“Button’s face was blank as Pike approached, but a deep line cut Futardo’s brow. Pike wondered what she was thinking. Button’s jacket was already off in anticipation of the coming heat, and his hands were in his pockets. He didn’t take them out to shake. Instead, he nodded toward the canal. “There you go.” Pike looked, and in that moment he realized all his assumptions were wrong.”I think this could be my favorite Joe Pike yet. It begins with a torture scene as Hurricane Katrina rages, and it's

It has been a good while since I read Robert Crais. I had forgot just how much I had enjoyed the Cole & Pike series. This edition was more than I could have ever expected. The suspense began with the first chapter and never let up until the last. 👏 The cast of characters were well developed as was mystery.

I’ve somehow found myself working through this series in reverse order, which isn’t too problematic as although you need a basic idea of the relationship between the two main characters the books are pretty much stand alone episodes. Here, Joe Pike (the hard but quiet one) spots some suspicious activity and as a result halts what seems to be an attempted store robbery. In the aftermath he meets the niece of the store owner who ticks all the boxes for Joe and they quickly form a bond. But shortly...

What can I say about The Sentry except it was good. We got another glimpse into the mysterious Joe Pike and the deep bonds that hold Joe and Elvis together. It was what we all have come to expect from a Robert Crais novel…an action packed, exciting ride to a heart stopping finish with twists and turns along the way that you won‘t see coming.As a writer I like to try and figure out what will happen next and where this ride is taking me, but as always I was stumped by the master storyteller and hu...

Joe Pike spots two men go into a store. By their body language he can tell that they are planning to do something malicious. When Joe enters the store to check it out, he finds the men have the store owner on the floor and are beating him.Joe dispatches one of the men and the other runs away. The one man is arrested but later gets out on bail.That night someone throws a can of paint through the store window.The owner's niece, Dru Rayne, speaks to Joe and Joe offers to help. He learns that the me...

I do love my detectives and their tough-guy sidekicks: Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin, Spenser and Hawk, and now Elvis Cole and Joe Pike. Elvis Cole is an ex-Ranger with a Mickey Mouse phone, a bright yellow Corvette and a troubled past Joe Pike is his silent partner — dark shades, distinctive tattoos and very few words. The bonus for fans like me is that Robert Crais has taken the sidekick in his popular detective series and given him a series of his own — double the reading, double the pleasure...

Another good action adventure with Pike and Cole. I must admit that I got interested in the series more following Joe Pike than E. C. I suspect that both these characters have readers who are more interested in one than the other. The writer presents both of them realistically yet without wearing us out relating detail (though I am thoroughly informed now about Joe's running and dietary habits....I don't need to hear it again. But I suppose I will.)Here Joe gets involved with a...wait a minute,

While stopping to air up a tire, Joe Pike sees two men beating up a restaurant owner. Pike intervenes, falls for the owner's niece, and gets himself and Elvis Cole entangled in an FBI investigation involving a street gang and stolen drug money. Only everything Pike and Cole think they know is wrong...I'll be honest. I read one Robert Crais book before this one and wasn't completely sold. For most of that book, the Monkey's Raincoat, I thought Elvis Cole was little more than a ripoff of Robert Pa...

Been loving the series of Elvis Cole and his quiet buddy/friend/business partner, Joe Pike. It started with Elvis as the headliner and Joe his co-star but this is the third series of Joe as star and Elvis as co-star although Elvis' role in this last book is more predominent than in others. While Elvis clearly has had a love interest, Joe only love interest was mentioned because she was murdered. So our interest is stirred as soon as he seems interested in a woman he meets. Because of the situati...

This is the first Robert Crais that I have read, and I enjoyed it very much. It is certainly action-packed and fast-paced from the very first page. There is a lot of brutal violence involved, and plenty of blood.The hero, Joe Pike, watches out for the oppressed. He is a very tough guy, and I would certainly prefer to have him as a friend than an enemy. Surprisingly, for such a character, he sometimes lets his heart lead his mind. His supporter, Elvis Cole, is tough too, but seems more analytical...

