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The Watchman (Joe Pike #1)

4.07 of 5 stars 4.07 · rating details · 10,254 ratings · 525 reviews

As the subtitle suggests, Joe Pike, the intriguing, enigmatic partner of L.A. PI Elvis Cole, takes center stage in this intense thriller from bestseller Crais (The Two Minute Rule). To pay back an old debt, Pike is coerced into protecting Larkin Barkley, a hard-partying young heiress whose life is in danger after a "wrong place wrong time" encounter that quickly escalates...more

Hardcover, 304 pages

Published February 27th 2007 by Simon & Schuster

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Nov 12, 2012 Dan Schwent rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: crime-and-mystery, 2012

While Elvis Cole is on the mend, an associate of Joe Pike's calls in a favor. Joe is tasked with protecting a young heiress from the people trying to kill her. Things go south when there is a leak at the Department of Justice and Pike finds that the only people he can trust are Elvis Cole and himself...

Joe Pike takes the lead in this Robert Crais offering and gets saddled protecting a Paris Hilton type heiress named Larkin Barkley. As with L.A. Requiem, Joe Pike's past is explored as the case un...more

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Aug 06, 2007 Mona Bliss rated it 5 of 5 stars

I enjoyed every second of this book. I love the entire Elvis Cole series and I thought it was great that he decided to swap the character focus in this one to Joe Pike. You can't help but wish that life was different for Joe but if it was he wouldn't be Joe Pike...and I'd miss Joe Pike.

This is a good read as are all the Elvis Cole books.

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Jan 24, 2012 Tim Warner rated it 4 of 5 stars

Just started. I like the creative approach that Robert Crais uses in this first of the Joe Pike series. The reader gets dropped into the middle of the action and the past unfolds slowly to fill in the history leading to the current situation. It's an interes4ting and novel approach.

I finished.

Good, not the best. I will continue with Pike, however. I wrote a much more extensive review of The Watchman, but the computer ate it up.One false key stroke and you're done4! UUUGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH So in my...more

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Oct 31, 2011 Mike (the Paladin) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: action

Okay, I'd never read anything by Robert Crais before this and I must say, I liked it (and immediately reserved another at the library).

Joe Pike...named for a rather nasty fish...is an interesting character. Taciturn, direct, he speaks in short declarative sentences and really doesn't do much emotion. I mean he has them, he just doesn't see any point in showing them or letting them dominate his life. He's friends and sometimes partner to Elvis Cole...a wise cracking PI.

This is not the first nove...more Okay, I'd never read anything by Robert Crais before this and I must say, I liked it (and immediately reserved another at the library).

Joe Pike...named for a rather nasty fish...is an interesting character. Taciturn, direct, he speaks in short declarative sentences and really doesn't do much emotion. I mean he has them, he just doesn't see any point in showing them or letting them dominate his life. He's friends and sometimes partner to Elvis Cole...a wise cracking PI.

This is not the first novel in this series but I didn't have any trouble picking up the thread (there is a flashback portion of the story that gives us a little look at what makes Pike tick).

In this novel Pike called to make good a promise...he's called to answer a called in favor. Pike is asked to "body guard" a young "Paris Hilton type" woman.

I had the audio edition of this book, I like audios as they free me up to listen and do other things. The reader here read Pike much as if he were Christian Bale's Batman....it was a bit odd at first, but after a while I stopped noticing. On the whole a good book and I really like/d it...oh, why 4 instead of 5? Just minor stuff...saw that coming why didn't the protagonist, that sort of thing. I like it a lot...but the fives on my list I like better. That being said for me a 4 star rating is very high. I recommend it and plan to follow it up.

(view spoiler)

Just got The Sentry: A Joe Pike Novel from the library.(less)

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Mar 30, 2008 Tom rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery

Joe Pike is one tough hombre and Crais writes well. Lookin' forward to the next one.

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Oct 18, 2012 Kelsey Burnette rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: mark-s-recommendations

My first Crais novel, and I like it. Joe Pike is a great character. I love how quiet he is. This book was a good first read, as you get to know Pike both through various revelations in the book, but also through the way he relates to Larkin, the young woman he is trying to protect. On the outside, they couldn't be more different, but Pike "sees" her and in her, himself. At one point telling her, "We're the same." And he's right. And she knows it too. She realizes that he actually really sees her...more

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May 31, 2007 The Book Maven rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery, maleromance

I think this is my first "Male Romance", if it can be considered that. Entertaining and enlightening, I suppose: the main character, Joe Pike, is terse, taciturn, grunt-y, noble, brave, and uber-strong and skilled. Does every man want to be like that?

I figured this book was part of a series (and it is, Book 11), but what surprised me was that the series is considered the 'Elvis Cole' series, and that character was definitely secondary in this novel...however, on second thought, that's a relief,...more

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May 02, 2013 Nigel Bird rated it 4 of 5 stars

I’ve been struggling to read of late. In fact, I always struggle to read to some extent. To make it worth the effort of revisiting lines and sentences that haven’t made sense, I have to be really engaged.

