Cole, hired to find a foolhardy teenage journalist who manages to get herself abducted along with her rich boyfriend, is taken hostage himself. Pike, of course, is immediately on the rampage. He is aided and abetted by Jon Stone, an absurdly talented mercenary, and the aunt of the boyfriend who happens to have some very useful connections. The complex narrative, told in the first and third persons, is shared between all the main characters and furthermore loops back in time to maximise the sense of jeopardy. The ensuing chase and bloodbath will leave you in shock and awe but Chapter 33, in which Pike simply cleans a gun under the watchful eyes of Cole’s furious cat, demonstrates more succinctly what a brilliant writer Crais has become.
