Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

The First Rule (Joe Pike #2)

4.13 of 5 stars 4.13 · rating details · 6,110 ratings · 508 reviews

From the New York Times-bestselling author who sets the standard for intense, powerful crime- writing comes a blistering thriller featuring Joe Pike and Elvis Cole.

The Watchman put Joe Pike, Elvis Cole's strong, taciturn partner, front and center, and not only won Robert Crais new audiences but remarkable reviews. The South Florida Sun-Sentinel said "Robert Crais elevate...more

Hardcover, 320 pages

Published January 12th 2010 by Putnam Adult (first published July 1st 2009)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

Can't Wait Books of 2010

248th out of 1,297 books — 10,683 voters

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

Chicago Public Library Staff Picks - Fiction I

28th out of 102 books — 24 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 3,000)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Nov 23, 2012 Dan Schwent rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: crime-and-mystery, 2012

A retired mercenary Joe Pike used to work with is murdered along with his family, seemingly by a home invasion crew. Joe Pike springs into action. When signs start pointing to an arms deal involving Serbian organized crime, Pike starts wondering if his old friend was mixed up in something he shouldn't have been...

The First Rule was another exciting outing featuring Joe Pike and Elvis Cole with Pike taking center stage and kicking ass. I can't say too much about the plot without blowing too much....more

19 likes · like · see review

Nov 22, 2012 Mike (the Paladin) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: action

Pike and Cole live interesting if somewhat morbid and difficult lives...

Here a good friend of Joe Pike and his entire family are brutally killed, this is something (predictably) that Joe isn't about to walk away from.

I like these books, but I've got to say Joe is an unusual guy...maybe unique. He's probably the only ex-cop, ex-mercenary, partner in a P.I. firm, tough as nails adventurer...bodyguard....etc. who's also a zen vegetarian. It can kind of give you whiplash. Still, I think I'm more a P...more Pike and Cole live interesting if somewhat morbid and difficult lives...

Here a good friend of Joe Pike and his entire family are brutally killed, this is something (predictably) that Joe isn't about to walk away from.

I like these books, but I've got to say Joe is an unusual guy...maybe unique. He's probably the only ex-cop, ex-mercenary, partner in a P.I. firm, tough as nails adventurer...bodyguard....etc. who's also a zen vegetarian. It can kind of give you whiplash. Still, I think I'm more a Pike fan than a Cole fan, but that's just me. LOL

Anyway we've got another good entry in the series here with Pike facing nasty odds and (again) emotional wounds (though he'd never talk about it or show it...of course). Lots of action some pretty good story telling and characters that stay true to themselves (pike and Cole so far have always been Pike and Cole, this is a good thing). I can recommend these as enjoyable junk food for the mind, what I usually call brain candy. You'll get your required dose of shootouts, brutality, unfair death, righteous retribution and all sorts of other goodies, enjoy. 4 stars.

(view spoiler)[ This time out Joe, Elvis and some from Joe's past as a mercenary must go up against an Eastern European mob connection who are involved in gun running. A gang war over the large shipment of Chinese AK47s has escalated to kidnapping, bloody messages and betrayal. The parties involved in sending a message have accidentally involved Joe by leaving one of his best/old friends and said friend's family dead as collateral damage. This gang war involves a kidnapped child and The ATF.

We do get what seems to be a required scene in these books where Joe gets bearded by a police officer/official who's "heard" about Joe or knows just a enough about him to be "down on" our Zen hero. I could get tired of that after a while I suppose.

The book holds together pretty well with a good plot, lies within lies and bad guys around every turn no one turning out to be what they seem. The Feds end up being somewhat helpful. Climatically Elvis keeps Joe from one final act of violent retribution as the action winds up here. Though, the bad guy who killed Joe's friend gets it in the end anyway.

Lots of little things here that add to the books and keep them from being just a shoot, kill, chase, shoot, kill, etc. The back story of Frank, Joe's friend who left the private military contractor life when his pregnant girl friend gave him an ultimatum, leave the life or lose her. The rub for me was that she also had the power (or Frank gave her the power) to insist that he cut off all his friends also. Not only did he have to leave the "career" (a completely reasonable request) but he had to completely write off his friends. Even when Joe himself had left the "business" he was not welcomed in his friend's home due to Frank's wife's ultimatum. This bothered me. Here we get into another touch that helps the book transcend mere action adventure in that we see and hear about a few of the other members of Joe's old group. We find that some have moved out into society and adjusted while others have completely snapped, succumbed to complete drug addiction or (remained?) violent and sought out a violent life.

So, as I said, good story, well done and a good read. So far I like these. (hide spoiler)](less)

4 likes · like · see review

Mar 16, 2013 Mark Soone rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I would probably call this one a 3.5 star if goodreads would ever make that an option!!!! Anyway I thoroughly enjoy the Pike/Cole series and found this book very entertaining...however compare to the previous book, this one fell just a little bit short of the bar that Crais had set for me.

Pike is back in action! This time a close friend and former comrad in arms has been brutally murdered, along with his innocent family. Cole determines that he will avenge this unnecesary murder, and wreak havoc...more

like · see review

Dec 26, 2012 Michael rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, mystery, thriller, california, los-angeles

A satisfying thriller featuring Joe Pike, a man of action who draws on his skills as an ex-mercenary special ops soldier and ex-cop and his drive to achieve justice within or outside the constraints of law. What puts on the path to war this time is the murder of his friend from his mercenary days along with the man’s family by a set of home invaders. Step by step, Pike homes in on Serbian organized crime figures, aided by the sister of a nanny who was killed in the crime, another ex-mercenary, a...more

6 likes · like · see review

Sep 20, 2012 James rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: mysteries

Joe Pike usually provides a supporting role in Robert Crais mysteries with Elvis Cole as the main character. In this mystery, Joe Pike moves to the forefront. Frank Meyer was living the American dream. As the story begins, he is sitting down to dinner when a professional home invasion crew hits his home and murders everyone inside, including the nanny. This is the last in a list of similar home invasions where everyone is killed. The other homeowners were criminals, so the police suspect this wa...more

like · see review

Aug 23, 2011 Alex Sheldon Savva rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: crime-thriller-fiction

It's my first foray into the world of Robert Crais and I wasn't disappointed.
Upon reading the back cover synopsis there was no mystery upon its contents - it was a simple case of a straight up revenge tale. And after reading a few pages prior to buying, I was hooked.
It was such an easy and thrilling read, I was done with it in 3 days, as opposed to a week with other titles.
Crais's direction is expertly handled and to the point, no messing about or subplots, and with a story like this, that's...more

like · see review

Mar 22, 2011 Johnny rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery

I wonder if Michael Connelly wasn’t inspired to juxtapose his Lincoln Lawyer , Mickey Haller, and troubled but effective detective, Harry Bosch, as a result of watching Crais interweave the talents and abilities of Joe Pike and Elvis Cole. If opposites indeed attract, as it seems in most of life, these two work together as a perfect tandem in an entirely different chemistry than the structure created by Haller and Bosch working together. The methodologies are completely different. Pike is the fo...more I wonder if Michael Connelly wasn’t inspired to juxtapose his Lincoln Lawyer , Mickey Haller, and troubled but effective detective, Harry Bosch, as a result of watching Crais interweave the talents and abilities of Joe Pike and Elvis Cole. If opposites indeed attract, as it seems in most of life, these two work together as a perfect tandem in an entirely different chemistry than the structure created by Haller and Bosch working together. The methodologies are completely different. Pike is the former mercenary, as hands-on as a Dashiell Hammet or Raymond Chandler protagonist, who is willing to break the law (if necessary) in order to ensure justice is served. Cole is the modern Sherlock Holmes, not in terms of phenomenal observation coupled with a willingness to indulge in the latest forensic approaches, but in that methodical and technological approach that grinds toward a solution through reason over pure force. Pike is the instrument of force; Cole is the velvet glove of sophistication that surrounds him. Both are fiercely loyal to each other and both are incredibly proficient at what they seek to do. [For the counter-comparison with Haller and Bosch, see my review of The Reversal.]

