The Watchman

An Elvis Cole and Joe Pike Novel, Book 11

By: Robert Crais

Narrated by: James Daniels

Length: 7 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

At last, the enigmatic partner of Elvis Cole (The Two Minute Rule) takes center stage in this pulse-racing thriller. When Joe Pike is charged with safeguarding a wealthy heiress, he discovers protecting the sole witness to a crime is nothing compared to protecting an LA party girl from her own self-destruction...

Larkin Conner Barkley lives like the City of Angels is hers for the taking. Young and staggeringly rich, she speeds through the city during its loneliest hours, blowing through red after red in her Aston Martin as if running for her life. Then suddenly she sees another car’s metal-on-metal explosion of a terrible accident and, dazed, finds herself the single witness in a secret federal investigation.

For maybe the first time in her life, Larkin wants to do the right thing. But in doing so she becomes the target for a relentless team of killers. And when the US Marshals and the finest security money can buy can’t protect her, Larkin’s wealthy family turns to the one man money can't buy - Joe Pike.

Pike lives a world away from the palaces of Beverly Hills. He’s an ex-cop, ex-Marine, ex-mercenary who owes a bad man a favor, and that favor is to keep the uncontrollable Larkin alive.

Pike commits to protecting the girl, but it becomes clear someone in their circle is selling them out. Taking matters into his own hands, Joe drops off the gird with Larkin and follows his own survival rules: strike fast, hit hard, hunt down the hunters. With the help of private investigator Elvis Cole, Pike uncovers a web of lies and betrayals, and the stunning revelation that even the cops are not who they seem. As the body count rises, Pike’s biggest threat might come from the girl herself, a lost soul in the City of Angels, determined to destroy herself unless Joe Pike can teach her the value of life...and love.

Investigate another case with Elvis Cole and Joe Pike.

©2007 Robert Crais (P)2007 Brilliance Audio

Critic reviews

"Elvis Cole's mostly silent partner, Joe Pike, now has a book of his own. His character, manner, and ethic resemble that of Harry Callahan (Dirty Harry), and thanks to James Daniels, so does his voice."--AudioFile

"Joe Pike, the intriguing, enigmatic partner of L.A. PI Elvis Cole, takes center stage in this intense thriller....The breathless pace and rich styling are sure to appeal to readers of hard-boiled fiction."--Publishers Weekly

great book

pike is a great charactor and it camptures the police mind set very well

Excellent Audio Book

I absolutely loved this book with Cole and Pike. This time Pike is showcased in an exciting, thrill a minute story. Pike is hired to keep a young woman safe and what follows is a crazy ride. The narrator was excellent and kept all the different characters separate.

Good Book

Started the book on the way home from work and could not put it down, this my 3rd Crais book and have really like all three. Joe Pike and Elvis are great characters, plots are very good

Unrequited love

This was more about Joe Pike, Elvis Cole's partner. In this book he takes on a bodyguard job for a kind of spoiled rich girl who has gotten in over her head with some sort of gangster. Now he and his organization want to kill her simply because she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Pike soon learns she's really not spoiled at all, just strong willed and lonely. He also finds they are caught up in a lot more than a simple gangland vendetta.

We who are Robert Crais fans know how he writes hard boiled detective novels with a lot of heart. This was no exception. It has everything you expect out of a Robert Crais novel and it reaffirms why I love to read his work. In one chapter he will have Pike harvesting bad guys like a combine harvests wheat. I mean, the action will be intense and I will find myself holding my breath. A chapter or two later I will be in tears over the way he has skillfully (oh so skillfully) pulled on my heart and made me FEEL the pain of an event... of a lost friend, or in this case, at the end, unrequited love.

Get this book. If you like Mr. Crais you will like this book.

I've got to say something about James Daniels, who I was not familiar with before now. He did a great job narrating this book. His timing and pacing are superb and he got the voices just right. Great job.

i Love Joe Pike!

I read and listened to this book on a plane ride. it kept me totally engaged right until the end!

"The girl's" relationship with Joe Pike.

I love Joe Pike and Elvis Cole novels and have read all books in the series up to this point. I wish Crais would have developed " the girl"'s (as Joe refers to her, almost never using her name, which to me doesn't speak of much warmth towards her from Pike, through no fault of his own, owing to his upbringing) personality more and had more intense conversations together. That he would fall in love with her is not believable to me. and whatever happened to his old partner, Was's, wife? I'd love to see him end up with someone good. Being a loner and almost a mute doesn't bode well for him, though, in the long lasting type of relationship. Maybe there's someone out there just perfect for him and vice versa, good luck, Joe. We love you, anyways!

Great story and series

Love the Elvis Cole and Joe Pike series. I look forward to next books. Just keep same authors makes it better

Excellent crime fiction thriller w Joe Pike in the lead, Elvis Cole plays backup

I enjoyed listening to James Daniels’ skilled voice-acting, especially Joe Pike’s gravelly gruff voice. I liked Elvis Cole’s secondary role in this book, because his wisecracking is tolerable in smaller snatches of conversation. And he gets to banter w their rich, wild-thang “client,” Larkin Conner Barkley—who is saddled w an eye-roll-inducing name. The complex storyline and subplots are superb, with several fine twists, but the pace falters a bit when author Crais works on fleshing out Pike by sorta giving him a heart.

4.5 stars, upped to 5 stars. I’ll be listening to the Audible version again.

A whole new side of Pike!

an absolute must read if you are a fan of Elvis and Joe, but as other reviewers have mentioned it unveils a whole different side of Pike and I think it adds immensely to the relationship between him and the characters he encounters.

Absolute pleasure to read.

A complete focus on Joe Pike with a detailed fleshing of his back story. It's difficult to keep a multiple novel storyline fresh and compelling but Robert Crais does it masterfully.