Book Review: The Last Detective

Reviewed By: Woodstock - RAM

The Last Detective     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon UK PB Amazon UK HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Robert Crais
Class/Genre:   Mystery
Series: Elvis Cole # 9
2002, Doubleday 400 pages/ $ 24.95

Elvis Cole is back, and so is Joe Pike.

Elvis still has a rather tenuous relationship with Lucy Chenier, and has consented to keep her ten year old son Ben for a few days while Lucy is out of town on a business trip. Every parent's and babysitter's nightmare comes dramatically to life when the boy disappears, seemingly into thin air.

Joined by Carol Starkey, the title character in "Demolition Angel", now working as an officer in LAPD's juvenile division, Cole and Pike begin their search for Ben, staying a satisfying one or two steps ahead of the rest of the investigating team.

Crais lets us know more about Cole, his childhood, his experiences as a young Army Ranger in Vietnam, and his casual acquaintance with another well known detective fiction protagonist. The voice of the book shifts from first person (Cole) to alternating third person (Pike, Ben, and occasionally other minor characters) The passages from Ben's point of view work quite well - a somewhat naive little boy all of a sudden surrounded by real life bad guys (that's Bad Guys with a capital B and a capital G) who keeps his wits about him, outwits his kidnappers on at least one occasion, and weaves their ominous comments into his own musings on how he might escape.

Pike presents a delightful, rather unfamiliar human side - he is still feeling the effects of the horrendous injuries he incurred during "L A Requiem."

A fast, tense read - a "don't miss" for readers who are already fans of Crais, and a nice introduction for readers new to his work.

Woodstock - RAM

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