Book Review: The Two Minute Rule by Robert Crais

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: Max and the other characters

Cons: Clichéd plot, language (for me)

The Bottom Line:

Bank robber gone good

With son brutally murdered

Not as good as hoped

Don’t Set Any Speed Records to Read This Book

While I keep putting off going back to Robert Crais’ series of mysteries, his stand alones keep calling to me.  Heck, I almost bought The Two Minute Rule when it came out a few years ago.  I finally got around to reading it, and I’m glad I didn’t rush to read it.

 Max Holman is just finishing up a 10 year Federal sentence for bank robbery.  This time around, he has truly reformed, and part of that reformation includes his desire to make amends to his estranged girlfriend and now grown son.

However, on the day he goes on supervised release, he learns that his son, a police officer, was murdered along with three other officers.  Shocked, he tries to learn more, only to find that the official investigation doesn’t make sense.  Can he find out what really happened to his son?

The good?  Definitely the characters.  Holman is immediately sympathetic, and you can’t help but feel for him as he learns this terrible news and then tries to make sense of it.  His search for truth and justice pulled me through the story.  There are some other memorable characters here, even the ones who are only on page for a few scenes.

However, the plot quickly devolved into a cliché.  Yes, one twist did get me, but I still figured out the killer and the motive early on.  For someone known for his twists, that did disappoint me.

Then there was my personal issue – the amount of bad language.  I know, I know, what was I expecting when the main character is a criminal.  Still, it seemed over done and drove me crazy.  Some people won’t be bothered by it, but I certainly was.  To me, this is a case where a little bit would have been much more effective in establishing characters and setting.

I’m glad I’ve finally read the book, but in the end I just found The Two Minute Rule just worth 3 stars.