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CSI: Crime Scene Investigation #14
Blood Quantum
Following a free-spending night at an exclusive Las Vegas nightclub, the chairman of the Grey Rock Paiute Tribe is found brutally murdered in his home, a cryptic message scrawled on a wall in his own blood. Soon, crime scene investigators Ray Langston and Nick Stokes have their hands full with a growing mystery -- already surrounded by controversy, the victim appears to have met his end from a crime of revenge, but the chairman's inner circle isn't talking about who or why...quickly leading to an escalation of violent retribution....
At the same time, Catherine Willows and Greg Sanders investigate the mysterious shooting of a homeless man on the palatial estate of Helena Cameron -- the widow of one of Sin City's first casino tycoons. At first, it seems like an open-and-shut case of trespassing and self-defense...but the CSIs soon uncover layer upon layer of heartbreak and tragedy in connection to a family keeping secrets as old as Las Vegas itself....
At the same time, Catherine Willows and Greg Sanders investigate the mysterious shooting of a homeless man on the palatial estate of Helena Cameron -- the widow of one of Sin City's first casino tycoons. At first, it seems like an open-and-shut case of trespassing and self-defense...but the CSIs soon uncover layer upon layer of heartbreak and tragedy in connection to a family keeping secrets as old as Las Vegas itself....
311 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published February 23, 2010
About the author
Jeffrey J. Mariotte
162 books170 followersAlso writes as Jeff Mariotte
Jeffrey J. Mariotte is the bestselling, award-winning author of more than 70 novels, including the thriller Flesh of All Sorrows, the Cody Cavanaugh western series, historical western epic Blood and Gold: The Legend of Joaquin Murrieta (with Peter Murrieta), thrillers Empty Rooms and The Devil's Bait, supernatural thrillers Season of the Wolf, Missing White Girl, River Runs Red, and Cold Black Hearts, horror epic The Slab, and the Dark Vengeance teen horror quartet. With wife and writing partner Marsheila (Marcy) Rockwell, he wrote the sf/horror/thriller 7 SYKOS and Mafia III: Plain of Jars, the authorized prequel to the bestselling video game. as a publisher and partner in Silverado Press, he won a Spur Award from the Western Writers of America for his anthology Silverado Press Presents: Western Stories by Today's Top Writers, Volume 1. His most recent releases are the novella Billy the Kid: Cheat the Hangman, and the dark thriller Flesh of All Sorrows.
He also writes occasional nonfiction, short fiction (some of which is collected in Nine Frights), and comic books, including the long-running horror/Western comic book series Desperadoes and graphic novels Fade to Black and Zombie Cop. With Marsheila Rockwell, he has published several short stories and is working on more. He has worked in virtually every aspect of the book business, as a writer, editor, marketing executive, and bookseller.
Learn more at www.jeffmariotte.com, and follow him at https://www.facebook.com/JeffreyJMari... and @JeffMariotte on Twitter.
Also writes as Jeff Mariotte
Jeffrey J. Mariotte is the bestselling, award-winning author of more than 70 novels, including the thriller Flesh of All Sorrows, the Cody Cavanaugh western series, historical western epic Blood and Gold: The Legend of Joaquin Murrieta (with Peter Murrieta), thrillers Empty Rooms and The Devil's Bait, supernatural thrillers Season of the Wolf, Missing White Girl, River Runs Red, and Cold Black Hearts, horror epic The Slab, and the Dark Vengeance teen horror quartet. With wife and writing partner Marsheila (Marcy) Rockwell, he wrote the sf/horror/thriller 7 SYKOS and Mafia III: Plain of Jars, the authorized prequel to the bestselling video game. as a publisher and partner in Silverado Press, he won a Spur Award from the Western Writers of America for his anthology Silverado Press Presents: Western Stories by Today's Top Writers, Volume 1. His most recent releases are the novella Billy the Kid: Cheat the Hangman, and the dark thriller Flesh of All Sorrows.
He also writes occasional nonfiction, short fiction (some of which is collected in Nine Frights), and comic books, including the long-running horror/Western comic book series Desperadoes and graphic novels Fade to Black and Zombie Cop. With Marsheila Rockwell, he has published several short stories and is working on more. He has worked in virtually every aspect of the book business, as a writer, editor, marketing executive, and bookseller.
Learn more at www.jeffmariotte.com, and follow him at https://www.facebook.com/JeffreyJMari... and @JeffMariotte on Twitter.
Also writes as Jeff Mariotte
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
March 13, 2010
As in the series, two threads run through this novel. Our favorite crew investigates.
In one, the Cameron family is one of old. rich Vegas families. It had had it's share of tragedies over the years. Ten years before, the father and son had simply disappeared. A few months ago, the daughter went missing. Both mother and daughter suffered from the same debilitating illness that will eventually kill them.
Now a security guard has shot and killed a homeless man wandering the grounds. In his pocket is a piece of paper with the security code of the front gate lock.
The crime lab is there to investigate why.
