Theres a heat wave raging in Las Vegas, where it seems, the only people oblivious to the

searing temperatures are those laid out on slabs in the mortuary of the Las Vegas Police
Department, awaiting the attention of pathologist Dr Al Robbins !es about to receive
two more guests, the latest victims of crimes being investigated by LVPD, with the e"pert
assistance of the #rime $cene %nvestigation &nit Leading the #$% team is the
unflappable 'il 'rissom, as cool in temperament as Doc Robbins customers are in
temperature
Long(suffering Police #aptain )im *rass is coerced by $heriff Rory Atwater into
investigating the death of Rita *ennett, successful businesswoman and erstwhile
contributor to his political campaign +stensibly, Rita died from a heart attac,, but her
estranged daughter Rebecca suspects that Peter *ennett, her stepfather, has murdered her
mother, and begs Atwater to treat the death as suspicious The complication is that Rita
died some three months ago, meaning that her body must be e"humed in order for
'rissom and colleagues $arah $idle and -ic, $to,es to begin the investigation
-obody, however, is prepared for what happens when the coffin is opened The body
inside is not that of a fifty(something ageing showgirl turned car sales magnate, but is,
instead, nineteen year old .athy Dean, reported missing twenty four hours before Rita
*ennetts funeral too, place /ith Ritas remains missing for the time being, 'rissom
and his team must concentrate on establishing both who ,illed .athy, and how her body
came to be buried in the businesswomans grave
0eanwhile, fellow #$% officers #atherine /illows and /arric, *rown are summoned to
the $unny Day #ontinuing #are 1acility, following the sudden death of Vivian 2lliott, an
elderly, but otherwise perfectly healthy widow, admitted to the home for convalescence
following a road accident +rdinarily, there would be nothing unusual about the death of
an elderly person in a nursing home, however, assistant coroner David Phillips is worried
about the abnormally high number of 3pic,(ups4 hes made from the home during the
past few months /ithout e"ception, the deceased have been widows, each comfortably
off with no families, their not insubstantial estates having been left to charity /as
Vivians death really due to natural causes, or are there dar, clouds gathering at $unny
Day5
'rave 0atters is one of a series of novels written by 0a" Allan #ollins, based on the
highly(acclaimed American drama series, #$%, which focuses on the forensic aspect of
police detective wor,, and the painsta,ing way in which the evidence is gathered and
e"amined #ollins is an established crime writer, having penned a number of historical
thrillers, and has a number of film and TV related novels to his credit in addition to the
#$% series of novels !e has no direct involvement, however, with the television
programme itself As an avid watcher of the programme from its inception, % wondered
how the boo, would stand up in comparison
Typically, each TV episode has two plots running concurrently, and the boo, stays
faithful to that format, alternating between each story at a comfortable pace *oth
storylines are highly plausible, and slot in well with the Las Vegas bac,drop6 indeed,
theyre in ,eeping with the type of plot that %d e"pect to see on the show each wee,
#ollins has carried out his research well in terms of police and forensic procedures,
although inevitably, the visual aspects of the forensic side are lost, somewhat, in the
transposition from film to paper A ma7or part of the appeal of #$%, the television
programme, is its originality in demonstrating, by way of graphic crime reconstructions
and computer(generated images, the manner in which the victims died, and how the
evidence is carefully pieced together until the ,illers are found Ta,e away those special
effects and much of the originality is lost, leaving us with little more than a run(of(the(
mill police story, which is what has happened here, to an e"tent
There is, for my li,ing, too little emphasis on the forensic aspect of the wor, of the #$%
team, and all too fre8uently we find them crossing the lines of demarcation, by
accompanying the police detectives on 7ust about every interview, and becoming
