The Big Empty is Robert Crais at the top of his game, and this reader devoured it in one sitting.

A young woman asks Elvis Cole to look into the cold case disappearance of her father. Although others had tried and failed to find out what happened to him, Elvis agrees to take the case, with little hope of success. The truth, however, might be more than the daughter wants to hear.

Highly recommended. #TheBigEmpty #NetGalley #SaltMarshAuthorSeries

This is a workman-like entry in a very long-run series, but the same issue raises its head all the time with long running series like this: when has the central character passed his sell-by date? If Elvis Cole hasn't, he's getting really, really close.

I know a lot of people love this series. To be honest, I don't love it, but I do like it. The problem is that it's beginning to feel dated and out of style. Elvis is feeling more and more like a character who's stuck in the nineties. That wouldn't be a problem if the book were set in the 90's, but it's not. It's set in contemporary times. And the characters really don't feel contemporary any longer at all.

Hey, Robert Crais, maybe it's not you, maybe it's me.

Robert Crais delivers another gripping and emotionally charged mystery in The Big Empty, the latest installment in the Elvis Cole and Joe Pike series. This heartbreaking yet brilliant novel tackles tough topics with finesse, as Elvis refuses to give up on his client's missing father case, even when faced with sinister forces determined to stop him. Crais's masterful storytelling keeps readers guessing until the very end, delivering a satisfying and well-executed reveal. The book is a testament to the author's skill in creating compelling characters and weaving intricate plotlines that keep readers on the edge of their seats. While the ending may not be the happiest, it is a poignant reminder of the complexities of life and the importance of perseverance in the face of adversity. The Big Empty is a must-read for fans of the series and anyone who appreciates a well-crafted detective novel with heart.

Elvis and Joe, man. Is there anything they can't do?? This book was heartbreaking and hard, but Elvis refuses to give up looking for his client's father, even when shadows are popping out of the woodwork to stop him. Amazing, as always, but also....such a tough topic. Brilliantly done.

“Loss left a hole and sometimes the hole was so big and empty it couldn’t be filled. All we could do was try, but the trying defined us. Trying was everything.”

“Secrets are hard.”

“The face of evil looked like anyone.”

Another Elvis Cole mystery that delivers a punch in the gut. Great mystery, great tension, great characters, and an ultimate emotional delivery - something very difficult to do in a detective novel but something Robert Crais excels. It starts out as missing person book and develops into so much more.

Elvis Cole and Joe Pike deliver great action throughout and Crais takes us step by step through Cole’s detective work and as always, it is a master class in the vein of Robert B. Parker. Although I guessed one of the big reveals, it was satisfying and well executed. This is one of those books that might not have the happiest of endings where everyone lives happily ever after and in fact, you might be left with a big empty feeling. But mostly, you will be left wanting to read the next Elvis Cole and Joe Pike book.

* I received this book free from Netgalley and publisher Penguin Group Putnam in exchange for an honest review

The Big Empty is the latest entry in the long running Elvis Cole and Joe Pike PI series. Reading a Cole/Pike book is like a comforting conversation with an old friend, regardless of who's voice you hear (Elvis's wisecracking or Joe's almost sterile and precise voice). T

Elvis is hired by a woman who is a social media influencer on the cusp of making it big commercially. However, it is the tenth anniversary of when her father apparently just drove away in his work truck and abandoned his family. Neither he nor his vehicle surfaced anywhere alive or dead in the past decade. It would seem an almost unsurmountable case to investigate, yet Elvis takes this very old and cold case---of course he does since he's the world's greatest detective.

Though not the best in the series, this is a solid entry in the PI duo's tales. Crais writing style moves the reader along in the story, painting a vivid mental picture along the way.

Robert Crais' The Big Empty (GP Putnam's Sons 2025), 20th in the Elvis Cole and Joe Pike series, is one more in a long line of addictive, amazing, satisfying, must-read murder mysteries about these two detectives that I hesitated to start for two reasons: 1) I wouldn't be able to put it down, and 2) when the last page was turned, I would have to wait a year for the next book.

A little background: Elvis Cole and Joe Pike are hard-charging, never-quit detectives that specialize in finding what's lost and rarely fail. The stories are filled with action, clever scenes, and humor, because Elvis is a smart aleck and Joe is never defeated (at least not to my knowledge). In this story, they're looking for the long-missing father of a celebrity chef who has fond memories of her childhood until her father disappeared. She knows nothing about where he went or why. Elvis warns her, once he starts, the clues will take him where they will. She doesn't care and Elvis is off and sleuthing. No surprise, it doesn't work out like anyone expected.

