Racing the Light by Robert Crais

Published by G.P. Putnam's Sons on November 1, 2022

Josh Schumacher does a podcast (Josh Shoe in Your Face) with the help of his friend Ryan Seborg. The podcast focuses on conspiracy theories, aliens, and the other nutcase attractions that the mainstream media supposedly hide from the public. The content is nutty but the podcast is well executed. Some of the better episodes featured interviews with a porn star whose professional name is Skylar Lawless. Skylar is making art from text messages. After she snooped through text messages of a local politician who hired her for sex, she learned a secret that she can’t be allowed to share.

When Josh goes missing, his wealthy mother (who has some secrets of her own) hires Elvis Cole to find him. Since her son depends on his generous mother for a regular cash infusion, she is convinced that he would not willingly drop out of contact with her. Cole isn’t certain that she’s right, but he agrees to take the case.

As a private investigator who lives in the rational world, Elvis knows that most podcast conspiracy theories are utter nonsense. His search for Josh leads to evidence of an actual conspiracy involving political corruption and real estate development. It isn’t as sexy as hiding aliens in Area 51 or putting tracking devices in vaccines, but it’s the kind of thing that causes actual harm to the public.

Murders ensue and characters the reader should care about are placed in danger's way. Saying more about the plot would spoil it, but I can say that Cole’s footwork leads him from clue to clue as he comes to understand why Josh has disappeared. He encounters plenty of jerks and a few decent people while crisscrossing LA in his entertaining quest to find the absent podcaster.

Racing the Light isn’t an action novel — this is a novel of detection rather than shootouts — but series regular Joe Pike shows up when Cole needs muscle. Action fans will be pleased that muscle becomes necessary in one of the final scenes.

Racing the Light advances Cole’s previously unsuccessful relationship with Lucy and her son Ben. Good novels are about people, after all, and fans of the series who have developed some affection for Cole will be pleased to know that his life might be improving.

Still, this is a detective novel. Most of Robert Crais’ effort goes into the development of a credible but offbeat plot and interesting characters. Sadly, we don’t see much of the porn star, but Josh’s sincerity and professionalism make him a likable character despite his tenuous connection with reality. Josh’s cantankerous neighbor adds comic relief to a plot that, unlike some Elvis Cole novels, is never heavy. People use the term “beach read” dismissively, but Racing the Light is the kind of novel that allows a reader to escape daily worries by focusing on a fun and absorbing story.

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