involved in car chases and shoot(outs, in preference to remaining in the lab, analysing the
evidence That happens on television too, but to a lesser degree, and as % read the boo, %
began to wonder whether, perhaps, #ollins feels slightly less comfortable writing about
the scientific aspect of police wor, than he does the practical side Theres no doubt that
he puts together a good plot, both of which % found intriguing and en7oyable, so here, he
redeems himself considerably
% thought the dialogue flowed well, and the author has undeniably captured the on(screen
camaraderie that e"ists between the team6 indeed, % had no trouble at all in relating the
characters from the boo, to their small(screen counterparts, having the advantage,
naturally, of being able to fit faces to names Those less well ac8uainted with 'rissom
and #o might feel differently, however, since #ollins doesnt particularly go out of his
way to introduce the characters, relying on the odd reference here and there to individual
personal foibles and prior events %n fairness to him, the boo, is undoubtedly intended for
the cognoscenti, the diehard fans in need of an additional between(series fi", and to that
end, %d have to concede that hes fulfilled his commission reasonably well
%ts a boo, that relies heavily on dialogue, and both dialogue and narrative are written in
a punchy, no(frills style6 again, thats in ,eeping with the pattern of the TV show, and
one shouldnt really e"pect a wor, of great literary accomplishment Language purists
will wince at the use of 9commonality, 9directionality and other gems, but they have to
be ta,en in conte"t6 this is a boo, written by an American, about police procedures in
America, and we should, as they say across the pond, 3get over it4
A ma7or part of the appeal of #$%, the television programme, is its originality in
demonstrating, by way of graphic crime reconstructions and computer(generated images,
the manner in which the victims died, and how the evidence is carefully pieced together
until the ,illers are found Ta,e away those special effects and much of the originality is
lost, leaving us with little more than a run(of(the(mill police story, which is what has
happened here, to an e"tent
his boo, reads li,e the TV show And if you:re o, with that, then you:ll L+V2 this and
the other #$% boo,s %1 you:re loo,ing for a little more personal details and such, you:ll
be disappointed
;
th
in series
+therwise, this wasn:t too bad Rebecca *ennett, the estranged stepdaughter of a well(to(
do Las Vegas businessman, is hounding the Las Vegas Police Department to reopen the
investigation into her mother Rita:s death < alleging that, despite appearances to the
contrary, Rebecca:s greedy stepfather actually played a hand in Rita *ennett:s untimely
end *ut no one is prepared for the news that #$%s 'il 'rissom, $ara $idle, and -ic,
$to,es report < their investigation is inconclusivebecause the disinterred deceased is
not Rita *ennett 0eanwhile, at the $unny Day #ontinuing #are 1acility, #atherine
/illows and /arric, *rown must investigate the sudden demise of Vivian 2lliot < a
patient whose death may be the result of unnatural causes
=/hen a par, ranger discovers the na,ed body of a woman in the La,e 0ead -ational
Par,, the Las Vegas #$% team is called in to investigate /ith 'rissom away at a
convention, #atherine /illows heads up the unit to try and discover why this woman:s
body would be left in such a public place ( as if someone wanted her to be found
#atherine, /arric, > -ic, do not ,now who the )ane Doe is, but they ,now that she was
suffocated and then fro?en after she died so they have no idea how long ago she was
,illed /hen they discover that she is 0issy $herman, the housewife who disappeared
without a trace over a year ago, they try to sift through year(old clues, 7og old memories
and find some suspects *ut, in the end, they are forced to rely on small bits of evidence
to trac, down the ,iller
0eanwhile, in -ew @or,, 'il 'rissom and $ara $idle were luc,y enough to ma,e it to
their hotel before a bli??ard snowed them in /ith the convention cancelled due to
transportation issues, 'rissom and $ara settle in to en7oy a wee,end of rest when they
stumble across the body of a man who has been shot and then set on fire in the snow
