As one of the most reviewed authors here at MRB, it's probably a good bet we all will like what ever Crais writes or we wouldn't keep coming back to him. And this entry in the Elvis Cole/Joe Pike lineup is no exception. Actually, this one may be his best yet. Midwest Dave went to a signing Crais was doing in his hometown and scavenged up (signed!) copies for each of the Don's and himself so I'll have to keep the plot summary brief to not spoil their fun. Nita Morales is doing OK running a printing/silk screening business, but she stays a bit below the radar being an illegal, having arrived when she was an adolescent. Her daughter, Krista, hangs out with an Anglo that Nita doesn't much care for. When Krista disappears for a week, she assumes it's because of Jack. But then a ransom call comes in for a measly $500 and assumes its a scam Jack cooked up. Nita contacts Elvis to find Krista and get her out from under Jack's influence.
Very quickly, Elvis learns that Krista and Jack have been inadvertently swept up in a human trafficking ring with at twist. Coyotes bring people up through Mexico (Hispanics, Koreans, Indians, Asians; anyone who will pay them to get across the border into the US). But it seems now that there are hijackers (bajadores) out there who steal the illegals while in transit (making for a number of potential gang wars), lock them up and call relatives in the US demanding a small ransom for their freedom. When a payment is made, another call goes out asking for more. Once the families are unable to keep paying, the bajadores simply kill the abductee and dump their body in the desert. These bandits have a couple hundred on hand at any time and stand to make a tidy sum.
Elvis decides that the best way to get Krista back is to pose as a competing bajadore looking for Koreans. Joe Pike will be his back up and enlists the help of a professional mercenary he knows named Jon Stone ("a military consultant under contract to the US government and certain multinational corporations approved by the US to employ someone like myself." In other words, "He's the best shit-hot troop at this stuff to ever grace the earth; none finer, none more deadly, ever! A man among men.")
Well, that plan goes south and Elvis also gets taken (thus the book's title) leaving Pike and Stone to track down the shadowy Syrian behind all this mess.
And you just know, with two guys like Pike and Stone out to save Cole, the girl, and as many of the hostages as they can (allow me to steal a recent movie title) that There Will Be Blood.
To go any further into the story's details and twists would not be received well by my reviewing partners. I know I can safely say this: once you start reading, don't have anything else planned. I could have easily read this over a weekend. Crais wrote this one in a non linear fashion with each chapter focusing on a different set of characters at varying points of time - one chapter could be about Elvis 5 days before Krista was taken and the next could be about Pike 2 days after Krista was taken. I probably didn't describe that well, but once you start, it will make perfect sense.
Bottom line? This is the 18th posting of a book by Robert Crais. It may be down the list chronologically, but I rank this one as Crais' #1.
East Coast Don
Totally agree with ECD's assessment. Crais has added complexity to his plot that makes this his best effort yet. I actually attended one of his book signings when he visited St Louis last month. He handed out a few black T-shirts inscribed 'Elvis Cole Detective Agency. World's Greatest Detective'. Now I wish I had one...very clever.
ReplyDeleteguess you'll have to be satisfied with getting red arrow tatoos for your delts, a sleeveless sweatshirt, shades, and a red Cherokee (daily washing and weekly waxing required).
ReplyDeleteIt’s obvious that we like Crais. He has 18 books, and now there are 18 reviews. And, we all just continue to wait for the next one. ECD has already written a tantalizing review, and I have nothing to add to that. Is it hokey to get a little extra pleasure out of the fact that I was holding a book that the author had signed specifically to me? Okay, so I’m hokey. (How’s that for a catchy sentence?) It was also different to actually hold a book in my hand since nearly all of my reading is done on a Kindle. A real book is just not as convenient to read, and I don’t miss the experienced of having a real book in my hands, but it is wonderful to have the signed copy on my bookshelf, especially from Robert Crais. Thanks Dave.
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