and did so beautifully. Grissom is put to the test when a teenager is found poisoned by millipedes by someone who knows as much about creepy crawlies as he does. I don't think they ever did an episode that put Grissom to a challenge such as that, and it was awesome to see it happen, as well as be able to interpret it for myself.
September 21, 2010
As I joked on Twitter: it should not take me longer to read a CSI novel than it does to watch an episode, counting chapter breaks as commercials. Still, it was an entertaining read and pretty well plotted out.
January 11, 2011
really liked it, read it in dutch first. I liked it so much that i bought it in english. and in english i liked it even more. it is just so wel written and the fact that it is in the world of bugs for some reason makes it even better
January 30, 2010
great book ;)
Want to read
September 11, 2010I bought this in May, but I hadn't added it up until now...
March 11, 2011
Haven't been crazy about the books this guy has written in this series and this one is no exception.
September 1, 2012
A great CSI novel. Very interesting
July 20, 2014
I enjoyed this book, I enjoy the television series and it was a quick read. The main characters in the book were characters of the TV series.
February 13, 2015
Well researched, non-shiped, FanFic.
May 18, 2015
review volgt later
March 27, 2016
Fun little CSI novel, not sure if it was based on an episode or not, but if so, I didn't see it. Although it did follow the plot of the series. Nothing amazing or special, just a nice little read.
February 9, 2016
Not a good book It can't keep me focused on the story
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews