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3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
Another great installment of the Elvis Cole/Joe Pike series. I highly recommend the entire series to anyone.
I want to start out by saying that this is my first Cole/Pike story. I also want to say it wasn't bad - I just...felt bored. Maybe it's my fault.
In the bookstore, this was just on a normal shelf - not on a display table or prominently placed or anything, so to say that this cover is beautiful would be an understatement. It grabbed my eyes immediately. Then, I opened up the book jacket only to read "It seemed like a simple case until the bodies started piling up." Yup, sold. I bought the book and raced through the book I was reading so that I could start this one.
Unfortunately, for me, that's about where the excitement stopped. Usually I'll make it through a book in a couple days but this one took me 5 or so days just because I was fairly bored. Not that it's bad, I want to stress that because this book is very well written, it just wasn't the action-packed adventure that I had hoped based on my initial impressions. If anything it read more like a made for tv teen drama, so I'm sure there's an audience who lives for this sort of thing but it wasn't for me.
What did I think?: I thought this story was well written, but I was disappointed in that it didn't feel suspenseful or very intricately crafted. I wasn't left on the edge of my seat or needing to know what happens next. Ultimately I ended up finishing this one only so that I could move on to my next read.
Who should read it?: If you love crime thrillers, this one might be a bit bland but if you're generally into YA crime or Teen Drama, this one would probably be a favorite! While the characters are pretty stereotypical, they're likable enough to feel real which was nice. Depends on what you're in the mood for whether I'd recommend you pick this one up or not.
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In the bookstore, this was just on a normal shelf - not on a display table or prominently placed or anything, so to say that this cover is beautiful would be an understatement. It grabbed my eyes immediately. Then, I opened up the book jacket only to read "It seemed like a simple case until the bodies started piling up." Yup, sold. I bought the book and raced through the book I was reading so that I could start this one.
Unfortunately, for me, that's about where the excitement stopped. Usually I'll make it through a book in a couple days but this one took me 5 or so days just because I was fairly bored. Not that it's bad, I want to stress that because this book is very well written, it just wasn't the action-packed adventure that I had hoped based on my initial impressions. If anything it read more like a made for tv teen drama, so I'm sure there's an audience who lives for this sort of thing but it wasn't for me.
What did I think?: I thought this story was well written, but I was disappointed in that it didn't feel suspenseful or very intricately crafted. I wasn't left on the edge of my seat or needing to know what happens next. Ultimately I ended up finishing this one only so that I could move on to my next read.
Who should read it?: If you love crime thrillers, this one might be a bit bland but if you're generally into YA crime or Teen Drama, this one would probably be a favorite! While the characters are pretty stereotypical, they're likable enough to feel real which was nice. Depends on what you're in the mood for whether I'd recommend you pick this one up or not.
WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM
Well worth the two years wait. So hard to put down and I was reading well into early hours in the morning that I have to tell myself to stop and go to sleep. This hasn't happen to me in years!! A thousand percent recommended to mystery-thriller fans.
‘Harvey and Stemms were making progress, but they couldn’t just blow into the club and flash the picture. The photograph of Unknown Male Subject Number One was dangerous.’
Devon Connor is a single mother, concerned when her teenaged son Tyson suddenly seems to have a lot of money. She’s concerned that he may be dealing drugs, so she contacts private investigator Elvis Cole to see if he can find out what Tyson is up to. Elvis quickly discovers that Tyson, with two others, has been responsible for several burglaries. But Tyson and his friends have stolen something that the owner wants returned at any cost. He’s has employed a team of his own to track down the thieves.
When one of the three is murdered, Tyson and his girlfriend disappear. Will Elvis Cole, with the assistance of Joe Pike, find them before the others do? As Elvis and Joe race to find Devon, they are also trying to find out what was stolen, and to whom it belongs.
‘The window was closing, but not closed.’
While some of the characters seem to be stereotypes (especially the computer geek ‘The Carl’, and the bad guys Harvey and Stemms) they fit into the story perfectly. Bad guys and computer geeks need to be a bit predictable, surely. Especially when there are a number of other layers to the story.
I enjoyed this novel. It is a fast-paced story, and the 17th book in the Elvis Cole series. It isn’t necessary to read the novels in order, each one can be read as a standalone story.
Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster (Australia) for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Devon Connor is a single mother, concerned when her teenaged son Tyson suddenly seems to have a lot of money. She’s concerned that he may be dealing drugs, so she contacts private investigator Elvis Cole to see if he can find out what Tyson is up to. Elvis quickly discovers that Tyson, with two others, has been responsible for several burglaries. But Tyson and his friends have stolen something that the owner wants returned at any cost. He’s has employed a team of his own to track down the thieves.
When one of the three is murdered, Tyson and his girlfriend disappear. Will Elvis Cole, with the assistance of Joe Pike, find them before the others do? As Elvis and Joe race to find Devon, they are also trying to find out what was stolen, and to whom it belongs.
‘The window was closing, but not closed.’
While some of the characters seem to be stereotypes (especially the computer geek ‘The Carl’, and the bad guys Harvey and Stemms) they fit into the story perfectly. Bad guys and computer geeks need to be a bit predictable, surely. Especially when there are a number of other layers to the story.
I enjoyed this novel. It is a fast-paced story, and the 17th book in the Elvis Cole series. It isn’t necessary to read the novels in order, each one can be read as a standalone story.
Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster (Australia) for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Another solid book from Crais featuring PI Elvis Cole and his partner Joe Pike. A single mom hires Cole to find out why her teenage son suddenly has expensive clothes and lots of cash. It doesn’t take Cole long to discover just how much trouble the boy is in. Crais’s Elvis Cole series is highly recommended for mystery lovers.
Elvis and Joe helping a mom find her son who just so happens to be involved in a number of break-ins. Not only are the police after the robbers, but so is a private group...it is a bit of a race to see who will solve the case first.
I have missed Elvis Cole! I just finished the newest Jack Reacher book before reading this and having read the two so close together made it clear how Elvis Cole books are just better. So now Elvis Cole is my favorite male mystery/thriller/action hero followed closely by Pike. My only complaints are that this book was kind of short and didn’t have enough Pike in it. But it was sure fun to read.