The Big Empty

December 2, 2024
Brutality and secrets animate MWA Grandmaster Crais’s solid latest case for L.A. private eye Elvis Cole and ex-Marine Joe Pike (after Racing the Light). Traci Beller, a 23-year-old influencer with 8.2 million followers, remains unwilling to accept that her father, Thomas Jacob Beller, abandoned his family 10 years earlier, so she hires Elvis to look into it. Thomas owned a heating and air-conditioning company with Traci’s uncle and disappeared while making service calls near Calabasas, Calif. Respected PI Jessica Byers—a former investigator for the L.A. County DA’s Office—has already tried and failed to find Thomas, but Traci has faith in Elvis’s methods. True to form, the strong-willed investigator examines overlooked witness statements and visits the hamburger stand where Thomas was last spotted, setting him on a trail that leads to Sadie Given, an ex-con with an emotionally disturbed daughter. Elvis taps Joe for help, and the more they uncover, the deeper they’re drawn into a complicated conspiracy that, on top of possibly explaining Thomas’s disappearance, poses an immediate threat to everyone they love. While the pace occasionally flags, unexpected twists and a high-voltage finale save the day. This will leave series fans eager for more. Agent: Aaron Priest, Aaron M. Priest Literary.

Starred review from December 15, 2024
Hired to find the father of celebrity "muffin girl" Traci Beller 10 years after his disappearance, PI Elvis Cole uncovers a nefarious plot that puts his life and those he contacts at risk. The sweetly likable Traci, now 23, has amassed a huge following with her website, The Baker Next Door, and on social media. Against the advice and self-interest of the people who over-manage her career, she decides to find out what happened to her father. Cole quickly determines that he was last seen at the SurfMutt hamburger stand, where he gave a ride to Anya Given, a troubled 15-year-old whose mother, Sadie, was late in picking her up from the skate park across the street. With the reluctant help of a scattered young woman who used to work at the burger joint, Cole tracks down Anya and Sadie, who is eventually revealed to have a criminal past. For his efforts, he's jumped by a small gang of men who send him to the hospital with the worst beating of his life. (Asked by a nurse what his name is, the best he can guess is "Los Angeles.") Still in recovery, Cole and Joe Pike, his ex-Marine partner, trace his attackers to Sadie, with unexpected results. As ever, Crais draws the reader in via his protagonist's casual, dryly humorous manner and the book's relaxed ties to classic noir. Slowly but surely, the plot gains intensity and deadly purpose. Just when you think the missing persons case is solved, Crais ratchets things up with a devastating follow-through. This is the L.A. novelist's 20th Cole mystery, following such efforts asThe Watchman (2007) andRacing the Light (2022). It may be his most powerful. A potent and surprising novel by the ever-reliable Crais.

COPYRIGHT(2024) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Starred review from December 1, 2024
What could happen to make Elvis Cole say he feels as though he has fallen into "a Southern Noir action movie"? Lots. He has been investigating the disappearance ten years earlier of Thomas Beller, the father of 23-year-old social media sensation, Traci Beller, a.k.a., The Baker Next Door. Five years ago there had been an exhaustive but unsuccessful investigation by a reputable private detective. No DNA or fingerprints of the missing man exist. But Traci is fast and easy with her cash, and Cole can never turn down a damsel or child in distress. Bring on a host of thugs who are protecting a young woman and her mother but who seem to somehow be involved, and off we go in the yellow Corvette. When things get really out of control, a red Jeep carrying Joe Pike roars in. What he uncovers are some truly dark deeds. The investigation takes a distressing emotional and physical toll on Cole, but the compelling tale is enriched by its true heart and humor. Crais' protagonist has often been compared to Robert B. Parker's Spenser, who is also known to grapple with the moral ambiguities of his work.

COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.