Haunted throughout his life by a lack of knowledge about his father, Elvis turns to the one person who can help him navigate the minefield of his past - his longtime partner and confidant, Joe Pike. Together with hard-edged LAPD detective, Carol Starkey, they launch a feverish search for the dead man's identity - even as Elvis struggles between wanting to believe he's found his father at last, and allowing his suspicions to hold him back. With each long-buried clue they unearth, a frightening picture begins to emerge about who the dead man might have been, and the terrible secret he's been guarding.
At the same time, Elvis has no way of knowing he has awakened a sleeping monster. The further he goes in his investigation, the closer he draws to a merciless killer who is violently connected to the unidentified man's past. This psychopath believes Cole is hunting him, and he goes on the attack to find Elvis before Elvis can find him.
Investigate another case with Elvis Cole and Joe Pike.
©2005 Robert Crais; (P)2005 Brilliance Audio
Actor/director/teacher. Live most of the time in Beijing now. Listen to Audible on the subway and while driving. Love the reviews.
"Crais's reliable craft"
This is a nicely paced book which keeps moving even though we are given a good deal of flashback information about Elvis Cole's childhood abandonment. Crais knows how to craft a plot and use it to reveal character on the fly. It does seem to me, however, that he has pretty much exhausted some of his supporting characters at this point and needs to shake things up in a major way if he continues with Cole's story.
Still, this is a good read. It develops honestly, giving you all the information you have a right to expect along the way and then delivering a surprising revelation about how it all fits together.
I particularly like the way Crais combines first and third person narrative. He keeps all the threads of the story developing in parallel and ties the knot artfully at the end.
"Crais Does it Again!!"
Loss, Identity, and Family
This one probes Elvis Cole's background and personal psychology. It lends an added richness to the character. Some will complain that Elvis isn't quite as funny here as he usually is but, it makes sense given the context.
I thought his performance brought a kind of gravitas and force to the story that fit the prose quite nicely.
Yes. I couldn't quite manage to do that, but I wanted to.
Loved the book. My only complaint is that sometimes Lucy Chanier really gets on my nerves. Part of me wishes Crais would write her out of the series.
"A Brother Fit for Calamity"
In a world where Face-to-Face Friendships is all but lost, the human connection between Cole and Pike makes the adventure believeable. Knowing someone has Cole's back kept me reading
Pike. When I grow up, I want to be like him or know someone like him.
Feeling. Audible listening is all about the "Reader". Daniels does a great job.
Yes, many days I would sit in my truck in my drive-way after getting home, just listening.
My first Cole/ Pike book was "Taken". Now I'm Hooked on series. Thanx, Robert