The Promise: An Elvis Cole and Joe Pike Novel: 16

The entire gang - motley crew is here in this novel, which is not exactly your typical Crais novel but a thrilling read nevertheless. Since Crais novels come out after long intervals, I really look forward to reading them. Though this is not among his best works, it still packs a punch and twists and turns and makes for good easy escapist reading

Not his best - very convoluted and drags with everyone's past history - including the dog's !

Robert Crais is another author I pick up without bothering to see what the book is about. He's never disappointed me yet.The Promise is his latest book and it's the 16th book featuring private eye Elvis Cole and the enigmatic Joe Pike. But Crais really mixes it up this time, bringing in characters from other series. LAPD officer Scott James and his K9 partner Maggie and the also enigmatic Jon Stone make appearances.Elvis is hired to find a missing woman as her employer is quite worried - for a number of reasons. Elvis's initial search takes him to a house in LA's Echo Park - and lands him in a load of trouble. There's a dead guy in the house, along with a huge amount of explosives. And Elvis talked to the guy who left the house and disappeared.I always enjoy Elvis's sense of humour, snappy comebacks and his attitude. He's loyal to his customers, dogged and determined. Not always by the book, but he gets results. Joe Pike is the quiet one, the dangerous one and yes, the mysterious, kinda sexy one. Scott James is a bit of an innocent, but his loyalty to his dog makes for a great look at K9 policing. And as he's fairly new to readers, it's nice to get to know him a bit better. Jon Stone is a friend of Pike and I enjoy the glimpses we get to see of this mysterious man. (I think it's time for Jon to have a book of his own.) There's a fifth character and she has her own voice in The Promise. That's Maggie - the K9 officer. I have to tell you, I was sniffling during her chapters. (and then I went and hugged my dog)Although I enjoyed seeing so many favourite characters in one place, it ended up being a very busy book. Lots of POV's. It changed the tone and timbre of the book, giving Elvis less time and space to be, well, to be Elvis. And I always want more Pike. Mr. Rollins, the antagonist in the book, is also given a voice. So many POV's took away from the plot for me. But The Promise was still a good read for me. On the other hand, if you haven't sampled Crais' writing yet, this is a great book to meet his protagonists and choose what series to delve into next.

I've enjoyed the previous Elvis Cole novels, and kind of tolerated the Joe Pike story. And the original Scott <whatsis-surname?> book with dog as a protagonist was an interesting diversion.And them we have this.... Every character that Elvis Cole giving their own perspective on the same case.It could have worked but it didn't, mainly because the entire backstory was far too convoluted - even half way through I cared zero for whether Cole, the otherwise likeable dog-cop-guy-character or anyone else lived or died.The plot is already too tangled, before you start layering in all of the characters that Mr. Crais tries to introduce.All in all, it's a confusing mess.

First up let me say that I enjoyed the book, taking only a couple of days to finish it, so it's a true "page-turner". The story is decent enough as well, a tangled plot that gets unravelled to a satisfactory conclusion. So far so good. However I can't help feeling that teaming up Scott James and his K-9 dog Maggie with Elvis Cole and (a tad underused) Joe Pike is a concept that stretches credulity a bit thin, trying too hard to emulate the Bosch/Haller link-up that Michael Connelly has developed perhaps. But, but but maybe I'm being unnecesarilly curmudgeonly and I don't want to put readers off. Fans of Crais will enjoy this book and new readers will find an enjoyable and thrilling story. Well worth a read

I was somewhat disappointed after a long wait for an Elvis Cole. Where it was Elvis with Joe Pike in the background it now seems Elvis is part of a team which ruins the wise cracking 'best detective in the world'. I struggled to get into the book for the first two thirds and then the plot came together but I will say the plot was a bit convoluted and need not have been and it had a cast of thousands. I will always like the characters but Crais has to be careful that introducing all his new found 'stars' into one story and they will start to detract from one another. Elvis and Joe go together, Jon Stone is either a one-off or the start of another route for the author although there is a cross over with Pike and I think Scott and his dog, Maggie will not necessarily appeal to all the Elvis readers.

After a lay off, one of the best yet. All his main popular characters appear :- Elvis Cole; Joe Pike: Maggie the dog; and (possibly a debutant) Jon Stone, a mercenary.The plot is ingenious and the criminals unspeakably nasty, and unpredictableIn addition, rather than a single commentator, each main character, (including Maggie) has their own share of chapters which are skilfully intermingled to keep the plot racing along, always one step ahead of the anticipating reader.Though not a registered fan (they are called Craisies in the States) I fully recommend this book for veterans as well as new readers

Great plot, great to see several characters coming together. The only thing I don’t understand is how it has taken me five years to find out about this book. Read it almost in one sitting. It was supposed to ease the boredom during Coronavirus lockdown, but barely lasted 12 hours. That’s what happens with a Craig’s book.