Private investigators Joe Pike and Elvis Cole get double-crossed in this twisty, gripping New York Times bestseller that will have readers on the edge of their seats. When gangbangers shake down the modest owner of a Los Angeles eatery, Joe Pike intervenes. For all intents and purposes, Pike saved Wilson Smith's life. But for reasons of their own, Smith and his lovely niece, Dru, are curiously resentful. It's only when Pike's feelings for the woman deepen that he and his partner, Elvis Cole, discover that Dru and her ...
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Private investigators Joe Pike and Elvis Cole get double-crossed in this twisty, gripping New York Times bestseller that will have readers on the edge of their seats. When gangbangers shake down the modest owner of a Los Angeles eatery, Joe Pike intervenes. For all intents and purposes, Pike saved Wilson Smith's life. But for reasons of their own, Smith and his lovely niece, Dru, are curiously resentful. It's only when Pike's feelings for the woman deepen that he and his partner, Elvis Cole, discover that Dru and her uncle are not at all who they seem, and everything Pike has learned about them is a lie. But it's much more than a deception. It's a trap. And with every new twist it's proving to be a killer.
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This is the third book in the Joe Pike series and it is unique. People are not who they seem; situations are fluid and are hard to pin down. The story begins at a rapid pace, accelerates to breakneck speed and moves to ultra-high velocity. By the end, readers may think they've rumbled along with a hurricane to the sudden, shocking end.
The story began about the time of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. Now Dru Rayne and her uncle are being shaken down by LA neighborhood hoodlums. Joe Pike witnesses a robbery and beating in their store and decides to get involved. But Dru and her uncle don't want to press charges and seem less than thankful for Pike's help.
As the body count rises, the FBI, Mexican Federales and LAPD are suspicious of each other and Joe. Detective Button, a nemesis from Joe's past, wants to blame Joe for as many of the dead that he can. But the situation gets so dangerous that they find themselves (reluctantly) on the same side.
Elvis Cole, Joe's partner, is usually a light-hearted comic (at least in the 4 or 5 stories I've read). He seems to be the king of one-liners; however in this story he shows his sober, serious side. I learned a great deal about the relationship between these two men in the way they take care of each other before, during and after the bloodletting.
This is a violent but very fine novel; I'm so glad to have seen this side of two of the most interesting characters in modern fiction.
Joe Pike Series
1. The Watchman (2007)
2. The First Rule (2009)
* 3. The Sentry (2011)
Ben H
May 19, 2011
Sentry
Good book, a little long before it got done to main story lines. Pike is almost too perfect to believe anymore, sad.
gelati.giovanni@gmail.com
Jan 18, 2011
Gelati's Scoop
Am I a sucker for a Joe Pike novel or what? Yes I am and like many of you I marked the release date on my calendar and waited patiently to get my hands on it. I buzzed through it and, well, let me just hold off on my thoughts for a little bit. Let?s get to what is inside the covers first:
?Dru Rayne and her uncle fled to L.A. after Hurricane Katrina; but now, five years later, they face a different danger. When Joe Pike witnesses Dru's uncle beaten by a protection gang, he offers his help, but neither of them want it-and neither do the federal agents mysteriously watching them.
As the level of violence escalates, and Pike himself becomes a target, he and Elvis Cole learn that Dru and her uncle are not who they seem- and that everything he thought he knew about them has been a lie. A vengeful and murderous force from their past is now catching up to them . . . and only Pike and Cole stand in the way.?
Nothing but our buddy Jared getting his daily moo is what it seems in The Sentry. Personally I enjoyed the interludes with Jared and hope that he makes appearances in future Pike vehicles. The reason I enjoy Robert Crais? work so much is not the twists and turns this novel takes and it is not so much Joe Pike (but I do like him very much), it is the ability, skill and consistency that comes with each read. I know that I am getting a very rich, well- constructed plotline, characters that I can identify with on some level and either root for them or grow to dislike them. I develop a feeling that I am right there in whatever environment Crais wants to place me in, basically your textbook, by the numbers, well- conceived and executed novel. In this day and age of receiving value, this author is bank, all the way. There are far too few of them in my estimation anymore, Robert Crais just doesn?t take a novel off or mail it in.
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