After a grueling stint guarding the body in the bli??ard, a #anadian #$% teaches $ara and
'rissom how to investigate clues in the snow *ut with no bac,up and no crime lab to
process the clues, 'rissom has to use every bit of ingenuity he possesses to trac, down
the ,iller before the bli??ard ends and his ,iller is turned loose
% found this third boo, in the #$% series to be every bit as entertaining as the other boo,s
and the TV series #ollins does a great 7ob at ,eeping the personalities of the TV
characters consistent in the boo, and % can almost visuali?e how they would film the TV
episode while % am reading % en7oyed the Las Vegas plot with #atherine, /arric, > -ic,
more than the -ew @or, plot with 'rissom > $ara, but it was interesting to find out how
people process clues differently due to regional differences %f you en7oy the TV series
you should en7oy the boo,s ( another great read by #ollinsA
Plot
Composition of Book
descript. of violence and chases ( BCD
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives ( ECD
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development ( BCD
How societ works ! phsical descript. "people, ob#ects, places$ ( BCD
%one of stor ( very upbeat
How difficult to spot villain& ( #hallenging
%ime/era of stor' ( FGHC:s(FGGG
(hat ) of stor relates directl to the mster, not the subplot& ( ICD
*pecial suspect& ( best friend
+isc. +urder Plotlets ( solving long(past murder ( Proving innocence of very obvious
suspect ( *ig focus on forensic evidence ( *ig focus on autopsies ( .iller purposely
leaves clues
,ind of investigator ( police procedural, American
,id or adult book& ( Adult or @oung Adult *oo,
-n non.mster subplot& ( big city life
Crime %hriller @es
+urder +ster "killer unknown$ @es
0ain #haracter
/ender ( 1emale
Profession/status' ( policeJlawman
-ge' ( BC:s(KC:s
How much violence does he/she use& ( 7ust the right amount
0thnicit/1ace ( /hiteJAmerican
How sensitive is this character& ( sensitive to others: feelings
*ense of humor ( $trong but gentle sense of humor
2ntelligence ( Very much smarter than other characters
Phsi3ue ( very athletic
0ain Adversary
2dentit' ( 1emale
-ge' ( BC:s(KC:s
Profession/status' ( homema,er
0ccentric' @es ( obsessed ( deluded ( mentally ill
How much of work is main antagonist actuall present in' ( an average amount
+otive of antagonist ( 7ealousy
How sensitive is this character& ( middling sensitive to others: feelings
*ense of humor ( $trong but gentle sense of humor
2ntelligence ( $marter than most other characters
Phsi3ue ( average physi8ue
$etting
4nited *tates @es
%he 4*' ( /est
Cit& @es
Cit' ( Dirty, dangerous Lli,e -ew @or,M
$tyle
Part of a series& @es
Person ( rotating Fst
-ccounts of torture and death& ( very gorey descriptions deathsJdead bodies
How man deaths& ( B
- lot of techno #argon& @es
,ind of #argon& ( biologyJmedical
4nusual forms of death ( asphy"iation ( fro?en ( flamed ( perforation((bullets
2s this an e.book& @es
4nusual form of death& @es
-mount of dialog ( roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
Anyone who has watched or ,nows about #$% Lcrime scene investigationM on #hannel ;
will ,now what the general idea of the show is about 1or anyone who doesn:t let me
e"plain
%n #$% there is always a crime committed -ine times out of ten it is 0urder The scene
of the crime is then wor,ed on by the Las Vegas 'raveyard shift +verloo,ed by
$upervisor 'il 'risson The show then goes through the process of collecting and
wor,ing on the evidence to find the criminal or criminals The boo,s are e"actly the
same They ta,e you through the whole process from start to finish
The $tory of this boo,
#old *urn has two crimes, which is li,e the TV series
The first one is of a dead woman being found out at La,e 0ead in the middle of the
night $he finally gets identified as 0issy $herman a woman who had gone missing a
year previous after having lunch with her friend The #$%:s then have go to with
Detective *rass to spea, to the husband who is obviously devastated They also have to
chec, his house for any possible evidence even though it is a year on from when 0issy
first disappeared This doesn:t go down too well but he is willing to help the #$%:s find
out what happened to his wife !er best friend Regan who was with her the day she
