Rating: 
Summary: FAST PACED THRILLER
Review: Mr. Cannell has captured the essence of suspense, drama and excitement in this fictional "real life" story. From start to finish, the plot thickens with tension at every turn. I couldn't put this book down until I finished!!!!
Rating: 
Summary: As a Latino I feel disrespected by Mr Cannel
Review: Prostitutes, gangsters, junkies, hanging judges, monstrous people who forgot their roots and don't speak Spanish at all, reeking waiters, valets. That's the kind of character Mr. Cannel bestows upon us. The Spanish language itself is never "spoken", but "chattered".
I admit that the qualification of 1 star is unfair because there is an element of dynamism and talent in Cannel novels, when you get to see through his own prejudices and mass-market pen. I also always enjoy his slangy English, from an anthropological point of view.
Rating: 
Summary: One annoying character, one star lost
Review: Reading this review will give away some of the ending, so please turn your eyes away from this review now if that matters to you.I was at first disappointed by the novel because I was expecting Internal Affairs (IA) to be more hard-charging and come up with more characters to loathe, especially since the only character I truly hated was Chooch, the obnoxious teen left in the care of Shane Scully's (the main character's) care by his prostitute mother. Surprisingly, the lack of overbearing IA behavior, which I expected and actually wanted, wasn't the downside I thought it might me. In fact, the only downside to this otherwise excellent novel was that Chooch wasn't killed. Of course, the revelation that Chooch is Shane's son makes for an interesting lead-in for future novels in the Scully series, but Chooch was such an obnoxious jerk that I'd have been willing to settle for a bitter and rogue Scully for as long as the series lasted. Whether Chooch's survival pleases or annoys you, this is a top-notch book written by a real pro. I'll be reading the rest of the series.
Rating:
Summary: Keeps getting better
Review: See storyline above. I have to say that with each novel, Mr Cannell keeps getting better. The Tin Collectors is a gritty novel about corruption in the LAPD and the IAD. Mr. Cannell has an uncanny way of getting good information about LAPD operations and also giving you a good picture into this organization. The pace moves rapidly making it hard to stop reading. Police drama at its finest. Recommended for crime thriller lovers
Rating:
Summary: Top Flight Entertainment!!!
Review: Sgt. Shane Scully is not having a good day. A trash talking 15 year old has been dumped in his lap by a high priced hooker "for a month"...he has just shot and killed his former partner to prevent him from beating his wife to death (she is also Shane's former girlfriend)...and in spite of the fact that the partner shot at Shane first, the LAPD is out to make an example of him and Internal Affairs is set to perform an Administrative Review which, as the story unfolds, does not portend a happy ending for Sgt. Scully. Everyone from the mayor on down is upset by the shooting for reasons that Shane cannot understand, until he slowly starts to peel away layers of disinformation to get to the truth. When a character scoffs at him, "You're being paranoid"..Shane corrects her..."I'm being framed." And is he ever on the money with that observation. Stephen Cannell has written another page turner that will hold your interest to the end. The use of the character of the troubled teenager he is babysitting gets a bit warm and fuzzy, but the story and the unraveling of the mystery are worth the read.
Rating:
Summary: Mindless fun
Review: Shane Scully received an emergency call from his ex-partner's wife saying that her husband is trying to kill her. Shane comes and shoots his former partner, Molars, dead in a clear case of self-defense. Unfortunately, Molars buddies do not see it that way and they will go beyond the call of duty to make Scully's life a living hell. This is one of those books that if the bad guys had left well enough alone there would not be a novel. In this case, there is an extensive Internal Affairs investigation to bring Scully down. Shane's hand is forced and he investigates his former partner. He uncovers a conspiracy in the LAPD as well as the mayor's office. If you do not try to look for logic in the story you might enjoy it. This book is pure escapist fiction where anything can happen. Lot of action, lot of chases and lot of double crossing. I liked this book, but I preferred KING CON.
Rating: 
Summary: Details be damned!
