In Joe Pike, "the world's greatest detective's" enigmatic and stoically
violent sidekick of the "Elvis Cole" novels, the talented Robert Crais
has created one of most intriguing characters in contemporary popular
fiction. But with the wisecracking Cole still mostly sidelined from
injuries suffered in "The Forgotten Man", Pike takes center stage in
this well plotted, fast moving crime drama.
With his red-arrowed forearms "going forward, never back", Pike, to
repay an old debt, reluctantly takes on the task of protecting Larkin
Barkley, a spoiled LA society brat drawn with shades of Paris Hilton,
right down to the rat-dog-in-the-purse detail. Returning home from late
night revelry, Barkley t-bones a Mercedes full of the wrong people, and
in a convoluted twist, ends up as a witness under protection. But when
it becomes clear that the folks who'd prefer that Barkley not testify
are deadly serious, Joe Pike gets the job of keeping the pouting
debutant safe and sound.
As always, Crais' prose is witty and fast moving. Joe Pike, who is
about as chatty as Mount Rushmore, is cleverly contrasted against
Larkin's tantrums. And Elvis Cole, while taking care not to swing the
spotlight too far away from Pike's solo debut, throws around enough of
his patented one-liners to keep his hardcore base smiling. But if the
bond that builds gradually between Joe and Barkley stretches the bounds
of credibility just a bit, this is, after all, fiction, and besides,
Crais does a masterful job of building the sexual tension and creating
- perish the thought - the hint of a soft side to Pike's impenetrable
persona.
violent sidekick of the "Elvis Cole" novels, the talented Robert Crais
has created one of most intriguing characters in contemporary popular
fiction. But with the wisecracking Cole still mostly sidelined from
injuries suffered in "The Forgotten Man", Pike takes center stage in
this well plotted, fast moving crime drama.
With his red-arrowed forearms "going forward, never back", Pike, to
repay an old debt, reluctantly takes on the task of protecting Larkin
Barkley, a spoiled LA society brat drawn with shades of Paris Hilton,
right down to the rat-dog-in-the-purse detail. Returning home from late
night revelry, Barkley t-bones a Mercedes full of the wrong people, and
in a convoluted twist, ends up as a witness under protection. But when
it becomes clear that the folks who'd prefer that Barkley not testify
are deadly serious, Joe Pike gets the job of keeping the pouting
debutant safe and sound.
As always, Crais' prose is witty and fast moving. Joe Pike, who is
about as chatty as Mount Rushmore, is cleverly contrasted against
Larkin's tantrums. And Elvis Cole, while taking care not to swing the
spotlight too far away from Pike's solo debut, throws around enough of
his patented one-liners to keep his hardcore base smiling. But if the
bond that builds gradually between Joe and Barkley stretches the bounds
of credibility just a bit, this is, after all, fiction, and besides,
Crais does a masterful job of building the sexual tension and creating
- perish the thought - the hint of a soft side to Pike's impenetrable
persona.
