This Joe Pike novel by Robert Crais was published in 2010, but the Eastern European mobsters who are the focus of this crime novel may be even more relevant today, given the political climate. The First Rule (#375) of the title refers to the Thief's Code, the written set of rules which all gang members must adhere to, or forfeit their lives.
Joe Pike is a former mercenary, former policeman, and all-around intimidating quiet force to those who get on his wrong side. But he's loyal to a fault, and when one of his former mercs decides to leave that life, marry and settle down, Joe keeps an unobtrusive eye out for him and his family. Everything changes the night Frank Meyer, his wife and two young sons are killed in a brutal home invasion. The only survivor of the attack is their nanny, and she's not likely to ever regain consciousness. Pike sets out to avenge these murders, but the more he pokes around, the murkier the picture becomes. There is more going on here than meets the eye and Pike calls in his partner, Elvis Cole, and calls in a lot of favors from his mercenary days to clear Frank's name and find the ones responsible.
This book, like Crais' other works, is compulsively readable. The action is non-stop as the layers are peeled back one by one and the motivation at the heart of the murders is revealed. I've been a fan ever since I discovered Suspect. (See my post of 4/26/13.) I'm glad I still have a stockpile of his books to catch up with! A great read.
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