An audio-book seemed like a good thing to try as an alternative. I get to drive to work 2 or 3 times a week and have a CD player, so why not?

This isn’t the first audio-book I’ve tried. I’ve experimented many times in the past, but generally have found them a little frustrating. Apart from anythi...more

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Apr 20, 2010 Joyce Lagow rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A Joe Pike novel.[return][return]Normally, I� m not one for the hard-boiled hero type of either police procedural or thriller. I do have my exceptions, however, such as Michael Connelly� s Harry Bosch and Ian Rankin� s Inspector Rebus. Both series are so well written that they transcend, it seems to me, the genre.[return][return]I now can add Robert Crais� s Joe Pike/Ellis Cole series to the list. Joe Pike is a co-partner, along with Ellis Cole, of a private investigative agency. In a way, he� s...more

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Feb 05, 2009 Bookmarks Magazine added it

Robert Crais wrote for the hit television shows Hill Street Blues, Miami Vice, and L.A. Law, among others, so it comes as no surprise that his novels (including 11 featuring Elvis Cole and Joe Pike) have a hard-boiled feel and seamlessly incorporate cutting dialogue (see the recently reviewed The Two-Minute Rule, HHHJ May/June 2006). In The Watchman, Crais maintains his reputation as an edge-of-your-seat plotter with a psychological bent, not unlike Lee Child in his Jack Reacher series or James

...more

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May 20, 2013 Jane Stewart rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: action-mystery-suspense

I love tough smart loner guys like Joe Pike. I had plot problems, but it was still a fun and engaging read.

STORY BRIEF:
Larkin, a wealthy single woman (think Paris Hilton) witnesses something. Bad guys want her dead. She is in safe houses under federal protection. Three times someone leaks the location to the bad guys who come with guns. So Joe Pike a former marine and police officer is hired to protect her. He keeps her safe. The federal authorities, local police, and her father are angry at Joe...more I love tough smart loner guys like Joe Pike. I had plot problems, but it was still a fun and engaging read.

STORY BRIEF:
Larkin, a wealthy single woman (think Paris Hilton) witnesses something. Bad guys want her dead. She is in safe houses under federal protection. Three times someone leaks the location to the bad guys who come with guns. So Joe Pike a former marine and police officer is hired to protect her. He keeps her safe. The federal authorities, local police, and her father are angry at Joe because they don’t know where Joe is keeping her.

PLOT PROBLEMS:
Three plot logic problems come to mind. 1: Why are they angry at Joe? He’s doing what he was asked to do. He’s keeping her safe when no one else could. 2. Larkin does two stupid things which put her life in danger and gives Joe a chance to show how smart and great he is. I loved what Joe did when those things happened. But I wish the author used something different to put her in danger - not her own stupid actions. One of them is in the SPOILER below. 3. Joe and two other competent military types are sneaking up on some bad guys, planning a surprise attack. Another guy (not a military type) insisted on going with them and walked up to the bad guy’s front door, ruining the surprise. Of course, again this showed how good Joe was when things went wrong.

I don’t mind stupidity if it’s the way a normal person does stupid things - like me - for example being tired, misinformed, or emotionally distraught. But here I felt the author was doing it to move the plot. I prefer the bad guys being smart to move the plot, not the good guys being stupid.

BUT STILL FUN:
I liked that this was 3rd person. The author wrote several Elvis Cole stories in 1st person. I did not enjoy those as much.

Some readers will like the relationship part. Larkin has problems because her daddy doesn’t give her the right kind of attention. Joe helps her see things differently. They become close - but no sex. He’s older than she. For some reason Joe having a soft heart wasn’t done well. He said he loved her (to himself), but I wasn’t seeing or feeling it.

The narrator James Daniels was good.

(view spoiler)

DATA:
Narrative mode: 3rd person. Unabridged audiobook length: 7 hrs and 51 mins. Swearing language: strong including religious swear words, but rarely used. Sexual content: none. Setting: current day Los Angeles, California. Book copyright: 2007. Genre: action mystery suspense.(less)

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Mar 17, 2013 Harry rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: detective-mystery, favorites

Ok, a few rambling thoughts on Robert Crais. Who is this guy, where'd he come from, how'd he get so popular? Well the first thing to know is that Crais is not from California at all. He is a native of Louisiana, grew up in a blue collar family, and read his first crime novel The Little Sister when he was 15. And that's all it took. Chandler gave him his love for writing. Other authors that have inspired him were Hammett, Hemingway (seems like that's true of all the crime writers), Parker, and St...more Ok, a few rambling thoughts on Robert Crais. Who is this guy, where'd he come from, how'd he get so popular? Well the first thing to know is that Crais is not from California at all. He is a native of Louisiana, grew up in a blue collar family, and read his first crime novel The Little Sister when he was 15. And that's all it took. Chandler gave him his love for writing. Other authors that have inspired him were Hammett, Hemingway (seems like that's true of all the crime writers), Parker, and Steinbeck (huh?).

