The Pallbearers

by Stephen J. Cannell

Book Overview

"From the perennial "New York Times "bestseller comes a powerful new novel in which Detective Shane Scully, who grew up as an orphan, must revisit his painful childhood to find out who murdered the kind and charismatic man who became a father to him " Abandoned by his parents as an infant, Scully was reared in an orphanage, Huntington House. The only positive thing in his young life was the attention of the Home's director, Walter "Pop" Dix. Pop,...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312557299
• ISBN13: 9780312557294
• Release Date: March 2010
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press
• Length: 312 Pages
• Weight: 1.16 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.6" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

Feeding Your Inner Wolf

This was a fast and entertaining read for the better part of an afternoon into evening. My single favorite idea put forth by Cannell in the Pallbearers came late -- in Chapter 58 -- during a dialogue between Scully and Mesa. MESA: "...he had this Zen lesson for me...two wolves fighting over my soul...one evil...wants to eat my heart...the other good...wants to protect my spirit. I remember getting more pissed by the minute. He was patronizing me...So I finally asked him, Okay, if these wolves are fighting, which would will win? You know what he told me?" SCULLY: "Yeah...he said the wolf you feed will win...I remembered the story well. Walt had told it to me the second week I'd been there. The day he'd caught me stealing money from the office." In spite of their similar school of hard knocks childhoods, Mesa (the guy who chose to feed his evil wolf) became an individual who lacked heart. Scully, though a perennial rule breaker and no angel himself, chose to feed the wolf who protected his spirit and lived life with a great deal of heart (and also regret, guilt and finally atonement). I liked Scully's speculation about why they (Scully, Vargas, Diamond, Straw, Cotton and Lavicki) were chosen to be the Pallbearers. SCULLY: "All of them had started right where I had, all had come out someplace completely different. Six graduates of Huntington House. Pop's favorites. Or at least, that's what I thought at the time." Cannell didn't leave us hanging too long -- in Chapter 9, Alexa (Scully's wife) gives her take on the reason. The reader can accept Alexa's analysis or look for deeper reasons and keep thinking right up 'til the end. I thought that in addition to Alexa's take, each of the pallbearers brought his/her own area of expertise to help solve the case. Most of the names are nouns -- I couldn't figure out if that was of significance. (Scully means herald, Vargas means slope or fenced. Lavicki means???) TYPOS: kneeding (should be kneading) on page 120 and waiver (should be waver) on 189.

Scully & Pallbearers Kick Butt

The Pallbearers by Stephen J. Cannell Shane Scully doesn't believe that Pop Dixon committed suicide neither do the other pallbearers at his funeral. They form a "murder club" and seek answers to this mystery. Cannell's Scully is explained in this book. Shane is a reoccurring character that frequently flies off the grid and exhibits a lot of anger. I haven't read too many of the books featuring him but in this one you find out the source of his anger. The colorful characters literally illuminate the book. Each one is a bright source of enlightenment. Jack is the loveable rogue and of course Alexa is the steadfast love and partner. Chooch, the son, is barely seen but offers some very thoughtful advice as to Scully's pain. I really liked the book. I identified with the tenacity shown by Scully especially since it was maintained in the face of so much pain. Alexa's support epitomizes the strength a good relationship can offer to the participants in the relationship. This is a good mystery but it is also a journey of redemption. I highly recommend the book.

The best Shane Scully story!

This is the first book I've reviewed, but was moved to post on The Pallbearers. I've read all the Shane Scully novels, enjoyed them all to some degree, but this was the best yet. I won't go into any details of the story, but Shane Scully has grown up (some), and it's a terrific read. One low rating panned the ending. It could have been fleshed out with a bit more detail of the action sequence, but that's a minor shortcoming of a fine story. I recommend to all Shane Scully fans and the story stands alone for newcomers.

An utterly riveting novel

TV producer and veteran crime fiction writer Stephen J. Cannell presents The Pallbearers, his latest suspenseful novel featuring the grizzled detective Shane Scully. When the director of the orphanage where Shane lived in between stays with foster families - a man whose kindness was one of the only bright spots in Shane's young life - is found dead of an alleged suicide, Shane is instantly suspicious. Shane is one of six specific people that the dead man chose to be his pallbearers. All six are convinced that the man they will lay to rest never would have chosen to kill himself. But who could have murdered him, and why? Uncovering the insidious secret behind the death proves to be a dangerous task, in this utterly riveting novel. Highly recommended.