In the second, Chairman Domingo of the Grey Rock Paiute Reservation is found with his skull caved in, the word quantum written on the wall in blood.
The phrase Blood Quantum refers to the method each native American tribe determines membership in order to splits proceeds from casinos or oil leases. The Grey Paiutes own a lucrative casino and Domingo had recently changed the parameters for membership. less than fifty percent blood and you were no longer a member of the tribe. That left folks, angry folks, who'd lived on the reservation all their lives told they were not native Americans. It didn't help that Domingo and others at the top lived a lavish lifestyle.
In one, the Cameron family is one of old. rich Vegas families. It had had it's share of tragedies over the years. Ten years before, the father and son had simply disappeared. A few months ago, the daughter went missing. Both mother and daughter suffered from the same debilitating illness that will eventually kill them.
Now a security guard has shot and killed a homeless man wandering the grounds. In his pocket is a piece of paper with the security code of the front gate lock.
The crime lab is there to investigate why.
In the second, Chairman Domingo of the Grey Rock Paiute Reservation is found with his skull caved in, the word quantum written on the wall in blood.
The phrase Blood Quantum refers to the method each native American tribe determines membership in order to splits proceeds from casinos or oil leases. The Grey Paiutes own a lucrative casino and Domingo had recently changed the parameters for membership. less than fifty percent blood and you were no longer a member of the tribe. That left folks, angry folks, who'd lived on the reservation all their lives told they were not native Americans. It didn't help that Domingo and others at the top lived a lavish lifestyle.
January 8, 2011
Really not much I can say about this particular book. It’s not particularly fantastic or terrible, but largely unmemorable. It’s the equivalent of me with a bag of chips to munch on as I’m working on stuff. If you’re fan of the TV show or just general crime procedurals, you’ll like this—the A story’s okay (with a lot of side-eyeing of how the Native-American plotline is handled; I’ve seen worse, but I cringed quite a bit), the B story’s fine, but it’s not going to really make me go “Oh sure, read it, it’s a good way to spend a Saturday afternoon.” Overall, meh.
July 23, 2024
Het eerste verhaal met Ray Langston. Een heel erg goed boek met 2 verschillende verhaallijnen die goed opgebouwd zijn. Het boek leest heerlijk weg en ik zat er ook helemaal in.
Het eind is verdrietig, maar mooi.
Deze staat in mijn top 3 van CSI-boeken en ik raad het zeker aan om dit boek te lezen.
Het eind is verdrietig, maar mooi.
Deze staat in mijn top 3 van CSI-boeken en ik raad het zeker aan om dit boek te lezen.
December 26, 2021
The 14th book in the CSI series. Fast-paced and entertaining.
February 19, 2025
Not the best of the csi books. The Native American reservation plot got a bit boring and just seemed to drag towards the end.
November 4, 2025
the amount of little inconsistencies kept pissing me off. character’s names kept getting switched randomly. like if her name is daria why are we suddenly calling her jennifer?
February 20, 2017
I loved this as a TV Show, and reading to books are a good experience. They are a Good read.
February 15, 2017
I enjoyed this book a lot, it was easy to read and kept me interested and engaged the whole way through. All of the characters was likeable, and there was quite some descriptions that made me smile in a good way, I really enjoyed the book.
November 15, 2010
I was fortunate enough to meet the author and get a signed copy at the Tucson Comic Convention! Mr. Mariotte is a very nice gentleman with a good sense of the characters of the show!
Like the last book I read of his, Brass in Pocket, it kept me guessing the whole time, with a truly CSI: worthy twist at the end. The characters are well done, though admittedly they don't jump off the page as they did with Max Allen Collin's novels in the CSI: series. But they were still spot-on.
I did catch a little whoopsie in the science. Not to give too much away, but there was one point where they were trying to figure out who their dead body was, so they needed fingerprints. Instead of, well, fingerprinting the body (which would likely be easier) they fingerprinted the slips of paper he had been keeping in his pockets. Hmm...If there was a reason to fingerprint the paper over the dead body, it wasn't explained in the novel. Other than that, the science was interesting but not overly complicated.
If you like CSI: this is another good read!
Like the last book I read of his, Brass in Pocket, it kept me guessing the whole time, with a truly CSI: worthy twist at the end. The characters are well done, though admittedly they don't jump off the page as they did with Max Allen Collin's novels in the CSI: series. But they were still spot-on.
I did catch a little whoopsie in the science. Not to give too much away, but there was one point where they were trying to figure out who their dead body was, so they needed fingerprints. Instead of, well, fingerprinting the body (which would likely be easier) they fingerprinted the slips of paper he had been keeping in his pockets. Hmm...If there was a reason to fingerprint the paper over the dead body, it wasn't explained in the novel. Other than that, the science was interesting but not overly complicated.
If you like CSI: this is another good read!
May 30, 2010
Utter, utter brain candy. Absolutely nothing redeemable about such novels but they force my brain into a glorious candy like stupor for an hour or two.
September 1, 2012
Not bad. Still not a fan of how he writers Catherine. A whole muffin is too much food for her?
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews