Packed with whiplash plot twists and taut dialogue, The Watchman deftly reveals the taciturn, damaged Joe Pike As good a psychological test case as it is a thriller.

Crais writes in a taut, muscular style tailored to the lethal moves of this romantic mercenary soldier.... A story that cannily exploits the sexual dynamic of violence and danger....

Joe Pike--the ex-cop, ex-Marine, exmercenary from Robert Crais's superb PI Elvis Cole novels--headlines the explosive action of this page-turning New York Times bestseller.

A wild-living young heiress slams into trouble in the L.A. night--the kind of trouble even her money can't shut down. After her Aston Martin collides with a mysterious car, Larkin Conner Barkley attempts to help the accident victims--and becomes the sole witness in a federal investigation.Whisking her out of her Beverly Hills world is Joe Pike, hired to shield Larkin Barkley from a relentless team of killers. But when a chain of lies and betrayals tightens around them, Pike drops off the grid and follows his own rules for survival: strike fast, hit hard,hunt down the hunters...