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Robert Crais created the character of Elvis Cole in the hugely successful, award-winning THE MONKEY'S RAINCOAT. He went on to produce many more books featuring Cole as well as a novel, DEMOLITION ANGEL, which introduced Carol Starkey. She was later incorporated into the Cole series. THE TWO MINUTE RULE, however, features neither of his popular protagonists but instead invents a remarkable ex-con, a former bank robber named Max Holman. The prologue presents briefly -- very briefly -- two bank robbers named Parsons and Marchenko, whose significance in Holman's story is not given until quite a way into the tale. It is the duo's 13th bank heist and they foresee no possible flaw in their usual procedure on these occasions. Unfortunately for them, they are unaware of The Successful Bandits' Essential Law of Bank Holdups, namely, the titular two minute rule. That states that from the start of the robbery until the miscreants' exit from the bank, only two minutes must elapse. On this occasion, the pair far exceeds the time limit and Fate wrests a fatal payment from them for the error. The previous robberies had, however, netted them millions of dollars. Nearly three months subsequent to the failed robbery, Max Holman is about to take the final step from life in prison and become integrated into the non-convict world. To his horror, Wally Figg, who runs the halfway house in which Holman has been living, brings Max the ghastly news that his son Richard Holman, a successful policeman, has been murdered together with three of his colleagues. Since Max had been imprisoned for a decade, he had not seen his son since the latter was a disappointed small boy without a nice word for his father. Max is contemplating the advisability of contacting his estranged family, but the news of Richie's death throws all Max's plans awry and he swears to uncover the identity of his son's killer. Max contacts his old mate and partner in crime, Gary Moreno, in order to learn who might have wished the death of his son. When his enquiries come to a halt, he thinks the only person who can help him is the FBI agent who arrested him during his final, failed bank robbery: Katherine Pollard. Pollard has retired from the bureau in order to raise her children but, for reasons not immediately apparent, decides to help Holman in his quest. Crais is indeed a master of the art of suspense. He drives Holman and Pollard from one drama to the next, with scarcely time for the reader to draw breath between perils. While the author portrays the ex-convict as a reformed man -- no more alcohol, no more drugs, no more crime -- he does not depict him as a man of lily-white character since within a matter of hours, pragmatist Holman violates the terms of his release. The book demonstrates excellent, convincing character portraits of both Holman and Pollard. Crais also relates the history of the Hollywood sign and ties it neatly into the story. I like the way, too, that Crais gradually drizzles bits of tantalising information into the text rather than overwhelming the reader with a large volume of possibly confusing information in one go. While this is apparently a standalone, it would be pleasant for readers to have the possibility of seeing both Harman and Pollard in future novels.
Reviewed by Denise Pickles, March 2006
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