Derek Dryden writes: I’m a bit of a fan of Robert Crais’ Joe Pike and Elvis Cole series. The First Rule is a Joe pike story – that’s not to say I don’t like the books where Elvis Cole is the lead bloke. They’re far more cerebral, but there’s nothing like a bit of big, bad Joe Pike to brighten your day. Pike is out running when he’s stopped by a group of detectives with some bad news. His long-time friend and colleague, Frank Meyer has been gunned down in home invasion along with his wife and two children. Back in the day Frank was one of Joe’s mercenaries, but for the past ten years has lived clean, running a small but successful import business. This is the seventh in a series of home invasions and the cops are from a task force investigating the crimes. In the previous six, the victims have all been dirty, living off the proceeds of crime, but Pike knows this is not the case with Frank, and vows retribution on the head of whoever organised the crime. But Pike finds he’s not just up against a bunch of local gang-bangers, but a branch of the powerful Eastern European mafia. Pike makes accommodations with the police so that he receives some of their intel and sets out to find the killers of his friend and avenge the deaths. It’s a pacey read from Robert Crais and fans of Pike and Cole will feel right at home.

Robert Crais is the author of the bestselling Cole & Pike novels. A native of Louisiana, Crais moved to Hollywood in the late 70s where he began a successful career in television, writing scripts for such major series as Cagney & Lacey, Miami Vice and Hill Street Blues. In the mid 80s, following his success with the TV buddy genre, Crais created a series of crime novels based around the characters Cole & Pike. In addition, Crais has also written several bestselling standalone thrillers. Robert Crais lives in LA with his wife and family.