Rating: 
Summary: A Man's Work Is Never Done!
Review: Back for a third time, Shane Scully just can't just settle into his work at LAPD. Things keep getting in the way. He overhears the fiancee of a family friend joke about have poisoned his first two wives. He decides to check the guy out and not only is it not a joke, the guy is a protected government witness. Then his son, after being released from on of the LA gangs at a younger age, gets involved with the sister of one of the leaders of one of the gangs that is at war in LA. And, wouldn't you know it Shane's wife is head of the LAPD Task force trying to stop the gang warfare. She is not amused by this or several other things going on between Shane, his son and the gang leader. And then, just to further occupy his time, Shane gets involved in a sting operation which involves producing a movie. Doesn't leave much time for detective work, but it does keep things jumping throughout the book. Cannell is a good story teller and he does manage to weave the various threads of the story into an entertaining read.
Rating:
Summary: Fun, silly, and engaging
Review: Cannell manages in his Shane Scully novels to combine interesting and almost plausible plots with three-dimensional characters who talk and behave like real people. The dialogue is often brilliant, with terrific one liners and sarcasm to keep the reader's interest. My favorite characters with Cannell are the antagonists, in this case the contradictory Dennis Valentine and the squirmy, hilarious Nicky Marcela. The plot is entertaining enough, but I love the book for the interactions between the characters. Yes, everyone is uniformly handsome/gorgeous. Yes, there are shallow LA stereotypes on every page. The two main complaints I had were with the extraneous gang plot and the incredibly annoying character of Chooch, Shane's obnoxious and stupid son. I think Cannell writes the kind of books Stuart Woods attempts (but SW seems to lack the creativity and lively dialogue to be mentioned in the same breath).
Rating: 
Summary: Cannell's best Scully novel
Review: Having read all four Scully novels (of which "Hollywood Tough" is the third), I would say this is clearly the best one. Cannell does a good job of making sure you can enjoy this novel without reading the first two, the plot is fast and ingenious, and the ending easily justifies the time invested. I almost never read novels more than once, I'm on my third read of this one.If you've read the first two Scully novels and liked them both, you'll be interested to know that both are humbled in comparison to this. Even if you haven't, if you like crime novels, this one should be on the top of your list. Aside from everything else, just the things you learn about how Hollywood works makes the book fantastic, especially if the author's credibility regarding the subject matter is important to you. Most of us have read at least one political novel written by a "Washington insider"; this is a cop novel about Hollywood written by a crime novelist who's responsible for dozens of television series over 35 years, which makes it unique. Don't pass this one by.
Rating:
Summary: YOU OUGHTA BE IN PICTURES
Review: Hollywood-wise Stephen J. Cannell uses his vast knowledge of the entertainment industry to fuel this latest Shane Scully effort. While not as quickly paced or tightly plotted as the other entries, HOLLYWOOD TOUGH is an enjoyable read. Cannell may have too much going on, and the heroic efforts of Chooch manage to be more annoying than inspirational, but Shane and Alexa banter well, and it's interesting to see how the honchoes behind film-making operate.
A nice, if uneven, entry in this good series, though.
Rating:
Summary: Funny and Fast!
Review: I recognized the name Stephen Cannell as a producer but did not know he also wrote books. This was the first of Mr. Cannell's books I've read and I very quickly became a fan. I love his sense of humor and fast-paced style. Shane Scully is great and the interplay in this book between Scully and the major players of Hollywood is hilarious. I loved all the zany charaters Cannell introduces in this book, especially Nicky, the grifter who claims to have found Jesus. I like that Scully seems to be reevaluating his life and mellowing. His wife Alexa is one of the best female characters out there. She's strong, intelligent, and warm but can stand her ground with anyone. The fact that she is Scully's boss and he isn't threatened in the least by this shows his strength of character. Now, onto the other works by Mr. Cannell. Great book!
Rating:
Summary: Hollywood Tough: It's a Pleasure
Review: My New Year's resolution was to read new authors. I didn't want to give up old authors, but I felt that I wanted to look for great reads, whether for entertainment or enlightenment. I have so far kept that resolution. The only one I ever kept, probably because it was so pleasurable. I've liked most of Steven J. Cannell's television shows, but for some reason never had read his novels. Thank goodness I read HOLLYWOOD TOUGH because it was certainly a pleasurable, funny and thoughtful.
