"Search" by Robert Crais is Bittersweet for Man and Dog

I just realized I didn't turn on my tv in time to get the segment on war dogs with PTSD.
I wish I had. I read recently that the dogs don't get left behind anymore like HumVees and ditchdiggers. They come home.

I have read almost every book Robert Crais has heve written. Many are the bloody, gory, sensitive, make-you-pull-out-a hanky grisley detective stories featuring Elvis Cole and his partner, Joe Pike. They aren't just that. They touch feelings. Gentle, vulnerable ones. I admire that. He writes violent action scenes and always makes you care about the characters. Especially the young and innocent.

And sometimes Crais writes independents. Not in series. "Search" is one of those.

"Search" is his latest. The connection between real life and the book is the subject: a dog with PTSD hooking up with a multiply shot police officer with PTSD to solve a mystery. Crais never has a simple one. This is no exception. The dog is a major player. Her viewpoint is included.

I didn't know if I could read this one, though, after the prelude.

Crais can really write gut-wrenching prose when he chooses to. After the first chapter, I collapsed, sobbed, and read something else for awhile. I eventually got back to the book.

I think this may be one of his best. Really murky, convoluted plot. Pain, dog love, redemptive love by cop...Crais would probably be pleased to hear his writing brought me to collapse and tears. It is quite a talent. Not many have it. Oh. No booty call in this.

Good art deserves appropriate appreciation.

I gave it.

He earned it.

"Search", by Robert Crais. Be sure to read notes after, where he describes the real training and when he sped things up for artistic interest. I just think this is a winner.