The storyline, while exciting at times, seems thin and unfolds rather predictably and in a somewhat linear fashion overall (despite the switches in time and perspective in the multiple narratives). There is some of the snappy repartee, and plenty of the action, that fans have come to love from the series, but I found myself less engaged than usual.

Fast.Ĭrais is deservedly a favourite of many crime fans, but I found the constant chopping in time and perspective in TAKEN more distracting than tension-building. It’s up to Pike, and effervescent mercenary Jon Stone, to navigate the murky underground world of human trafficking to find their friend, Krista, and Jack, and the clock is ticking.

A plan to infiltrate a human trafficking ring tied to a Korean gang and a Syrian mastermind backfires badly, and Cole ends up ‘taken’ himself. When Nita receives a tiny ransom demand from the ‘kidnappers’, she suspects Krista and the untrustworthy Jack might be behind the whole thing, and are just setting her up.īut as Cole digs further, he uncovers something far more sinister, and finds himself entwined with drug cartels, Asian gangs, and much worse. A dangerous scheme for all involved, filled with uncertainty, disappearances, and violence.

Unbeknownst to Nita, Krista had taken Jack out into the desert to see the wreck of an old plane, which had ties to her own family history, and the pair had crossed paths with a dangerous group who bring illegal immigrants across the border. TAKEN provides a new twist, with the pair separated and alternating as the main player in a storyline about human trafficking told from multiple viewpoints.īusinesswoman Nita Morales wants Cole – “the World’s Greatest Detective” - to find her wayward daughter Krista, a college student who disappears after a weekend away with her boyfriend Jack. The lead and supporting roles have often been switched, with private eye Cole playing back-up to Pike, rather than vice versa. In recent years, however, Crais’s novels have started to feature more and more of the enigmatic, action-orientated Pike, and less of the wisecracking, layered Cole. The former Hollywood screenwriter’s hugely popular Elvis Cole and Joe Pike series mixes gripping plotlines with intriguing characters, with the main characters and their interpersonal relationships evolving over the course of the series. TAKEN by Robert Crais (Atlantic Books, 2012)įor many years, Robert Crais has been a consistently top quality exponent of crime fiction, one of those ‘go to’ writers for legions of fans around the world.

Taken by robert crais