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_The Last Detective_ and _The Forgotten Man_, by Robert Crais
Numbers nine and ten about PI Elvis Cole, his friends and acquaintances, and the trouble that he falls into and solves. It occurs to me that these books are a sort of post-noir: the situations are dire, but the protagonist is not corrupt and will not fall; he can be hurt emotionally and physically, but he gets back up again to do what he perceives to be the just thing. Not a force for law, leaning towards order, but mostly for justice tempered by mercy. It helps that the author's divine hand is on his side, of course.
No clients in these two. No paydays, either. Nor has dramatic angst been perpetuated by lack of communication and ill-advised lies... most of the characters make quite reasonable decisions. No idiot plots.
On to 11. (The most recent one is 14; it was just published a few days ago.)
Numbers nine and ten about PI Elvis Cole, his friends and acquaintances, and the trouble that he falls into and solves. It occurs to me that these books are a sort of post-noir: the situations are dire, but the protagonist is not corrupt and will not fall; he can be hurt emotionally and physically, but he gets back up again to do what he perceives to be the just thing. Not a force for law, leaning towards order, but mostly for justice tempered by mercy. It helps that the author's divine hand is on his side, of course.
No clients in these two. No paydays, either. Nor has dramatic angst been perpetuated by lack of communication and ill-advised lies... most of the characters make quite reasonable decisions. No idiot plots.
On to 11. (The most recent one is 14; it was just published a few days ago.)
