Too Hot for TV (CSI: Miami: Heat Wave - Max Allan Collins)

Member Name: samueltyler

Product:	CSI: Miami: Heat Wave - Max Allan Collins
Date:	16/07/08 (107 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good characterisation, investigation well written

Disadvantages: Too short to expand story, a little simple

In a list of the dullest TV actors on the planet there are too many to note. One is that wobbly cheeked man from 'As Time Goes By' who narrates loads of TV shows - dull, dull, dull. I also find the Irish bloke from one of Channel 5's property shows both dull and scary - his lilt is just this side of psychopath. However, these two are small fry compared to a man who has managed to fashion a very successful career. He rose to prominence in 'NYPD Blue' and after a failed film career returned to the small screen for the immensely popular 'CSI Miami'. I am talking about none other than the charisma vacuum that is David Caruso. Why on earth they cast a red headed man to star in a show based in Miami is beyond me, I assume that they have to peel his head every night from sunburnt and skin cancer. Anyway, it is this man (and the abysmal coroner) that means I do not watch 'Miami' even though I love 'CSI'. Could a novelisation of the show give the actor some life?

A gang war is brewing in Miami and where there is crime there is crime scene investigation. Horatio and his team have a more personal interest in the gang warfare when one of their own is targeted. It turns out that the gun came from an unusual place and that the suspects could be better connected than most. With the city chiefs on his case Horatio must work his team fast, but efficiently, to try and catch some killers before all hell breaks lose.

The first thing you notice with 'CSI Miami: Heat Wave' is that author Max Allan Collins has managed to make the characters interesting and arguably likable. Without the talentless actors attached to them Collins is able to take the characters in a direction that people actually like without fear of Caruso and co. ruining it. Therefore, after initially fearing a book all about Horatio I was utterly surprised to keenly like the man. Without Caruso's glib delivery you get to see the deep motives behind Horatio's no nonsense approach to CSI work. He is a cop as well as a scientist, so unlike Grisham he can get involved in the dangerous work too. I felt I learnt more about Horatio in this one book than the numerous episodes I have seen. The way that Collins uses Horatio's relationship with his dead brother shows that this impacts on everything the character says and does.

Collins also succeeds in making other characters standout by using very 'CSI' like set pieces. Two of note are one were Delko descends into a sewer for evidence and Calleigh's adventures in a swimming pool. In most cases I would argue that fiction allows the author to take the show to places the budget could not afford. However, all the CSI shows seem to be well funded so Collins instead creates some very effective set pieces that fit effortlessly into the cannon of the show. I felt that the swimming pool experiment in particular made the book worth reading.

With good characters I was also impressed with the edgy story, to an extent. The pace was zippy enough to keep me entertained with action arising whenever it was needed. Unfortunately, as fun as the story was there is no denying its simplicity and I was able to work out the true criminal by the half way point easily. This did highlight the basic nature of the book and showed that with such a limited page count you are never going to get great tie in literature.
The central narrative of 'Heat Wave' was not really enough to keep none CSI fans involved, but there is enough here to please lovers of the show. I was not as impressed with the story itself as much as the way that Collins wrote about the investigation techniques. The parts of the show that I often enjoy the most are the scientific experiments and Collins does a good job here of re-enacting them. In the world of tie in novels this is a good book and an example of how decent 'CSI: Miami' could have been with some wiser casting.

Author: Max Allan Collins
Year: 2004
Price: amazon uk - £5.59
play.com - £6.49

Summary: A decent novel that will easily entertain fans of the show