dissapeared is also spo,en to by *rass and the #$%:s and again their house chec,ed for
any possible evidence This is even more unpopular in the 0ortenson household and the
#$%:s are hurried along and told to get out of their house
The second story of this boo, see:s 'il 'rissom and $ara $idle go off to -ew @or, for a
criminalistics confrence where they are due to give a lecture each The weather down in
-ew @or, is terrible and they only 7ust seem to ma,e it down to their hotel before the
really bad snow sets in and noone else can get through !ardly anyone ma,es it to the
hotelA $ara and 'rissom go for a wal, in the forest to get some pictures and ta,e in their
new surroundings +nly to hear gunshots They sounded near by so they go and loo, and
find a dead body lying in the snow They decide they have to do something and start to
wor, the scene, $ara ta,ing pictures on her digital camera $hortly the hotel manager
#ormier and a fellow #$% from #anada, 0aher arrive loo,ing for 'rissom and $ara as
the weather is getting bad and didn:t want them not to be able to find their way bac, to
the hotel They have to e"plain what they have discovered even though everyone of them
is a suspect They then decide to ta,e turns to stay with the body and guard the scene
until the weather clears a little and all three #$%:s can wor, the scene together and
#ormier can supply whatever they need
This is a general idea of the main stories % don:t want to bore you will too much of the
story otherwise you won:t go and read this boo, which would be defeating the ob7ect of
writing this review The main characters are the same as the show on TV 'raveyard shift
supervisor 'il 'rissom, a very hands on and has an old school approach to the 7ob
$econd in charge is #atherine /illows, a single mum who struggles to 7uggle wor, and
home life, a former dancer who is strong in all situations -ic, $to,es, /arric, *rown
and $ara $idle are the other members of the team who all contribute well and have their
own different ideas and ways of doing things and very different personalities
As you can imagine they stories do develop at a fairly rapid pace in the boo, 7ust li,e the
tv show This does help ,eep your interest in the boo, as it could get very technical and
boring if they 7ust went into too much detail $aying that, you get enough detail to
understand the procedures they are carring out and anything with a techincal term name
does get e"plained well 2ach story progresses well and doesn:t leave you feeling bored,
you will want to ,now :who done it: % always try and figure it out as % go along with the
boo, and % got one right out of the two crimes but only closer to the end @ou thin, you
,now then they throw another twist in and it leaves you wondering This helps you ,eep
turning the pages and ,eeps it interesting
The writing style is easy and flows well The stories are split into alternate chapters
which % thin, ma,es reading a lot easier The chapters vary about B;(KC pages in each
%f you need to put the boo, down it was easy pic, up again at a later date and carry on
where you left off @ou do thin, about this boo, as you read and you need to thin, about
the possibilites as you are reading so if you are loo,ing for a boo, which re8uires no use
of your brain this isn:t the one for you % wouldn:t read this if % was reading before trying
to sleep as % find myself thin,ing too much about the story
%f you are a fan of crime > forensic novels this is for you %f your loo,ing for chic, lit,
stay clear %f you li,e the TV show you:ll li,e this
This is the second boo, % have read by 0a" Allan #ollins > % li,e his writing style and
would read more in this series of boo,s and any other boo,s he has written
%f you have never watched #$% before but li,e crime solving novels % thin, you will li,e
this There are enough twists and turns to ,eep your attention, 7ust the right amount of
science to ,eep you interested but not too much to leave you thin,ing :what are they on
about: 2ach main character is well described L$o if you haven:t seen the show on tv you
will get to understand and get a real feel for the charactersM
% found this boo, very easy to read, 8uite fast moving so % wasn:t sitting thin,ing :am % at
