The Wanted (An Elvis Cole and Joe Pike Novel)

Great read. The characters are well drawn and are very believable. The plot was interesting. You can’t go wrong with a Robert Craig’s novel. I’ve read all of his books and have never been disappointed by any off them.

I’m disappointed in Robert Crais, my favorite author. It seemed to me that he just wanted to get this book over with and put very little effort into it. Regarding my two favorite mystery/thriller characters, Elvis Cole and Joe Pike, I found Elvis to be sorely lacking in energy and Joe Pike seemed more like an afterthought. What happened? I’ve waited more than a year for RC’s next Elvis and Joe novel... What a disppointment!

The authors background serves him well once again. Instead of Elvis & Pike, his protagonists could be Magnum & Rockford. Very entertaining with lots of plot details & some great twists & turns. A perfect read for those of us that love to try to figure out a whodunit. Mr. Crais has once again failed to disappoint.

Crais awakens some old ghosts with his former paramour, Lucy Chenier, but it goes nowhere other than a brief memory lane. There appears to be some small sparks with Devon, but that goes nowhere. The plot, in my opinion is weak and unbelievable and solving the crime, well, you can be the judge. And again, not enough Pike.
Would I recommend it, indeed, if you are a fan of Elvis and Joe. If you're new to this duo, uhhh, take a chance on earlier ones to get flavor of these characters. Crais an excellent writer, but he's done a lot better.

So much writing today is poorly done. Many ebooks show why they were not published in hard cover. It is a joy to read a pro, even when the plot seems over too soon, too easily. I'll be back for more.

I have written with sorrow about the demise of my favorite book characters. Unfortunately I think the malaise has infected Elvis cole and Robert Crais also. This is such a disappointing book. It is a very thin plot, with no twists or turns. Very little Elvis personality shines through. The book ends abruptly and was completely unsatisfactory. Just not up to previous books.

Robert Crais has written much better Elvis Cole/Joe Pike novels. While this was readable,it was more like a beach book than an intense read. So rather disappointing from one of my preferred novelists.

Once you start, you simply cannot stop reading this book. IMHO, Crais is one of the 3 best mystery writers working today. His pacing, his characterization, his occasional bits of humor are what stand out for me. BUY THIS BOOK!

Good character development as always - particularly the two hoods - but Crais uses Pike as Elvis Cole's get-out-of-jail card yet again. Plus Elvis' smart-ass humour is missing and the ending is weak. Even so, Mr Crais is still one of the very best.

Once you start, you simply cannot stop reading this book. IMHO, Crais is one of the 3 best mystery writers working today. His pacing, his characterization, his occasional bits of humor are what stand out for me. BUY THIS BOOK!

Good character development as always - particularly the two hoods - but Crais uses Pike as Elvis Cole's get-out-of-jail card yet again. Plus Elvis' smart-ass humour is missing and the ending is weak. Even so, Mr Crais is still one of the very best.

I was eagerly checking a few minutes after midnight in release day for this one to download on Kindle. Crais is a fine writer and I’ve been loving the interaction of Cole and Pike for years. This is not one of my favorites.
A worried single mom comes to Cole for help. Wasn’t that Taken and Lullaby Town? One of her son’s bad influences turns out to be a watered-down, unredeemable version of poor little rich girl Larkin in The Watchman. While Elvis is trying to keep everyone safe -here it comes, I thought - one of the ungrateful neurotics slips away, putting everyone in danger. Bad rich guys think they are above the law.You see? As our hero would say. This one I put down for two whole days, because it all got too formulaic to read until red-eyed dawn like I usually would for Elvis and Joe.
I gave the third star for the cat, some Elvis -style home-cooking, the usual wisecracking, and Pike finally showing up in Chapter 19. He’s not really part of the story except when we really need him, this time, and he reads like a cardboard character. There’s a sweet bit at the end with an old friend.
When I finished this book, I felt the Kindle edition must be missing chapters, because it wraps so abruptly, and what happens to these people who almost get Elvis killed? Who were those guys?
Dunno. I miss my bromance superheroes. Hitting send on this and grabbing the old yellowing paperback Monkey’s Raincoat. Come back to me, guys.

Robert Crais is my favorite author, funny, witty, fast, great style - I could go on. But I think he's either in a blue funk or struggling with women issues at the moment. This book is different. You have pairs of men, who work well together, the bad guys, who are in a lovely warm and surprizingly tender work-relationship while being stone cold killers. Elvis Cole and Pike - in this book far more pronounced - their unique relationship. Elvis and Ben Chenier, his would-be-stepson and even Tyson and Carl, at the end, finding their good and lasting friendship again. The stone cold killers save a talented musician (male) - a very good and striking episode! - there are some of these rays of light in the book. But the women and girls are crazy and disruptive (Amber), crazy and selfish (Amber's mom), helpless and out of their son's lives (Tyson's mom) or simply not there (Lucy Chenier). This is really sad, the whole book reads partially like a payback to bad and selfish and inexplicable womanhood. The one new flirt, the female detective who is ignored by Elvis Cole in this book, because he's solving her case and she's bumbling behind - stays very very very flat. But already again the pattern of impatience and no-communication-but-attraction is established. I hope Robert Crais finds his way back to the strong men and strong women - I miss Carol Starkey so much. And please: give Elvis Cole some sane and sexy woman who counterbalances his demanding jog: entertaining us readers!

Crais has become one of my favorite authors. I have read all of the books on Elvis Cole twice and those solely on Joe Pike three times. And Elvis and Joe's determination to make certain things "right" in life pulls me into their world. If you like superb writing, and "whodunnits" you won't be disappointed.

I love finally getting to read the latet latest Robert Crais novel. I enjoyed this one, but felt that things were not fully explained, like the whole chapter on the musician in Mexico and the one bad guy's musical talent and back story that was only hinted at. He could have spent more time on how the teens came to know each other and what led to their crime spree. The ending was rushed, not quite satisfying, as if he needed to finish the book. I love the whirlwind feel of the book, but it would have been OK to flesh out some of the characters.