How'd he get so popular? In short: television and L.A. Requim. Robert Crais has a very impressive resume as a screenwriter for such television series as Hill Street Blues, Miami Vice (damn, I loved that show too!), Cagney & Lacey. But what hits home the most with Crais himself is his work on the 4 hour mini series Cross of Fire which is about the Ku Klux Klan and is probably more relevant to his home state of Louisiana than it is to Hollywood. Following a growing dissatsifaction of a screen writer's constraints, Crais began writing novels. L.A. Requim, which is the 8th Elvis Cole novel, is what landed him as an author that defied all genres and in it outsurpassed even the legendary Ross Macdonald.

Enough about Crais, the guy's good. So, what about Elvis Cole? Naming someone Elvis had to have been a fairly deliberate decision. To me the name seems iconic, Warholish, Disneylandish, a bit theatrical if not cynical. In fact his novels and trinkets therein are suffused with cultural icons: Spider Man mug, Jiminy Cricket (latent fantasy of wanting to be Peter Pan?), and his yellow Corvette. Even his slogan seems hamstrung with Hollywood's obsession with icons: Elvis Cole is The world's Greatest Detective! But in reality there's nothing ridiculous about Cole: he's tough, honest, ponders morality and ambiguity and hypocrasies while staring out the balcony window in his office.Yes, he's cynical, a smart ass, a comic relief in many ways...but behind the seeming humor lies a Dan Wesson .38, the Vietnam War, martial arts and his biggest gun of all: Joe Pike.

Joe Pike, the avenging angel, is a tool used sparingly by Crais. Use him too much and you wonder why he isn't the main character (we know Crais has struggled with this as he produced 4 separate novels featuring Pike as the hero); use him too little and you start wondering why the big guns aren't being pulled out by Elvis. What you want to do is increase the anxiety level of the reader towards the hero, not get the reader frustrated with him. Crais handles this expertly...and uses Pike to increase the anticipation in readers.

The Elvis Cole novels should be considered hard boiled detectives primarily in that Crais deviates from the traditional Romantic tradition found in detective stories and crime fiction by introducing Cole as a detective with a decidedly cynical attitude towards the emotions (i.e. apprehension, horror, terror, and awe such as are found in other crime and thriller stories). And yet, we find sprinkled throughout the books insightful observations of the world as seen through Elvis's eyes. In the following passage, Elvis observes the effects of dry brush fires raging through L.A.:

Picture the detective at work in his office, fourth floor, Hollywood, as the Devil's Wind freight-trains down from the desert. Though dry and brutally harsh, the desert wind is clean. It pushes the smog south to the sea and scrubs the sky to a crystalline blue. The air, jittery from the heat, rises in swaying tendrils like kelp from the seabed, making the city shimmer. We are never more beautiful than when we are burning.

Like I said, it really came together following the publication of his 8th Elvis Cole novel. Pike his side kick, Lou Poitras (Cole's detective friend) gruffy as ever, shifting view points, a relaxation of Cole's zany character...it all came together following L.A. Requim. So, believe me. All in all, you will not be disappointed with the Elvis Cole series. There are a lot of these novels so sit back and enjoy! I most certainly did.

As with all series reviews, this one covers all the Elvis Cole books. So if you've read this review of mine than you've read 'em all.(less)

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Jan 19, 2013 Susan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery

If you like your mysteries a bit on the hard-boiled side, be sure to try Robert Crais. I read one or two and ended up reading every one he ever wrote. Now I am anxiously awaiting a new one whenever he gets around to writing one. He centers his books around two characters: Joe Pike and Elvis Cole. Both men appear in the books, but one or the other are the main character in each book with the other character taking a supporting role. In The Watchman, Elvis Cole is the key focus. He finds himself p...more

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Oct 18, 2012 Danny Tyran rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: thriller, dangerous-heros

Joe Pike is the epitome of crime tough guys. Nobody does it better. He was a special forces soldier before he became an LAPD cop. He took the fall on charges that shouldn't have been dropped on him and was busted out of the LAPD. He became a mercenary and a some-time private eye that paired up with the World's Greatest Detective, Elvis Cole.

He has red arrows pointing forward tattooed on his deltoids because Joe Pike does not back up.

This is the guy I've been waiting years to read about. Author R...more Joe Pike is the epitome of crime tough guys. Nobody does it better. He was a special forces soldier before he became an LAPD cop. He took the fall on charges that shouldn't have been dropped on him and was busted out of the LAPD. He became a mercenary and a some-time private eye that paired up with the World's Greatest Detective, Elvis Cole.

He has red arrows pointing forward tattooed on his deltoids because Joe Pike does not back up.