a decent part yet5: and didn:t really want to put it down
0a" Allan #ollins is a name synonymous with crime writing /ith wor,s ranging from
the graphic novel Road to Perdition and Dick Tracy comic strips to the Nate Heller series
of novels, he has established himself as a master of the genre
The CSI: Crime Scene Investigation universe also benefits from #ollins: talents !e has
penned three CSI novels, with a fourth, Body of Evidence, on the way in +ctober !is
first CSI: Miami boo,, lorida !eta"ay, will be published in August
As if that wasn:t enough CSI to be going on with, #ollins has also written two CSI comic
series and the script for &*% $oft:s CSI computer game
%n this N>A with #$% 1iles readers, 0a" Allan #ollins discusses how he came to be
involved with the CSI franchise, the challenges of writing for the various characters, and
drops some hints about his upcoming novels !e also reveals he is currently wor,ing on
the story for the second CSI computer game
0lseO 0a", than,s for doing this N>A !ow did you become involved in writing the
novels and the comics, and how many of them do you thin, you:ll do5 Than,s
+a5 -llan CollinsO % was approached to do two CSI novels fairly early on < about half(
way into the first season, when the show was starting to surprise people Lthough a lot of
fol,s were writing the high ratings off to the S#rvivor time slotM %:ve done lots of
licensing boo,s < movie noveli?ations li,e Saving Private Ryan, T$e M#mmy, In T$e
%ine &f ire, etc, plus two original N'PD Bl#e novels < and, with my bac,ground as a
mystery writer, %:m sure % seemed li,e a natural choice The CSI and #*$ people loo,ed
at my bioJresume, plus a number of my published novels, before % was offered the gig %
had to be approved
% ,new about the show, and had meant to watch it < %:ve always li,ed /illiam Petersen
L'il 'rissomM < but 7ust hadn:t got around to it % grew up on TV, but in recent years
have only followed a handful of shows6 % hadn:t watched N'PD Bl#e, either, till % got that
7ob
*ut when % watched the half do?en CSI tapes % was sent, % was impressed and, fran,ly,
relieved to find out it was a smart, compelling show %:m now a genuine fan
% got the comics 7ob because % also have a bac,ground in comics, plus was the guy
already doing the CSI novelswhich made me pre(approvedA % wrote the Dick Tracy
comic strip for F; years, and probably have written more crimeJmystery comics than
anybody in the business The most famous thing, obviously, is my graphic novel Road to
Perdition
-ow %:m also writing the dialogue on the &*% soft CSI video games +ne thing has led to
another
*all 1.O %s writing about the CSI characters easier or harder than writing about your own
characters5
+a5 -llan CollinsO The toughest thing about getting a handle on the #$% characters was
the show:s undercharacteri?ation, particularly first(season % watched epsiodes, ta,ing
notes, loo,ing for any morsel of bac,story, ta,ing note of character traits, etc At the start
Land this still pertains to some degreeM, the emphasis was so much on the crimes and the
forensics that the characters were almost interchangeable % give the actors a lot of credit
for putting flesh on the bones of their characters 2very single one of them is masterful,
and % thin, Petersen and P0argQ !elgenberger L#atherine /illowsM are brilliant TV
actors
-ow that % ,now these characters < and now that the show has been somewhat more
forthcoming about who these people are < % find them easy to write, and fun to write
'rissom is a great character, comple" and complicated and yet simple The tric, is to
always hear the actors as you write the dialogue %f % write a line and it doesn:t sound li,e
something 'rissom or /arric, or whoever would say, % cut it or revise it
-lisonO !ave CSI:s people ever as,ed you to substantially alter something in one of your
boo,s, or to remove it5 +r, flipping the coin, have they ever read your manuscript and
said, :/hy don:t you include this or that:5
+a5 -llan CollinsO %:ve had one idea re7ected, because of the sub7ect matter Lthe title
was Neon (i$ad, so you can guess where % was goingM And recently, at the last minute, %
had to revamp the second comics mini(series, Bad Ra), from having to do with blac,
rappers to white LAM ones +n the most recent novel, which % 7ust completed LBody of
