Thank you, again, Kevin. He’s filling in while I’m visiting my Mom. Today, Kevin’s reviewing The Big Empty by Robeert Crais.

The Big Empty: An Elvis Cole and Joe Pike Novel by Robert Crais is
one of those books that slaps you upside your head. A very good read, but
it is a tale full of pain, heartbreak, and rage, that changed so many lives
then and now.

For Private Investigator Elvis Cole, the case starts when Tracie Beller hires
him. Her mom, her uncle Phil, and her various other advisors wish her not
to do it. But, her dad, Tommy Beller, disappeared ten years ago. Everybody
believes he just walked away from his family. Tracie never believed that.

All these years later, she is a social media phenomenon as she bakes her
way to stardom and riches. She has millions of followers and there are
investors considering becoming part of her rapidly growing brand. While all
of that does matter to her, what is far more important is finding out what
happed to her father. She has the money to hire a private detective and she
wants Elvis Cole.

He agrees to look into things. That means heading out of Los Angeles to
the nearby community of Rancha where Mr. Beller was last seen working
as he serviced various clients. He and Uncle Phil owned and ran a heating
and air company. He was out there, in a company van, doing service calls
when he vanished. So too did the repair van. The clients of that day are
important, especially the last clients he saw which were Sadie Given and
her daughter, Anya.

His presence and activities bring him to the attention of others who are
determined to stop him, one way or another. As if anything short of being
murdered would stop “The World’s Greatest Detective” and his running
buddy, Joe Pike.

I am reminded yet again that we all need a Joe Pike in our lives.

I am also reminded that Robert Crias can seriously write. The Big Empty:
An Elvis Cole and Joe Pike Novel is a complex multi layered read that
hits you hard in the guts and then smacks you right between the eyes. The
details of what happened and why are horrific and can’t be shared without
blowing up the read. There is a reason why the jacket copy is so sparse
and worded the way it is on the book.

Strongly Recommended.

My reading copy came from the White Rock Hills Branch of the Dallas
Public Library System.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2025