THE LAST DETECTIVE

TITLE: THE LAST DETECTIVE
AUTHOR: ROBERT CRAIS
Pages: 302
Date: 03/06/2010
Grade: 4.5
Details: no.9 Elvis Cole
Library

Another action packed and heart-stopping thriller featuring Elvis Cole and Joe Pike by Robert Crais.
The story starts with Ben, the ten year old son o Elvis' girlfriend Lucy being kidnapped from Elvis' house. The subsequent phone call blames Elvis' past actions in Vietnam for the abduction.
When Lucy's ex-husband arrives in L.A. he's more than happy to blame Elvis for what has happened and has Elvis ordered from the case. However, Elvis feels guilty about Ben having been taken while he was looking after him and refuses to stop investigating. With a still weakened Joe Pike as his partner, Elvis starts digging and becomes even more determined to find the boy and return him to his mother when they find out that they're dealing with ruthless mercenaries.
This book was interesting on several levels. First of all because the book was used as a vehicle to give us some insight into Elvis boyhood and years in the army. Secondly, the book featured Carol Starkey from Crais' earlier book "Demolition Angel" (which I own but haven't read yet), who is now working Juvenile cases. And finally it was, like the previous books, a fabulous thriller and addictive reading.
I'm slowly catching up with this series, and it won't be long until I'm completely up to date, especially because I've already ordered the next book in the series from my library. Of course, once I do catch up I'll be like all other Crais fans, waiting for the next book to come out and cursing him for not writing faster. But, at least I still have a few books to go before I read that point.