The Pallbearers: A Shane Scully Novel

Shane Scully revisits his troubled past as a foster child in bestseller Cannell's slightly more plausible than usual ninth novel to feature the LAPD detective (after On the Grind ). Scully and his attractive wife, Alexa, the acting commander of the LAPD's detective division, are looking forward to a two-week vacation in Hawaii. Then Scully hears the shocking news that Walter Dix, the head of Huntington House Group Home, where the policeman spent time in his youth, has blown his head off with a shotgun. Since Scully hadn't kept in touch with his former mentor, he's surprised to learn Dix left a note designating him a pallbearer. The other pallbearers at Dix's funeral, fellow alums of Huntington House, also doubt the official suicide verdict and join Scully in an effort to find the truth. Cannell telegraphs a lot of his plot developments and could've done a better job to make his hero distinctive, but series fans should be satisfied. 7-city author tour. (Mar.)