The Promise

Starred review from September 21, 2015
MWA Grandmaster Crais is at the top of his game in his 16th Elvis Cole novel (after 2012’s Taken). When the L.A. PI goes looking for chemical engineer Amy Breslyn, who has absconded with $460,000 from her company, Woodson Energy Solutions, he learns that Amy’s motive involves her journalist son, who died in a terrorist bombing in Nigeria 16 months earlier. The investigation takes Cole to a house in Echo Park crammed with explosives—a locale that also attracts LAPD K-9 officer Scott James and his German shepherd Maggie (the protagonists of 2013’s Suspect). At the house, a criminal mastermind eludes the team, but when the crook realizes that James can identify him, he determines to eliminate the K-9 officer. Meanwhile, the Major Crimes squad becomes suspicious of Cole, who calls on his partner, the ultracryptic Joe Pike, for help. Pike in turn enlists the talents of former Delta Force op Jon Stone, now a mercenary. The resolution of the complicated conspiracy is both clever and touching. Agent: Aaron Priest, Aaron M. Priest Literary Agency.

October 1, 2015
Los Angeles private investigator Elvis Cole is joined by K-9 cop Scott James and his battle-scarred German shepherd, Maggie, in the search for a woman out to avenge the killing of her son in a suicide bombing in Nigeria. The woman, Amy Breslyn, is a chemical production engineer working for the government who disappeared with $460,000 in company money and a newly purchased gun. Cole is directed to a bungalow in Echo Park, where James encounters him after a man is beaten to death inside, surrounded by a stash of munitions and explosives. We learn that Amy has infiltrated the arms-dealing culture hoping to get close to people who know the identity of her son's murderers. Persecuted by the LAPD, Cole and his taciturn partner, Joe Pike, slowly unravel bad information and false identities]helped by James reluctantly at first, since he's not sure Cole isn't dirty, and then wholeheartedly after attempts on the lives of both the K-9 officer and his Afghanistan-traumatized dog (introduced in the 2013 stand-alone Suspect). After 20 novels, Crais remains one of crime fiction's smartest and most effortless plotters. The story unfolds with supreme ease, energized by the enigmatic presence of mercenary Jon Stone. James' undying love for Maggie can be a bit much, as can Crais' decision to narrate a nightmare sequence from the dog's point of view. But the book speeds along at an agreeable clip, lifted by the author's command of the setting, and those military canines do deserve their plaudits. Not Crais' deepest or thorniest mystery but another solid outing with a host of involving characters.

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November 1, 2015
Elvis Cole is joined by his longtime sidekick, Joe Pike; Pike's pal Jon Stone; and the stars of Cole's Suspect (2013), Scott James and K-9 wonder Maggie, on his latest case, a sure treat for Crais' enormous following. Cole is tracking Amy Breslyn, a missing chemical engineer who develops fuel for the Department of Defense. According to her boss (and Elvis' client), Amy has changed dramatically since her son was killed in a terrorist attack abroad. Now, Amy has a shady new boyfriend and has seemingly disappeared. Elvis follows his only lead to a house where he finds a dead gangbanger and a cache of black-market explosives, which he's sure are linked to his missing chemist, but now he has a new problem: clearing himself as a suspect in the gangbanger's murder. Crais revisits K-9 Officer James' compelling relationship with his canine partner, Maggie, when a death threat forces him to choose between following orders and trusting Cole. The World's Greatest Detective is as quick-witted as ever, and the timely link to al-Qaeda terrorist factions adds both balancing gravitas and suspenseful kick.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)

Starred review from November 1, 2015

Master crime fiction writer Crais delivers another winner, teaming up PI Elvis Cole and Cole's partner, Joe Pike (Taken) with LAPD K-9 officer Scott James (introduced in Suspect) and his companion, a large German shepherd named Maggie. The plot centers on a dowdy chemical engineer, Amy Breslyn, who appears to be selling 400 kilos of a highly specialized plastic explosive to terrorists. Cole unknowingly stumbles into a crime scene involving Amy as a result of his being hired by someone to investigate an unrelated matter. Appearances can be deceiving, and it takes Cole, Pike, Scott, Maggie, the FBI, and a slew of others to eventually uncover the truth. Crais deftly avoids giving short shrift to his main players while providing a deeper and more sympathetic portrait of a particular series-recurring tough guy, Jon Stone. VERDICT For readers who long for character crossovers and unambiguous resolutions, this excellent thriller should fit the bill. A skillfully convoluted plot evolves ever so slowly and culminates in a satisfying finish that also successfully ties up multiple story lines. [See Prepub Alert, 6/1/14.]--Jeffrey W. Hunter, Royal Oak, MI

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2014

Crais brings together some favorite protagonists in a thriller that starts off with a missing woman. Asked to find her, Elvis Cole discovers that she's a defense contractor staffer being blackmailed into supplying explosives for the bad guy. LAPD officer Scott James and his trusty patrol dog, Maggie, enter the case when they stumble upon a building full of explosives and get assaulted for their troubles. The New York Times best-selling author's 20th novel.

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2014

Even as Elvis Cole tracks a woman who seems to have disappeared with someone she met online, LAPD K9 officer Scott James and his patrol dog Maggie enter a vacant building in search of a nasty thief. They find the thief dead, the building packed with explosives, and a battered Joe Pike hiding in the shadows. The 16th Cole/Pike outing from this multi-award winner.

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 1, 2015

Master crime fiction writer Crais delivers another winner, teaming up PI Elvis Cole and Cole's partner, Joe Pike (Taken) with LAPD K-9 officer Scott James (introduced in Suspect) and his companion, a large German shepherd named Maggie. The plot centers on a dowdy chemical engineer, Amy Breslyn, who appears to be selling 400 kilos of a highly specialized plastic explosive to terrorists. Cole unknowingly stumbles into a crime scene involving Amy as a result of his being hired by someone to investigate an unrelated matter. Appearances can be deceiving, and it takes Cole, Pike, Scott, Maggie, the FBI, and a slew of others to eventually uncover the truth. Crais deftly avoids giving short shrift to his main players while providing a deeper and more sympathetic portrait of a particular series-recurring tough guy, Jon Stone. VERDICT For readers who long for character crossovers and unambiguous resolutions, this excellent thriller should fit the bill. A skillfully convoluted plot evolves ever so slowly and culminates in a satisfying finish that also successfully ties up multiple story lines. [See Prepub Alert, 6/1/14.]--Jeffrey W. Hunter, Royal Oak, MI

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.