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daja57's review against another edition
2.0
A whodunnit murder mystery thriller with a difference: the dead victim claimed to be the investigating PI's long lost father. This is the tenth novel featuring PI Elvis Cole but the first that I have read so I might have missed some of the nuances but there is a typical cast of cops and criminalists who, as per genre, wisecrack their way to solving the mystery. The usual low life characters too. A fairly well-written but otherwise standard example of the genre.
chartsh's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
papidoc's review against another edition
3.0
Vintage Robert Crais...in the style of Robert B. Parker, but not as ponderous, a little more light-hearted.
dantastic's review against another edition
4.0
An old man is gunned down in an alley and his last words were that he was looking for his son, Elvis Cole. Was the old man really the father Elvis never knew? That's what Elvis is trying to find out. But will he be able to live with what he finds?
Much like [b:The Last Detective|241936|The Last Detective (Elvis Cole, #9)|Robert Crais|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347637480s/241936.jpg|2046826], Robert Crais digs into Elvis Cole's past with the Forgotten Man. In the wake of the events of The Last Detective, the possible appearance of Elvis' unknown father drags him out of his depression and sets him into motion. It makes for a great story. Crais had me flip-flopping on whether or not Faustina was Cole's father for a good portion of the book.
Like The Last Detective before it, The Forgotten Man deviates from the old formula of Cole and Pike stirring things up until the shootout at the end and spends more time exploring Cole's past. Cole has come a long way from being a Spenser ripoff.
The friendship of Cole and Pike has been fleshed out quite a bit more in the last couple books and I had to fight back some man tears at the end. While they aren't as in love as Spenser and Hawk are, I find their relationship much more believable than Cole and Lucy's. Speaking of Lucy, she's beginning to annoy me as much as Susan Silverman. Not to spoil anything but I wish she'd stop vagina-blocking Starkey and let her and Cole get together.
There is one thing in recent Elvis Cole books I'm not a fanatic about and that's the increasingly frequent changes in viewpoint from Elvis to one of the supporting cast. It's not bad and actually heightens the suspense sometimes but it makes it feel like I'm watching TV. Not necessarily bad but I'm not a huge fan.
That's about all I can say without giving away too much. Cole's a clever guy but not unbelievably so and I recommend his adventures, especially the later ones, to all crime and mystery fans.
Much like [b:The Last Detective|241936|The Last Detective (Elvis Cole, #9)|Robert Crais|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347637480s/241936.jpg|2046826], Robert Crais digs into Elvis Cole's past with the Forgotten Man. In the wake of the events of The Last Detective, the possible appearance of Elvis' unknown father drags him out of his depression and sets him into motion. It makes for a great story. Crais had me flip-flopping on whether or not Faustina was Cole's father for a good portion of the book.
Like The Last Detective before it, The Forgotten Man deviates from the old formula of Cole and Pike stirring things up until the shootout at the end and spends more time exploring Cole's past. Cole has come a long way from being a Spenser ripoff.
The friendship of Cole and Pike has been fleshed out quite a bit more in the last couple books and I had to fight back some man tears at the end. While they aren't as in love as Spenser and Hawk are, I find their relationship much more believable than Cole and Lucy's. Speaking of Lucy, she's beginning to annoy me as much as Susan Silverman. Not to spoil anything but I wish she'd stop vagina-blocking Starkey and let her and Cole get together.
There is one thing in recent Elvis Cole books I'm not a fanatic about and that's the increasingly frequent changes in viewpoint from Elvis to one of the supporting cast. It's not bad and actually heightens the suspense sometimes but it makes it feel like I'm watching TV. Not necessarily bad but I'm not a huge fan.
That's about all I can say without giving away too much. Cole's a clever guy but not unbelievably so and I recommend his adventures, especially the later ones, to all crime and mystery fans.
dshelbz93's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
bookhawk's review against another edition
4.0
A very good thriller with a twist. Crais mixed in meaningful elements and did since job treating characters who love someone but can't quite make it work. Still a great series 10 books in.
wegmarken2006's review against another edition
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? No
2.5
lwalker77's review against another edition
4.0
Through the first half of this book I was thinking it was kind of slow, but it turned out to be an excellent entry in the Elvis Cole / Joe Pike series. Pike doesn’t play a major role in the book but you get to see how important Cole is to him. It really added something to the book for me. One of the best series out there!
roshk99's review against another edition
3.0
A dark mystery with a fallible, realistic and likeable main character.