Review: Stephen Cannell thanked several LAPD officers on the "acknowledgement" section of his book, for the technical assistance they provided in how Internal Affairs worked. Unfortunately, many of the other details about everyday operations of the LAPD, which is important in describing character Shane Scully's daily work routine, was not true to detail. Those of us familiar with the downtown Los Angeles area and the location of Parker Center (police headquarters) know very well that it's not located on Spring or Main Street, but on Los Angeles Street. In addition to this simple mistake, there are lots of other details relevant to the LAPD that were unnecessarily overlooked in the book. This lack of attention to detail breaks the flow of the story to those of us familiar with the LAPD's everyday business. Other than those distractions, the book was a worthwhile read and contained the necessary mix of action, romance, and betrayal to keep the reader interested.
Rating:
Summary: Not The Ordinary Cop Story
Review: The Tin Collectors is Cannell's sixth novel. At first blush it seems to be just another basic, good, cop story; but it develops into something more, going beyond the action and plot into relationships. LAPD detective Shane Scully receives a call in the middle of the night from Barbara, his one-time girl friend who is married to his ex-partner, super cop Ray Molar. Ray has gone berserk and she needs help. Shane dashes the five miles to their house and finds Ray about to kill Barbara. When Shane intervenes, Ray tries to shoot him. Shane returns fire in self defense and kills Ray. This is a difficult situation, but Shane knows he is in the right and expects that all will work out. Ha! For reasons Shane cannot figure out, the top administration of the police department quickly elevates the situation to a major affair and turn it over to Internal Affairs. The Internal Affairs Division is informally known as "The Tin Collectors" because of their high rate of convicting cops and collecting their "tin" (badges). Shane's case is assigned to an IAD prosecutor brought back from another assignment. An earlier investigation of Shane in which he was exonerated was one of her few defeats. Several young cops for whom Ray was something of an idol are assigned minor roles in the investigation and make things difficult for Shane. Why are these cops even involved-their normal assignments are far from IAD business? In the end justice prevails, although it takes some skillful writing to resolve the situation without artificial solutions. Along with the standard cop story, Shane is involved with a fifteen year-old problem child. The boy's single mother has asked Shane to let her son, Chooch, stay with him for a month or so in order to have a good male role model. The relationship between the mother, the boy, and Shane is slow to develop, but adds significantly to the overall impact of the book. I thought the book was very slow in the beginning, and almost put it down. I am glad I didn't. It was not until I was nearly through that I realized that Cannell is best known for his screen writing (The Rockford Files, Hunter...). The early pages probably work better on screen than on paper. In retrospect, they visualize very well and do set the stage effectively.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing. Pure genius once again!
Review: This book was not only a pleasure to read but also amazingly interesting. At first i was skeptical becuase i wasn't too sure how a novel about the LAPD was going to keep me interested but once again Cannell has managed to put together a book that includes murder, romance, as well as more than you ever wanted to know about the LAPD! I find Cannell's writing to be so interesting because you will actually learn something with each novel of his you read, and the subjects are endless. The book is an excellent read and will leave you hanging to the point it's next to impossible to put down. I loved every minute of it! Thank you Stephen , your a creative genius!
Rating: 
Summary: Cannell's a way better screenwriter than novelist
Review: This story gets way too much into police procedures and jargon, and the timelines and details are all screwed up. LAPD Sgt. Shane Scully kills his ex-partner Ray "Steel Tooth" Molar, a super sleaze who is canonized by his fellow cops. Molar was beating his wife, who is also Shane's ex-girlfriend, with a billy club when Shane intervened. There's a "Johnny Dangerously" play ball scene in the Chief's office as a highly political, corrupt process is about to steamroll the befudled Shane. Ex-cop Demarco Saint, now a tattooed, pony tailed, earring wearing, beer guzzling old pedophile living in a shack in Santa Monica, reappears to defend Shane. Sheets, and ex-cop as bad as Molar is head of security for a mega bucks developer who's running hooker parties and blackmailing the Long Beach City Council to turn over the old Navy Yard to his company. Everyone from the Mayor through the Deputy Chief seems to be railroading Shane. His house is machine-gunned and he's kidnapped by helicopter form a movie shoot. Impetuous and vulnerable, the character has potential, but the endless chapters of impossible situations, each chapter titled in a phrase of cop jargon, make this a comic book. That holds true right to the end where after some pretty good shoot 'em up stuff, Alexa and Shane go from Bonnie and Clyde to national heroes. I'll pass on his new one.
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