Forget Me Not (The Forgotten Man - Robert Crais)

Member Name: samueltyler

Product:	The Forgotten Man - Robert Crais
Date:	31/10/06 (63 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great mystery, well written, Elvis Cole!

Disadvantages: To little action?

Imagine that you have never known your father. Throughout your life you have progressed always wondering what he was like and if he even knows that you exist. Normally you may have to hire someone to discover who your father is but what about if you are the world’s greatest detective™? You may have just found you dad – shot dead in an alley.

This is the premise that meets Elvis Cole in his latest PI adventure by Robert Crais. Times have taken a dark turn for Cole in ‘The Forgotten Man’ as he no longer has the support of his girlfriend. In fact things have got so bad that she has left him and he is looking for something to do. When he receives a call in the early hours of the morning Cole become entwined in the case of a man that had claimed to be his father moments before he died. Cole is sure that this man is not his dad but will investigate anyway to stop himself concentrating on the pain of a broken heart.

Alongside this story is the origins of the dead man and what impact his disappearance had back home. What goes on in the mind of a person who thinks everyone is out to get them? A man with dark secrets is sure that Cole knows about them and he must set out on Cole’s trail with only one thing in mind – revenge.

Robert Crais has created an excellent series of novels in his Elvis Cole mysteries. Although the principles differ little throughout; Elvis – the smart talking, wise guy PI, and Pike – the silent, deadly ex-marine; each story differs subtly. In ‘The Forgotten Man’, Crais has produced his darkest novel yet. Due to Cole’s current mindset many of the quips we know him best for are not present – instead we are left with a bitterer, jaded Elvis. However, this is not to say that the book is no fun, the suspense of a good mystery easily makes up for any elements of humour that may have been lost in the process. Over many books the character of Cole has developed well and as a regular reader of the series you do emphasise with him. Here we learn more about his childhood and how he became the man he is today.

The role of Pike is not developed much further in ‘The Forgotten Man’ but we do see elements that make the relationship between him and Cole so strong. It’s this friendship factor that has probably proven to be the best element throughout the set of books.

The side characters in this book include police officers and a warped country hick. Although well written I did not feel that I had enough information about their motives and once again Crais seems to have concentrated his efforts on the central characters a little too much. Another criticism of the book is that there does not seem as much going on as in previous titles. I can see that ‘The Forgotten Man’ is more of an internal journey for Cole but I do think a little more action before the end may have helped.

Even with these negative points, ‘The Forgotten Man’ still stands out as an excellent departure for the Elvis Cole Mysteries. With a more introverted plotline we get to understand why Cole is such a dogged detective. Although there is not the action and comedy that is in many of the earlier books its make up for this with pathos and emotion. I would advise first time reader of Crais to read some of the earlier books in the series as ‘The Forgotten Man’ may be too character dependent. However, for fans of Robert Crais, or other crime novel lovers, this is another excellent title by the author.

Amazon UK: £5.59

Summary: Great continuation of the series