One of television’s highest rated programs has crossed over to novel form.

“CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” has won over millions of fans by its second season. Now Max Allan Collins has delivered “Double Dealer,” the first novel based on the show.

“Double Dealer” follows the investigations of two crimes that hold eerie similarities.

Crime one appears to be a mob hit. A well-known mob lawyer from Chicago is found murdered in a Las Vegas hotel – two gunshot wounds to the base of the skull.

The investigation of crime two starts when construction workers discover a body that looks mummified.

In reality, the body has been preserved for 15 years in the desert climate. Cause of death was two gunshot wounds to the base of the skull.

Gil Grissom leads the Las Vegas Criminalistics Bureau in the search for the killer, or killers. Grissom does not believe in coincidences and runs the cases separately.

Catherine Willows has drawn the lead assignment to determine who killed the “mummy” 15 years earlier. Nick Stokes aids her in the investigation that soon takes an unexpected turn.

Meanwhile, Grissom with Warrick Brown and Sara Sidle sort through the evidence at the Beachcomber Casino. Their case draws the attention of FBI agent Rick Culpepper.

The team must follow the evidence to decide whether the cases are connected. What the evidence tells them turns out to be the last thing they expected.

The mix of story and technology that has propelled “CSI” to the top of the Nielson Ratings is not lost in “Double Dealer.”

The dialogue and mannerisms stay true to the characters. Collins has obviously done his homework.

Max Allan Collins may not be a very familiar name to most people. He has written numerous movie tie-ins including “The Mummy,” “The Mummy Returns,” “U-571” and “Saving Private Ryan.”

Collins has also written a novel based on the ABC series “NYPD Blue.” His works generally center around detectives and crime. He has also directed a few lesser-known movies.

“Double Dealer” is an original story based on characters from the CBS television show. That is the main reason this book is done so well.

Collins is not trying to interpret a screenplay that leaves out major details. Instead Collins has delivered a solid novel that is only restrained by the personalities of the characters.

This allows him the freedom to create an original idea and then plug existing characters into the story.

This is a similar pattern to what the show’s writers do for each program.

“Double Dealer” will not disappoint fans of the show. However, it does leave out little details that have been established on the TV show. For nonviewers of “CSI” it may be slightly difficult to pick up on certain points.

Collins does push the limit a bit at the end by trying to add an extra twist. But as a whole, “Double Dealer” is worth the time.