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The Watchman: A Joe Pike Novel (Joe Pike Novels) | 
 enlarge | Author: Robert Crais
Publisher: Pocket Star
Category: Book
List Price: $7.99
Buy New: $3.24
You Save: $4.75 (59%)
New (39) Used (51) Collectible (2) from $2.24
Avg. Customer Rating:  142 reviews
Sales Rank: 6308
Media: Mass Market Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 416
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 6.7 x 4.2 x 1.3
ISBN: 141651497X
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9781416514978
ASIN: 141651497X
Publication Date: January 29, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Condition: New book w/perfect interior; exterior has slight wear
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Product Description
Joe Pike -- the ex-cop, ex-Marine, exmercenary from Robert Crais's superb PI Elvis Cole novels -- headlines the explosive action of this page-turning New York Times bestseller.A wild-living young heiress slams into trouble in the L.A. night -- the kind of trouble even her money can't shut down. After her Aston Martin collides with a mysterious car, Larkin Conner Barkley attempts to help the accident victims -- and becomes the sole witness in a federal investigation. Whisking her out of her Beverly Hills world is Joe Pike, hired to shield Larkin Barkley from a relentless team of killers. But when a chain of lies and betrayals tightens around them, Pike drops off the grid and follows his own rules for survival: strike fast, hit hard, hunt down the hunters....
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| Customer Reviews: Read 137 more reviews...
 What Pike does August 18, 2008
Robert Crais is the noted author of the Elvis Cole PI novels which are fairly solid books in their own right. This time out, Crais takes Cole's back-up man, Joe Pike, and shows us what Pike does during the times he's not helping Cole. Several months have passed since the events of The Last Detective and Joe must respond to the favor called in by Jon Stone. Pike is to protect a wealthy, young, attractive, attention-hog of Larkin Barkley. Larkin was in a traffic accident which turns out involved some bad people. She wants to do the right thing and from then on her life is being threatened. Pike is brought in to protect her but there's a leak in the works so Pike takes Larkin and drops off the radar, taking matters into his own hands. As expected, Pike calls in Cole to help him on a few investigative matters but this time Cole is the sidekick, not Pike.
While the story is not the strongest it is what we have always figured Pike does when not helping Cole. We do get a slightly larger look into what makes Pike tick. Unfortunately, it's pretty straight forward in that we know Pike is going to get the bad guys but there's never a real feeling of threat from THE bad guy as he doesn't even appear until 3/4 through the book. Basically we get an opening shoot out, then lots of hiding and investigation, and then a closing shoot out. More involvement with the antagonists would have been better but this is what I figured a Joe Pike novel was going to be like and it certainly was enjoyable.
If you read the Elvis Cole novels, you're going to read this one too. However, it can be read as a stand alone but it does fit into the Elvis Cole timeline which gives away some of those novels' endings.
 Great as an audio book! August 15, 2008
Wonderful as an audio book. Great plot with back and forth time jumps that are intriguing rather than confusing. Wonderful plot twists.
Great characters July 23, 2008
I loved this book. Especially Joe Pike is phenomenal. I even liked the dialogues and descreption of Pike more than the story which is also good. The only remark I have is when Joe becomes sort of melodramatic towards the girl, all this touching of hands does not go well with his image.
Absolutely recommend this book
 Another Good Entry In the Elvis Cole/Joe Pike Series July 22, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I've read nearly all of Robert Crais's Elvis Cole novels, and have really enjoyed the series as a whole. For the most part, Crais is a strong writer who knows how to write a compelling story. THE WATCHMAN, the eleventh Elvis Cole novel, is yet another strong effort with an interesting twist.
Most of the appeal of THE WATCHMAN comes from seeing Joe Pike, who normally serves as Cole's sidekick, assume the role of leading man. In this novel, Pike is forced to serve as a bodyguard for a spoiled heiress in the mold of Paris Hilton. The novel deals with Pike's efforts to protect her, as well as the nature of their evolving relationship. It also provides Crais with another excuse to delve into Pike's background and explain what makes him the man he is.
I like Pike very much as a character, and all the best scenes in THE WATCHMAN deal with his unique reactions to the events around him. But the background plot, which has a lot of pointless twists and turns, was too convoluted for my taste. Crais is one of those authors who attempts to fake out the reader at multiple levels, but I found the results in this case to be confusing and overblown. I think Harlan Coben does a far better job with this type of plotting.
Overall, however, I found THE WATCHMAN to be an enjoyable read, with a lot of great action scenes and a fascinating central character. Crais's next novel in 2009 is also supposed to star Pike, and I look forward to reading that one when it comes out.
Just as good as the Elvis Cole novels July 2, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Elvis Cole sidekick, the enigmatic and dangerous Joe Pike, gets a high-powered starring role in "The Watchman," with The World's Greatest Detective playing backup this time. A reluctant Pike is convinced to repay an old debt by protecting Larkin Barkley, a spoiled young heiress (Paris Hilton anyone?) who rear-ended another car after a night of wild partying and is now on the run from both the mysterious accident victims, who suspiciously absconded from the accident scene, and the FBI, who seem to be hiding the real reason they want her in custody. Pike, with Cole's assistance, gets Larkin into hiding and goes after the bad guys - which may include members of the police force and the FBI - himself, setting a series of traps to find out what's going on. What I really liked about this book, besides the fast pace, colorful characters and vivid SoCal setting, all up to Crais' usual high standards, is the sensitive portrayal of the girl, who is far more than just a cliche of the pampered, spoiled celebs constantly overexposed in the tabloids. "The Watchman" is a welcome change of pace which tells us a lot about Joe Pike and the things in his past that made him who he is. Hopefully this is just the first in his own series.
Also recommended: A Stranger Lies There by Stephen Santogrossi- a hard-boiled thriller set in the desert around Palm Springs, it won the Malice Domestic Award for best first mystery. I actually discovered this book last year in an Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine review alongside "The Watchman." The review stated: "Santogrossi writes powerfully and movingly about a man who has paid for his mistakes only to find out that he's not through paying and never will be. An author to watch."
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