EvidenceM, % originally had lesbian lovers as bad guys, and < because %:d already done an
=evil= lesbian in Sin City < was told to change that
%n Serial, the first comics mini, % was re8uired to remove a racial slur not only from a
crime scene in the modern day story, but another racial slur Lthe one the modern day
,iller was mimic,ingM from the historical )ac, the Ripper bac,story %n other words,
=standards and practices=(type thin,ing insisted on me rewriting historyA
-aturally, this stuff is annoying, but it:s only happened a few times, and mostly % have a
lot of freedom
Beach6ComberO !i 0a"A % find that CSI: Miami has a different =vibe= from the first CSI
series !ow will you reflect that in your CSI: Miami boo,5 Than,s for answeringA
+a5 -llan CollinsO 1irst, CSI fans should ,now that % lobbied hard <
and won < to ma,e the first CSI: Miami novel a crossover= story %t
begins in Vegas, then the story moves to 0iami -o characters from
Vegas '+ to 0iami, though < however, there is fre8uent consultation
over the phone
CSI: Miami is very different !oratio #aine is an accessible cop
character, absolutely central, and the rest of the characters Lthus farM
aren:t as well developed as he is Lor the Vegas charactersM $o lorida
!eta"ay is about one crime, and is almost entirely #aine:s point of
view %t:s a cool boo,, however6 a nice change, with the forensics
approach the unifying factor
1unny trivia noteO my first N'PD Bl#e novel was about PDavidQ #aruso:s )ohn .elly
character
CourtneO @our novels 8uite obviously ta,e a great deal of research into forensic science
and investigating, particularly within the novel Cold B#rn and analy?ing a winter crime
scene /here < or with whom < do you consult with for your information5
+a5 -llan CollinsO 0y assistant on the boo,s is writer 0atthew V #lemens, who is
essential to the process % come up with the plots, and he and % have a story conference
where we flesh the plots out enough to write a synopis, which is submitted to Poc,et
*oo,s and #*$JCSI /hen we have approval, 0att and % have another, more detailed
Lbrea,ing down into chaptersM session, and 0att does the forensics research, using real
forensics e"perts, in particular #$% #hris .auffman of the *ettendorf, %A, police Lwho is
a winter crime scene e"pert, and wrote a boo, on the sub7ectM Then 0att writes a story
treatment, including all the forensics research, and finally % write the novel All together,
almost a three(month process
7. +arshallO /hich #$% characters do you prefer to write, and are any of their
interactions easierJmore difficultJmore fun to portray than the others5
+a5 -llan CollinsO% am partial to 'rissom, though % don:t li,e to do his point of view
unless absolutely necessary6 %:d much rather perceive him through another character:s
P+V !e:s li,e $herloc, !olmes or 0r $poc, < he:s an enigma and seeing him from
the outside is more fun and even more illuminating
$ara is human and appealing < though she has occasional 'rissom(es8ue tact problems,
she has a heart and vulnerability
% am probably most comfortable with #atherine, who is 7ust a strong, smart persona *ut
/arric,:s laidbac, wry worldview is fun to write, and -ic, is fun, too, because he:s got a
youthful outloo, that gives him energy and drive
/e spend more time with *rass than the show does !e has occasional point(of(view
chapters, and sometimes it:s nice to get away from the science end of the telescope, and
7ust do cop
Recently % had the problem of having to shoot a bad guy < and %:ve already had
#atherine do that Lthe only #$% on the show who:s dropped the hammer on anybody so
farM < and turned to *rass to do the deed, since at some point the show might do
/arric,:s first shooting or -ic,:s or
-nn BitterO % loved Cold B#rn and how the 'rissom and $ara chemistry was brought out
/as that something that you witnessed yourself while watching the show5 +r something
that the writers wanted you to add5 /hat are your views on this wonderfully budding
relationship5
+a5 -llan CollinsO The way % do this < % should say =we= do this,
because 0att is involved < is to figure out what the crime or crimes
are for a story %n the novels, we usually do two plots of e8ual weight
Las opposed to the show, which does an A plot, the ma7or story, with a