If you're looking for a fun read that keeps you guessing, this is the book for you. Without reservation, I award it 5/5.

What a thrilling book! It was a wild ride. This is a good book for fans of author such as James Patterson. Don’t skip this book on publication day.

Elvis is rocking the boat again.
Another thrilling ride with PI Elvis Cole and his occasional sidekick Joe Pike, as he takes on a 10 yr old cold case of a
missing man at the re1quest of his grown daughter, a celebrated online chef and blogger.
The trail seems pretty dead with the missing person having been pronounced dead and Elvis is not expecting any great
discoveries when all of a sudden, new info does actually start coming to light.
The case takes off, as Elvis is rocked with personal attacks and death threats.
Finding out just who this missing guy really was and what he was actually up to becomes the obsession of the week
for Elvis and Pike.
Great read and Crais is spot on. once again with his Cole and Pike plot line and intriguing characters.
The story just flows, and you ride right along.
Great read.
Tapping fingers ...waiting for the next edition.

I truly love Robert Crais. He writes well and his characters are always very defined. Elvis is just a good man all around, probably too good. He needs people like Joe Pike to watch his back

Robert Crais bounces back from earlier ho-hum Elvis Cole and Joe Pike novels. In The Big Empty we again see the wise-cracking Elvis who ultimately relies on the steady hand of Joe Pike. Before all that though, Elvis plunges into a mystery of a father who disappeared ten years ago and now his 20-something daughter, currently a big-rime online influencer, wants to find out what happened. Elvis starts by re-tacing the last places the father was seen and discovers some people are reluctant to talk to him which gets his "something's wrong" radar quivering. Crais doesn't let readers in on what really is going on until Elvis discovers the truth allowing us to be right there in the big reveal. Plenty of violence laces the pages and there is no shortage of gruesome murders. Some characters are cardboard cut-outs but that is forgiven due to the novel's brisk pace. Thankfully, IMO, Lucy and Ben have very limited roles in this book and the focus on solving crimes, not gushing long-distance love.

My thanks to NetGalley for making an eARC of this book available to me.

The author never fails to entertain me with his books, this one being no exception. Elvis is asked to look into a 10 year old missing persons case, and of course things get complicated. And violent. And then more complicated. Joe Pike is brought in for support, and the Elvis' cat makes a couple of appearances. Let the good times roll!

Elvis Cole is back for the 20th installment of the series what features him and Joe Pike. I've been reading Robert Crais since the late 80's with The Monkey's Raincoat and this is the best one to date. This story begins with a prominent TV baker who wants Elvis to reopen the young’ woman’s search for her missing father. His case is ten years old, the cops and another PI firm couldn’t turn up any answers to his mysterious disappearance and Elvis doesn’t hold much hope for solving it either.
Soon he gets a line on a ex con and her daughter who might know something and a former classmate that adds a few new threads to the puzzle.
Before he knows it, Elvis is being hunted by thugs and damned near gets killed trying to get to the truth.

Another epic Elvis Cole story. This one entails great detecting (self professed greatest at work), some major dust ups and a tough ending. A lot packed into this one (and lots of Joe spike too). Can't get enough of these.

Having read and enjoyed most, if not all, of the Elvis Cole and Joe Pike novels, I can most assuredly state that The Big Empty is one of the absolute best! The plot is a simple one wherein Elvis is hired to find the father, who has been missing for almost 10 years, of a minor celebrity known as “the muffin girl.” Along the way, there are several murders, we meet an assortment of interesting characters and we are treated to a totally unanticipated conclusion. The writing is superb and descriptive — “……a green SUV that looked like a loaf of moldy bread.”
I highly recommend this book to all devotees of this genre and thank NetGalley and G.P. Putnam’s Sons for the opportunity to read and review this novel prior to publication.

Private investigator Elvis Cole and his enigmatic partner, Joe Pike, face a cryptic case and a terrifying, unpredictable killer in this twisty, satisfying thriller!! Great book!! This book has a bit of everything! It had suspense, intriguing, murder, mystery, a fantastic who done it and some crazy twists and turns! The storyline was very interesting and kept me glued to my kindle! I highly recommend reading this book! Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

A very good mystery/detective novel. Elvis Cole is asked to reopen a missing persons case by a young woman whose missing father has been declared dead. BUT, reopening the case leads Elvis Cole and partner Joe Pike into an enormous morass of deaths, both present and past.

This is riveting for mystery fans. I enjoyed it, despite all the gore.

I recommend this to fellow mystery lovers. Thank you Netgalley for this arresting novel.