by Robert Crais
Part of Elvis Cole and Joe Pike, book 7
First published 2003
Elvis Cole enjoys his laid-back detective work in sunny California until three desperate children appear at his door. A fifteen-year-old girl arrives with her two younger siblings, seeking help to locate their missing father. Three years earlier, their Seattle family fled through gunfire, scattering into hiding. Now the kids need answers about what happened that violent night and where their father went. Cole takes the case and begins reconstructing a cold trail of secrets. He uncovers a web of criminal activity involving drugs and organized crime. The missing man lived a double life that put his family in mortal danger. As Cole digs deeper, he realizes he faces more than street criminals. Federal agents also want to find this man, and their motives remain unclear. The investigation pulls Cole into a deadly game where powerful forces will kill to protect their interests. The three children who survived that night in Seattle now depend on him completely. Cole must navigate between ruthless mobsters and suspicious federal agents while racing to solve a mystery that could either reunite a broken family or destroy the only survivors.
Genres: suspense, mystery, crime, thriller, detective, action
Vibes: emotional, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: found-family, missing-person, race-against-time
Setting: California, Seattle
Period: Contemporary
307 pages · Paperback · Fawcett Books
Content warnings: violence