* plot, the secondary oneM Then 0att and % discuss how to assemble
the team for each case
/ith Cold B#rn, the idea of the snowbound forensics conference was a
natural for 'rissom and $ara, to e"plore the relationship that was sort
of bubbling under the surface of the show &nfortunately, much of
what % wrote about 'rissom and $ara was either softened or cut by my
editor, in anticipation of problems with #*$JCSI % don:t mean to ma,e my editor the
villain, because she has to avoid such problems, because they cause production
difficulties The most current boo, had to be postponed a month, because we were
waiting for approval on certain story points from #*$JCSI #an:t move forward without
approval
0vieO !i 0r #ollins % en7oy your boo,s, especially Cold B#rn6 the forensic tri,cs on ice
was very intriguing and refreshing The P# game also has really witty and clever
dialogue /here do you get your ideas5 !ow do you decide the =pairings= LegO 'rissom
and $ara on the same case, #atherine and -ic, on the same caseM and dynamicsJtension
between certain characters in your novels5 /ere they decisions from the show writers or
simply out of your inspiration5 % ,now most writers do not read fan fictions, and % wonder
if this applies to you too5
+a5 -llan CollinsO %n Body of Evidence, % put -ic, with #atherine on a child porn case,
specifically because the show tells us -ic, was an abused child, and #atherine of course
is a mom with a girl about the age of the ,ids in the photosso that made for an
interesting mi" of characters %n Sin City L% hate that titlemine was Dead N#de !irlsM,
the murder of a stripper provided an opportunity to e"plore #atherine:s e"otic(dancer
bac,story, plus we put $ara and even a female cop 2rin #onroy Lfrom one episode of the
showM together, because it was more interesting having women having to deal with that
world
$o that:s how it wor,sO first the crimes6 then assemble the characters who will ma,e the
most spar,s when rubbed up against those crimes
Again, the 'rissomJ$ara thing was apparent on the show, though understated % thought it
would be fun to get inside $ara:s head and see what she was thin,ing and feeling +ne of
the things the TV people have trouble with, however, is this point(of(view stuffO they
don:t =get= the interior nature of prose fiction as opposed to the e"terior nature of film
narrative % write lots of character and bac,story but not all of it ma,es it into the final
boo, Cold B#rn suffered the most from this editing 0y editor, by the way, loves the
show and in her way is 7ust as subversive as % am, in trying to ma,e these boo,s =real=
novels
And %:ve gotten away with a lot < my favorite scene in any of the boo,s is 'rissom and
#atherine having brea,fast at the end of Sin Citywhen #atherine cries and 'rissom, in
his way, comforts her
0vie LPart %%MO % ,now most writers do not read fan fiction, and % wonder if this applies to
you too5
+a5 -llan CollinsO % don:t read fan fiction % can:t allow myself to be influenced in that
way +n the one hand, % need to do my own thing, my own interpretation of this world
and these characters6 and on the other, % don:t want to be accused of using other:s people:s
ideas
+ichelle.Fae 1awlinsO Are you planning on scripting a second CSI game, perhaps on a
console L% love your ideas, and % thin, it would be great to see more of themM, or are you
wor,ing more on your ne"t boo,5
+a5 -llan CollinsO %:m wor,ing on the second &*% $oft game
now % have a more active role, consulting on the stories
themselves6 last time, they brought me in to write the dialogue,
though % did repair some plot holes, too
As % say, % 7ust finished Body of Evidence 0att is researching the
second CSI: Miami now Lthe first, lorida !eta"ay, will be out
soonM /e:ve submitted the synopsis for CSI: Miami RB to
#*$JCSI and await approval6 it:s about a big gang war
% hope to do more CSI novels The plan is to do four a year, which % can only do because
of 0att:s assistance %t:s possible % may have to drop out of the CSI: Miami novels, since
Vegas is my priority
/raemeO !ow different is it to write CSI comics as opposed to the novels5 /hich
medium do you prefer5
+a5 -llan CollinsO -o preference % li,e moving between prose, comics script and
