A Dangerous Man (Elvis Cole and Joe Pike Book 18)

I don't like characters who do stupid things as a plot device.But still vintage Joe Pike.Can't wait for the next one.

The new Robert Crais novel, A DANGEROUS MAN, is billed as an Elvis Cole and Joe Pike Novel. It is really more of a Joe Pike and Elvis Cole Novel, since Joe is at the center of the action and is the person referred to in the book's title.The premise is implausible but intriguing. Joe is going to the bank. One of the tellers is directed to take an early lunch. She is walking down the street and is then suddenly abducted by two men. Woe be to them, for Joe is there. He aborts their (as yet unexplained) plot and saves the girl. The men are taken into custody, make bail, and are immediately murdered. Whoa, what has Joe walked into? The rest of the novel contains the answer to that question, with Elvis detecting and Joe delivering various forms of mayhem. Along the way they meet a delightful U.S. Marshal, investigating the murder of a comrade in the Antelope Valley. That fellow marshal is the 'uncle' (not blood relative, but close friend) of the girl saved by Joe back in Los Angeles. The FBI are also interested in the case, so that Joe and Elvis find themselves protecting the (putatively) innocent girl but also dodging the lawmen and women who may frustrate their investigation.It's all complicated but completely intelligible and, ultimately, completely transparent and, within the world that Crais creates, plausible. I liked it. I enjoyed it, but then I've never met a Robert Crais novel that I didn't enjoy and I've read them all, from THE MONKEY'S RAINCOAT forward. Crais is among the most polished crime writers in America. He began writing scripts for major television crime series and then gave us Elvis Cole (twice the king, presumably). Joe Pike is what I have termed the 'avenging angel' character in the series—the invincible sidekick (like Spenser's Hawk) who is always there when the chips are down, softening up a room and then supervising the body count. A DANGEROUS MAN delivers precisely what I would order.There are some dissenting voices. Elvis is no longer the jokester and wit that he once was. True, but that has been so for many volumes now, and he still gets off a good one-liner from time to time. There has also been criticism of the book's length and the amount of white space on its pages. Note that the writer's and NYC editor's rule of thumb is that a book should be 40% dialogue. This book is thus comparable to a book by the late Bob Parker, but A DANGEROUS MAN is approximately 100 pages longer than the average Parker novel. Absent the rapid-fire dialogue, novels risk being lugubrious and here's an interesting fact (at least I think it's a fact): readers want the pages to fly by when they're reading. One of the raps on, e.g., the Great Books of the Western World series is that it put so many words on the page. DON QUIXOTE should be 600-800 pages, not 80-100. We want to feel that we are making progress when we read and the physical size and length of a novel is part of the reading process. We can feel the plot rhythms as we move further and further into the book and suddenly realize that we are physically reaching the conclusion. Reading on tablets is different from reading in hard copy.Bottom line: a solid Crais novel, with Pike being the dominant figure.

As one of innumerable Robert Crais fans who has read the entire Pike and Cole series… it is always with great anticipation that I await each new release. “Dangerous Man”… is one of the best in recent memory. It keeps the reader engrossed from start to finish. Knowing of course that each new episode is written… not only for the existing thousands upon thousands of Crais fans… but also hopefully for… many new ones… I have personally found an additional “joyful-wrinkle”… that I look forward to amusing myself with… as I read each new release. And that “wrinkle” is how the author introduces Pike and Cole into each new story… so as to educate the first time Crais reader… and yet… not bore the experienced Crais veteran. The author succeeds perfectly… as Pike’s infamous “red tattoos high on his arm”… are intermingled seamlessly with whatever telltale characteristics are used this go around… kind of like Mom’s new special ingredient in her family favorite secret apple pie recipe. The same goes with Elvis Cole and his patented Pinocchio clock on his office wall. Pinocchio is always there to help Elvis do his world famous “detecting”.Though Elvis has a small role in this outing… he is part of one of the writer’s high points this go around… and that is… some great… almost subtle minute character “performances”… by individuals… not exactly at the top of the chart of future Einstein’s… such as a lethargic convenience store clerk in the desert… and two dull bulb skateboarders in Los Angeles. Just many perfectly drawn “faces” in the game of life scenario.The story starts off when Joe Pike is making a deposit at a local bank… his teller that day… by a stroke of fate… is young Isabel Roland. After Pike leaves the bank… and “Izzy” is forced to take an early lunch… Pike is standing by when innocent young Izzy is kidnapped off the street by some criminals for hire. When Pike saves the day… it starts a fast moving… cleanly written mystery… that involves an army of thugs… (many resembling All-Pro NFL lineman) a secretive “employer” pulling the strings… a murdered United States Marshall… and a horde of vengeful Marshalls… along with local cops… the Witness Protection Service… and one of my favorite Crais “character-actors” criminologist… and all around nerd…along with being a true Walter Mitty-like… playboy wannabe. Chen shows that within his meek frame… beats a heart of gold… and when it really… really… counts… he’s a true friend and *STAND-UP-GUY*!The author also shows loyal fans… that he’s lost nothing off his poetic short and to the point… captivating descriptive “fastball” quips… here are a few samples to welcome back old fans:“Their skin had the greasy sheen of too little sleep, and their jackets hung like wrinkled drapes.”“Fading prints clung to walls with a twenty year grip.”“Small eyes in a fleshy face scowled.”“A short, furry man… his black eyes were fierce. Bushy black eyebrows bristled like porcupines.”“The corner of Pike’s mouth ticked. A tiny twitch, too small to see.”“Steinaway grinned, as nasty as a razor cut.”“Gregg laced his fingers and took over. His hands were so big they looked like giant tarantulas.”“Chen’s voice was so sad he seemed to be melting away.”This is a wonderfully written book… that will literally hold your interest to the very last page!

My husband was very happy with this for his birthday

Robert Crais did it! He invented a damsel in distress with an I.Q. of 10. This damsel managed to get herself in so much unnecessary distress, that had I been Joe Pike, I would, early on, have given her a clipper, then put her on a soft piece of furniture to snooze the rest of the book away while I got busy getting the 'bad guys.' But since Joe Pike's patience is as fictional as he is, he didn't, thus enabling the damsel to get not only herself, but her BFF friend in ever more distress, all of which was life threatening to Pike and Cole. This damsel elicited head shakes and groans from this reader and in my opinion, said damsel didn't deserve what she got in the end. Spoiler alert ... she didn't get herself killed thanks to the tireless efforts of Pike and Cole and assorted 'good guys.' But, here goes, good bye Robert Crais!

I read this book from my library, but enjoyed it so much I decided to buy a copy for my son in law's birthday. The main characters in this most recent book of a series, are compelling butt kickers.

What a disappointment after so long a wait. Our boy Crais must be dead and this was written by a proxy. So formulaic and predictable and sad......used to be fun reads but I guess Crais is so rich now he is devoid of ideas and he and his characters are now all dead. As Allon would say " dead dead dead " ...........

Quick pass, no boring interludes, clear path through the tale, and justice served in the way l like best, with bad guys dropped by the dozen