This is the guy I've been waiting years to read about. Author Robert Crais introduced one of the funniest and emotionally complex private detectives to come along in years in Elvis Cole, but he also crafted one of the hardest heroes to see print in decades. Joe Pike is the king of cool, the master of the understatement, and a man haunted by personal demons he'll never talk about.

Hired by a friend of a friend, Joe agrees to bodyguard Larkin Barkley, a young woman who's the daughter of a multi-millionaire businessman. Larkin has a self-destructive tendency that only Joe seems to understand. Unfortunately, some of the same things she's in denial about are the same things that plague Joe. As the two fight to stay alive, and fight with each other, they come to realize that the only way they're going to get through the situation alive is to rely on and trust each other. Both of them have issues with that.

Larkin is a witness in a brutal slaying. The murderer is believed to be a brutal head of a drug cartel who will stop at nothing to kill Larkin.

The book starts off with a bang, with bullets ripping through the air and Pike's truck from the first pages to the close of the book. The novel grabs the reader by the throat and literally demands the reader's full attention. The assault on the reader's senses is relentless.

Crais is an elaborate plotter, but it all makes sense when he shakes out the final twist. But the best thing of all is getting to ride shotgun with Joe Pike while he deals with enemy guns and the hostile past he has that keeps getting in the way while he's protecting Larkin.

The dialogue, the descriptions, and the pacing are so well choreographed that you can see the movie spinning in your head. I liked the cameos that Elvis Cole had in this novel, but I'm glad Joe got to keep center stage. I really didn't think the novel would work that well because sometimes if a writer shines a light too brightly on an enigmatic hero that everything that existed is turned into a cheap trick.

But Joe Pike is for real. He's an unstoppable force and an avenging angel all rolled into one. The publishers mention that this is a JOE PIKE NOVEL right on the cover. Hopefully there will be future installments. If so, they'd be most welcome.(less)

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Oct 04, 2012 Heather Holmgren rated it 5 of 5 stars

A wild-living heiress suddenly finds herself in a car accident, one LA night, as she attempts to help the victims she is throw into a whirlwind of trouble that money cant get her out of. In order to keep Larkin safe, her father seeks out help from the police, Bud Flynn a veteran of the LAPD calls in a favor from his greatest trainee from 15 years ago, Joe Pike. Running through the obstacles of keeping this girl safe isn't easy as the first two safe house are compromised by unknown gunmen trying...more A wild-living heiress suddenly finds herself in a car accident, one LA night, as she attempts to help the victims she is throw into a whirlwind of trouble that money cant get her out of. In order to keep Larkin safe, her father seeks out help from the police, Bud Flynn a veteran of the LAPD calls in a favor from his greatest trainee from 15 years ago, Joe Pike. Running through the obstacles of keeping this girl safe isn't easy as the first two safe house are compromised by unknown gunmen trying to kill Larkin. Fleeing to become safe the two must go off the grid and hide, changing her appearance and switching cars. Pike begins to track down unwanted information in order to end the attemptive killings, following his own set of rules Pike must strike fast , hit hard and hunt down the hunters.Keeping Larkin save is pikes only mission but will the chaos ever end , you will have to read it for yourself in order to find out what happens to Larkin and Pike. I gave this book 5 stars because I thought it was page turner , I could barely put it down, I always wanted to know what was going to happen next as they would get by one obstacles only to fall into another one. The way this book was written made you feel as if it you were actually in the story watching from the side lines. I was actually sad to finish it and wanted to keep reading to see if certain things happened between certain people. This may be a long book, but as you read the pages fly by. " She said ' Why dont I eat first? The Pikester wont feed me. He only wants sex.' Cole said ' Hes like that with me, too, but we've learned to adjust.''One point, me;zero you .' (Crais,61) I chose this qoute because it's humorous and in class we discussed different types and techniques of humor, I would say this is and understatement one because its lightening up the terrible situation that Larkin is in by making it less serious and that verbal irony because Cole is being sarcastic about the whole situation in order to make Larkin laugh. Since we discussed these things in class I was able to pull different humor techniques out of the text. Which is awesome! I would recommend this to anyone who likes thrillers and suspense along with action because this book provides the perfect amount of both as to search for the missing pieces that provides a bigger picture. This is a good book for young adults that are really into reading mystery because it keeps you guessing with many different twist and turns, you are able to put yourself into this book.This book is definetly one that cant be put down and readers will really enjoy it. (less)

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Jul 09, 2012 Dan Durning rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Joe Pike fans

I quit reading Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch books, mainly because Bosch seemed to be a psychopath and all the good people who got near him were killed or otherwise messed with. A superhuman type, he could parachute, equipped only with a pair to tweezers, into an anonymous China metropolitan area and within 24 hours he would track down the relevant dirtbags and extract the truth by slowly pulling out their nose hairs one by one.

