The Two Minute Rule

From Publishers Weekly Two minutes, in and out, that's the rule for robbing banks in this page-turning action ride around L.A. from bestseller Crais (_Hostage_). Break that rule, and you can end up like Marchenko and Parsons, dying in a violent shoot-out on the streets, the fortune from their string of heists deeply hidden. Max Holman certainly knows the time limit better than most. Dubbed the ''hero bandit'' by the press, he got caught during a robbery after he stopped to perform CPR on a bank customer who had a heart attack. About to leave prison on parole, the 48-year-old Max hopes he can establish contact with the son he never really knew, now a cop. When Max's son is murdered, suspected of being in a ring of dirty cops seeking the Marchenko and Parsons loot, Max needs to know the truth. The only person he figures can help him is Katherine Pollard, the fed who nabbed him, who's now ex-FBI and a struggling single mom. The perfect odd couple, they keep this novel personal and real as it builds to an exciting twist on the bank-robbing rule. 200,000 first printing; 15-city author tour. (Mar.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From Bookmarks Magazine Most reviewers are slaphappy with praise for Robert Crais's 13th novel. While some critics note a preference for his Elvis Cole books, they find that believable, complex characters, the vibrant settings around Los Angeles—from the dive bars to the straitjacketed Los Angeles river—and heartfelt emotions separate The Two Minute Rule —and Crais—from the bulk of crime fiction. The sharp note of dissent from the_ Oregonian_ only serves to reinforce the impression that middle-of-the road Crais is better than many other writers' best. Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc. 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 clear his son’s name and catch the killer. With all the elements that have made Robert Crais one of the very best crime novelists today, The Two Minute Rule is gripping, edgy suspense from the author who sets the standard when it comes to surprising plot twists and powerful characters.