Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Suspect

I have read a number of Robert Crais' books, especially the "Elvis Cole" series, and they have all been good--tightly constructed plots, realistic and gritty detail in the settings, and complex character development. This book has two protagonists: Scott James, is an LAPD cop who was gunned down when he and his senior partner, Stephanie, stumbled upon a hit. His partner was killed and James has struggled to overcome his injuries and his PTSD to return to work. He refuses to take the medical retirement he is entitled to or a safe desk job and has instead requested the K-9 unit. The other protagonist is Maggie, a former Marine, whose handler was killed by snipers who also tried to kill her. The head of the K-9 unit isn't very impressed with Scott as a dog person and also doesn't think Maggie is up to the work, as she too suffers from PTSD and jumps at every loud noise. Scott begs for just a couple of weeks to try and bring Maggie up to speed. These two terribly damaged souls tell us the story of saving each other and of catching the people responsible for killing Scott's former partner and leaving him for dead. Crais does a wonderful job of getting into the mind of Maggie as he has always done with getting into the mind of his human characters.
Other blog posts for books by Crais are Voodoo River, Free Fall, and The Last Detective.

No comments: