The First Rule (Joe Pike Series #2)

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Overview

The organized criminal gangs of the former Soviet Union are bound by what they call the thieves’ code. The first rule is this: A thief must forsake his mother, father, brothers, and sisters. He must have no family—no wife, no children—because only other criminals are his family. If any of the rules are broken, it is punishable by death.
Frank Meyer had the American dream—a wife and family he adored, a successful business—until the day a professional crew invaded his home and murdered everyone inside. The only thing out of the ordinary about Meyer was that—before the family and the business and the normal life—a younger Frank Meyer worked as a professional military contractor, a mercenary, with a man named Joe Pike. Frank was one of Pike’s guys, and they faced death together in every rotten hellhole around the world.
The police think Meyer was hiding something very bad, because previous home invasions by the crew had targeted only criminals with large stashes of cash or drugs. Pike cannot believe it, and with the help of Cole, he sets out on a hunt of his own: to clear his friend, to punish the people who murdered him.
A trail that at first seems relatively simple, however, very quickly becomes complicated, as the two of them find themselves entangled in a web of ancient grudges, blood ties, blackmail, vengeance, double crosses, and cutthroat criminality, and at the heart of it all, an act so terrible even Pike and Cole have no way to measure it.

Editorial Reviews

Patrick Anderson
It's a good plot, and Crais keeps it spinning with his accustomed skill. He's a stylist; his action scenes are not so much written as choreographed.
—The Washington Post
More Reviews (1) Fewer Reviews
From The Critics
When garment importer Frank Meyer and his family are executed in their Los Angeles home at the start of bestseller Crais's adrenaline-fueled second thriller to feature PI Joe Pike (after The Watchman), LAPD detectives soon connect Meyer to Pike, who knew each other from their days as military contractors. Pike is convinced that Meyer, who left soldiering to start a family, wasn't dirty, even though his murder is the seventh in a series of violent robberies where the victims were all professional criminals. Determined to clear his friend's name, Pike discovers that Frank's nanny and her family have ties to Eastern European organized crime. With the help of PI partner Elvis Cole (the lead in Chasing Darkness and eight other books), Pike engages in a dangerous—and not always legal—game of cat and mouse with some of the city's most dangerous crooks. Pike emerges as an enigmatically appealing hero, whose lethal skills never overshadow his unflappable sense of morality. (Jan.)

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780399156137
  • Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
  • Publication date: 1/12/2010
  • Pages: 308
  • Sales rank: 325,240
  • Series: Joe Pike Series, #2
  • Product dimensions: 6.00 (w) x 9.10 (h) x 1.40 (d)

Meet the Author

Robert Crais
Robert Crais
Following a tremendously successful run as a television screenwriter, Robert Crais broke into the publishing world in a big way with his Elvis Cole and Joe Pike mystery novels, proving that for a select few, Los Angeles truly can be a city of dreams.

Biography

Los Angeles is known as the city of dreams, largely because so many Americans dream of breaking into the Hollywood film and television industry. In 1976, Robert Crais went west from Louisiana to pursue that very dream. As it turned out, he became one of the lucky few to break into the industry in a big way. Crais has since written for such hugely popular TV shows as Quincy, Cagney and Lacey, Miami Vice, Hill Street Blues, and L.A. Law, just to name a few. However, after achieving such success (which included a prestigious Emmy nomination) in a business that so many would give everything to break into, Robert Crais decided to step away and pursue his true dream. Frustrated by the collaborative process that comes with screenwriting, and inspired by pulp-pioneers such as Raymond Chandler, Crais became a mystery novelist. With his massively popular Elvis Cole/Joe Pike mysteries series, it seems as though success has a funny way of following Crais no matter what he decides to do.

Crais published his very first novel in 1987. The Monkey's Raincoat introduced mystery fans to Elvis Cole and Joe Pike, a pair of L.A. private investigators who would become his most-beloved recurring characters. Crais's transition from screenwriting to novel-writing was an astoundingly smooth one. The Monkey's Raincoat earned him nominations for the Edgar, Anthony, Shamus, and Macavity awards, winning both the Anthony and Macavity for "Best Novel of the Year." Crais's publisher was so overjoyed by the novel's success that he encouraged Crais to keep the Cole/Pike team going. "I started writing these books to get away from writing other people's concepts, like TV and movies," Crais told Barnes&Noble.com. "I never expected to write these guys as a series...but the book proved to be so popular and the characters were so popular that my publisher wanted more." What followed was a series of bestselling mysteries, including Stalking the Angel (1989), Free Fall (1993), L.A. Requiem (1999), and last year's The Forgotten Man.

Although the series was not part of Crais's original plan, he still seems to hold the Cole and Pike team closer to his heart than anything he has previously written. He explained, "The characters have deepened, and I think they kind of reflect what's going on with me and the world as I see it." When asked about whether or not we can expect to see the crime-solving buddies on the big screen anytime soon, he said, "I think I would have a difficult time in the collaborative process when other people suddenly put their fingerprints on Elvis and Joe," further illustrating his personal feelings for his P.I. team.

As much as Crais loves his series, he does occasionally write novels outside of the Cole/Pike world. His latest, The Two-Minute Rule, tells the story of career criminal Max Holman, a recently released-from-prison bank robber who finds himself hunting an entirely different kind of criminal after his son is gunned down. The book has since raked in positive reviews from such publications as Booklist, Publisher's Weekly, and The Library Journal. While The Two-Minute Rule does not feature Cole and Pike, Crais fans will notice one significant similarity between his latest novel and his famous series -- the Los Angeles setting. "I can't think of a better place to set crime novels because of what Los Angeles is. Los Angeles is the main where the nation goes to make its dreams come true. When you have a place like that where so many people are risking their very identities, not just money and cash, but they're risking who they are because it's their hopes and dreams, when you have that kind of tension and that kind of friction, you can't help but have crime."

Fortunately, Crais will never have to succumb to such friction and tension since, for a success story such as he, Los Angeles completely lived up to its promise of being the city of dreams.

Good To Know

Some fun and fascinating outtakes from our interview with Crais:

"My first job was cleaning dog kennels. It was especially, ah, aromatic during those hot, humid Louisiana summers, but it prepared me for Hollywood."

"My fiction is almost always inspired by a character's need or desire to rise above him-or herself. No one is perfect and some of us have much adversity in our lives; it is those people who struggle to rise above their nature or background that I find the most interesting and heroic."

"Fun details? Like Elvis Cole, I have a dry sense of humor. Sometimes I am so dry that people don't know I'm kidding and think I'm being serious. I enjoy this because their reactions are often funny. Also, I wear beautifully colored shirts like Elvis Cole, only I was wearing them before him. People will say, ‘Look, RC dresses just like Elvis Cole,' and I'll say, 'No, Elvis Cole dresses like me!' I also wear sunglasses like Joe Pike, but not indoors and not at night."

"Elvis Cole wrote two episodes of television. No lie. It happened like this: I had written episodes of Miami Vice and Jag that were rewritten by person or persons unknown -- changed so badly that I didn't want my name on them, so I used Elvis Cole's name as a pen name."

    1. Hometown:
      Los Angeles, California
    1. Date of Birth:
      June 20, 1953
    2. Place of Birth:
      Baton Rouge, Louisiana
    1. Education:
      B.S., Louisiana State University, 1976; Clarion Writers Workshop at Michigan State University
    2. Website:
      http://www.robertcrais.com

Read an Excerpt

FRANK MEYER CLOSED HIS COMPUTER as the early winter darkness fell over his home in Westwood, California, not far from the UCLA campus. Westwood was an affl uent area on the Westside of Los Angeles, resting between Beverly Hills and Brentwood in a twine of gracious residential streets and comfortable, well-to-do homes. Frank Meyer-more surprised about it than anyone else, considering his background-lived in such a home. Work fi nished, Frank settled back in his home offi ce, listening to his sons crash through the far side of the house like baby rhinos. They made him happy, and so did the rich scent of braising beef that promised stew or boeuf bourguignon, which he never pronounced correctly but loved to eat. Voices came from the family room, too far away to make out the program, but almost certainly the sound of a game show on television. Cindy hated the nightly news.
Frank smiled because Cindy didn't much care for game shows, either, but she liked the background sound of the TV when she cooked. Cindy had her ways, that was for sure, and her ways had changed his life. Here he was with a lovely home, a growing business, and a wonderful family-all of it owed to his wife.
Frank teared up, thinking how much he owed that woman. Frank was like that, sentimental and emotional, and had always been that way. As Cindy liked to say, Frank Meyer was just a big softy, which is why she fell in love with him.

