THIS WEEK’S BOOK
“Suspect” by Robert Crais (Putnam, 320 pages, $27.95)
Robert Crais is the creator of a long-running crime fiction series that features the wise-cracking private eye Elvis Cole and his brooding sidekick Joe Pike. Crais has just published “Suspect,” a standalone novel.
The story begins in Afghanistan. We meet Maggie, a German shepherd who is a Military Working Dog, and her handler, Corporal Pete Gibbs. They are on patrol when they encounter a suicide bomber. Corporal Gibbs dies after the bomber detonates himself. Maggie is severely injured.
Then the action shifts to Los Angeles, the city that provides many of the settings for the author’s books. Scott James and Stephanie Anders have just parked their LAPD radio car on a downtown street. Things are unusually quiet. Scott is trying to locate an all-night noodle house that he wants to check out. Suddenly there’s a flurry of activity and a random gunfight. When the smoke clears Scott has been gravely wounded and his partner Stephanie has been killed.
Time passes. Scott is recovering physically but psychologically he’s a mess. He’s suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder following that deadly encounter. He’s feeling terrible guilt about what happened to Stephanie. And this crime remains unsolved.
Scott completes his training to become a dog handler with the LAPD Canine Platoon. They are ready to match him up with a dog. Dominic Leland, the supervisor with the LAPD K-9 corps is dubious of Scott’s ability to function as a member of their group. Scott has never even had a dog.
Scott is introduced to a dog that is recovering from wounds she has suffered in Afghanistan. Of course this dog is Maggie and she is just about as messed up as Scott. That bombing has left her with Canine Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Dominic Leland feels that Scott and Maggie are both suspect, incapable of functioning adequately enough to serve. Poor Maggie was a USMC explosive protection patrol dog that is now experiencing an exaggerated startle response whenever she hears a loud noise. How on earth will she ever be able to cut it with the LAPD Canine Platoon?
Therein lies the real beauty of this story. In an interview Crais told me that this is all about “how they help each other heal.” And as Scott and Maggie become a team, or in Maggie’s view, a pack, they embark on a mission to solve Stephanie’s murder and bring those bad guys to justice. And in Maggie, Crais has created one of his most appealing characters. Hopefully this is not the last we’ll see of Maggie and Scott.
Crais said, “I just fell in love with Maggie. I do that; I’ll fall in love with a character and I’ll want to bring them back. And though I approached “Suspect” thinking it would be a standalone, a one shot, over and out, see ya — I love her so much. I want to see her again, her and Scott. So now what I’m doing is trying to figure out a way to involve her in the story with Elvis and Joe, so they can cross paths. I’d really like to bring Maggie back into Elvis Cole’s world.”
You can hear my interview with Robert Crais this Sunday morning at 11 on WYSO-FM (91.3).
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