The Tin Collectors

When he’s awakened at 2am by a phone call from his former partner’s wife, Sergeant Shane Scully rushes to the aid of the battered woman. He’s met with a scene of domestic abuse, and though Scully does his best to calm the enraged Lt. Raymond “Steeltooth” Molar, he’s ultimately forced to kill his ex-partner. Although this should be a relatively open-and-shut case of self-defense, Molar was one of the most beloved and highly decorated officers on the force. Now Scully’s not only receiving threats from his fellow cops; he’s also become the target of the Internal Affairs Division — called the Tin Collectors because of all the badges they’ve taken and all the careers they’ve ruined.

But Scully’s troubles are just beginning. He learns that Molar was on special assignment as one of the mayor’s bodyguards, and there’s a videotape circulating containing some sort of evidence of high-placed corruption. Although Scully doesn’t have the tape, the crooked individuals among the department brass and the IAD are convinced he does, and they set about to destroy Scully any way they can. To make matters worse, Scully is caring for an ex-lover’s difficult teenage son, so he’s forced to act as a surrogate father and a friend to the boy, even while his career is unraveling. Scully knows that he must somehow get the tape and make a stand against his own comrades in order to save his badge — and his life.

Cannell not only has the vernacular to give the novel a true-to-life authentic feel of the street; his writing is perfectly balanced between the attitudes of both law enforcement and the common man. Cannell gives his protagonist all the instincts and experience of a hard-edged cop, but there’s also a genuine sense of isolation after Scully is forced to fight against his brothers-in-arms. At one point, Scully meets a group of aggressive police officers in a garage, and for the first time he understands how frightening it must be for a citizen to be suddenly confronted by several cops at once. These moments pepper The Tin Collectors and raise it above the usual police procedural novel, giving the book the intense and illuminating merits that readers will wholeheartedly enjoy.

–Tom Piccirilli