Frank worked hard to live up to her expectations, and considered it a privilege-beginning eleven years ago when he realized he loved her and committed to reinventing himself. He was now a successful importer of garments from Asia and Africa, which he resold to wholesale chainsthroughout the United States. He was forty-three years old, still fit and strong, though not so much as in the old days. Okay, well-he was getting fat, but between his business and the kids, Frank hadn't touched the weights in years, and rarely used the treadmill. When he did, his efforts lacked the zeal that had burned fever-hot in his earlier life. Frank didn't miss that life, never once, and if he sometimes missed the men with whom he had shared it, he kept those feelings to himself and did not begrudge his wife. He had re-created himself, and, by a miracle, his efforts had paid off. Cindy. The kids. The home they had made. Frank was still thinking about these changes when Cindy appeared at the door, giving him a lopsided, sexy grin.
"Hey, bud. You hungry?"
"Just fi nishing up. What am I smelling? It's fabulous."
Pounding footsteps, then Little Frank, ten years old and showing the square, chunky build of his father, caught the doorjamb beside his mother to stop himself, stopping so fast his younger brother, Joey, six and just as square, crashed into Little Frank's back.
Little Frank shouted, "Meat!"
Joey screamed, "Ketchup!"
Cindy said, "Meat and ketchup. What could be better?"
Frank pushed back his chair, and stood.
"Nothing. I'm dying for meat and ketchup."
She rolled her eyes and turned back toward the kitchen.
"You've got fi ve, big guy. I'll hose off these monsters. Wash up and join us."
The boys made exaggerated screams as they raced away, passing Ana, who appeared behind Cindy. Ana was their nanny, a nice girl who had been with them almost six months. She had bright blue eyes, high cheek- bones, and was a fantastic help with the kids. Another perk of Frank's increasing success.
Ana said, "I'm going to feed the baby now, Cindy. You need anything?"
"We've got it under control. You go ahead."
Ana looked in at Frank.
"Frank? Anything I can do?"
"I'm good, hon. Thanks. I'll be along in a minute."
Frank finished putting away his paperwork, then pulled the shades before joining his family for dinner. His offi ce, with its window facing the nighttime street, was now closed against the darkness. Frank Meyer had no reason to suspect that something unspeakable was about to happen. AS FRANK ENJOYED DINNER with his family, a black-on-black Cadillac Escalade slow-rolled onto his street from Wilshire Boulevard, the Escalade boosted earlier that day from a shopping center in Long Beach, Moon Williams swapping the plates with an identical black Escalade they found outside a gentlemen's club in Torrance. This was their third time around the block, clocking the street for pedestrians, witnesses, and civilians in parked cars.
This time around, the rear windows drooped like sleepy eyes, and street lights died one by one, Jamal shooting them out with a .22-caliber pellet pistol.
Darkness followed the Escalade like a rising tide.
Four men in the vehicle, black cutouts in the shadowed interior, Moon driving, Moon's boy Lil Tai riding shotgun, Jamal in back with the Russian. Moon, eyes fl icking between the houses and the white boy, wasn't sure if the foreigner was a Russian or not. What with all the Eastern Bloc assholes runnin' around, boy coulda been Armenian, Lithuanian, or a muthuhfuckin' Transylvanian vampire, and Moon couldn't tell'm apart. All Moon knew, he was makin' more cash since hookin' up with the foreign muthuhfucka chillin' behind him than any time in his life.