For me, having a major author in a given genre have protagonists appear jointly in an adventure or “guest star” in another’s case is merely a delightful bit of serendipity that makes the author’s fictional world seem richer and more familiar. I know that others have the feeling that this makes said fictional world seem more capricious and contrived. Frankly, I always thought that part of the brilliance of the early Marvel Universe was that Stan Lee established a vague timeline such that when The Human Torch appeared in a Marvel Two-in-One with The Mighty Thor, there would be some indication as to what crisis had been solved by the Fantastic Four in their previous offering and some hint of how that fit into the timeline with the villain being fought by the Asgardian hero to whom everything looked like a nail. The very fact that one title referenced another allowed me to fill in the gaps with my very human narrative tendency.
But enough about crossovers, even when the protagonists began as formal partners (as did Cole and Pike)! The First Rule begins with a recollection of other former partnerships for Joe Pike. The worst part of it is that these are partners, former mercenaries, who rarely (if ever) allowed themselves contact with each other for fear of endangering the lives of the others. The mercenary brotherhood has something of the same credo as that of the Eastern European criminal brotherhoods from which this novel derives its title, The First Rule. That rule, in fact, is that a criminal can’t marry and have a family, EVER, because that family offers a weakness which not only could bring that criminal down but a violation of the code wherein his “brothers” would bring the criminal down.

I enjoyed The First Rule because Pike begins on the defensive. One of his mercenary brothers is dead, but the merc has been out of “the life” for a long time. It had looked like the merc had made it. Now, because of his background with Pike, it is assumed that the deceased was trafficking in an illegal area that Pike didn’t know about. Pike finds himself under surveillance, double-crossed, and manipulated in the course of running down his clues. There are several cliff-hangers at the end of chapters that I simply wasn’t expecting and they were resolved more creatively than I would have expected.

I loved the emotional impact of this book, the depth of Pike’s feelings in a way that I don’t think Crais has ever revealed before. I liked the sense of “waste” that was expressed when violent solutions outside the law, even when providing poetic justice, would occur. I was saddened by the realization that my first suspect proved to be the culprit even after Crais had humanized the perpetrator to a significant degree. This is a powerful novel where Pike’s street- and jungle-smarts are every bit as vital as Cole’s techno- and procedural-smarts. For me, it really works, but I know a lot of people who would think it was entirely too convenient. Still, the book begins with a dedication to Harlan Ellison—a brilliant innovator who has been accused of taking the easy route with some stories but rarely has—and I think it has the kind of grittiness, pace, and punch to the stomach for which Harlan would be proud.
(less)

1 like · like · see review

Feb 21, 2011 Linda rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Frank Meyer had it all: the perfect life, his own business, a wife and kids he adored. He was settled and happy. Then, a robbery crew invades his home, murdering him, his wife and kids and wounding (fatally) his kids’ nanny. The police assume that this is another in a string of robberies to hit this upscale neighborhood. However, there is one curiosity, the arrow tattoos on Frank’s arms. The same arrow tattoos worn by Joe Pike, former sniper, mercenary and the silent half of The Elvis Cole Detec...more

1 like · like · see review

Jan 26, 2011 David rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: completed

Robert Crais' "Elvis Cole" novels are pretty cool. Joe Pike, Cole's partner, often plays a pivotal role in these novels and in this case he takes the lead as the hero of this story. While the Cole novels focus more on investigation-- the Pike novels focus more on action. More than once, Pike obtains needed information by simply telephoning Elvis Cole-- or beating the crud out of someone in order to force a bit of tattle-tale action. In fact, in several places Pike hits people across the forehead...more Robert Crais' "Elvis Cole" novels are pretty cool. Joe Pike, Cole's partner, often plays a pivotal role in these novels and in this case he takes the lead as the hero of this story. While the Cole novels focus more on investigation-- the Pike novels focus more on action. More than once, Pike obtains needed information by simply telephoning Elvis Cole-- or beating the crud out of someone in order to force a bit of tattle-tale action. In fact, in several places Pike hits people across the forehead with a pistol, often one that he has taken from the other party...

In other words, these novels are frequently quite violent and brutal. Pike is an ex mercenary and sees justice through his dark glasses (which he rarely removes, by the way). He has his own sense of justice and at times it is a bit more than the reader wants to swallow. Still, Crais plots a decent mystery in the midst of this action, enough to keep the reader focused and turning pages.

I've pretty much decided that this ACTION genre is really where the western novel went. For example, Jack Reacher (from the Lee Child "Reacher" series) is really the same guy as Buchanan (from the Jonas Ward "Buchanan" series of westerns). He's just a drifter, who travels about unarmed, but is always getting thrust into trouble... Pike, in Crais' writing, also seems to continue the theme that "gunfighters can't quit!" but even more importantly, the implication of the series is that we want these guys out there on the streets of Los Angeles because they don't have to follow the rules and deal with the legal issues that our police do.

When I consider this even more in-depth-- I recognize that some of the action movies that I like really owe a lot to the Western movies of yesterday. For example, Both the "A-Team" (FUN MOVIE) and "The Expendables" (not so much) owe a lot to the "Magnificient Seven" films.

Crais is a competent enough writer. He knows how to throw a mystery together. His action sequences are fun and exciting. And in this case, the reader thinks the story is over several times as he gives us a quality wrap up that leaves the reader smiling and saying "yeah! JUSTICE!!!!!" when he tosses another ironic twist into the story.

As a character, Pike isn't a lot of fun. He doesn't talk much.. spends his time sneaking around like a ninja or punching somebody out... Still, there is always the question, How far will Pike go in his quest for justic.

In this book, Pike is seeking justice for a retired member of his mercenary team. Was the guy dirty? Was he smuggling? Or was there something else going on...

(less)

like · see review

Nov 29, 2010 Derek Wolfgram rated it 4 of 5 stars

Robert Crais consistently writes engaging (and very funny) mystery-thrillers featuring detective Elvis Cole and his strong silent sidekick Joe Pike. The First Rule is Crais' second novel that gives Pike top billing, and as always, I found myself finishing the book very quickly after I started because I couldn't wait to find out what happened.

The stories certainly contain a lot of formulaic elements, particularly the bad guys, in this case African American gangstas and their pit bulls from Compto...more

1 like · like · see review

Jul 31, 2010 Hobart rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010-reads

Robert B. Parker did many things to revolutionize as well as revitalize the hardboiled detective novel. One of those things was to introduce a character who would work alongside the detective/detectives and handle the more violent/thuggish aspects of the story, as well as watching the back of those doing the sleuthing. These characters do a lot of their work "offscreen", keeping the more reputable portion of the duo free from the stain of their violence; they're mysterious, usually not given to...more Robert B. Parker did many things to revolutionize as well as revitalize the hardboiled detective novel. One of those things was to introduce a character who would work alongside the detective/detectives and handle the more violent/thuggish aspects of the story, as well as watching the back of those doing the sleuthing. These characters do a lot of their work "offscreen", keeping the more reputable portion of the duo free from the stain of their violence; they're mysterious, usually not given to talking a lot, and tend to wear sunglasses more often than necessary. For Parker it was Hawk, for Robert Crais, it's Joe Pike.

Back in '07 with The Watchman Crais did something that Parker couldn't do -- he wrote a novel from the point of view of Pike. Honestly, I didn't have high hopes for it, and really would have rather Crais had spent his time on another Elvis Cole novel (for the record, that was my reaction to all his non-Elvis novels, even those that I ended up liking). The Watchman turned out to be a fun read--re-readable, actually; and Pike was able to carry a story with Elvis functioning as his sidekick. So when it was announced that Crais' 2010 novel would be another Pike novel, I wasn't nearly as disappointed as I would've been if it had any other non-Elvis book.

With The First Rule Crais out-did himself, crafting a weightier tome for Pike that equals the more recent Cole books for quality. After his time in the service, Pike led a small mercenary team in a variety of third-world locales. One of his team, Frank Meyer, left before Pike, opting for a "straight life"--marriage, kids, mortgage, mini-van, etc. and has no more contact with Pike. One night Meyer and his family are killed, the latest in a series of violent home invasions. The LAPD are certain that this is proof that Meyer was some sort of criminal, Pike refuses to believe that and sets out to clear his friend's name and exact vengeance.