Crais's Joe Pike seems to be even more psychopathic (his nasty fat...more I quit reading Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch books, mainly because Bosch seemed to be a psychopath and all the good people who got near him were killed or otherwise messed with. A superhuman type, he could parachute, equipped only with a pair to tweezers, into an anonymous China metropolitan area and within 24 hours he would track down the relevant dirtbags and extract the truth by slowly pulling out their nose hairs one by one.

Crais's Joe Pike seems to be even more psychopathic (his nasty father beat him when he was a child) than Bosch and more highly trained and lethal. He is monosyllabic and wears sunglasses even in the dark. The mercenary Steppenwolf also shoots lots of people, including in this one, an unarmed bad guy who had surrendered. But, I guess he is so noble that he is not prosecuted for such minor transgressions. After all, he does want to "serve and protect," and extremism in doing these things is, apparently, no vice. And, did I mention that he father cuffed him around when he was young.

The good news is that Pike kills the bad guys and good folks in his proximity do not die at alarming rates. Better news is that Pike's sidekick is Elvis Cole, a hip LA detective with some funny repartee. Cole stars in his own series of books, and plays a helpful sidekick in this one.

As with most of the Crais books that I have read, this one was a quick and enjoyable read. The plot was complex enough, and the characters interesting enough, to keep me glued to the end.

The end (or, I should say, the post-action denouement) was surprisingly supper sappy, even for a potboiler like this. It's 3:59 a.m. and Pike is out jogging in the middle of the road. The hip young hottie billionaire he had saved from the bad guys has driven up in her new pearl-white Aston convertible and, after a brief conversation, is about to take her leave. Here is the concluding dialogue:

She said, "You probably think I'll get over it, but I won't. I love you. I love you so damn much I would do anything for you."

"I know you would."

"I'd even stop calling."

The Aston Martin roared away, its engine screaming with pain.

Pike watched her taillights flare. She turned east on San Vicente, and raced toward the city.

Pike said, "I love you."

If I read somewhere that Joe Pike has recently received some extensive psychiatric help, I might read the next Joe Pike novel. Absent that, he is a little too much to swallow.
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Dec 09, 2011 Cathy DuPont rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Crais Fans or Not!

Been reading Elvis Cole in order of publication and Elvis' sidekick (although he would resent being categorized as such) Joe Pike is the featured character in The Watchman. Sorry folks, Elvis takes the back seat here.

Pike's an ex-Marine and ex-cop from the LAPD and they are good friends. Their relationship is explored further and deeper in each book I've read. They have a strong and mutual respect for each other and bounce off each other nicely with Elvis being somewhat of a joker (he makes me...more

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Sep 06, 2011 Johnny rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: thriller, mystery

The bad guy is predictable. Well, so what? The good guy is unpredictable. The Watchman is presumably a play off the literary conceit that inspired the brilliant The Watchmen graphic novel and film, “Who is watching the watchman?” Robert Crais doesn’t make any explicit reference to that, but it fits. Joe “I’m not a bodyguard” Pike is roped into performing a very lucrative favor for a person to whom, like The Godfather of Mario Puzo fame, he owes a favor. This time, he doesn’t owe the favor to a m...more The bad guy is predictable. Well, so what? The good guy is unpredictable. The Watchman is presumably a play off the literary conceit that inspired the brilliant The Watchmen graphic novel and film, “Who is watching the watchman?” Robert Crais doesn’t make any explicit reference to that, but it fits. Joe “I’m not a bodyguard” Pike is roped into performing a very lucrative favor for a person to whom, like The Godfather of Mario Puzo fame, he owes a favor. This time, he doesn’t owe the favor to a mafia crime lord, but to someone who has loaned soldiers and logistic support to Pike in an earlier effort. The favor is guarding an often “clueless,” but still full of potential, young heiress to be. It seems her hard-driving, free-spirited method of self-medicating via adrenaline (ie. driving Los Angeles streets in the wee hours at reckless speeds) wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. She saw the wrong person at the wrong time and that will likely be fatal.

So, how is Pike unpredictable? The idealistic patrolman turned mercenary turned private investigator is the kind of personality who doesn’t really let you know what he’s thinking. His dialogue could be written by the same guy who wrote the Sergio Leone script for Eastwood in “The Man with No Name” series. His emotional catharsis may take down a tsunami of bodies or it may be a gentle, if unexpected, word of comfort and self-revelation. Pike isn’t merely interesting because of the number of different weapons he has mastered and the superhero way this ex-Marine sniper/mercenary manages to blend into the landscape when stalking his targets, Pike is interesting because of the way he has transformed his abused childhood and all of its associated psychological traumas into potential strength. Is that authentic strength or merely a perceived one.