It all started because Joe Pike stopped to put air in his tires. While he is at the service station, he notices two suspicious men about to enter a sandwich stop across the street. Pike follows them and stops them from beating up the owner, Wilson Smith. When Pike is waiting to talk to the police, he meets Wilson’s niece, Dru Rayne. Both of them are refuges from New Oreleans, feeling after Hurricane Katrina five years before the story starts. When trouble comes for the duo again, Dru calls Pike,...

2nd reading - Joe Pike is in the right place at the wrong time to intervene in a strongarm attempt on a businessman in L.A. The owner and his niece don't want to make a fuss, including calling the police, but what's done is done.Joe becomes infatuated with the girl, Dru, and is in knight-in-shining armor mode. Pike and his partner, Elvis, become embroiled with the FBI and local homicide cops in cross and double cross escapades. Good action yarn.1st reading - The 12th Elvis and 3rd Joe Pike story...

I love it when a book surprises me, I really do, and it's always terrific when it's a book by an author I'm a fan of. But then again, there is definitely something to be said for writers who deliver consistently great books each time; nothing too different, just the right blend of action and plot, with characters you grow attached to from book to book.I'm a big fan of Robert Crais' books featuring wisecracking but sensitive PI Elvis Cole, and his partner, former policeman-turned-mercenary-turned...

If you can’t stop to put air in your tires without having to prevent some thugs from beating up somebody then you just might be the hero of an action/crime novel.Professional bad-ass Joe Pike keeps a sandwich shop owner from getting pummeled by some local gangsters running a protection racket, and as a bonus he meets the owner’s good looking niece, Dru, who seems interested in him. Unfortunately, the punks seem intent on getting revenge, and when Joe can’t locate Dru or her uncle following some

A terrific novel featuring Joe Pike and Elvis Cole but in a few ways a little too pat so I ended up giving it 4 stars instead of 5 stars Pike interrupts some gang members beating up a man, Wilson Smith, in a sandwich shop. He decides to intervene in Smith's problems because of Dru, a young woman who is the man's niece. Pike meets with a local gang boss who promises Pike that he will get his young men to leave the Smith and Dru alone, but instead Smith and Dru disappear and Pike goes on the hunt

Superb Cole and Pike, with Pike perhaps leading. A very good balance between the two. Complex and hard to predict, some very nice twists, and a romance of sorts for Pike.I’ve somehow lost my notes for this book, sorry.... but I don't remember many quoteworthy passages, just good solid prose, "it does what it says on the label". Great stuff.----There are at least two of Robert's works that he wrote from the heart, with visible love and wonder and care, my very favourites:1. The Man Who Knew Dick

Joe Pike is a bad man and a good guy. This exciting story is well worth the read. I wish it were longer. 9 of 10 stars

Joe Piike is a man of few words. This is evident with sentences such as "I'm good." "Ask your questions." "This isn't a threat." "Lister. If you knew me as well as you knew Rainey, you wouldn't be here."After helping an old man and his niece from being beatup from gang bangers in Venice, California, Joe Pike and his friend Elvis Cole are entangled in an FBI sweep. This sweep is looking for a man who has stolen over $12 million dollars from the Bolivian drug cartel. The Bolivans hired a execution...

Joe Pike shares a Private Investigative Firm with Elvis Cole, a combat buddy. When Pike comes across a gang beating up on a man in a small sandwich shop, he doesn’t back down. Then he meets the niece of the shop owner and you’d think Pike was falling for her, but these two strangers are not who Pike thinks they are. His buddy Cole has unveiled something much bigger than themselves, and to get to the bottom of it, they follow the clues, walk the trails and surveil the houses and those involved. T...

Another excellent Pike & Cole novel. This one really stands out due to the fantastic antagonist. You gotta have a great villain! I'm really glad I took a chance on this series.