Still, Moon didn't like him back there, money or not. Didn't want that creepy, glassy-eyed muthuhfucka behind him. All these months, this
was the fi rst time the fucka had come with them. Moon didn't like that, either.
Moon said, "You sure now, homeboy? That house right there?"
"Same as last time we passed, the one like a church."
Moon clocked a nice house with a steep roof and these gargoyle-lookin' things up on the eaves. The street was wide, and lined with houses all set back on big sloping lawns. These homes, you'd fi nd lawyers, businesspeople, the occasional dilettante drug dealer.
Lil Tai twisted around to grin at the white boy.
"How much money we gettin' this time?"
"Much money. Much."
Jamal licked his lips, makin' a smile wide as a piano.
"Taste the money. Feel it right on my skin, all dirty and nasty."
Moon said, "We gettin' that shit."
Moon killed the headlights and pulled into the drive, the four doors opening as soon as he cut the engine, the four of them stepping out. The Escalade's interior lights had been removed, so nothing lit up. Only sound was Lil Tai's eighteen-pound sledge, clunking the rocker panel as he got out.
They went directly to the front door, Jamal fi rst, Moon going last, walking backward to make sure no one was watching. Jamal popped the entry lights, just reached up and broke'm with his fi ngers, pop, pop, pop. Moon pressed a folded towel over the dead bolt to dull the sound, and Lil Tai hit that shit with the hammer as hard as he could.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating 4
( 247 )

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  • Posted January 16, 2010

    more from this reviewer

    I Also Recommend:

    Crais does it again

    Once again Robert Crais brings Joe Pike to the forefront with "The First Rule". If you have ever read any of the Elvis Cole books, you have only gotten a glimpse of Pike. Crais has expanded what we know of him with "The Watchman" and even more now with "The First Rule". If you hurt someone that Pike cares about, you better make your last wishes known. One of the great things about Crais' characters is that they are not perfect but they do strive to be better.

    4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted January 16, 2010

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    Joe Pike "Rules"

    It is a good day when either a new Jack Reacher novel (by Lee Child} or, in this case, a new novel by Robert Crais hits the bookstores (brick or online). THE FIRST RULE by Robert Crais (2010) features Joe Pike (thus a Joe Pike novel) [again] and Crais delivers the goods with Pike taking on the super bad guys with his kick-ass approach and sphinx-like demeanor. Of course, Pike has friends on standby with Elvis Cole (greatest detective in the world) to go on the "hunt" to take on the evil of ex-Soviet Union criminal gangs operating in a world of guns, drugs, slavery, and triple-crosses of deceit. When the sit-to-fan ratio is high, you need Joe Pike on your side - and better yet, you will want this book at your side, if you seek the best of crime thrillers.

    3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted June 5, 2010

    Very Good but frequently annoying

    Joe Pike is a wonderful character; tough, gritty, and yet, likeable. This book does not disappoint in terms of either suspense or action.

    Two things, however, do disappoint. The plot involves organized crime involving Serbian nationals, and the chapters are filled with frequent and annoying references concerning characters speaking "Serbian." The problem is, there is no language known as "serbian." The language of Serbia is "Serbo-Croatian, sometimes referred to as Serbo-Croat." That is the language spoken in most of the former Yugoslavia.

    The second disappointment concerns constant references to BMW motorcars as "Beemers." Wrong. The BMW motorcar is a "Bimmer." It is BMW motorcycles that are referred to as "Beamers."

    Little things, perhaps, but details do matter.

    1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted November 15, 2009

    more from this reviewer

    super investigative thriller

    In Westwood, California, garment importer from Asia and Africa Frank Meyer lives the good American life as he reinvented himself eleven years ago once he met his beloved Cindy. Four men invade their home killing Frank, Cindy and their sons; the nanny survived but is in a coma. LAPD finds tattoos on Frank's arms that police detective Deets has seen before on private investigator Joe Pike.

    The cops assume Frank was dirty due to six previous invasions of homes belonging to criminals. Joe knows better even if he had not seen the man in a decade ever since Frank walked when his mercenary contract expired; he knows because Frank loved Cindy and would never go dirty because of her. Deciding he owes it to Frank to clear his name and to bring down his assassins, Joe and his partner Elvis Cole investigate starting with the nanny who they learn has ties to an Eastern Europe organized mob.

    As the cops warn him to stay out of it, Frank and Joe, not trusting the law to look beyond their nose, investigate by digging deep into the activities of local gangsters. They begin to understand a different ethics than their own as The First Rule of the mob is the only way to leave is in a coffin. Fans will fully appreciate the latest Pike inquiry (see The Watchman) that has the mob, the gangs, and the cops in a rare unity (using differing means) to persuade Frank and Joe to back off.

    Harriet Klausner

    1 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted September 19, 2011

    Action packed Joe Pike story

    More Joe Pike action in a fast paced book.

