Book Review

Taken by Robert Crais
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I recently finished T. Jefferson Parker's "Jaguar", about the Mexican drug cartels, kidnapping, ransom, and killing. I was ready for something new, but was drawn to Robert Crais's latest, "Taken", about Mexican drug cartels, kidnapping, ransom, and killing. But this is where the similarity ends. In "Taken" we have my favorite sleuth duo, Joe Pike and Elvis Cole. No matter how dangerous a situation might be, Pike is stoic, and Cole has a smart mouth. Cole is hired to find the daughter of Nita Morales, who has been kidnapped with her boyfriend by Mexican bajadores. They happened to be stargazing in a remote area when smuggled illegal immigrants were dropped off near them, and subsequently taken by bajadores, who then hold these people for ransom, followed by killing. Krista Morales and her boyfriend are swept up in the group and find themselves hidden in a safe house under primitive and dangerous conditions. There are so many bad guys that it's hard to keep up. Spanish isn't the only language spoken. Koreans and Arabs are in the mix, which introduces Jon Stone, fluent in these languages and many more. Cole and Pike are separated as they search for Krista, Cole is kidnapped and brought to the same house as Krista, and Pike and Stone join forces to seek them out. It's a race to the finish and Crais is at his best in keeping the reader turning pages. If you've read Crais before, you know that in the end Cole and Pike willl survive to fight another day, but how they survive is what keeps you on the edge of your chair.

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