Thursday, October 16, 2008

Review: The Forgotten Man by Robert Crais


I am working my way through the Elvis Cole novels by Robert Crais. I'm not reading them in any particular order - however they happen to turn up at the library or the bookstore is fine with me. I am glad, though, to have read this one fairly early on. It gives a fascinating look at Elvis' family history and his backstory.

The police summon Cole in the middle of the night with a disturbing story: a police detective found an injured man in an alley, and with his dying breath, he claimed to be Elvis Cole's father.

Elvis Cole never knew his father. His mother was prone to disappearances that might last for weeks, and after one of these disappearances, she came home pregnant. She never told anyone anything about the baby's father, other than a preposterous story she told young Elvis. Now the adult Cole has to deal with the possibility that the dead man in the alley is the father he never knew.

This is a great glimpse into Cole's history and motivations. His relationship with Joe Pike - one of my favorite parts of this series - is also tested. Cole and Pike remind me a lot of Spenser and Hawk, from Robert B. Parker's novels. I guess every tough detective needs a sidekick, and Hawk and Pike are two of the best.

I listened to this novel as an audiobook - great for my morning commute. Buy your copy at Amazon.com.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I guess I'm kind of anal - I like to read series in order.

Marie Cloutier said...

sounds like solid entry in the series. i don't read a lot of series novels so it's interesting to me to read reviews like this- i learn a little about another genre. :-)

Anonymous said...

I haven't read a Cole book yet, but did read THE WATCHMAN, a Pike novel. I wish he'd hurry up with a follow up!

Cathy said...

I just got the first in the series, The Monkey's Raincoat. I've heard a lot of good things about the Elvis Cole series, so I'm looking forward to it!