What follows is a tightly-written, fast-paced, thriller, which fills in rather than expands our understanding of this enigmatic character. Crais doesn't use these excursions of focusing on Pike to alter his character, but to help us get a better view of what he's already created. I'm looking forward to reading this one again in a few months, almost as much as I'm looking forward to Crais' next novel, also a Pike book.

Never thought I'd say that.(less)

3 likes · like · see review

Jul 11, 2010 Ryan Mishap rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery-crime

I've turned to Crais before when I've been wishing I could read a Micael Connelly, but the last couple books I've read have been terrible. This is little more than a Bruce Willis action/revenge movie. The character Joe Pike is a cipher; an impossibly adept killing machine who kills without compunction and will do anything to achieve his goal--oh and hey, it is all justified because he saves the kid in the end and the bad guys get it.

I love mysteries and can enjoy crime fiction, but books like th...more

3 likes · like · see review

Jun 27, 2010 Joyce Lagow rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: kindle-edition, police-procedural

Robert Crais never disappoints. Some books may be slightly better than others but they are always fast-paced with wonderful action scenes and great entertainment.

Crais has two series going: one has Elvis Cole as the central protagonist and the other, newer series showcases Cole's partner, Joe Pike. Both partners appear in each series; just the point of view differs and Crais is very successful in making them distinct characters with their own lives.

The First Rule is among the early Joe Pike nove...more

like · see review

May 19, 2010 Sandie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010-books, contemporary-lit, thrillers-and-mystery

Robert Crais is a great storyteller as is Lee Child. I am always up for anything featuring Crais's hunky creation, Joe Pike or Child's equally appealing Jack Reacher. These guys are the epitome of men's men...that is not to say that women don't find these guys appealing too. I certainly do. Both protagonists are loyal to a fault and both take care of business in that strong, silent but deadly way that I love to read about. (I must have a Bruce Willis gene buried somewhere deep in my DNA).

In THE...more

2 likes · like · see review

Apr 16, 2010 Jay Connor rated it 4 of 5 stars

“Dum-dum-dum-dumby-doo-wah. Kissed her hard with longing and pain!”

Only a writer who loves and knows LA would be able to pair the 1950’s "Only the Lonely" by Roy Orbison with a 2010 character stalled on the 405 in “a cocoon of melancholy.” Robert Crais’ “The First Rule,” though a departure from the Elvis Cole serial, doesn’t stray too far. With Joe Pike taking the lead and Elvis playing backup, this is a true LA story.

Crais is second only to Michael Connelly in owning the LA genre noir thriller...more

like · see review

Mar 27, 2010 Steve Emecz rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

In my house I have a shelf set aside for Elvis Cole and I intend to revisit Elvis' adventures as they were one of the most entertaining I've read, and I read a lot of crime fiction. I've been waiting for a new Elvis outing for years having been immersed in more serious tales from messrs McBride, Robinson and others. Elvis, along with Harlen Coben's Myron Bolitar is one of those characters that has a serious story but enough humour to lighten the daily trip to work on the tube.

So to our beloved M...more

1 like · like · see review

Mar 18, 2010 Glee rated it 4 of 5 stars

Robert Crais writes very well. It's not hard to believe that he started out as a scriptwriter because his writing seems ready-made for filming. Clean straightforward prose. However, what I like about his books are his two main characters, Elvis Cole and Joe Pike. This book is a Joe Pike novel, with Elvis thrown in as his handy sidekick. If you are into doing what's "right" regardless of body counts, Joe Pike is the guy you want on your side. He is a bit of a parody when first encountered in Crai...more

2 likes · like · see review

Mar 14, 2010 LJ rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: california, contemporary_post_1945, male_author, mystery, private_investigator, so_cal_la

First Sentence: Frank Meyer closed his computer as the early winter darkness fell over his home in Westwood, California, not far from the UCLA campus.

Joe Pike receives word that, Frank, one of the members of his former mercenary team has been murdered, along with his entire family and the nanny, in a violent home invasion. The police and FBI want to know what Frank was into.