Shane Scully is due back on the LAPD after sick leave from his last caper. His wife Alexa, who is also on the force, has a friend, Nora, who is marrying a high profile Hollywood type. Through a chance comment by the fiancé, a run-in with a former informant, and the death of a woman, Scully in an undercover sting operation gets involved in making a Hollywood flick. The Hollywood scenarios are hilarious, but at the same time give us insight into the way films are made. Another converging storyline regarding Scully's son Cooch and his Mexican gang affiliation is harrowing and sad.
I everything about the book - language, fast and modern; characters, well fleshed out; and the way the disparate plot points come together to make a unified and satisfying whole. I plan on reading more Cannell in the future. It's a pleasure.
Rating: 
Summary: Essentially entertaining, but flawed
Review: Overall this Scully novel was a fairly entertaining read. However, it had two elements that kept it from being really good. The story had so many outrageous plots going on it was hard to keep track of who was doing what, and why we should care. Cannell left two of the plots hanging at the end, with no satisfactory conclusion, as though he got tired of dealing with them and wanted to move on. It left me feeling like I missed a chapter somewhere that explained what happened. Also, Cannell had an annoying literary "tic" of repetitive phrasing. It got to a point where, if I read the words "the little grifter" one more time, I thought I would scream. Some good copy editing should have eliminated this overuse of wording. The essential story held my interest and I'll continue to read his other novels, but this wasn't his best.
Rating:
Summary: Essentially entertaining, but flawed
Review: Overall this Scully novel was a fairly entertaining read. However, it had two elements that kept it from being really good. The story had so many outrageous plots going on it was hard to keep track of who was doing what, and why we should care. Cannell left two of the plots hanging at the end, with no satisfactory conclusion, as though he got tired of dealing with them and wanted to move on. It left me feeling like I missed a chapter somewhere that explained what happened. Also, Cannell had an annoying literary "tic" of repetitive phrasing. It got to a point where, if I read the words "the little grifter" one more time, I thought I would scream. Some good copy editing should have eliminated this overuse of wording. The essential story held my interest and I'll continue to read his other novels, but this wasn't his best.
Rating:
Summary: Passably entertaining, but little more than that
Review: Stephen Cannell for years was one of the big figures in television, the creator of such quality shows as the Rockford Files and such pieces of silliness as the A Team. Of late, however, his focus has been on novel writing, and while his books have never been great works of art, they also have been relatively fun reads. Unfortunately, Hollywood Tough, Cannell's latest Shane Scully novel, is much more A Team than Rockford Files. There are actually three storylines going on in this book. In one, Shane suspects his wife's friend's fiancee of being a murderer based on an offhand comment. In the second plot line, his wife is involved with investigating a gang murder. Finally, Shane works undercover as a movie producer to bring down a New Jersey mobster trying to make it big in Hollywood. This story tends to read more like a TV crime drama than a mystery novel. This makes it a fast, easy read but with no real depth. There is no real sense of plausibility: Shane goes undercover, but never really tries to learn anything about his role before he starts his work; he just makes it up as he goes along. There are no really good villains, and most of the characters are walking cliches, especially when dealing with the Hollywood types. It is too silly to be realistic, and too unsubtle to be satire. Clumsy as the writing is at times, Cannell retains enough of his ability to entertain to make this at least a so-so novel: it's worth three stars but barely. This one is best for Cannell fans; others should look elsewhere for a more well-written thriller.
Rating:
Summary: Passably entertaining, but little more than that
Review: Stephen Cannell for years was one of the big figures in television, the creator of such quality shows as the Rockford Files and such pieces of silliness as the A Team. Of late, however, his focus has been on novel writing, and while his books have never been great works of art, they also have been relatively fun reads. Unfortunately, Hollywood Tough, Cannell's latest Shane Scully novel, is much more A Team than Rockford Files. There are actually three storylines going on in this book. In one, Shane suspects his wife's friend's fiancee of being a murderer based on an offhand comment. In the second plot line, his wife is involved with investigating a gang murder. Finally, Shane works undercover as a movie producer to bring down a New Jersey mobster trying to make it big in Hollywood. This story tends to read more like a TV crime drama than a mystery novel. This makes it a fast, easy read but with no real depth. There is no real sense of plausibility: Shane goes undercover, but never really tries to learn anything about his role before he starts his work; he just makes it up as he goes along. There are no really good villains, and most of the characters are walking cliches, especially when dealing with the Hollywood types. It is too silly to be realistic, and too unsubtle to be satire. Clumsy as the writing is at times, Cannell retains enough of his ability to entertain to make this at least a so-so novel: it's worth three stars but barely. This one is best for Cannell fans; others should look elsewhere for a more well-written thriller.
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