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Product Description
Review
'With slambam action from glamorous Hollywood to the LA ghettos, some surprising twists, and superbly drawn characters this thriller shows Crais is rightly up there with the American crime writing elite, including Michael Connelly and Dennis Lehane.' -- Alex Gordon PETERBOROUGH EVENING TELEGRAPH 'This is heroic fiction with high voltage action scenes as carefully choreographed as anything on the broadway stage. Once again Robert Crais delivers. What can I say? I'm a fan. Read this and you will be too.' CRIMESQUAD 'Crais knows how to keep a plot on the boil, and Pike's many followers will lap up his latest adventure with enthusiasm.' YORKSHIRE EVENING POST
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
Book Description
When Frank Meyer and his family are executed in their home, the police begin investigating the secret life they're sure Meyer had. Joe Pike's on a hunt of his own: to clear his friend's name, and to punish the people who murdered him. What starts out as a simple trail gets twisted fast by old grudges, double crosses, blood vengeance, and a crime so terrible even Pike and his partner Elvis Cole have no way to measure it.
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Most helpful customer reviews
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Joe Pike as an Avenger with a Softer Side,
By Donald Mitchell "Jesus Loves You!" (Thanks for Providing My Reviews over 112,000 Helpful Votes Globally) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER) (#1 HALL OF FAME)
This review is from: The First Rule (Hardcover)
"The avenger of blood himself shall put the murderer to death; when he meets him, he shall put him to death." -- Numbers 35:19Let's face it, when a character's appeal is as a strong, silent type, it can be hard to build an appealing story around him. Since the witty dialogue opportunities are limited with Joe Pike as the detective, Robert Crais wisely chooses to let Pike's actions develop the story and his character. This decision opens up two rather interesting possibilities that are well developed: lots of action where Pike is on his own and detailed development of interactions with even very minor characters. Through those nuances of Pike's actions and reactions, we see him muddily through the reflected mirror of what others do and say . . . and the impact of Pike's decisions on them (especially children). If Joe Pike isn't one of your favorite characters in detective fiction, I suggest you skip this book. Its appeal is mostly to the Pike aficionado rather than to the main-line fan of action detection. The plot, dialogue, and character development are there to illuminate Joe Pike rather than to provide a great detective story. Before Joe Pike was Elvis Cole's partner, he was a highly regarded mercenary in the world's most troubled hot spots who looked after his men much in the way that Marines have always looked after their own. One of those men had been Frank Meyer. Pike had dropped out of Meyer's life after Meyer's pregnant girl friend (and later wife) issued an ultimatum to leave the mercenary life and his mercenary comrades behind. As the book opens, Meyer's home is invaded by career criminals looking for a large score . . . the same group that has been ripping off other criminals at home in prior weeks. Meyer resists and a bloodbath ensues. The police immediately link Meyer to Pike, who vows to find out why Meyer's home was attacked and to exact revenge. Pike becomes a one-man tracking and wrecking force aided on occasion by old friends and former colleagues. It quickly becomes apparent that something very strange must be going on, and Pike determines to find out. In the process, he doesn't much care who gets in his way . . . unless it is an innocent (and yes, there are a few). The plot is built around how you would track career criminals who normally remain well hidden. There's an Eastern European mob connection to add color to the story. The search unfolds in pretty predictable ways so don't expect to feel much suspense. The book is a quick and easy read, taking about a third less time than most detective novels. When you come to minor characters, slow down to notice the extra care that Robert Crais places on giving you a sense of their attitudes, values, and habits. It's one of the slickest jobs I've ever seen done with the most minor characters in a book of detection. Put in your shooter's earplugs and get ready to race to the end.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Getting to know Joe Pike,
By
This review is from: The First Rule (Mass Market Paperback)
One thing I like about the series of Robert Crais novels is that each one has an innocent client that we come to care as deeply about as our protagonist does.The client Pike adopts as he goes about the business of finding out who killed his old friend, and why is what makes this book so good. This book is much more than a simple detective tale.
3.0 out of 5 stars
It was Okay, which was disappointing,
By
This review is from: The First Rule (Hardcover)
First Sentence: Frank Meyer closed his computer as the early winter darkness fell over his home in Westwood, California, not far from the UCLA campus.Joe Pike receives word that, Frank, one of the members of his former mercenary team has been murdered, along with his entire family and the nanny, in a violent home invasion. The police and FBI want to know what Frank was into. Pike knows he Frank was clean but, along with the other members of the former team and his friend, PI Elvis Cole, are dedicated to find the killers and elicit their own form of justice. This becomes particularly true when Pike realizes Frank wasn't the target, but only collateral damage. In general, I am a big fan of Robert Crais and the Elvis Cole/Joe Pike series. I liked 'The Watchman' which gave us more information about Pike's past. But I don't think Pike works as a lead protagonist. Pike works as Cole's backup, sometimes known as the 'psychopathic sidekick,' because he is an enigma. He doesn't do friendship, in the classic sense of the word but, by heaven, he does loyalty and he has a code by which he leads his life; and that makes him work as a character. I appreciate Crais wanting to stretch the character of Pike, but it just didn't quite work because of problems with the story and the writing. First, if Pike has said 'Sh.' one more time, I'd have taken out whatever virtual weapon'I am so NOT a gun person'and shot him. Second, Pike formed a relationship with a baby that, even allowing for the metaphysical, stretched credulity beyond the point of belief. But third, and most important, Pike broke his own rules. The situation did not call for it and it didn't make sense. The one thing that did hold true, was Pikes tribute to his fallen comrade, which I appreciated. Crais did give the story an element of place, but there also seemed to be a large assumption that the reader is familiar with the environs of Southern California/Los Angeles. I do find it interesting; i.e., unbelievable, that whenever there would be a car chase, there was no traffic to slow them down. It was, as always, an exciting read with lots of action and some good twists to the plot, but it was far from Crais best work. I'm certain I'll read his next book, but I may not buy it in hardcover. THE FIRST RULE (PI-Joe Pike/Elvis Cole-LA-Cont) ' Okay Crais, Robert ' 2nd Joe Pike G. P. Putnam's Sons, ©2010, US Hardcover ' ISBN: 9780399156137
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