The Last Detective - Book Review

The latest installment in my tour of Robert Crais is The Last Detective and it's the best. This time it's the son of Cole's girlfriend who's in jeopardy. As is the case with a series character, being a friend or a relative of that character can be hazardous to your health. Well, you need something to drive your character other than a desire to solve a mystery and a close personal connection to the matters at hand is a good driver. Also, money.

In this case, the boy's been kidnapped and the reason may be because of something Cole did way in the past, yadda yadda yadda. Whatever. The boy's taken and the pursuit is on. The plot is unrelenting in its pace and Crais tempers the action with chapters expanding his characters and showing different points of view. Cole and his buddy Pike out-detect the police, of course, and finally confront the kidnappers, all in a very believable way. The climax is excruciatingly tense and suspenseful and entirely satisfying.

This is how this kind of thing is done.