Crime novel series continues to take readers on a wild ride

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By Vick Mickunas 1:11 PM Saturday, February 11, 2012

“Taken” by Robert Crais (Putnam, 342 pages, $26.95)

In the 1980s Robert Crais wrote scripts for TV shows such as “Hill Street Blues,” “L.A. Law,” “Miami Vice” and, in the ’70s, “Baretta.” By 1987 he had decided to try his hand at writing crime novels. He created the character of Elvis Cole, the “World’s Greatest Detective.” Over 25 years and 18 novels, Crais has carved out his place as one of the leading writers in this genre.

Elvis Cole’s partner in solving crimes is the lurking, lethal Joe Pike. Pike is a former mercenary and an ex-cop. Now he owns a gun shop. As this series has developed Pike has come into his own. Several recent books featured Pike as the lead character with Elvis playing the supporting role.

In “Taken,” his 15th book featuring the duo, we find that for the first time the two friends are sharing equal billing. As the story begins Jack Berman and his girlfriend, Krista Morales, are out in the southern desert in the middle of the night. There, they encounter groups of people.

There is a swirl of confusing action during this scene along the Mexican border. When the smoke clears, Jack and Krista are gone. They have been taken by a gang of bajadores — bandits — who prey upon the human traffic of illegal border crossers in this region.

Krista’s mother is a successful businesswoman with a secret: She is an undocumented immigrant. When she receives a phone call demanding a ransom payment to obtain her daughter’s freedom, she initially thinks it must be a joke, that her daughter (and the boyfriend) are only trying to get money out of her.

When she realizes that her daughter has actually been kidnapped, she hires Elvis Cole. In “Taken” Crais transports his readers back and forth through time. He moves us briefly into the future where Joe Pike has found an awful scene out on the desert. This is how we find out that these bandits are extorting ransoms without ever intending to free their hostages.

Elvis Cole determines that a shadowy figure known as “The Syrian” is operating one such ring along the border. There are a number of houses filled with hostages from Central America and Asia. Jack and Krista might be inside one of these houses. A Korean crime cartel is also searching for a family member who is being held hostage.

Elvis forms an alliance with some Korean gangsters. Then Elvis vanishes. So we have all these hostages being held by bandits. And where is Elvis? Joe Pike and his buddy Jon Stone are in hot pursuit. Stone possesses his own unique mercenary talents. He also provides the occasional bit of deadpan comic relief when the tension soars.

Prepare to be taken along on a wild chase through the desert. With each successive book, Crais enhances his audience and his reputation. His last couple of novels made it all the way to No. 2 on the New York Times best-seller list. It seems like a sure thing that “Taken” will become the author’s first No. 1 NYT best-seller.

Vick Mickunas of Yellow Springs interviews authors every Friday at 1:30 p.m.  and on Sundays at 11 a.m. on WYSO-FM (91.3). For more information, visit www.wyso.org/programs/book-nook. Contact him at vick@vickmickunas.com.

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