Book Review: The Watchman by Robert Crais - Page 2

He wears sweatshirts with the sleeves hacked off. He has red arrows tattooed on his deltoids. The arrows point forward. Because Joe Pike never backs up.

I love Elvis Cole, but Joe Pike is the guy I really want to get to know. He’s quick and dangerous. He kills without hesitation or remorse. He fights for the underdog and leaves everything on the field, never holding back.

In L.A. Requiem readers discovered that Pike had an abusive father. It was that relationship that set the tone for Pike. He became autonomous and complete on his own. Unfortunately he also became an island, a no man’s land where people could visit but could never stay. Even Elvis Cole, the best friend that Pike ever had, can’t get in all the way.

But Crais is generous in his newest release, The Watchman. It’s labeled “A Joe Pike Novel,” and readers have to wonder if there will be more. Readers who pick it up and finish it — probably in a single sitting, or two at most — will hope that it’s just the beginning of a new series, even though Elvis Cole figures in the book as well.

Pike’s history interweaves with an assignment he takes because of a promise he made to a man named Jon Stone, an associate from Pike’s mercenary days. Stone calls Pike in, asking him to bodyguard a young woman named Larkin Connor Barkley, who was unlucky enough to have a traffic accident that involved a man she identifies as a top cocaine baron. The FBI wants her to testify against the man, but to do that, she has to stay alive.

Larkin’s father calls in Bud Flynn, the man who trained Pike while he was with the LAPD. The man who became, for a time, the father Pike never had. Flynn wants Pike to protect the girl after an attempt is made on her life.

Pike, though, has his own way of dealing with the would-be killers. After two more attempts are made on her life while she’s in his care, Pike knows that someone is leaking information on Larkin’s whereabouts. Unable to remain hidden forever, with no one outside of Elvis Cole to rely on, Pike resolves to handle the situation in a way that’s uniquely his own: he’s going to track down the killers and kill them all.

Article Author: Mel Odom

Mel Odom is the author of over 100 novels. Winner of the American Library Association's Alex Award for 2002 and runner-up for the Christy in 2005, he's written in several genres, including tie-in novels for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and novelizations of Blade, XXX, and Tomb Raider. …

Visit Mel Odom's author page — Mel Odom's Blog