The Sentry by Robert Crais 309 pages 0399157077

This does not open with a dead body, but a sadistic killing. Several other bodies are discovered in this latest Joe Pike mystery, and I think the best ever. Crais has a large following, especially for the series starring the strong, mostly silent loner. Pike, a former cop is a force to be reckoned with. He is a killing machine, often protecting the weak against criminal organizations. In this installment, Pike happens to be in the wrong spot at the wrong moment and witnesses an attempted shake down at a sandwich shop. He intervenes maiming the two bad guys and vowing to help Dru Rayne and her uncle. He is attracted to the modest single mom and is devastated when she and her uncle appear to be abducted. He enlists the help of sidekick Elvis Costello, "world's greatest detective" (according to Elvis)to try to locate them. Since Dru said that they were Katrina victims, Elvis rings up his former girl friend for some help from Louisiana. This is the first book that Pike seems afflicted with human frailities. He accepts Dru's story -- and discovers a truth that involves a drug cartel. It is not necessary to read the Pike stories in sequence; just about all of them are gems.