Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Los Angeles private investigator Elvis Cole is joined by K-9 cop Scott James and his battle-scarred German shepherd, Maggie, in the search for a woman out to avenge the killing of her son in a suicide bombing in Nigeria. The woman, Amy Breslyn, is a chemical production engineer working for the government who disappeared with $460,000 in company money and a newly purchased gun. Cole is directed to a bungalow in Echo Park, where James encounters him after a man is beaten to death inside, surrounded by a stash of munitions and explosives. We learn that Amy has infiltrated the arms-dealing culture hoping to get close to people who know the identity of her son's murderers. Persecuted by the LAPD, Cole and his taciturn partner, Joe Pike, slowly unravel bad information and false identitieshelped by James reluctantly at first, since he's not sure Cole isn't dirty, and then wholeheartedly after attempts on the lives of both the K-9 officer and his Afghanistan-traumatized dog (introduced in the 2013 stand-alone Suspect). After 20 novels, Crais remains one of crime fiction's smartest and most effortless plotters. The story unfolds with supreme ease, energized by the enigmatic presence of mercenary Jon Stone. James' undying love for Maggie can be a bit much, as can Crais' decision to narrate a nightmare sequence from the dog's point of view. But the book speeds along at an agreeable clip, lifted by the author's command of the setting, and those military canines do deserve their plaudits. Not Crais' deepest or thorniest mystery but another solid outing with a host of involving characters. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

Elvis Cole is joined by his longtime sidekick, Joe Pike; Pike's pal Jon Stone; and the stars of Cole's Suspect (2013), Scott James and K-9 wonder Maggie, on his latest case, a sure treat for Crais' enormous following. Cole is tracking Amy Breslyn, a missing chemical engineer who develops fuel for the Department of Defense. According to her boss (and Elvis' client), Amy has changed dramatically since her son was killed in a terrorist attack abroad. Now, Amy has a shady new boyfriend and has seemingly disappeared. Elvis follows his only lead to a house where he finds a dead gangbanger and a cache of black-market explosives, which he's sure are linked to his missing chemist, but now he has a new problem: clearing himself as a suspect in the gangbanger's murder. Crais revisits K-9 Officer James' compelling relationship with his canine partner, Maggie, when a death threat forces him to choose between following orders and trusting Cole. The World's Greatest Detective is as quick-witted as ever, and the timely link to al-Qaeda terrorist factions adds both balancing gravitas and suspenseful kick.--Tran, Christine Copyright 2015 Booklist

Publishers Weekly
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MWA Grandmaster Crais is at the top of his game in his 16th Elvis Cole novel (after 2012's Taken). When the L.A. PI goes looking for chemical engineer Amy Breslyn, who has absconded with $460,000 from her company, Woodson Energy Solutions, he learns that Amy's motive involves her journalist son, who died in a terrorist bombing in Nigeria 16 months earlier. The investigation takes Cole to a house in Echo Park crammed with explosives-a locale that also attracts LAPD K-9 officer Scott James and his German shepherd Maggie (the protagonists of 2013's Suspect). At the house, a criminal mastermind eludes the team, but when the crook realizes that James can identify him, he determines to eliminate the K-9 officer. Meanwhile, the Major Crimes squad becomes suspicious of Cole, who calls on his partner, the ultracryptic Joe Pike, for help. Pike in turn enlists the talents of former Delta Force op Jon Stone, now a mercenary. The resolution of the complicated conspiracy is both clever and touching. Agent: Aaron Priest, Aaron M. Priest Literary Agency. (Nov.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.