Review of "The Big Empty: An Elvis Cole and Joe Pike Thriller" by Robert Crais

In this addition to the 'Elvis Cole - Joe Pike' series, the Los Angeles private detectives look for a missing person. The book works fine as a standalone.

*****

Private detective Elvis Cole is surprised when he's offered one thousand dollars just to CONSIDER taking a case.



Cole agrees to meet with 23-year-old Traci Beller, a social media celebrity known as 'The Baker Next Door' for her culinary videos and delicious biscuits.



Traci tells Cole that her father, Tommy Beller, vanished ten years ago. Traci explains that her dad owned a heating and air-conditioning company, and he never returned from a series of service calls in a town called Rancha.



The police investigation wasn't fruitful, and a private detective agency called Ryan & Byers also came up with zip. Traci heard Elvis is 'The World's Greatest Detective' and she implores him to PLEASE look for her dad, who was 'a wonderful father'. Elvis thinks the case is probably too cold to solve, but agrees to give it a shot.



From the files compiled by Ryan & Byers, Elvis learns that Beller was last seen at a Rancha hamburger stand called SurfMutt. Elvis track down employees who worked at SurfMutt ten years ago, to see what they recall.



One waitress remembers that Tommy was staring at the kids in the skate park across the way from the burger shop.



Elvis locates one of the skate park denizens, a woman called Anya, who's now 25-years-old and working in a florist shop. Anya offers no helpful information, and seems reluctant to speak to Elvis.



It becomes obvious that Elvis's inquiries are stirring up a hornet's nest, because a weirdo starts following him; thugs beat him up; and people in Rancha start getting killed.



Needing reinforcements, Elvis calls his friend and partner in the detective agency, Joe Pike - a formidable former mercenary who uses few words, has red arrows tattooed on his biceps, and wears sunglasses 24/7. The partners proceed to work the case together, and start to make progress.



In the meantime, the production team for 'The Baker Next Door' - who are in the midst of arranging TV appearances for Traci and recruiting investors for biscuit shops - are urging Elvis to wrap up the investigation. They don't want Traci distracted at this critical time in her career.



I don't want to give away spoilers, so I'll just say things take a few unexpected turns before the case is finally resolved.

I'm a long time fan of Elvis Cole and Joe Pike, and this book provides a nice demonstration of Elvis's wry sense of humor and investigative skills; and Joe's stoic demeanor and combat expertise.

I'd recommend the novel to readers who enjoy thrillers, especially fans of the Elvis Cole-Joe Pike series.

I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Luke Daniels, who does a fine job.

Thanks to Netgalley, Robert Crais, and Brilliance Audio for a copy of the book.

 Rating: 4 stars