2015 Book #10 - Taken

I was on a Joe Pike kick, and Taken was the next one I read. This is the last one in the series, until a new one comes out in a few months.

In this one, we have a college girl and her boyfriend out in the California desert. They were there with friends, but stayed behind. The boy has one thing on his mind, but as the girl starts to tell him she knew about the place they were, an old plane wreck, people arrive. It starts out as what her mother must have experienced, brought up as an illegal from Mexico. However as another group is brought up, they are attacked by others who kill the coyote and kidnap the illegals, intending to use them as hostages for ransom, and eventually kill them.

Elvis is hired to find them, and he brings in Pike and Jon Stone. However when Elvis is taken, Joe and Jon somewhat frantically search for him. It's a very wild ride and perhaps one of the most exciting Crais novels.

The entire book centers around when people are kidnapped. Chapters move around a little in time (mostly it's chronological), and each title tells us is this before or after Elvis or the girl was taken. We find out about illegal entry, cartels, Korean gangsters and more.

Very, very good read.