Pike knows he Frank was clean but, along with the other members of the former team and his friend, PI Elvis Cole, are dedi...more First Sentence: Frank Meyer closed his computer as the early winter darkness fell over his home in Westwood, California, not far from the UCLA campus.

Joe Pike receives word that, Frank, one of the members of his former mercenary team has been murdered, along with his entire family and the nanny, in a violent home invasion. The police and FBI want to know what Frank was into.

Pike knows he Frank was clean but, along with the other members of the former team and his friend, PI Elvis Cole, are dedicated to find the killers and elicit their own form of justice. This becomes particularly true when Pike realizes Frank wasn’t the target, but only collateral damage.

In general, I am a big fan of Robert Crais and the Elvis Cole/Joe Pike series. I liked “The Watchman” which gave us more information about Pike’s past. But I don’t think Pike works as a lead protagonist.

Pike works as Cole’s backup, sometimes known as the “psychopathic sidekick,” because he is an enigma. He doesn’t do friendship, in the classic sense of the word but, by heaven, he does loyalty and he has a code by which he leads his life; and that makes him work as a character.

I appreciate Crais wanting to stretch the character of Pike, but it just didn’t quite work because of problems with the story and the writing. First, if Pike has said “Sh.” one more time, I’d have taken out whatever virtual weapon—I am so NOT a gun person—and shot him. Second, Pike formed a relationship with a baby that, even allowing for the metaphysical, stretched credulity beyond the point of belief. But third, and most important, Pike broke his own rules. The situation did not call for it and it didn’t make sense. The one thing that did hold true, was Pikes tribute to his fallen comrade, which I appreciated.

Crais did give the story an element of place, but there also seemed to be a large assumption that the reader is familiar with the environs of Southern California/Los Angeles. I do find it interesting; i.e., unbelievable, that whenever there would be a car chase, there was no traffic to slow them down.

It was, as always, an exciting read with lots of action and some good twists to the plot, but it was far from Crais best work. I’m certain I’ll read his next book, but I may not buy it in hardcover.

THE FIRST RULE (PI-Joe Pike/Elvis Cole-LA-Cont) – Okay
Crais, Robert – 2nd Joe Pike
G. P. Putnam’s Sons, ©2010, US Hardcover – ISBN: 9780399156137

(less)

3 likes · like · see review

Mar 07, 2010 Margaret rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: thriller-mystery-suspense

A new Robert Crais novel - they appear about every 2 to 3 years - is like Christmas and a kid's birthday wrapped in one. I buy it (investing in a hardcover, no less), then let it sit on my shelf, even let my husband read it first, just savoring the anticipation, and then finally dive in and read it pretty much straight through. This takes planning - must have a vacation available or some other wangling to create periods of time (no kids, no work, no nothing) since time not spent reading a Crais...more

like · see review

Feb 26, 2010 Jenny rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2010

The First Rule is the second book in the Joe Pike series by Robert Crais. This is the first book I've read by this author, and I was initially hesitant to read this without at least having read the first in the series. But it turned out it really didn't make a difference (that I could tell) and I am glad I took the chance and read this book!

Joe Pike learns of the murders of an old friend -- a fellow mercenary from their military days -- and his family. The police suspect the friend was "dirty" a...more

like · see review

Feb 23, 2010 Nancy marked it as to-read

The organized criminal gangs of the former Soviet Union are bound by what they call the thieves’ code. The first rule is this: A thief must forsake his mother, father, brothers, and sisters. He must have no family—no wife, no children. We are his family. If any of the rules are broken, it is punishable by death.
Frank Meyer had the American dream—until the day a professional crew invaded his home and murdered everyone inside. The only thing out of the ordinary about Meyer was that—before the fami...more

like · see review

Feb 11, 2010 Tony rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: thrillers