And don’t get me wrong about the villain being predictable. The bad guy can be predicted because he is a “type” of bad guy, but you’re only positive toward the end. The “red herrings” of multiple possibilities come at you like the strong flow of a fast-moving river. You be the judge. The bad guy is one of these: the girl’s father, the Feds, Pike’s old partner, the old man’s lawyer, the mercenary “agent” to whom Pike owed the favor, the heiress herself, a murderer who split for Colombia some years back, the leader of a Colombian cartel, or the investor for a drug cartel. There’s no organization-chart to help you navigate the baddies (or potential baddies) and Pike doesn’t exactly follow the rules of a police procedural in order to gain the information he seeks.

Alas, this volume doesn’t support the Elvis Cole as a “dirty old man” (or at least, “dirty old man” wannabe) as I’ve suggested in other reviews. I hate finding contradictory evidence. So, guess I have to put that one in the bin marked “Mostly Unfounded Theories.” Still, this was a fast read on an international flight and it even pulled my wife into it after I finished it. I haven’t seen her devour a novel like that in years. With two thumbs up from my wife and me, I have to give this my highest rating.
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Aug 07, 2011 Radcliff Lance rated it 3 of 5 stars

Watchman was the premiere novel of Robert Crais' new anti-hero, Joe Pike. Crais is mainly known for his Elvis Cole novels and has built quite a following with that character. With Pike, Crais created a complete opposite from his wise-cracking, P.I., do-gooder Elvis Cole. Pike is a man of few words and strong actions. He has the standard background that comes with being a hard man. Ex-cop, ex-mercenary, socially awkward, but put a pistol in the man's hand and men will die. It's a nice departure f...more Watchman was the premiere novel of Robert Crais' new anti-hero, Joe Pike. Crais is mainly known for his Elvis Cole novels and has built quite a following with that character. With Pike, Crais created a complete opposite from his wise-cracking, P.I., do-gooder Elvis Cole. Pike is a man of few words and strong actions. He has the standard background that comes with being a hard man. Ex-cop, ex-mercenary, socially awkward, but put a pistol in the man's hand and men will die. It's a nice departure from Cole, and Crais gets a chance to show us his version of a badass with a good heart. There are problems though. Pike isn't really and anti-hero (the kind of character I truly enjoy). He's just a skilled man of few words. Pike's sense of style is lacking, and sometime his silence gets boring. Sometimes you have to insert a wisecrack or clever threat when dealing with such a brooding character.

The story starts off fast, and takes you on quite a few twists, but midway through, the fast-paced action is reduced to an Elvis Cole investigation (Cole is a prominent character in the novel), and an understandable, but sometimes odd romance brews, but never takes hold. Again, the well thought out plot is clever and classic Crais, but Pike's skills aren't exploited enough. Especially in the final shootout, after all the time reading It fizzled out with a meager gunfight.

Robert Crais has his usual detail, and this helps set the scenes up nicely. His writing is smooth and moves along well. I just think if you're going to write such a tough character you have exploit his toughness to sell readers like me. I'm sure the point is reality, and from that perspective Crais does very well grounding such a character, but a character like Pike has to be yanked off the chain and thrown into ridiculous battles. This is not the opinion of the masses, but for me, and action hero needs...action!

I'm curious to read The Last Rule which is Joe Pike's new adventure. From the synopsis it seems Pike will be driven more by anger and revenge. Maybe this will unleash more ruthlessness and gunfights.(less)

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Aug 09, 2009 Tony rated it 3 of 5 stars

Robert Crais- The Watchman (Simon & Schuster 2007) 3.25 Stars

Joe Pike, an ex-cop, must protect Larkin Conner Barkley, a rich and spoiled young woman. She is to be a witness in a federal case and everywhere she goes the killer hunts her down. Everything is not as it should be though and Joe Pike must figure out who he can trust and what exactly is the truth.

The characters in this novel were very interesting and deep. The plot was somewhat predictable, although there were some very good twist...more

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Jun 04, 2009 Sandie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: thrillers-and-mystery

Joe Pike, silent partner in the Elvis Cole Detective Agency, takes center stage in this well orchestrated offering from Robert Crais, with Elvis Cole stepping into an important albeit "supporting role". For those who have followed the "strong, silent, mysterious Pike" through various Elvis Cole books.....we are finally offered a glimpse at Joe's military experiences, his time as an L.A.P.D. cop, and his relationship with his father. Joe may not be a guy brimming with emotion, but his quiet natur...more Joe Pike, silent partner in the Elvis Cole Detective Agency, takes center stage in this well orchestrated offering from Robert Crais, with Elvis Cole stepping into an important albeit "supporting role". For those who have followed the "strong, silent, mysterious Pike" through various Elvis Cole books.....we are finally offered a glimpse at Joe's military experiences, his time as an L.A.P.D. cop, and his relationship with his father. Joe may not be a guy brimming with emotion, but his quiet nature is perfectly fitted for this compelling character.

Recommended by his old police force partner Bud Flynn, Joe is hired to protect Larkin Barkley, the beautiful, spoiled and largely ignored daughter of a real estate tycoon. Joe must utilize all of his accumulated training and experience (as well as his Colt Python and Kimber) to keep both he and Larkin out of the reaches of assassins as well as government agents.

