When you have a trip and need some reading material, but you are way down the wait list at the library, retreat to a reliable author. Back to MRB fav, Robert Crais.
We are a few books back, when Lucy Chenier and her son Ben had left Louisiana and moved to LA to make a new start with Elvis Cole. Elvis and Lucy made a connection in an earlier book. Her nutcase ex-husband had pushed them over the edge so they bolted to LA. Now Elvis is in hog heaven with Lucy and Ben living in LA.
After school one day, Ben is over at Elvis' house overlooking Laurel Canyon. They enjoy each other as they gently try to develop this new relationship. Ben goes off on a little explore around Elvis' house through the undergrowth on the hillside below the deck . . . and disappears.
All hell breaks loose as Elvis panics. He searches all over. Nothing. Calls Lucy at her work. She is beside herself not only over his disappearance, but with guilt that this wouldn't have happened had they stayed in NOLA. The cops are brought in. And Lucy owes it to Ben's father to tell him what's going on.
He arrives with his own crew of investigator; a shady bunch. The cops want Elvis out of the search, but you know that'll never happen. And where Elvis goes, Joe Pike is sure to be close behind.
Why was Ben kidnapped? Surely it can't be for money. What LA private eye has that kind of money? Even if you are The World's Greatest Detective. Maybe they are after Lucy somehow. She is a talking head TV lawyer now so they must be loaded. Or maybe it's Ben's father. He's wealthy with a capital W. That must be it.
So we are faced with two angles here. Where is Ben and who are the kidnappers working for or against? This very fast-paced tale explores all possibilities that in the end, while logical, certainly wasn't what was expected as the case developed. One cool little subplot is that one of the police detectives is the femme fatale from Demolition Angel who takes a shine to our heros.
Like I said. Got a trip? Need a book? Go with your gut. And my gut almost always says Robert Crais. Only bad thing about traveling as much as I do is that I'm very close to running out of Cole/Pike books.
East Coast Don
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