    Many typographical, spelling and format errors spoil the read!

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  • Posted August 24, 2011

    Joe Pike "Soft"

    The story line took Joe Pike the mercenary doing his normal follow the rules or you will be hurt. This story also includes a softer side of Joe. I liked the story and enoyed the plot. Onto series #3

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  • Posted July 22, 2011

    Good read

    My first book on this author and I enjoyed very much. ZWorth the time.

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  • Posted June 15, 2011

    Fast+paced%21

    Interesting+characters+that+have+you+turning+the+pages+to+see+what+will+happen+next.++Great+beach+read.

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  • Posted April 1, 2011

    .

    .

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  • Posted February 15, 2011

    Another grea book in the Joe Pike series.

    Funny, dramtic, and of course action packed. This book is just another great addition to the amazing Joe Pike series. Time to start number 3!!

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  • Posted December 29, 2010

    more from this reviewer

    Just Too Implausible

    Crais has problems with making his protagonist Joe Pike into an infallible, unkillable God figure. The Elvis Cole books feature Pike as a shadowy, enigmatic sidekick. When he carries the ball, plausibility goes out the window. LA Requiem, Crais' best novel, put a human face on Pike, but he has moved away from that here. Unlike his heroes Chandler and Macdonald, Crais has never crossed the line from thriller writer to major novelist. I can only give this book 2 1/2 stars.

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  • Posted November 2, 2010

    Excellent! you will love it.

    If you enjoy a mystery/thriller genre, then this book will delight you.  There have been parallels to the Joe Pike character (Reacher, for one) that I find interesting but Joe is definitely unique.  Also the Cole/Pike team compares favorably with Harland Coban's Bolitar/Lockwood, a personal favorite. Robert Crais has quickly become a favorite author and I would recommend all of his books.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted May 17, 2010

    Enjoyed

    The book was an overall good read. Some of the sexual content was so unbelievable it could have been omitted and the book would have improved. It was an original idea, and i enjoyed the plot and ending.

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  • Posted April 25, 2010

    Nice Pike

    good change of pace from Elvis Cole point of view - more insight into Pike Character.

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  • Posted April 15, 2010

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    The First Rule

    In THE FIRST RULE, Frank Meyer and his family are murdered in cold blood. He was a long time friend of Joe Pike and Pike takes it personally. Pike takes on the Russian Mob to find out why they were killed and who did it so he can have some payback. Robert Crais has created a novel that is fast paced, action-packed and leaves nothing to chance.

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  • Posted April 12, 2010

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    I Also Recommend:

    A reader of many genres

    The First Rule is first class, fast paced entertainment. Crais' prose is tightly crafted, no extraneouse words and no loose ends at the end of the novel. It's all tied together in a plausible plot with false trails and red herrings. The opening scene is so brutal as is the almost end, yet the book ends on a very hopeful note. Pike and his crew are deft, very capable professional contrators but not thugs. It's easy to root for them. The villains are bad but not one dimensional evil. This novel is entrtaining, a quick two day read.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted April 8, 2010

    I Also Recommend:

    another good read by Robert Crais

    I was happy to stumble upon this author's books. They are a little off beat and very well written. I especially enjoy Joe Pike. He's an odd sort of character- mysterious and appealing. The first book that centers around Pike is 'The Watchman' and was an excellent read as well.
    This book sort of revolves around a old friend of Pike's who was murdered. In Pike's search to get to the bottom of the murder, he's also hoping to clear his friend's name. His friend got married and was living a (supposedly) clean life with a wife and children. Of course, nothing that Pike does is easy.

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  • Posted March 23, 2010

    more from this reviewer

    I Also Recommend:

    The First Rule

    Highly recommended. Good action and good story. Forget Elvis Cole. I mean Elvis is a good hero, but I rather read about Joe Pike.

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  • Posted March 20, 2010

    Robert Crais's Joe Pike is the bomb!

    Can't beat the combination of Joe Pike and Elvis Cole. Crais' last series featuring primarily Joe Pike is wonderful!

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  • Anonymous

    Posted March 10, 2010

    Great Second Book in the Joe Pike Series

    I can't wait for more. This book was better than the first. The story line is developing and the characters are great. Joe Pike is hard to understand but truly an ethical man. The series is a great read.

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