During the first few chapters of the book, I was so aggravated with the shallowness of the Larkin character, that I could have killed her myself.....or at least slapped the daylights out of her. (Crais must have used the antics of Paris Hilton, Lindsey Lohan and Brittany Spears for inspiration when developing this character). As the book progresses, Larkins behaviour is modified and the reader, like Pike and Cole, begins to relate to her. Larkin aside, I loved the pace, plot structure and language of this novel. It's an edgy thriller filled with enough action, plot twists, and body count to satisfy all lovers of suspense and daring exploits. Pike's appeal is his uncanny ability to anticipate the actions of his foes, and then out-plan and out-maneuver them.

Fact of the matter is that Crais talent with the written word creates vivid pictures in your mind that would translate beautifully onto the silver screen. I can see any number of actors as Joe Pike. Bruce, Harrison and Arnold are getting a little "long in the tooth" for this sort of action, but how about Daniel Craig, Gerard Butler, or Clive Owen? Check out The Watchman and see if you don't agree? If not, do your own casting......it's a free country and your entitled to your opinion too.
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Mar 13, 2013 Mark Soone rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Wow, this was my 2nd encounter w/ Crais but my first with either Pike or Cole. I am not sure whether to plunge headlong continuing the Pike series or go back and find the older Cole books to get to know thwem better. This was a very cool read with the feel of a Baldaccis "Puller" or Childs "Reacher" series without being to similar.

This started just a little slow for me but somewhere between 50-100 pages in I becoame hooked. The charcters were very cool led by Pike & Cole. Throw in a sexy and...more

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Aug 22, 2010 Linda I rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: robert-crais, mystery

"The Watchman" can be described as a marginally interesting and predictable, but a fairly quick and easily entertaining read. While the plot was fast-moving and absorbing, the lead protagonists, Joe Pike and Larkin Barkley, are a bit too stereotypically generic. Pike is your typical short-on-words-big-on-testosterone terminator type of guy and Larkin is the pretty-yet-crazy-wild-child heiress everyone falls in love with. The story: Larkin, contemplating her life while driving late one night, end...more

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Jun 11, 2013 Will rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: adventure, thriller, mystery

Pike Protects Poor Little Rich Girl from Cartel-backed Real Estate Goons. Following a middle of the night car wreck in LA, Larkin Barkley finds herself the subject of a hit squad that normal law enforcement proves unable to prevent. An old friend calls in a marker, and Joe Pike agrees to protect the girl from danger until the heat dissipates. It doesn't, as Pike finds himself defending and killing anonimous attackers almost daily. As he boils down the reality, Pike finds the girl to be a neglect...more

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Jul 11, 2012 Anita rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery, suspense-thriller

I have only read a few of Crais' novels, and find the humour in the Elvis Cole series extraneous to the stories. When I saw this book was about Joe Pike, I picked it up, and immediately made the comparison to the Lee Child mysteries with tough guy Jack Reacher. In the prologue, young heiress Larkin Barkley is driving like mad through the streets of Los Angeles in the middle of the night when she has an accident involving another vehicle containing three people. She's not sure what she has seen a...more

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Apr 18, 2012 M.L. Rudolph rated it 5 of 5 stars

2007. Robert Crais is a master craftsman who delivers on his promise.

There are alot of variations on the LA private eye story. And lots of good practitioners of the genre. Crais is among the best. His two characters Elvis Cole and Joe Pike, in my book, belong among the best LA literary sleuths.

This is Joe Pike's novel, but Elvis Cole is his buddy and of course he makes more than a cameo. Pike relies on Cole to provide key backup.

Pike is a damaged soul from childhood, but he's a tough survivor...more

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Apr 17, 2013 Denniger Bolton rated it 5 of 5 stars

Do you suppose Robert Crais could hear us Pike fans outside his house chanting? "We want Joe! We want Joe!"

The twitch at the corner of the mouth, an almost smile. The tattooed red arrows on the arms always pointing forward, never back. The sunglasses hiding icy blue eyes. An enigma wrapped up in a hummus pita. Joe Pike's a vegetarian. Red meat makes him aggressive. "Way it is," says Joe.

The Watchman is Joe Pike. Elvis Cole, is the extrovert, the world's greatest detective driving a bright yellow...more

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May 19, 2011 Dirk rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The Watchman is sort of a spin-off book. Crais is best known for the ten or so Elvis Cole novels he’s written. Elvis is a wise-cracking detective that wears Hawaiian shirts and is slightly goofy. He can handle himself too but when he gets into a tight jam he calls on his buddy and partner, Joe Pike. Joe is a bad mofo. In The Watchman, Joe Pike is the main character and it’s pretty cool.

