It was OK

Taken
Robert Crais

Before I write even one word about this book I will answer the question that everyone has asked.  No, this is not the book that the movie "Taken" with Liam Neeson was based off.  I have no idea if that movie was a book.  I will say this about the movie though, if you haven't seen it then do!  It was a fantastic movie but no I will not watch it with you.  Once was enough.  OK, enough about movies, I don't write about those here.

This book is part of a series that I enjoy reading.  Elvis Cole is a private detective in Los Angeles and his side kick Joe Pike is...well, hard to describe.  They met in Vietnam and have been best buds ever since.  Ordinarily I wouldn't recommend picking up in the middle of this series but with this book you really don't need any background information.  I can't think of one reference to a past book that would make the reader lost if this was the first Elvis Cole novel you read.  That's really good and bad.  Good for someone who just wants to pick up this book and see if they like the author, story lines and characters.  Bad for someone like me who is half in love with Elvis and Joe.

I was disappointed in this book.  It does not have the usual wit that Crais' past books in this series have.  Most of the time I laugh out loud, in this book I may have chuckled once.  The plot is exactly what the title suggests.  Elvis is taken and Joe goes to find him.  However, the way the book is written was confusing.  It starts after Elvis was kidnapped and then jumps back in time to tell the reader how he was kidnapped. The author doesn't take you back to finding Elvis until 3/4 of the way through the book.  By this point I've all but forgotten he gets taken.  Then finally he's gone and Joe is really pissed.  The book wraps up pretty fast after that.

My recommendation is to start at the beginning with this series.  It really has been enjoyable to read.  The first book is called "The Monkey's Raincoat" published in 1987.  If anything the dated material will be good for a laugh.  Like having to pull over for a pay phone.