RACING THE LIGHT by Robert Crais (G.P.Putnam’s Sons, November 2022) Hardcover 368 pages.
Synopsis on the Goodreads website . . . . .
Adele Schumacher isn't a typical worried mom. When she hires Elvis to find her missing son, a controversial podcaster named Josh Shoe, she brings a bag filled with cash, bizarre tales of government conspiracies, and a squad of professional bodyguards. Finding Josh should be simple, but Elvis quickly learns he isn't alone in the hunt -- a deadly team of mysterious strangers are determined to find Josh and his adult film star girlfriend first.
With Elvis being watched and dangerous secrets lurking behind every lead, Elvis needs his friend Joe Pike more than ever to uncover the truth about Josh, corrupt politicians, and the vicious business cartels rotting the heart of Los Angeles from within. And when Elvis Cole's estranged girlfriend Lucy Chenier and her son Ben return, Elvis learns just how much he has to lose...if he survives.
Written with the heart, humor, and relentless suspense for which Crais is famous, Racing The Light delivers Elvis Cole's most dangerous case yet.
My Four-Star Review on the Goodreads website . . . . .
This is the first time I've returned for more adventures of detective Elvis Cole and hard-nosed warrior friend Joe Pike since 2019, and while reading this I realized how much I appreciate the style and craft of writer Robert Crais. What a welcome return!
RACING THE LIGHT is less violent than other Elvis Cole novels and it's actually the better for it.
This one goes deep into the regular players and their relationships and the new characters are absolutely fascinating. Cole is his usual wise-cracking, snappy retorting self and it's fun to read his clever responses, even in the heat of danger.
The investigation proceeds at a leisurely pace for the first 100 pages or so before more information is uncovered. Crais introduces a twist at a point where I thought things were going to become more serious and really change the narrative. Nope, it's just an interesting side story that is still important to the main plot but not essential. He does this again later where an unannounced departure makes me fear the worst. Finally, a third time when a rescue occurs and Crais never returns to the scene or the follow-up. Those three things kept me reading and wondering, so mission accomplished.
The chapters near the end of the novel when things begin to wrap up at a quicker pace are much shorter, heightening the mood. This was a good one. Justice is served. Well done.
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