'CSI: New York: Four Walls'

Title: CSI: New York: Four Walls


Author: Keith R.A. DeCandido


Release Date: April 2008


Publisher: Pocket Star Books


ISBN: 1-4165-1343-4

Price: $7.99

Keith R.A. DeCandido makes his CSI franchise debut with this involving CSI: New York tale. Like many episodes of the show, the novel revolves around two cases. DeCandido divides the team across gender lines, sending the men to a medium-security prison on Staten Island where two murders have occurred and putting the women on the case of the death of a young woman who was killed after her shift at a bakery in the Bronx.

The case at the prison is the more complex of the two, involving not one but two deaths. Thuggish inmate Vance Barker is slain out in the yard at Richmond Hill Correction Facility, but as the corrections officers attempt to regain control, they discover another body: that of Malik Washburne, a former cop who killed two people while driving drunk. Washburne, who converted to Islam in prison, was well-liked at the prison by guards and inmates alike. Mac, Danny, Sheldon and Flack are called in to work the case. While they quickly tie Barker's murder to an inmate with a grievance against him, Washburne's proves to be more of a challenge.

Stella, Lindsay and Detective Angell investigate the murder of Maria Campagna at Belluso's Bakery in the Bronx, where the young woman worked. Stella and Lindsay determine the young woman was strangled, and their suspicions center on Jack Morgenstern, a regular customer who was often seen flirting with the women who worked at the bakery. But Morgenstern, who was at the bakery the night Maria was strangled, was falsely accused of rape several years ago and refuses to talk to Stella and Angell without his cutthroat attorney present. The evidence connecting him to the killing is tenuous, forcing Stella and Lindsay to dig deeper.

The cases themselves are engaging, and will keep readers turning the pages. DeCandido utilizes the New York setting, especially in the bakery case, getting across that Belluso's isn't simply a place that people go to get their cannoli fix; it's a neighborhood shop with regular customers who patronize the shop as much out of loyalty as they do love for the food. The correctional facility is likewise described in great detail; DeCandido has clearly done his research. He showcases the perspectives of both correctional officers and inmates alike to give readers a real sense of the place. He also highlights the frustration the CSIs and Flack feel at having to give up both their weapons and cell phones before entering the facility.

For die-hard fans of the show, there's lots of good character stuff here. DeCandido knows the characters, and he goes into details the show has glossed over, most notably, Flack's recovery from the injuries he sustained in "Charge of This Post". In the book, set between "...Comes Around" and "Snow Day", Flack is grappling with pain from the injury, and fighting the need to take pain pills he's been prescribed. Flack isn't someone who would want to rely on medication, so his determination not to take the meds rings true. But Flack is also the most practical of the bunch, so his resistance never comes across as unreasonably obstinate. Flack's trademark sarcasm and wit is also in evidence here; when a suspect readily confesses to a murder as soon as the interrogation begins, Flack smugly says, "Damn, I'm good." DeCandido has definitely captured the snarky, clever detective's voice.

DeCandido also delves into Lindsay's background a bit, actually giving Daniel Kadems a motive for killing Lindsay's friends: he was robbing the diner Lindsay and her friends were at and shooting all the witnesses when the robbery didn't go the way he'd planned. He also spells out Lindsay's motivation for becoming a CSI in the first place: "...she had felt compelled, for the sake of her best friends, to do something to stop people like Kadems from hurting others." It's nice to have Lindsay's motives for pursing forensics spelled out, something the show has never done.

Fans of Detective Angell will be pleased to find she makes frequent appearances; she's every bit as involved in the bakery murder as Stella and Lindsay are. DeCandido also provides an explanation for how she came to work with the team in season three: when Flack was injured in the bombing, it was Angell who stepped in to take over his caseload. DeCandido perfectly captures Angell's tomboyish personality, from her casual dress to the way she's unfazed by the sexism of some of her fellow officers. Angell was clearly raised in a family of boys, and knows how to handle herself among them.

Chapter 13 of the book offers a treat for fans who have followed the show throughout its run: Flack, Stella and Hawkes have parallel nightmares about the traumas they've suffered in recent seasons. Flack recalls the bombing that caused his serious injuries and brought on the pain he struggles with. Stella has a nightmare about her boyfriend Frankie's attack on her, but instead of seeing Frankie, it is one of the suspects in the case she's working that is threatening her. Hawkes dreams about his false accusation of murder and being behind bars after Shane Casey framed him for the murder of a bartender. The visit to the correctional facility weighs on the doctor, dredging up memories of his own time in jail.

With the book set immediately after "Comes Around," DeCandido touches upon some of the internal politics that affected that episode and the ones before it. Both Gerrard and Sinclair make appearances, turning up the heat on Mac to solve Washburne's murder. Gerrard is a complex character in the book just as he is on the screen: he's ambitious and still smarting from Mac's political checkmate in "Comes Around," but he also sticks up for Mac when Sinclair seems ready to hang him out to dry.

DeCandido also sets up "Snow Day"; the last chapter in the book takes place the day before the events in the third season finale. I won't spoil what happens in those last pages, save to say that, like the book itself, it will be a treat for the fans of the show. Hopefully this won't be DeCandido's only entry in the CSI-verse; he knows the show well and has crafted two mysteries bound to appeal to both casual viewers of the show and devoted fans alike.

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