"A mystery that will keep you glued to the pages!"
The Watchman
By: Robert Crais
Genres: Mystery | Suspense | Thriller
Posted: June 23, 2007
Pike receives a phone call, calling in an old debt. The rules of the debt, was if this person needed Pike, any day, anytime, he can call and the job will be done. The job is to watch over a spoiled rich girl named Larkin Barkley. Larkin was involved in a hit and run and the other driver and passengers were the ones who ran. The FBI became involved when it was discovered that the passengers in the car are wanted and involved with the mob. The only way to indict and catch them is with Larkin's help. After someone tries to kill her, Larkin's father is in fear for his daughter's life. They need Pike to watch over Larkin, and keep her alive so she can be the FBI's witness in this case.
Pike agrees to take the case but he refuses to play by anyone's rules but his own. After several of the safe houses they are told to use, become known to the bad guys, Pike removes everyone involved from knowing Larkin's whereabouts. Someone deep in this case is tipping off the wrong people. Without knowing all the facts, Pike investigates the case himself so he can protect Larkin. But after many sleepless nights, Pike decides he will not just guard this girl and try to keep her alive. Pike runs from no man. He decides to hunt down the hunters and no longer be the willing prey.
While searching for answers, Pike enlists the help of his friend and private investigator, Elvis Cole. With Cole's help the two of them look for clues as to why this person wants Larkin Barkley dead. Without knowing who is hunting them, it is hard to know what to watch out for. The FBI gave them a name, but something isn't right. Someone is lying to Pike and he refuses to instill his trust in anyone, including the FBI and the police. If Larkin Barkley wants to live and survive, Joe Pike will have to catch whoever is hunting them before they are found.
THE WATCHMAN is Robert Crais' first book devoted to his secondary character Joe Pike. Pike shines through the pages as the strong, dependable, tough, but loveable protector to Larkin. Pike is the type of person you would want as a friend if you were ever in a bad situation. He will protect your life with all his might, or die trying.
THE WATCHMAN is thrilling with its short zippy chapters and constant action on every page. If bullets aren't flying, then someone is discovering a clue to the puzzle, or chasing after a bad guy. I highly recommend this book and I guarantee if you didn't know the name Robert Crais before, you will remember it now!
Book Summary
Larkin Conner Barkley lives like the City of Angels is hers for the taking. Young and staggeringly rich, she speeds through the city during its loneliest hours, blowing through red after red in her Aston Martin as if running for her life. Until out of nowhere a car appears, and with it the metal-on-metal explosion of a terrible accident. Dazed, Larkin attempts to help the other victims. And finds herself the sole witness in a secret federal investigation.
For maybe the first time in her life, Larkin wants to do the right thing. But by agreeing to cooperate with the authorities, she becomes the target for a relentless team of killers. And when the U.S. Marshals and the finest security money can buy can't protect her, Larkin's wealthy family turns to the one man money can't buy -- Joe Pike.
Pike lives a world away from the palaces of Beverly Hills. He's an ex-cop, ex-Marine, ex-mercenary who owes a bad man a favor, and that favor is to keep Larkin alive. The one upside of the job is reuniting with Bud Flynn, Pike's LAPD training officer, and a man Pike reveres as a father. The downside is Larkin Barkley, who is the uncontrollable cover girl for self-destruction -- and as deeply alone as Pike.
Pike commits himself to protecting the girl, but when they immediately come under fire, he realizes someone is selling them out. In defiance of Bud and the authorities, Pike drops off the grid with the girl and follows his own rules of survival: strike fast, hit hard, hunt down the hunters. With the help of private investigator Elvis Cole, Pike uncovers a web of lies and betrayals, and the stunning revelation that even the cops are not who they seem. As the body count rises, Pike's biggest threat might come from the girl herself, a lost soul in the City of Angels, determined to destroy herself unless Joe Pike can teach her the value of life...and love.
Read an Excerpt
by: Robert Crais
Simon and Schuster
March 1, 2007
On Sale: February 27, 2007
Featuring: Larkin Conner Barkley; Joe Pike
304 pages
ISBN: 0743281632
EAN: 9780743281638
Kindle: B000NY11VU
Hardcover / e-Book