The Two Minute Rule [Hardcover]

Two minutes, in and out, that's the rule for robbing banks in this page-turning action ride around L.A. from bestseller Crais (Hostage). Break that rule, and you can end up like Marchenko and Parsons, dying in a violent shoot-out on the streets, the fortune from their string of heists deeply hidden. Max Holman certainly knows the time limit better than most. Dubbed the "hero bandit" by the press, he got caught during a robbery after he stopped to perform CPR on a bank customer who had a heart attack. About to leave prison on parole, the 48-year-old Max hopes he can establish contact with the son he never really knew, now a cop. When Max's son is murdered, suspected of being in a ring of dirty cops seeking the Marchenko and Parsons loot, Max needs to know the truth. The only person he figures can help him is Katherine Pollard, the fed who nabbed him, who's now ex-FBI and a struggling single mom. The perfect odd couple, they keep this novel personal and real as it builds to an exciting twist on the bank-robbing rule. 200,000 first printing; 15-city author tour. (Mar.)
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Max Holman is a career criminal. At least he was until he violated the two-minute rule, bank robbery's inviolable maxim. When he stayed in the bank four minutes, he was arrested by FBI agent Katherine Pollard. The intervening decade hasn't been kind to either of them. Holman spent it in jail; Pollard quit the FBI to raise her kids and then lost her husband to his secretary and death, in that order. The day Holman is paroled from prison he learns that his son, Richie, an LAPD officer, was gunned down. The investigating officers assure Holman that Richie's killer acted alone and then committed suicide. Something doesn't feel right, and Holman turns to Pollard, the only cop he ever trusted. She is suffocating in a cash-poor widow's hell and reluctantly begins to help Holman investigate. The unlikely allies butt up against a seemingly impenetrable wall of corruption and soon find many of their theories discredited. In general, Crais' Elvis Cole novels are superior to his stand-alone thrillers, but this is his best effort yet in the latter category. Pollard and Holman are carefully drawn, flawed, but empathetic characters. One of Crais' previous thrillers, Hostage (2001), resurfaced as a movie starring Bruce Willis. This might work for Willis, too, possibly with Sandra Bullock as Pollard. Wes Lukowsky
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'Crais is rated one of the best crime thriller writers around and fans of the genre won't be disappointed by this one' WOOD & VALE '[A] perfectly plotted gripper that belongs on the bedside pile of every thriller fan' THE DAILY RECORD --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Two minutes can be a lifetime. But break the two minute rule and it's a lifetime in jail. Ask anyone on the wrong side of the law about the two minute rule and they'll tell you that's as long as you can hope for at a robbery before the cops show up. But not everyone plays by the rules. When an aging ex-con finally gets out of jail, freedom doesn't taste too sweet. His son is gunned down in a drive-by shooting. It seems like a random crime, but when the victim is a cop - especially a cop with a con for a father - the motives are never simple. When the hit is exposed as a revenge killing, and the question of police corruption is raised, it becomes a father's last duty to clear his son's name and catch the killer. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Robert Crais is the author of twelve previous bestselling novels. He has won the Macavity and Anthony awards and been nominated for an Edgar. He lives in L.A. with his family. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Caught, convicted, and his time served, Max Holman is devastated by the news of his son's murder on his first day of freedom. His life "outside" begins, not as expected, but with a driving need to solve the riddles of false answers, the unrecovered fortune of a bank heist, and LAPD police corruption. Christopher Graybill maintains a steady hand on the intrigue that keeps listeners guessing throughout. His portraits of Holman and his unlikely partner, ex-FBI bank squad investigator Agent Pollard, are clear and subtly insightful. There's surprising humanity in these two misfits, and it comes across in Graybill's narration. Several minor characters get delightful "bit part" treatment from Graybill, making them more memorable than their brief appearances in the story. R.F.W. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to the MP3 CD edition.