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A fast-paced story with deep moments of thought
Book Review
By Derryll White
Crais, Robert (2011). The Sentry.
“You don’t understand. War is what I do.” — Joe Pike
Robert Crais is another of those writers, like James Ellis and of course Raymond Chandler, who seizes Los Angeles, shakes up its grit and glamour, and claims it for his own playground. Most of Robert Crais’ novels feature Private Investigator Elvis Cole, with his silent partner Joe Pike in a supporting role.
In ‘The Sentry’ Pike takes lead carrying the action and the emotional aspects of the story.
I like the way Robert Crais brings in all his usual characters – Elvis Cole, John Chen, Lucy Chenier – to support Joe Pike’s story. Obviously a smart thing for a writer to do, it makes the whole flow more seamlessly and te3lls the reader all the normal frames of reference are in play.
The conflict in ‘The Sentry’ is mainly internal and all with Joe. He gives his word to a woman. The story changes, but Joe doesn’t. He sticks by his word although it almost kills him. Crais explores what a man can and cannot do, and just how far a woman can push a man. To my mind, quite far.
This is a fast-paced story with lots of action and some deep moments of thought. Will Joe ever again be open to the allure of a captivating female? Only Robert Crais knows.
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Excerpts from the novel:
CATS – The cat had come with the house, and had been part of Cole’s life longer than any living thing except Joe Pike. It was a mean animal, and given to attacking people. Cole did not know why. Once, a heating and air-conditioning repairman was working on the forced-air unit in Cole’s hall closet. The repairman was kneeling in the door with his back to the hall when the cat climbed his back and bit him on the neck four times. Cole’s insurance company settled the claim, but Cole had to do a personal job off the books for his broker to get a new policy.
DETECTING – He believed the answers were here in this place, so his task was to recognize the signs. If he found them, he could re-create the events, and then he would know what happened. The same as reading the words in a book. Reading each word and adding it to the next to build a sentence, then connecting the sentences to learn the story. The task was to find enough words.
WOMEN – “All women are rotten, bro. Nobody knows that better than me. I can’t even get a bitch to break my heart.”
– Derryll White once wrote books but now chooses to read and write about them. When not reading he writes history for the web at www.basininstitute.org.
