Joe Pike (character)

Joseph "Joe" Pike
Elvis Cole novels character
First appearance	The Monkey's Raincoat (1987)
Last appearance	The First Rule (2010)
Created by	Robert Crais
In-universe information
Gender	Male
Occupation	Private investigator Gun-shop owner Part-time Soldier of fortune

Joseph "Joe" Pike is the intimidating partner of fictional private investigator Elvis Cole, created by author Robert Crais. Pike is a tight-lipped, seemingly joyless ex-Marine, ex-LAPD officer who owns a gun shop as well as being a part-time soldier of fortune. Joe Pike is known for his no-nonsense attitude and for always wearing sunglasses (any time of day or night) which hide his intense blue eyes, faded Levi's jeans, and a cut-off grey sweatshirt that shows the tattoos on his deltoids (two red arrows that point forward). He also enjoys reading, running, and working out. Pike typically carries a Colt .357 Python with a four-inch (102 mm) barrel.

In 2007, Crais made Joe Pike the protagonist in The Watchman, letting Elvis Cole take a back seat.

There are similarities between Joe Pike and the character Daisuke Jigen from the Lupin III Japanese animated show, in that Jigen uses a Python .357, as well as acting as the no-nonsense straightman to his partner.

Biography

Pike was raised by an abusive and alcoholic father which caused him to harden at a fairly early age. At nine years old, after a terrible beating from his father, he ran from their house and hid in the nearby woods. While listening to his father beat his mother Joe made three promises to himself: It won't always be this way. I will make myself strong. I will not hurt. When Pike was 14, he was running through the woods, training according to a Marine Corps manual he purchased from a second-hand book store, when he ran into three seventeen-year-olds, two boys and a girl, as they were about to set fire to a live cat. Joe managed to distract them which allowed for the cat to escape. The boys then proceeded to physically assault him. Pike would shortly track the oldest boy down, and maim him with a bat by breaking his knee, thus making him ineligible to enter the military and humiliating him.

Pike joined the Marines early and was a model "Leatherneck." He was chosen for "Force Recon" and served in Vietnam in the last months of the US involvement. He was awarded two Bronze stars and two Purple Hearts. Afterward he joined the LAPD and became a highly-decorated patrol officer. Questioned as to why he had joined the LAPD by his field training officer he replied, "To protect and to serve." His police career was abruptly cut short after three years when he was involved in the death of his partner, apparently in defense of a pedophile. In reality his partner committed suicide, and rather than have the man's wife and children lose the pension Pike remained silent about the method of death and resigned from the LAPD. Finding nothing but scorn and derision from most of his former police colleagues he then became a soldier of fortune, and eventually went into partnership with Elvis Cole at the latter's detective agency.

Pike has often been accused of being a walking arsenal. Other than his customary Colt Python, he has also carried on his person or in his vehicle a Walther TPH .22, a .25 Beretta, a .380 Sig, a foot-long stockless shotgun, a leather sap and a Marine-issue combat knife. He was trained in Wing Chun Kung Fu by the Marines. He is also competent in several other forms of martial arts and training, such as Taekwondo, Dim Mak and Hatha yoga.

Books

• The Monkey's Raincoat (1987) – Winner, Macavity Award for Best First Novel; Winner, Anthony Award for Best Paperback Original Novel
• Stalking the Angel (1989)
• Lullaby Town (1992)
• Free Fall (1993)
• Voodoo River (1995)
• Sunset Express (1996)
• Indigo Slam (1997)
• L.A. Requiem (1999)
• The Last Detective (2003)
• The Forgotten Man (2005)
• The Watchman (2007)
• Chasing Darkness (2008)
• The First Rule (2010)