Excellent Insight Into the Mind of Military Working Dog

I am in awe of Robert Crais and his talent as a writer. In his other novels, he has shown himself to the master of describing the inner workings of his character’s mind through the use of well-turned phrases as he describes the actions in which they are involved.

 Take the way he has described Joe Pike, gun shop owner and partner to Elvis Cole, as Joe has helped Elvis solve a number of cases and then in two books where Joe Pike is the central character. The reader then feels he knows Joe Pike intimately through his actions and reactions to outside stimuli.

Now in his latest novel, “Suspect”, the author has taken the reader inside the mind of an explosives detection dog named Maggie. It is incredible the way that Mr. Crais is able to describe the inner workings of a dog’s mind and he continues this feat throughout the book. In this book, Maggie, after serving three tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, suffers PTSD in an incident in which her, handler. Pete, is blown up (and Maggie concussed) by a suicide bomber in Afghanistan.

 As the books opens, Scott James, a Los Angeles patrolman becomes involved in a shooting incident in which he is seriously wounded and his partner, Stephanie, is fatally shot. After recovering from his wounds Scott is given the option to retire but instead opts for an assignment with the LAPD canine unit and is paired with Maggie. Both Scott and Maggie are “suspect” because of their injuries and both must prove themselves, hence the title. Scott then proceeds on a predictable quest to get to the bottom of his shooting and his partner’s murder. While this resolution is predictable, the author pursues it in a realistic manner.

The real gem in this story is the interaction between Scott and Maggie and the inner workings of the dog’s mind. I highly recommend this novel as an excellent read.

 To see the works of Robert Crais on Amazon, you can click this link. Robert Crais


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