I Promise to Remember

There were so many people requesting "The Promise" at my library that I was impatient to have my turn.

Robert Crais is one of my favorite authors. I truly enjoyed "Suspect" with Scott James and his K9 Maggie.

In this story, P.I. Elvis Cole is asked to find a missing woman but has to keep the search quiet and has other restrictions in locating the woman.

We witness a drug deal in L.A. suburb Echo Park. It gets rowdy and someone calls the police. K9 handler Scott James witnesses a suspect leaving the house but because it's a residential area, he can't let Maggie off the leash and the suspect escapes.

Cole had been watching the house because he had information that his subject was there. He sees the police chase after the suspect and tries to help but is mistaken for another criminal and ordered to stop.

The confusion is corrected and James thanks Cole for his attempted assistance but the suspect escaped and a body was found in the house and a stash of explosives.

From that time, we learn that the person Cole was after had a connection with the escapee and it had something connected to explosives.

Sounds like a good premise but Cole's usual humor and wit wasn't  at it's normal level. Many of the crooks in the scheme went by nicknames and it was somewhat confusing to me.

The connection to the woman who hired Cole and the chase for the missing woman went on too long and the excitement of the story lost some steam. The missing woman's motivation for her actions could have been written in a stronger manner.

I liked the characters but wished for more.