I hope you all realize how much of a learning experience this whole series has been for me. Although a long-time reader of the genre, I hadn't paid much close attention to it as a genre until I started writing these diaries. Since then I have had the opportunity to discover many new writers from all over the world who write all types of mysteries and for the most part I have thoroughly enjoyed them. (Except the one from Poland. Still can't get past the misogyny.)
But this week's book is by an author who totally surprised me. I was familiar with the name of Robert Crais, as is anyone who has ever walked by a bookrack in any airport, drug store or even, heaven forfend, a bookstore. For a while it seemed that I must have read some of his work at one point or another, and it really amazed me to learn that until Suspect, I've never read a single book that he has written.
I have seen his work though. He was a writer for some of my favorite 80s television shows:
Hill Street Blues,
Cagney & Lacey and
Miami Vice. According to the biography on his
website, he is proudest of his work on
Cross of Fire, a four hour NBC miniseries tracing the Ku Klux Klan's rise in the 1920s.
But he stepped away from screen writing to write novels instead, explaining to Megan Abbot who interviewed him for LA Times Magazine in 2010,
I write what I want to write. That’s one of the joys of books for me. When you’re writing in TV or film, it’s a collaboration, and it requires a lot of input. I don’t want to process. I don’t want notes. I’ve never worked with an editor where I didn’t have a 100 percent surety that they wanted the book to be the very best book it could be. We may not always agree, but I know they’re coming from that sincere and good place. I can’t say the same thing about Hollywood. I’ve had too many screenwriters—successful screenwriters, maybe with a touch of cynicism—say to me, “You know, my job is to get the 10 people sitting in the room to say yes.” I just find that tragic.
Born in Louisiana, and raised on the banks of the Mississippi, he read Raymond Chandler's book
The Little Sister and fell in love with the craft. He claims as other literary influences Dashiell Hammett, Ernest Hemingway, Robert B. Parker, and John Steinbeck. He is best known for his series featuring Elvis Cole and Joe Pike.
Suspect
by Robert Crais
Publisher: Putnam/Penguin Group
Hardback: $27.95 ($18.76) e-Book: $11.99 Audio: $10.11 (Audible: $4.49)
January, 2013
320 pages
Suspect is a stand alone novel, not part of Crais' long-running Cole/Pike series. It is however, still set in Los Angeles and also features a partnership. This one is between a deeply injured man and the deeply injured dog that bring healing to each other as they work to solve a crime.
Maggie is a Black and Tan German Shepherd, trained as a Marine to seek out explosive materials and to protect her handler/partner. After losing her partner, Pete, to a suicide bomber and recovering from surgery for her own serious wounds, she is donated to the LAPD for use in their K-9 corps. But the Seargent in charge of the squad doesn't think she can be retrained due to the severity of her PTSD which has left her cowering and afraid of the sound of gunfire.
Meanwhile, patrol officer Scott James is still recovering from the gunshot wounds he received on the night that his partner was killed. The deepest wounds are those caused by the guilt he feels because he was not able to save her life. He is seeing a psychiatrist to deal with the PTSD that plagues him.
However, eight months later, his physical wounds have healed well enough that he refuses the medical that could have left him a decent income and retirement and pushes to be assigned to the K-9 unit where he will never again have to fear losing a partner. He thinks.
Together Maggie and Scott work "off the books" to discover who was behind the inexplicable killing of Scott's partner. The plot twists and turns like any good police procedural, with just the right amount of free floating anxiety to keep the tension and suspense high until the very end.
What makes this book special is the voice that Robert Crais gives to Maggie. It is not a comic or caricature voice, but a realistic impression of how a dog sees her world. Her incredible sense of smell that functions with the same depth of ability found in human eyesight. Her sense of her place as a pack animal and her relationship with her alpha. And her delightful sense of bliss. He captures so well the spirit of man's best friend and in such a realistic manner that she comes across as a fully developed character with her own distinctive voice that rings true.
Maggie swung her head from side to side, hunting for the strongest scent, and felt alive with anticipation. The scent grew stronger as the men approached, and she knew Pete would be pleased. He would be happy with her for finding the scent, and reward her with the green ball. Pete happy, Maggie happy, pack happy.
Maggie whined anxiously as the men drew closer and the scent cone narrowed. The older boy wore a loose white shirt and the younger a faded blue T-shirt, and both wore baggy white pants and sandals. The taller man was bearded, and wore a dark loose shirt with baggy long sleeves and faded pants. The sleeves hung in folds, and draped when he raised his arms. His body reeked of days-old sour sweat, but the target scent was strong now. It came from the taller man, and Maggie’s certainty flowed up the leash into Pete, who knew what Maggie knew as if they were one creature, not man and dog, but something better. Pack.
Scott is no slouch, but Maggie is the star.
She certainly captured my heart.
USA Today reported that it was the loss of his own dog and his inability to consider another canine companion that led Crais to explore the bond between dogs and their people. And then led to his decision to write about the four-legged heroes in a meaningful manner, one that pays tribute to the sacrifices they make and their difficult journeys home after serving in our armed forces.
According to an interview with the Sacramento Bee Robert Crais spent a lot of time with the canine unit of the LAPD, watching how the dogs and their human partners interacted and learning about the bond and the way dogs viewed the relationship: "Dogs do what they do for two reasons – to please us or to save us."
Word is that "Suspect" is the first in a series. If that's so, will Elvis and Joe take a break?
Elvis and Joe are my guys and there are plenty more stories to write about them. I'm working on one now.
I approached "Suspect" as a stand-alone, but I fell in love with Maggie, and I loved writing her scenes. If I can figure an appropriate story, I'll definitely bring her back. I want to return to that head space with her. This turned out to be the most emotional book I've written.
My husband and I often considered adopting another dog after we lost our very special golden retriever, Crystal. But we knew that there would never be another like her, and I personally felt so close to her that any adoption would feel like cheating. Since my husband's passing last year, I am once again, for the third time now, rethinking canine companionship. This book has reminded me how it feels to be a member of a pack. Frankly, I miss it. I love my cats, but I miss being part of a pack.
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