The Two Minute Rule

Somehow, I got bogged down in the middle of this. Just sort of stalled. I guess I’m used to the multi-layered tension building of the Elvis Cole novels. That and the wisecracks. This one had a different tone and I don’t know if I altogether like Holman as a character. He was sympathetic, but also unreal. I don’t know if a father who’s never had a relationship with his son before would go to all the trouble to clear him. He seemed kind of wimpy, too. One minute he’d be worrying and freaking out about something, and the next he’d be all hot for action. Seemed like the actions and temperament of two different men.

My first read of Robert Crais, and boy oh boy am I a fan. My only negative observation in the first few chapters was that the plot seemed to plod, but he set up the MC as such an endearingly flawed individual who truly turned out to be an honorable man that I was hooked on the character study first.

But then the story shifted into high gear and what a ride! Masterful, (seemingly) effortless writing with a brilliantly constructed plot that was totally plausible and came to a resounding climax.

I appreciated the lack of overwrought chapter and scene breaks where a mini-cliffhanger scene is abruptly cut, forcing you to recall the scene a chapter or two later and pick up the action in midstream. The scene breaks were tension-filled and all show more created frantic page turns, but not frustrated page turns. Scenes ended logically, but were often cliffhangers on their own, not because we were forced to keep reading in order to finish a scene two chapters later.

Crais used Los Angeles as an effective setting, but didn't fawn over it, or denigrate it, like some authors tend to do with big cities. It was there, had some good and bad points, good and bad people, but he respected the neighborhoods and the logistics, and used the Hollywood sign as an effective location at key moments in the plot.

His writing made me think of my favorite David Baldacci books. Yep, he's that good. show less

Perhaps Connelly may be wearing thin for me, but Crais takes over. This is a wonderful detective story with no real detectives. The day a guy gets out after ten years in prison, his estranged son is murdered. The father is a bank robber, the son a policeman. The murder is very complicated and the father isn't getting any help from the police who are investigating. He enlists the aid of a divorced, widowed ex-FBI agent who was the one who arrested him and put him in jail. The writing is better than Connelly and these characters are wonderful. A great read.

Robert Crais' The Two Minute Rule is a captivating thriller that has it all: non-stop action, nail-biting suspense, deepening mystery and even the hint of a romance! It doesn't take long to get caught in the complex web and find that you can't wait to get to the next chapter to see what happens next.

The book is well written and the pacing is perfect. The characters are fully fleshed out until we feel like we know them inside and out.

Max Holman was a career criminal, busted on his final bank robbery and has just finished his ten year prison sentence. On the eve of his release he learns his son, a police officer, has been gunned down and killed. Max's world is turned upside down from that moment, as he vows to find and bring his son's show more killer to justice. He elicits the help of the last person on earth you would expect him to, the former FBI agent that put him away, now a financially struggling single mother. Together they find themselves steeped in a mystery with twists and turns that will amaze you. They also find themselves face to face with a killer who knows no bounds and will let no one stand in his way. show less

What's It About?
Ask anyone on the wrong side of the law about the two minute rule and they’ll tell you that’s as long as you can hope for at a robbery before the cops show up. Break the two minute rule and it’s a lifetime in jail. But not everyone plays by the rules.

When ex-con Max Holman finally gets out of jail, freedom doesn’t taste too sweet. The only thing on his mind is reconciliation with his estranged son, who is, ironically, a cop. But then he hears the devastating news: His son and three other Los Angeles police officers were gunned down in cold blood the night before Holman’s release. When the hit is exposed as a revenge killing and the question of police corruption is raised, it becomes a father’s last duty to show more clear his son’s name and catch the killer.

What Did I Think?
In a nut-shell I would have to say that this novel is a tale of one man’s search for redemption. Most of the characters are not at all likable...but then they aren't supposed to be. The saving grace for the entire story is ex-con Max Holman and ex-FBI agent Katherine Pollard, They make the perfect odd couple and keep this novel personal and real. The ending has a real twist that readers will never see coming

I've read all the Elvis Cole and Joe Pike series and really enjoyed every one of them. I have found that this authors standalone novels don't quiet live up to Elvis and Joe for me... but they are readable. show less

Regular mystery readers will figure out the main plot early and may be impatient for the characters to catch up. Once they do (3/4 of the way through) the suspense does ratchet up and the characters take on deeper dimensions. Nice for a light, fast read. Similar to Linwood Barclay's stuff, but better written.

I so wanted to like this book. I enjoy Crais's Elvis Cole mysteries. And I am truly the most uncritical of mystery readers. So when I say there's a hole you could drive a truck through, well, there's probably a dozen in it you could run the Southern Crescent through. Rats.