by Robert Crais
Part of Elvis Cole and Joe Pike, book 4
First published 2000
Elvis Cole cannot turn down a woman in trouble. Jennifer Sheridan walks into his office worried about her fiance Mark Thurman, a decorated LAPD officer working with an elite plainclothes unit. She believes Mark has gotten himself into serious danger. Cole accepts the case, and within minutes he and his partner Joe Pike find themselves pulled into the violent world of South Central Los Angeles gangs and police corruption. What starts as a simple investigation spirals into something far more dangerous. The deeper Cole digs, the more he uncovers a web of dirty cops and conspiracies that reach into the highest levels of the department. Soon Cole and Pike become targets themselves. Every officer in the LAPD receives orders to hunt them down as armed and dangerous killers. Cole must navigate between gang violence and corrupt police while trying to save Mark Thurman and protect Jennifer. The case forces Cole to question who he can trust when the line between law enforcement and criminal activity disappears completely.
Genres: suspense, mystery, crime, thriller, detective, action
Vibes: fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: corruption, investigation, police-procedural
Setting: Los Angeles, South Central Los Angeles
Period: Contemporary
275 pages · Paperback · Orion
Content warnings: violence