Crais, Robert. THE FIRST RULE. (2010). ****. This thriller features the usual suspects: Elvis Cole, the owner of a detective agency and former cop, and, Joe Pike, Cole’s partner, also an ex-cop and ex-professional soldier of fortune. This, like Crais’ previous novel, “The Watchman,” features Pike as the principal player. This is a difficult thing to do because Pike is a man of a few words. He is driven by action, not dialog. Crais makes it work by surrounding Pike with people who do talk, though...more Crais, Robert. THE FIRST RULE. (2010). ****. This thriller features the usual suspects: Elvis Cole, the owner of a detective agency and former cop, and, Joe Pike, Cole’s partner, also an ex-cop and ex-professional soldier of fortune. This, like Crais’ previous novel, “The Watchman,” features Pike as the principal player. This is a difficult thing to do because Pike is a man of a few words. He is driven by action, not dialog. Crais makes it work by surrounding Pike with people who do talk, though they are much like Pike in their background and life styles. The novel starts off with a home invasion. Four men break into a house and kill the father, the mother, the young son, and the nanny. Unfortunately for those four men, the murdered man was Frank Meyer, a former member of Pike’s crew in a variety of countries working for a variety of governments. Meyer decided to give up his mercenary ways and go for the American Dream: a wife, a nice house, a good job, and a family. It was not to be. Pike learns of the murders and vows to find out who was responsible and why. He is soon dragged into the workings of various EEOC (Eastern European Organized Crime) groups operating out of L.A. He learns quickly that there are two warring factions in the major gang whose leaders are from Serbia. They are all ruthless in their quest to control all criminal activities in the city and expand through the rest of the country. First, though, Pike has to find out why Meyer’s family was targeted. Previous home invasions by this crew concentrated on those people who were gang-related and kept large amounts of cash or drugs in their homes. What did Frank have that the crew wanted? Was Frank still somehow in the life? These and other questions lead Pike into the inner workings of the factions and into the lap of the FBI, who is also interested in these gangs – though for different reasons. This is a fast-paced thriller, professionally crafted to keep you reading long into the night. Recommended.(less)

1 like · like · see review

Feb 05, 2010 Tim Niland rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010-reads

When former cop and military contractor Joe Pike learns that one of his former colleagues and his entire family has been brutally murdered in a home invasion, he vows to seek vengeance, no matter the cost. Pike originally began as a side character in Crais's popular Elvis Cole series of detective novels, but here the tables are turned and the wisecracking Cole is the supporting character while the taciturn Pike gets the starring role. It works really well, too. Pike is another in the line of lon...more

like · see review

Jan 30, 2013 Sean Gannon rated it 4 of 5 stars

The organized criminal gangs of the former Soviet Union are bound by what they call the thieves' code. The first rule is this: A thief must forsake his mother, father, brothers, and sisters. He must have no family-no wife, no children. We are his family. If any of the rules are broken, it is punishable by death.

Frank Meyer had the American dream-until the day a professional crew invaded his home and murdered everyone inside. The only thing out of the ordinary about Meyer was that- before the fam...more

like · see review

Feb 14, 2010 WH rated it 3 of 5 stars

This morning I finished "To Kill A Mockingbird"; this afternoon I read and completed "The First Rule". Obviously they are totally different in subject matter and category but comparisons between the two could not be more glaring.

The first, even 50 years since written, still reflects a style, message, a level of realism, and quality of depth that will be reflective and enduring throughout time and worthy of the many awards and prizes the author achieved.

The second, a totally different experience...more

like · see review

Jan 30, 2010 Jeffrey rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: thriller fans who love action and mysteries

Shelves: read-in-2010, thriller

Action packed, without let up, crisp dialogue, adventure and mystery a real rip roaring read. This book has it all.

Crais is as good as it gets and his characters are excellent. Many of his mysteries have involved Elvis Cole, a former detective who is partners with Joe Pike, a former mercenary.

The last two books have featured Joe Pike as the main protagonist. In this novel, Frank Meyer, a former mercenary, who was in Joe Pike's unit, is gunned down in a home invasion, with his entire family and a...more Action packed, without let up, crisp dialogue, adventure and mystery a real rip roaring read. This book has it all.

Crais is as good as it gets and his characters are excellent. Many of his mysteries have involved Elvis Cole, a former detective who is partners with Joe Pike, a former mercenary.

The last two books have featured Joe Pike as the main protagonist. In this novel, Frank Meyer, a former mercenary, who was in Joe Pike's unit, is gunned down in a home invasion, with his entire family and a nanny. The ATF and the cops think Frank Meyer is dirty because his house is the 7th house hit by a professional gang that seems to target criminals. Pike swears to avenge his friend.

