THE FIRST RULE - Robert Crais

First line: "Frank Meyer closed his computer as the early winter darkness fell over his home in Westwood, California, not far from the UCLA campus."

Joe Pike returns to the forefront in Robert Crais' sixteenth novel, THE FIRST RULE, when a man and his family are murdered during a home invasion. The man, Frank Meyer, happens to share a distinct characteristic with Joe Pike, red arrow tattoos on his deltoids.

When Pike is questioned about the murders, his mercenary past resurfaces. Frank Meyer was once part of Pike's team. Now Pike is determined to find out who took down one of his men so he can make them pay. A simple enough task for Joe Pike until the stakes are raised when an infant child being used as a bargaining chip is thrown into the mix.

Whenever you think that Robert Crais can't get any better, he publishes another book. Joe Pike has always played the part of an enigma. And while he still plays that role, Crais has given us a tiny peek at the workings of this mysterious character who spends most of his time hidden behind his department-issue sunglasses. Crais does not, however, let us inside Pike the way we are permitted inside Elvis Cole. The Joe Pike novels are written, appropriately, in third person.

One of the elements of the Elvis Cole/Joe Pike novels that has always fascinated me is the relationship between Joe Pike and Elvis Cole's cat. I've always felt that the relationship is a reflection of Pike's closeness to nature and the ultimate good. The cat doesn't have all the gray area that humans create; it's simply a life of survival. Crais brings that even more to the forefront in THE FIRST RULE through Pike's connection to the infant boy.

On the surface Pike is a loner, but the reader who sees the Pike Crais has created throughout this series knows Pike may physically walk alone most of the time, but his relationships define him. In THE FIRST RULE we see his relationship to his "team" long after the team has been disbanded. We see his relationship to the infant child. And, of course, we see his relationship to Elvis Cole:

"Two seagulls appeared in the empty blue nothing outside the glass. Cole watched them float on their invisible sea, tiny heads turning. One of them suddenly dropped out of sight. His partner watched the other fall, then folded his wings and followed."

It's these relationships that drive Pike to smash "The First Rule" under his heel and hurl it into the Pacific.

Even at 320 pages, THE FIRST RULE is a one-sitting book. The plot is fresh and fast. Crais' penchant for witty dialogue and breath-taking writing has never been stronger. The only warning I offer for THE FIRST RULE is prepare to leave a bit of your soul with Joe Pike.

THE FIRST RULE (ISBN: 978-0-399-15613-7) is available starting January 12, 2010 from G.P. Putnam's Sons.