"THE TWO MINUTE RULE" by Robert Crais (A-)

The fact that I have already read eleven of his books must evidence, if nothing else, that I have the greatest admiration for Robert Crais. His crime novels have all been marked by an admirable consistency of literary excellence that is rather astonishing. And gratifying. It's nice to know that here is an author who will never let me down when it comes to delivering a superb read.

In most cases with Crais, the plot line more or less serves as a vehicle to move the characters along. With strong and memorable characters like Elvis Cole and Joe Pike, this is a very good thing and one of the reasons why Crais is so good at what he does. While he is also a terrific writer, there are very few other authors in my experience who deliver the powerful characterizations that have become the métier of Crais. His characters have come to life for me and I read his new novels as much to find out how they are doing as to read about what they are doing. The case du jour is sometimes secondary to the reintroduction of fascinating characters who have become literary mainstays for me.

That being said, if I did not know that this book had been written by Robert Crais, then I would not have guessed him to be the author. This novel is unlike any of the other books by him that I have previously read. This is by no means a criticism, for "The Two Minute Rule" is as fine a read as any of the other Crais mysteries.

It's that the foundation of this novel is in its strong story, whereas all of the other Crais books feature a captivating and very generous mix of personality as the frosting on the cake of their sometimes forgettable plot lines.

Here Robert Crais veers away from his character driven novels in this powerful story about Max Holman, an ex-con who searches for clues about the murder of his son, Richie, a son who had beaten the odds by not following in his father's criminal footsteps. He had instead grown up to become a respected cop with the LAPD, and this has been a source of great satisfaction and pride for his dad.

Max's time in prison has accomplished its objective by turning him away from any desire to indulge in future criminal activity once he gets out of jail. Now in his late forties and much more mature, his main goal in life is to have a reconciliation with his estranged family.

However, Max's dreams of a reunion with Richie are tragically crushed when he learns that Richie and three of his fellow police officers have been killed in an ambush. In a nightmarish twist of fate, this had happened the night before Max was released from prison.

With little else of importance to do and having some bereavement time away from his new job, Max resolves to investigate the circumstances surrounding his son's death. Unfortunately, he finds himself running into a wall of obstacles after he questions the strange and illogical circumstances surrounding the crime scene.

Having spent his entire life on the wrong side of the law, Max cannot help but notice that the official explanation of the reasons for his son's death fail his amplified sniff test. Furthermore, he is infuriated when Richie's boss impugns his son's integrity by suggesting that he was associating with officers who were drunks and regrettably inept when a gang banger with a grudge ambushed them in one of the cement river beds for which Los Angeles is famous.

After spending ten years in the pen marching to the orders of others, now Max has to develop an independent plan of action for a personal investigation that for some reason meets with considerable resistance from Richie's fellow police officers. With little hope for success, he reaches out to the one person who he feels will be able to help him. That person happens to be Special Agent Katherine Pollard, who was the FBI agent who had figured out his modus operandi and was quickly on the scene to capture him ten years before.

Always hovering in the background is the "two minute rule," which defines the narrow time frame that robbers have to get away from a bank heist before the police arrive. Max had failed that rule, which was the reason why he had been caught and sentenced to those ten years in prison. Others have also failed this two minute rule, and their stories will weave throughout this novel. 2006, Simon and Schuster, 325 pages.