Taken

It didn't take me long to get around to reading another book by Robert Crais after Suspect (See my post of 4/26/13).  Taken (#304) deals with another hot topic - the business of smuggling people across the border from Mexico and the gang warfare to control this trade both north and south of the border.

Elvis Cole, the World's Greatest Detective according to a recent interview in an LA paper, is contacted by a woman whose daughter has gone missing.  Krista Morales is about to graduate summa cum laude from a local university with a dream job awaiting her in Washington, D.C.   But Nita Morales doesn't like her daughter's boyfriend, Jack Berman, and is convinced the calls she's gotten from Krista are a joke, and that the pair have dreamed up a way to squeeze money from her.  She wants Krista home so she can talk some sense into her.  When Elvis sets out to track Krista down, he soon realizes that the phone calls are no joke and something sinister is behind Krista and Jack's disappearance.  It isn't long before Cole is taken too.

This is everything a thriller should be: a race against the clock and against seemingly unbeatable odds to rescue the victims of a horrendous crime.  The action in the book jumps forward and back on the timeline, and this just heightens the suspense.  Elvis's own rescuers are interesting characters on their own, and it's easy to see where Mr. Crais got the idea for his next book, Suspect.

Not everyone in this book comes out alive, including a number of the innocent victims.  It also highlights just why immigration reform should be a priority in this country.  We contribute to the very real problem highlighted in Taken with our policies.  I think this novel should be required reading for every (Republican) congressman if it would spur them into taking some constructive action.

A warning, though.  If you're reading this one on the beach, make sure you bring plenty of sunscreen.  You won't want to put Taken down.