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The First Rule

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( 24,333 ratings, 1,135 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
The First Rule by Robert Crais delves into the world of private investigator Joe Pike, who is drawn into a dangerous conflict following the murder of his close friend and former mercenary colleague. As Pike investigates, he uncovers a web of criminal activities and faces powerful adversaries, all while adhering to a strict code: look out for his own, no matter the cost. This crime thriller promises action, suspense, and moral dilemmas.
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you are drawn to fast-paced crime thrillers featuring a tough but compassionate private investigator navigating a world of organised crime. The engaging plot is filled with danger, quick-witted dialogue, and strong character development that keeps the tension high and the pages turning. If you appreciate stories with intricate mysteries and moral complexity, this might be the right choice for you.

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Joe Pike is out for revenge and no cop, no bad guy, no one alive, is going to stop him.
'A nerve-racking, switchbacking tale of guilt and redemption...so good it gives you goosebumps' EVENING STANDARD

Joe Pike is out for revenge and no cop, no bad guy, no one alive, is going to stop him.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Frank Meyer had got out of the life safely. He had put an end to his mercenary days, turned over a new leaf and settled down with his wife and children. It had been a hard decision but, encouraged by his boss and friend Joe Pike, he had walked away.

Ten years later, a group of armed men break into his Los Angeles home and brutally gun down him and his family. It's a vicious, cold and professional job. The crew leave no trace behind except the bodies.

But they have made one catastrophic and almost certainly terminal mistake - Joe Pike. Because Pike is now determined to hunt down and eliminate everyone involved in the attack, one by one. And it doesn't matter that, as he starts to investigate, he discovers that these criminals are bigger and better organised than he ever could have imagined, because they are about to learn the first rule... Don't make Joe Pike mad...

Series: A Joe Pike Novel

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  • The First Rule
    Frank Meyer had got out of the life safely. He had put an end to his mercenary days, turned over a new leaf and settled down with his wife and children. It had been a hard decision but, encouraged by his boss and friend Joe Pike, he had walked away. Ten years later, a group of armed men break into...
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  • The Sentry
    After the nightmare of Hurricane Katrina, Dru Rayne and her uncle relocated to Los Angeles. Five years later, their struggling restaurant faces a different danger. When Joe Pike witnesses Dru's uncle beaten by a neighbourhood gang, he offers his own brand of protection, but neither Dru nor her uncle want his help. And neither do the federal agents mysteriously watching...
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Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Reviews of The First Rule by Robert Crais highlight its gripping narrative, featuring a twist that imbues the book with emotional depth, making it a standout in Joe Pike's stories. The novel is celebrated for its thrilling plot, akin to the works of Lee Child and Michael Connelly, and Crais is praised for advancing the crime and thriller genre. Readers describe the book as an adrenaline-fuelled experience that compels devouring in one sitting.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781409118237

Publisher: Orion Publishing Co

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 03 March 2011

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Orion (an Imprint of The Orion Publishing Group Ltd )

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 27.0mm

Width: 154.0mm

Height: 203.0mm

Weight: 300g

Pages: 416

About the Author

Robert Crais is the author of the bestselling Cole and Pike novels. Crais began a successful career in television in the 1970s, writing scripts for such major series as Cagney and Lacey, Miami Vice and Hill Street Blues. In addition to the Cole and Pike novels, he has also written several bestselling stand-alone thrillers. Crais lives in Los Angeles with his wife and family.

Also by Robert Crais

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    Private investigator Elvis Cole and his enigmatic partner Joe Pike face a cryptic case and a terrifyingly unpredictable killer in this twisty, edge-of-your-seat thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Robert Crais. Traci Beller was only thirteen when her father disappeared in the sleepy town of Rancha, not far from Los Angeles. The evidence says Tommy Beller abandoned his...
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  • Indigo Slam
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  • Racing the Light
    β€˜Another grand slam for the master storyteller’ DAVID BALDACCI β€˜A modern master of crime fiction’ GREGG HURWITZ 'Robert Crais is a legend who deservesΒ his place alongside Chandler, Hammett & Himes as a true master of the crime and mystery genre' STEVE CAVANAGH THE CITY OF ANGELS Adele Schumacher isn’t a typical worried mum. When she hires Elvis to find her...
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  • L. A. Requiem
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  • Sunset Express
    On his own turf in L.A., PI Elvis Cole is embroiled in a controversial, high-profile murder case. A wealthy restaurateur is accused of murdering his wife, and his hot-shot defence lawyer hires Cole to find proof that the detective on the case, Angela Rossi, tampered with the evidence. Yet as Elvis investigates Rossi for the defence team, he becomes more...
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  • Free Fall
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  • The Last Detective
    Elvis Cole's girlfriend, Lucy, is out of town and she has left her young son, Ben, in Elvis' care. Elvis and Lucy have had a few problems latelyβ€”not least over his job as a private investigator. But at last, things seem to be getting better. Then Ben disappears. One minute he's playing his computer game in Elvis' house; the next...
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  • Racing the Light
    β€˜Another grand slam for the master storyteller’ DAVID BALDACCI β€˜A modern master of crime fiction’ GREGG HURWITZ THE CITY OF ANGELS Adele Schumacher isn’t a typical worried mum. When she hires Elvis to find her missing son, a controversial podcaster named Josh Shoe, she brings a bag filled with cash, paranoid tales of government conspiracies, and a squad of mysterious...
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  • The Wanted
    'Just keeps getting better and better' Evening Standard As addictive as Lee Child and as explosive as Michael Connelly – The Wanted is the new thriller from Robert Crais, and a NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER. β€˜Another rewarding page-turner by one of the most reliable storytellers in modern crime fiction’ Daily Mail Seventeen-year-old Tyson seems a normal teenager: socially awkward, obsessed...
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  • Lullaby Town
    Peter Alan Nelsen is a super-successful movie director who is used to getting what he wants. And what he wants now is to find the wife and infant child he dumped on the road to fame. It's the kind of case that Cole could handle in his sleep, except that when Cole actually finds Nelsen's ex-wife, everything takes on nightmarish...
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  • A Dangerous Man
    Outstanding. . . Crais begins the story with deceptive simplicity but slowly ratchets up both the tension and the action with surgical precision . . . This one’s sure to hit the bestseller charts Publishers Weekly (starred review) Joe Pike didn’t want to run into trouble that day – he was just going to the bank. But when Isabel, a...
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