There is a quite a bit of background info on Joe. Some flashbacks to his short time on the LAPD. He becomes a b...more

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Oct 09, 2010 Jerry rated it 4 of 5 stars

We've been sampling Crais' booklist -- this was the third we've read, with the other two featuring PI Elvis Cole, with a little help from his reclusive sidekick, Joe Pike. In deciding to sample a newer entry in the set, we stumbled on this one which features Pike as the leading man, with just a little help here and there from Cole. Pike is an ex-cop who says little but carries a big stick – he reminds us of (Lee Child’s) Jack Reacher in that he has a finely honed sense of right and wrong and is...more

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Aug 22, 2009 Kirsti rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: someone stuck at the airport

Recommended to Kirsti by: Jan C

Shelves: anger, fiction, mayhem, los-angeles

Well. I have now read Watchmen, the graphic novel, and Watchman, the spy novel that I think was by Ian Rankin, and now I have read The Watchman. Naturally, I will have to search for a book called Watchdog.

I wish the New York Times would describe me as taut and muscular, but I guess I will have to settle for reading books that merit that description. (I suppose today's fifteen minutes of yardwork were not enough.)

I enjoyed this book very much. It moves fast, and Pike and Cole are well-developed c...more

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About Robert Crais

Robert Crais is the author of the best-selling Elvis Cole novels. A native of Louisiana, he grew up on the banks of the Mississippi River in a blue collar family of oil refinery workers and police officers. He purchased a secondhand paperback of Raymond Chandler’s The Little Sister when he was fifteen, which inspired his lifelong love of writing, Los Angeles, and the literature of crime fiction....more Robert Crais is the author of the best-selling Elvis Cole novels. A native of Louisiana, he grew up on the banks of the Mississippi River in a blue collar family of oil refinery workers and police officers. He purchased a secondhand paperback of Raymond Chandler’s The Little Sister when he was fifteen, which inspired his lifelong love of writing, Los Angeles, and the literature of crime fiction. Other literary influences include Dashiell Hammett, Ernest Hemingway, Robert B. Parker, and John Steinbeck.
After years of amateur film-making and writing short fiction, he journeyed to Hollywood in 1976 where he quickly found work writing scripts for such major television series as Hill Street Blues, Cagney & Lacey, and Miami Vice, as well as numerous series pilots and Movies-of-the-Week for the major networks. He received an Emmy nomination for his work on Hill Street Blues, but is most proud of his 4-hour NBC miniseries, Cross of Fire, which the New York Times declared: "A searing and powerful documentation of the Ku Klux Klan’s rise to national prominence in the 20s."
In the mid-eighties, feeling constrained by the collaborative working requirements of Hollywood, Crais resigned from a lucrative position as a contract writer and television producer in order to pursue his lifelong dream of becoming a novelist. His first efforts proved unsuccessful, but upon the death of his father in 1985, Crais was inspired to create Elvis Cole, using elements of his own life as the basis of the story. The resulting novel, The Monkey’s Raincoat, won the Anthony and Macavity Awards and was nominated for the Edgar Award. It has since been selected as one of the 100 Favorite Mysteries of the Century by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association.
Crais conceived of the novel as a stand-alone, but realized that—in Elvis Cole—he had created an ideal and powerful character through which to comment upon his life and times. (See the WORKS section for additional titles.) Elvis Cole’s readership and fan base grew with each new book, then skyrocketed in 1999 upon the publication of L. A. Requiem, which was a New York Times and Los Angeles Times bestseller and forever changed the way Crais conceived of and structured his novels. In this new way of telling his stories, Crais combined the classic ‘first person’ narrative of the American detective novel with flashbacks, multiple story lines, multiple points-of-view, and literary elements to better illuminate his themes. Larger and deeper in scope, Publishers Weekly wrote of L. A. Requiem, "Crais has stretched himself the way another Southern California writer—Ross Macdonald—always tried to do, to write a mystery novel with a solid literary base." Booklist added, "This is an extraordinary crime novel that should not be pigeonholed by genre. The best books always land outside preset boundaries. A wonderful experience."
Crais followed with his first non-series novel, Demolition Angel, which was published in 2000 and featured former Los Angeles Police Department Bomb Technician Carol Starkey. Starkey has since become a leading character in the Elvis Cole series. In 2001, Crais published his second non-series novel, Hostage, which was named a Notable Book of the Year by the New York Times and was a world-wide bestseller. Additionally, the editors of Amazon.com selected Hostage as the #1 thriller of the year. A film adaptation of Hostage was released in 2005, starring Bruce Willis as ex-LAPD SWAT negotiator Jeff Talley.
Elvis Cole returned in 2003 with the publication of The Last Detective, followed by the tenth Elvis Cole novel, The Forgotten Man, in 2005. Both novels explore with increasing depth the natures and characters of Elvis Cole and Joe Pike. RC’s third stand-alone novel, The Two Minute Rule, was published in 2006. The eleventh entry in the Elvis Cole series, The Watchman, will be published sometime in 2007.(less)

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The Sentry (Elvis Cole, #12, Joe Pike, #3)

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