screenwriting6 ,eeps me fresh, and certain stories wor, better in specific forms The %D/
comic boo, mini(series Serial wouldn:t have wor,ed as well in the novel series6 it was
specifically designed to be visual
That said, % am first and foremost a novelist
PatO Do you have a favorite noveli?ation5 A show or movie that really made writing the
boo,s a challenge, a pleasure, etc5
+a5 -llan CollinsO Saving Private Ryan and *indtalkers lent themselves to the ,ind of
historical fiction % li,e to write6 % was in particular given a lot of freedom on *indtalkers
Maverick was fun because % was a fan of the original show and was able to put lots of
stuff from the classic series in there Daylig$t was a terrible script but % turned out
perhaps my best noveli?ation, because of a radical approach % thought up La documentary
on paper with multiple first(person =survivor= reportsM
CSI has been particularly gratifying %t always better to write your own stories, rather than
noveli?e somebody else:s % thin, Sin City is my favorite so far, but Cold B#rn is a close
second6 had Cold B#rn been published as % wrote it, with all the 'rissomJ$ara stuff, it
would be my favorite, probably
Erudite, complex, sympathetic and very, very clever, Debra Daly manages to do
what her protagonists can't, to integrate great intellectual power with emotional
truth.
)ust li,e the TV series, this boo, follows two stories at once with the #$% crowd divided
up into two teams The cases they follow are not particularly challenging to the reader
and you do not get much opportunity to =figure things out= The clues are too obvious
and it seems to ta,e the #$%s longer to figure them out than the reader
The boo, is definately not stand(alone, and was only interesting to me because % already
,new the characters There is very little in the way of independent character development
and anyone who doesn:t watch the show would be left wondering who these people are
The dialogue very much matches the way the characters tal, in the show ( but only seems
clever if you can imagine the right voice saying them As stand(alone dialogue it would
be seriously lac,ing and a bit one(linerish LieO better suited to TV then a boo,M
% read a lot of crimeJforensic authors including 0ichael #onnelly, )onathan .ellerman,
%an Ran,in, Val 0cDermid, .athy Reichs, !arlan #oben, Peter Robinson and more ( and
this #$% boo, doesn:t come close to a good read by any of them %t 7ust doesn:t have the
intelligence necessary to compete
!aving said that ( its a 8uic, read for anyone loo,ing for a #$% fi" during re(run season
And 'rissom and $ara get to learn some new techni8ues you:ll probably never see on the
show
%t seems that her boo,s have become all about $carpetta:s psychological issues and
personal demons and -+T about the cases she:s supposed to be solvingAAA
/hat happened to the *R%LL%A-#2 of Postmortem and *ody of 2vidence, when the
story was about $carpetta putting together the evidence and actually $+LV%-'
crimes55AAA Those story lines were so tight and fascinating you literally couldn:t put the
boo,s downAAA #ornwell is 7ust getting sloppy and desperate and fran,ly very
disrespectful of her audience, who for some reason ,eep coming bac, in the !+P2 that
=this one will be better= but it:s notAAA
%:ve read almost all of the #$% boo,s as well as watching the programme but when i read
this boo, i was absolutley ama?ed at the plot This boo, is great from the beginning,
although compared to other boo,s starts a little slower !owever this is a good thing as it
helps you get more into what:s going on and where the plots coming from and leading to
Anyway there are many ups and downs in the investigation but by the end you:re
me?meri?ed by who the ,iller is as well as why the ,iller has left his sic, signature at
each of his crimes A fantastic readA
+f course, the series has its critics, who complain that real cases involve throngs of
specialists, not 7ust the show:s small team ::People have never seen a lot of the techni8ues
and technology we use on the show,:: responds show creator Anthony Sui,er, who is
pleased that fans are being lured to study the discipline *efore long, he adds, students
::will learn that getting D-A evidence ta,es H to FC days and criminal investigations
aren:t wrapped up in EE minutes::