After his standalone hit Suspect, Robert Crais returns to his popular Elvis Cole and Joe Pike series with The Promise, bringing along Suspect's LAPD K-9 Officer Scott James and his canine partner, Maggie. PI Cole is hired to find Amy Breslyn, a missing explosives expert who seemingly embezzled funds from her employer, a company with ties to the Department of Defense.
Cole's search for Amy intersects with James and Maggie's pursuit of a murder suspect when they end up at a house containing a dead body and an even bigger surprise. Cole becomes a person of interest to the LAPD, but due to the sensitive nature of Amy's government work, he can't divulge the truth about his case. When it looks like al-Qaeda might be involved, Cole asks for a little help from his friends--agency partner Joe Pike and private military contractor Jon Stone. Together the men attempt to bring Amy back, but can they keep her alive?
The procedural aspects of The Promise are timely and engrossing, the prose tight, and dialogue snappy, but the novel's--and series'--chief appeal lies in the humanity of the characters. Cole, Pike, Stone and James sometimes commit brutal acts, but only to mete justice and protect those most vulnerable. Don't even think about threatening the dog in their presence. These are tough men capable of deep compassion, and if they make a promise, they will keep it at all costs. When Crais promises readers a crackling new thriller, he keeps his word, too. --Elyse Dinh-McCrillis, blogger at Pop Culture Nerd