He teams up with Elvis Cole, his detective partner, and Jon Stone, another colleague of Frank Meyer, to track down the killers. Pike visits the only survivor of the massacre, a Serbian nanny, who's sister's actions alert Pike to an apparent different motive for the crime. At the same time, he uses his contacts at the Police Department to find out who the police think is involved and gets some answers from a suspect while said suspect is under surveillance from a special police unit, in a typical scene, which illustrates Crais imaginative use of his characters.

Pike learns that an up and coming mobster named Darko killed Meyer and his family to obtain a child that was staying with the nanny, a child that may or not be his. Pike's source is the nanny's sister who claims the child is hers and she stashed it at the nanny's house to hide him from Darko.

Pike and his crew later team up with the ATF because the plot also involves Chinese guns that one Serbian mobster has and the other wants. The guns and the baby, Darko and a senior mobster are all tied together.

You cannot beat Crais for real action and Pike's skills at obtaining information are important, but Crais does not make Pike do everything, he has others do tasks unsuited to Pike's skills, which is a good point where many of the super agents around now seem to be able to do it all.

(less)

2 likes · like · see review

Jan 31, 2013 Bruce Snell rated it 4 of 5 stars

Book number Two in the Joe Pike series by Robert Crais - 4 stars. Just an aside before actually reviewing the book - both of Caris' series should be renamed and combined; both are about both Elvis Cole and Joe Pike, but in those labeled as the Elvis Cole series, Elvis is primary and Joe is secondary, and in the Joe Pike series, Joe is primary and Elvis is secondary. In my opinion that is not a significant enough difference to consider them as separate series.

This time out, Joe Pike learns that a...more

like · see review

Jan 08, 2012 Elena rated it 3 of 5 stars

Certainly not the best Crais novel I've read. The plot seems a bit blotched at times, mainly due to inconsistencies or unconcinving details. For expample, when Elvis Cole phones a young girl he's never met - whose friend was murdered few days before - and asks her to meet him to talk about the victim, he doesn't explain who he is or why he is interested in the case. Yet the girl agrees to a meeting. Surely, no one would agree to talk about a dead friend with a stranger, who may be a journalist,...more

like · see review

Jun 25, 2010 John Blunden rated it 3 of 5 stars

Joe Pike takes the lead in Crais's new novel, and I'm starting to feel that this isn't the place for him to be. Don't get me wrong: I love Pike. Want to be Pike. Bit scared of Pike. But he's not our lead. He was always the mysterious guy in the Elvis Cole series; the silent watchful type who'd show up in the nick of time to save the day with not so much as a grunt of effort. Now that we're in his point of view some of that mystery has gone.
In 'The First Rule' we open with the death of Frank 'The...more

like · see review

Jan 01, 2011 Naomi rated it 4 of 5 stars

I read a Robert Crais book a while ago and didn't like it. I thought it was a boring and tedious read. I then put in for The Sentry on First Reads and won it! However, I found out that The Sentry was a third book in the series for the Joe Pike series and never being one to purposely read a book out of series, I decided I needed to read the two books which would proceed The Sentry.

I read The Watchman and whipped through it loving the pace of the book. This book is even better! It is fast paced an...more

like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 99 100 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

Recommend it | Stats | Recent status updates

combine
Other Editions (25)

More editions...

Genres

Mystery

133 users

Thriller

43 users

Mystery > Crime

37 users

Suspense

30 users

Mystery > Detective

25 users

Thriller > Mystery Thriller

18 users

Action

9 users

Adult

8 users

Contemporary

4 users

Novels

3 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

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)

More about Robert Crais...

Books by Robert Crais

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

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About The First Rule

1 trivia question

More quizzes & trivia...

title link	preview: The First Rule
avg rating	preview: The First Rule Goodreads rating: 4.13 (6110 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6574542-the-first-rule?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348463918l/6574542.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6574542-the-first-rule?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]The First Rule by Robert Crais[/url]

The First Rule (Joe Pike #2)

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website