The First Rule by Robert Crais

The First Rule by Robert Crais

The organized criminal gangs of the former Soviet Union are bound by what they call the thieves' code. The first rule is this: A thief must forsake his mother, father, brothers, and sisters. He must have no family--no wife, no children--because only other criminals are his family. If any of the rules are broken, it is punishable by death. Frank Meyer had the American dream--a wife and family he adored, a successful business--until the day a professional crew invaded his home and murdered everyone inside. The only thing out of the ordinary about Meyer was that--before the family and the business and the normal life--a younger Frank Meyer worked as a professional military contractor, a mercenary, with a man named Joe Pike. Frank was one of Pike's guys, and they faced death together in every rotten hellhole around the world. The police think Meyer was hiding something very bad, because previous home invasions by the crew had targeted only criminals with large stashes of cash or drugs. Pike cannot believe it, and with the help of Cole, he sets out on a hunt of his own: to clear his friend, to punish the people who murdered him. A trail that at first seems relatively simple, however, very quickly becomes complicated, as the two of them find themselves entangled in a web of ancient grudges, blood ties, blackmail, vengeance, double crosses, and cutthroat criminality, and at the heart of it all, an act so terrible even Pike and Cole have no way to measure it.

“Is it possible for a crime novel to be both ultra-violent and elegant? If so, then The First Rule is a prime exampleThe mayhem is graphic and unflinching, but the prose and story line are as sleek and efficient as a beautifully crafted piece of machinery.”—The Seattle Times

“[The First Rule] will satisfy longtime fans and make new ones...well-written action sequences and snappy dialogue.”—Los Angeles Times

“Crais follows a straightforward, no-nonsense tradition that marks him as a direct descendant of Raymond Chandler.”—Pittsburg Tribune-Review

“A devastatingly effective thriller.”—The Providence Journal

“Adrenaline-fueled...Pike emerges as an enigmatically appealing hero, whose lethal skills never overshadow his unflappable sense of morality.”—Publishers Weekly

“Crais plants each twist carefully and detonates it expertly...Righteous vengeance, a reckless pace, astratospheric body count, and just enough surprises to keep you turning the pages.”—Kirkus Reviews 

Robert Crais is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than twenty novels, many of them featuring private investigator Elvis Cole and his laconic ex-cop partner, Joe Pike. Before writing his first novel, Crais spent several years writing scripts for such major television series as Hill Street Blues, Cagney & Lacey, Miami Vice, Quincy, Baretta, and L.A. Law. He received an Emmy nomination for his work on Hill Street Blues, and one of his standalone novels, Hostage, was made into a movie starring Bruce Willis. His novels have been translated into forty-two languages and are bestsellers around the world. A native of Louisiana, he lives in Los Angeles.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780425238127
ISBN 10	0425238121
Title	The First Rule
Author	Robert Crais
Series	An Elvis Cole And Joe Pike Novel
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Penguin Putnam Inc
Year published	2010-12-28
Number of pages	432
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.