‘The Promise’ is intense, thrilling mystery

“The Promise” (G.P. Putnam’s Sons), by Robert Crais

Robert Crais takes the most popular characters from previous novels and shakes them up in “The Promise,” an intense and thrilling mystery.
Private Investigator Elvis Cole is asked by the boss of Amy Breslyn to find out why she ran off with almost half a million dollars of the company’s money. She asks Cole not to involve the police, as she’s concerned about Breslyn’s well-being since the death of her young son in a terrorist bombing. Cole learns that Breslyn has a new boyfriend, and he might be a terrorist. With Breslyn’s knowledge and her boyfriend’s connections, things could potentially get ugly.
Cole is informed of where Breslyn was last seen, and he stumbles into the middle of a police raid on a house. When the police break in, they find a murdered man, and the owner nowhere to be found. Cole had a quick run-
in with the suspect, but his reaction and the slow response time of the police on the scene end up making Cole a suspect. His only witness is a fellow LAPD cop that works with the canine unit and saw Cole arrive after the owner fled.
In addition to the body, the police also find massive amounts of explosives. The owner calls himself Mr. Rollins, and he has a rule of never leaving any witness alive, which immediately makes Cole, LAPD K-9 Officer Scott James and his dog, Maggie, targets.
Cole is the man everyone wants on their side when the odds are stacked against them, and his partner, Joe Pike, is the enforcement arm who can reassure with just an intimidating glance. James still suffers from what happened to him in “Suspect,” but he has Maggie to help. She relies on James as well, and her demeanor and description make the reader feel that she’s going to jump off the page.
Crais delivers a master class in writing with this latest novel. Promise. Jeff Ayers, AP