Joe Pike -- the ex-cop, ex-Marine, exmercenary from Robert Crais's superb PI Elvis Cole novels -- headlines the explosive action of this page-turning New York Times bestseller.

A wild-living young heiress slams into trouble in the L.A. night -- the kind of trouble even her money can't shut down. After her Aston Martin collides with a mysterious car, Larkin Conner Barkley attempts to help the accident victims -- and becomes the sole witness in a federal investigation. Whisking her out of her Beverly Hills world is Joe Pike, hired to shield Larkin Barkley from a relentless team of killers. But when a chain of lies and betrayals tightens around them, Pike drops off the grid and follows his own rules for survival: strike fast, hit hard, hunt down the hunters....

A thriller from start to finish for sure. Joe Pike, the nearly silent partner to chatty P. I. Elvis Cole finds himself bodyguarding an immature heiress and witness to the presence of a highly wanted man in the United States.

As good as the story is, and it is good, it is the character of Joe Pike taking center stage that stands out and will be remembered. He's a man's man and his actions and abilities while formidable are not those of a superhero but rather a elite warrior. There's enough here too to keep female suspense readers enthralled. While some reviewers would have preferred Pike never show care for anyone or anything, I thought Crais was masterful in hinting at Pike's human core. Highly recommended.

In more ways than one Larkin Conner Barkley lived life in the fast lane and that nearly proved to be her undoing. A car accident sent her into hiding with ex-cop Joe Pike as her protector.

Why would a non-fatal accident force her wealthy father, in conjunction with the FBI, to send her on the run? Why was the FBI involved?

Joe Pike owed a favor and taking on the task of protecting Larkin was his form of repayment. It was not a job he enjoyed and his only concern was keeping her alive until such time as she could safely return home.

False trails and lies will keep Joe on the run and the reader will travel righ along with him and Larkin in this multi-layered take of suspense. You will wonder who they can trust? Who is after them?

Talented author Robert Crais keeps the reader on the edge of their seat, turning pages to see what happens next with an easy reading story. A well-told tale with complex characters, each with their own motive and secrets that emerge slowly as the story unwinds. A story that will have you looking for other books by this very imaginative author. Enjoy.

This is a great book! Totally entertaining.

I picked it up yesterday afternoon and finished it several hours later. Great diversion.

Story has a fast moving plotline with lots of twists and turns. But it works. And feels 'real' - meaning it doesn't rely on completely outlandish, unbelievable events to keep the pace up (um, well, maybe there are a few that stretch credulity, but all in all, plausible).

And the characters are vividly cast and interesting. They really come to life. Pike is a real man's man - yet has a sensitive side to him that helps round out the appeal. Even the Paris Hilton-lookalike is likeable as she turns out to have some substance as the story progresses.

Robert Crais is the noted author of the Elvis Cole PI novels which are fairly solid books in their own right. This time out, Crais takes Cole's back-up man, Joe Pike, and shows us what Pike does during the times he's not helping Cole. Several months have passed since the events of The Last Detective and Joe must respond to the favor called in by Jon Stone. Pike is to protect a wealthy, young, attractive, attention-hog of Larkin Barkley. Larkin was in a traffic accident which turns out involved some bad people. She wants to do the right thing and from then on her life is being threatened. Pike is brought in to protect her but there's a leak in the works so Pike takes Larkin and drops off the radar, taking matters into his own hands. As expected, Pike calls in Cole to help him on a few investigative matters but this time Cole is the sidekick, not Pike.

While the story is not the strongest it is what we have always figured Pike does when not helping Cole. We do get a slightly larger look into what makes Pike tick. Unfortunately, it's pretty straight forward in that we know Pike is going to get the bad guys but there's never a real feeling of threat from THE bad guy as he doesn't even appear until 3/4 through the book. Basically we get an opening shoot out, then lots of hiding and investigation, and then a closing shoot out. More involvement with the antagonists would have been better but this is what I figured a Joe Pike novel was going to be like and it certainly was enjoyable.

If you read the Elvis Cole novels, you're going to read this one too. However, it can be read as a stand alone but it does fit into the Elvis Cole timeline which gives away some of those novels' endings.

Wonderful as an audio book. Great plot with back and forth time jumps that are intriguing rather than confusing. Wonderful plot twists.