The September 2025 issue of The March of Crime — the journal of SoCal Mystery Writers of America — featured the first sentence of The Big Empty by Robert Crais in “The Last Word”. It’s a showcase for the most notable sentence the editor culls from the members stories and novels each month, members who include people like Michael Connelly, Walter Mosley, Laurie R. King, and Nicholas Kazan.

The March of Crime, September 2025
"A detective in love is insufferable." The Big Empty, an Elvis Cole and Joe Pike Novel by Robert Crais.