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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
This was my second Robert Crais Novel and I enjoyed it almost as much as the first. Joe Pike is a very interesting protagonist who I think I like, not for the tough guy antics and skill with violence and weapons, but for his apparent disdain for people and his clear disdain for emotional and dramatic incumberences.
In this story, Pike is hired to protect a wealthy girl who represents much of what I, personally, detest in humanity (think Paris Hilton). He has to battle his disdain for much of the same characteristics that nettle me, in order to do his job (He's a better man than I). I only take issue with one little sentence near the end of the book. Those who know me, and read this book, will probably pick up on that sentence immediately. It was off-putting enough for me to deduct a star. Without that sentence ... this would be a five-star read.
In this story, Pike is hired to protect a wealthy girl who represents much of what I, personally, detest in humanity (think Paris Hilton). He has to battle his disdain for much of the same characteristics that nettle me, in order to do his job (He's a better man than I). I only take issue with one little sentence near the end of the book. Those who know me, and read this book, will probably pick up on that sentence immediately. It was off-putting enough for me to deduct a star. Without that sentence ... this would be a five-star read.
Vintage Robert Crais...in the style of Robert B. Parker, but not as ponderous, a little more light-hearted. In this first novel with Joe Pike as the main protagonist, Pike takes center stage again. Called in to protect a spoiled rich girl, his example of stoic self-discipline inspires her to a better way of living. Along the way, he fights bad guys, solves a corporate conspiracy, reunites father and daughter, alienates federal officers, and (with Elvis Cole's help) generally navigates mucho mayhem to bring things to a satisfactory conclusion.
While I like seeing things from Pike's ultra self-contained perspective, I must admit that I enjoy the Elvis Cole perspective better...he seems more approachable, a more reasonably balanced approach to life.
While I like seeing things from Pike's ultra self-contained perspective, I must admit that I enjoy the Elvis Cole perspective better...he seems more approachable, a more reasonably balanced approach to life.
I love most of Crais’ books, but this one left me saying “hell yeah!” Such a good read, and hard to find characters I enjoy more than Joe Pike and Elvis Cole!
A halfway interesting thriller. I had this book sitting in a collection of stuff on my tablet reader and decided to read it on a free weekend. It was an easy read, but I was not hooked enough to read more from this world. Apparently, there are plenty more books to follow with Joe Pike and many others that preceded focusing on another character in this book. So if you are interested in action thrillers that are a little weak in character development and for which you will need to shut your brain off every now and again, then perhaps you just might enjoy this series as well.
Good action book, Joe Pike is a man's man, but the plot didn't feel so smart....
The Watchman is sort of a spin-off book. Crais is best known for the ten or so Elvis Cole novels he’s written. Elvis is a wise-cracking detective that wears Hawaiian shirts and is slightly goofy. He can handle himself too but when he gets into a tight jam he calls on his buddy and partner, Joe Pike. Joe is a bad mofo. In The Watchman, Joe Pike is the main character and it’s pretty cool.
There is a quite a bit of background info on Joe. Some flashbacks to his short time on the LAPD. He becomes a bit more than the silent asskicker in chromed aviator glasses that he’s been up till now. Though he’s still that.
The basic premise is that a rich spoiled girl (sort of a Paris Hilton type) saw something she shouldn’t have and now some bad guys want to kill her. Joe Pike is hired by her father to keep her safe. And he does that.
I liked the book.
There is a quite a bit of background info on Joe. Some flashbacks to his short time on the LAPD. He becomes a bit more than the silent asskicker in chromed aviator glasses that he’s been up till now. Though he’s still that.
The basic premise is that a rich spoiled girl (sort of a Paris Hilton type) saw something she shouldn’t have and now some bad guys want to kill her. Joe Pike is hired by her father to keep her safe. And he does that.
I liked the book.
I just started the Elvis Cole series, but was told by a fellow Action/Adventure Aficionados member that I could start the Joe Pike books without having read the rest of the Cole series. Good action, really liked the Pike character and am looking forward to more of the series.