Bruce Von Stiers

Stephen J. Cannell is one the most multitalented people in the entertainment. He has produced show like The Rockford Files and Wiseguy. He has also acted in some of his own shows. And he has written several novels. The latest novel for Cannell is called The Viking Funeral. It was published by St. Martin’s Press.

Shane Scully is a cop. He is tooling down the 101 on his way to pick up his girlfriend’s brother. He happens to look over at the car next to him and sees a dead man. It is Shane’s friend Jody Dean who supposed committed suicide two years earlier. Shane ends up cracking up his car and tries to convince the people around him that Jody is really alive.

From that point forward, Shane’s life will never be the same. He is already on a pysch exam kind of probation on the LAPD. His girlfriend, Alexa Hamilton, is about to receive the department’s Medal of Valor, the highest honor an officer of the LAPD can get. People start disappearing and Shane finds a conspiracy brewing. He tries to enlist Alexa’s help but she is hesitant.

Shane finds out that Jody is indeed alive and part of a rogue undercover unit. They call themselves the Vikings, after a unit in the LA County Sheriff’s office. The only thing is the Sheriff’s Vikings were no better that the crooks that they busted. Was Jody’s unit just as corrupt?

Shane and Alexa end up going to the new Police Chief and lay out the situation. Together they concoct a plan to get Shane undercover into the group. The plan backfires and Shane is soon on the run.

From L.A. to Palm Springs, Miami and South America, Shane moves about finding out what is going on and trying to stop it.

The underlying theme for the novel is corruption that American corporations participate in to sell their products. This includes something called the Parallel Market. This is where drug kingpins get American companies to launder money for them through a series of transactions involving consumer products. In his dedication to this book, Cannell is furious about this being allowed to happen and hope that we will be equally upset.

The Viking Funeral is a fast thrill ride that only Stephen J. Cannell could provide. The story might not be completely plausible, but who is to say what goes on with American companies. Especially in the wake of the Enron and World Com debacles.