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Far from the glittering lights and 24/7 spectacle of the Strip, the Las Vegas Crime Lab's team of investigators is gearing up for a rough night ahead. ... A brutal shooting at a cheap motel may be business as usual for CSIs Catherine Willows and Nick Stokes, but as they process the crime scene and quickly identify the victim as a noted local private investigator, nothing could prepare them for the shock of finding physical evidence belonging to none other than Detective Jim Brass.... Meanwhile, CSIs Greg Sanders and Riley Adams are called to a nearby airport where they must face the ultimate locked room how a pilot flying solo in a small private plane wound up murdered while miles above the ground....

325 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published August 25, 2009

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459 people want to read

About the author

Jeffrey J. Mariotte

161 books163 followers
Also writes as Jeff Mariotte

Jeffrey J. Mariotte is the bestselling, award-winning author of more than 70 novels, including 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. His most recent release is the short story collection Byrd's Luck & Other Stories, comprising five "traditional" Western tales and five horror-Western stories, two of them brand-new for this edition.

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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5 stars
67 (26%)
4 stars
70 (27%)
3 stars
93 (37%)
2 stars
17 (6%)
1 star
4 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
Profile Image for Holly Stone.
917 reviews2 followers
February 6, 2022
This is kind of a nice change to read instead of watch all the favorites are there Catherine, Jim Brass, Nick, Greg and a new CSI Riley. In this book Catherine in put in charge when Grissom has to go to a conference out of town and the night shift is as always busy. A dead body in a seedy motel a missing woman and Captain Jim Brass' blood in the motel room's bathroom make Catherine wonder what is going on with her friend...A dead man in a plane flown by himself alone has Greg and Riley wondering as to cause...A missing woman in Vegas with her family on holiday has Nick and Riley looking for a possible serial killer....all in a night's work for the busy Vegas Crime Lab.....
Profile Image for Heather Harper.
64 reviews
April 21, 2022
This is my favorite CSI book I've read! As someone who read the entire series, I loved how fast paced the entire book felt. The mystery of Brass in this book is amazing and really calls to what made the show a hit in the first place!
955 reviews5 followers
February 6, 2025
An interesting story, even if there is no suspense where Brass is concerned.
Profile Image for Kat.
62 reviews16 followers
June 17, 2011
This is somewhat interesting for a CSI novel. It is a little bit strange for me to read it as I have not actually watched the television show to the point where this novel is set. My viewing is up to the first half of season 8 while this novel is set during the beginning of season 9 – so both Sara and Warrick are no longer a part of the book series. And oh how I missed them. Sara was absent for the last book too so I was a little more used to that but it was still strange not to have both her and Warrick involved. Luckily for me the writer mentions both characters throughout the novel so at least they haven’t been completely forgotten. It also amuses me a little that Sara is still featured in the picture on the back cover while Warrick is replaced by Hodges.


Another strange element to this novel is despite it taking place before Grissom’s exit from the show he doesn’t feature in the book all that much. Instead he is said to be away at a conference leaving Catherine in charge of the graveyard shift. However, one benefit to Grissom being away is that we get to learn a great deal about Catherine. The book explores her character a fair bit and is the first one to properly include a part for her daughter Lindsey. It was interesting how the writer wrote about Catherine’s feelings re. the loss of members of her work family.

The book also features the arrival of Riley. I’ve never seen Riley in the series but it was nice to read about her and discover information about her character. I liked her relationship with Greg and the banter between the two of them.

The cases in this novel are rather complex and it is rather difficult to keep track of them. I don’t quite see why Greg and Riley needed the two cases (aeroplane death and animal grave) rather than just focusing solely on one. Personally I found the animal grave and what followed on from it to be far more interesting.

The main storyline was interesting and gave an insight in the Brass’ history. However, for a novel named after his character, Brass doesn’t exactly feature in the book a great deal. He is largely “off screen” for the book. He doesn’t appear much before the end which is disappointing. Although I did enjoy the relationship between him and Catherine from the point he does appear.

The timeline is a bit out of whack. It supposedly takes place in one night but that doesn’t work at all well. There is no way the characters could have done everything they did in that time. It is impossible that it could have happened in one night.
Profile Image for Gabriel Vidrine.
Author 3 books12 followers
March 7, 2010
This was another great CSI: entry. I was a little miffed originally that Max Allen Collins wasn't going to be continuing to write the series, because he had the characters and atmosphere nailed. But so far, the other authors have done a great job, with Jeff Mariotte so far being the better. I finished this one quickly, because it was hard to put down. The pacing was great, and the stories (the traditional two mystery plot of CSI:) were interesting. He also has the characters down really well; I could easily picture the actors filling the roles on the pages.

I just wish there had been a bit more of the trademark CSI: weirdness. The dark humor was there, but the really twisted stuff that makes my husband and I gape at each other (or laugh) while watching the show was absent. Of course, not every episode of CSI: is an eyebrow-rasier, so I can't expect every book to be, either.

Luckily, the author lives in Arizona, and will be attending the Tucson book festival next weekend. I'll be able to thank the author in person for a good story, and another good addition to the CSI: series (of which I cannot get enough).
2,490 reviews46 followers
March 4, 2010
The lab is short-handed as Grissom is out of town and the murdered Warrick Brown hasn't been replaced. Catherine is in charge and they are juggling a number of cases.

A PI has been found shot to death in a room of a sleazy motel. What worries Catherine is that evidence keeps turning up that involves Captain Jim Brass and she can't reach him on his cell phone.

A pilot has died, yet manages to land his small plane before he dies and evidence shows he was murdered. But he was alone in the plane.

A young woman, part of a large family gathering on vacation, has gone missing.

At the construction site of a new casino, a site of bones has been uncovered. Shot or death by some other reason, most are old. But a sheep has been bured there in the last few days.
Profile Image for Stephanie A..
2,948 reviews94 followers
May 18, 2012
Been a while since I read one of these. A story with Riley but no Grissom or Sara? Not the way to come back, and lame attempts to make Riley an animal lover will not dissuade me from picturing Morgan in her scenes. I'd forgotten how clunky these could be with their references to show canon (so inferior to Nikki Heat), never mind the dry writing.
Profile Image for Brianna Martin.
17 reviews
January 12, 2011
I liked this book because it dealt with real life events. It also shows that even those you know can get into sticky situations without you knowing. They can also be the only good person in that situation. Anything is possible.
Profile Image for Melodie.
1,278 reviews84 followers
March 11, 2011
Okay read. These books were MUCH better when Max Allan Collins wrote them. Way too up & down since there have been multiple writers.
Profile Image for Ann Doremus.
134 reviews1 follower
December 23, 2013
picked this up at a hotel in Croatia when my Kindle broke. easy read, not bad, like watching TV.
425 reviews4 followers
January 18, 2013
Juvenile, wooden, and written like an elementary-school reading primer.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews

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