A review by martyfried
The Last Detective, by Robert Crais
4.0
I didn't really like this one as much as most of the previous books in this series, perhaps because it simply didn't meet my expectations for an Elvis Cole mystery. The humor was not as good, for one thing. And Joe Pike, my infallible hero, who always saves the day when fighting is required, was not infallible. He seemed to be second-best, and unfortunately, the villain was first. Although, to his credit, Joe did seem to be recovering from a fight with a big bad bear.
And although Elvis did a pretty good job as the world's greatest detective, he seemed a bit desperate and almost lost much of the time. But he too had his problems to deal with. Not only was his girlfriend's son, Ben, missing while staying at his house, but the boy's father blamed Elvis, brought up some bad stuff from his early background that Elvis had neglected to tell his girlfriend that made Elvis look like someone not qualified to care for their son. And the kidnappers seemed to be blaming Elvis due to something he did in the past. I felt sorry for him, but still, he's supposed to be on top of everything, not some pathetic loser. I guess that's why his humor just wasn't up to snuff.
The story was pretty interesting, though, maybe more so than many others. The ending was a bit sad if you're following the ongoing romance, but that's not so important to his real fans.
If this had been my first Elvis Cole book, I think I might have liked it a lot more. Still, a very good read.
And although Elvis did a pretty good job as the world's greatest detective, he seemed a bit desperate and almost lost much of the time. But he too had his problems to deal with. Not only was his girlfriend's son, Ben, missing while staying at his house, but the boy's father blamed Elvis, brought up some bad stuff from his early background that Elvis had neglected to tell his girlfriend that made Elvis look like someone not qualified to care for their son. And the kidnappers seemed to be blaming Elvis due to something he did in the past. I felt sorry for him, but still, he's supposed to be on top of everything, not some pathetic loser. I guess that's why his humor just wasn't up to snuff.
The story was pretty interesting, though, maybe more so than many others. The ending was a bit sad if you're following the ongoing romance, but that's not so important to his real fans.
If this had been my first Elvis Cole book, I think I might have liked it a lot more. Still, a very good read.