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Elvis Cole and Joe Pike #8
L.A. Requiem
Robert Crais (Free Fall, Monkey's Raincoat) returns with his eighth Elvis Cole mystery, L.A. Requiem, a breakneck caper that leaves the wise-cracking detective second-guessing himself.
Cole's partner, the tight-lipped, charm-free Joe Pike, gets a call from his friend Frank "Tortilla" Garcia. Not only is Garcia a wealthy businessman, he's a political heavyweight and father of Karen, Joe's ex. Frank sends the gumshoe duo out to find his girl, but the boys are beaten to the punch by the men in blue: Karen is found in a park with a bullet in her brain.
The two stay on the case, but when another murder points to Pike as a suspect, things take a turn for the worse. The boys on the force are all too willing to put Pike away -- he has a checkered past. When Cole attempts to save Pike, he finds a lot more than he bargained for.
Cole's partner, the tight-lipped, charm-free Joe Pike, gets a call from his friend Frank "Tortilla" Garcia. Not only is Garcia a wealthy businessman, he's a political heavyweight and father of Karen, Joe's ex. Frank sends the gumshoe duo out to find his girl, but the boys are beaten to the punch by the men in blue: Karen is found in a park with a bullet in her brain.
The two stay on the case, but when another murder points to Pike as a suspect, things take a turn for the worse. The boys on the force are all too willing to put Pike away -- he has a checkered past. When Cole attempts to save Pike, he finds a lot more than he bargained for.
539 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published June 1, 1999
About the author
Robert Crais
156 books4,194 followers Robert Crais is the author of the best-selling Elvis Cole novels. A native of Louisiana, he grew up on the banks of the Mississippi River in a blue collar family of oil refinery workers and police officers. He purchased a secondhand paperback of Raymond Chandler’s The Little Sister when he was fifteen, which inspired his lifelong love of writing, Los Angeles, and the literature of crime fiction. Other literary influences include Dashiell Hammett, Ernest Hemingway, Robert B. Parker, and John Steinbeck.
After years of amateur film-making and writing short fiction, he journeyed to Hollywood in 1976 where he quickly found work writing scripts for such major television series as Hill Street Blues, Cagney & Lacey, and Miami Vice, as well as numerous series pilots and Movies-of-the-Week for the major networks. He received an Emmy nomination for his work on Hill Street Blues, but is most proud of his 4-hour NBC miniseries, Cross of Fire, which the New York Times declared: "A searing and powerful documentation of the Ku Klux Klan’s rise to national prominence in the 20s."
In the mid-eighties, feeling constrained by the collaborative working requirements of Hollywood, Crais resigned from a lucrative position as a contract writer and television producer in order to pursue his lifelong dream of becoming a novelist. His first efforts proved unsuccessful, but upon the death of his father in 1985, Crais was inspired to create Elvis Cole, using elements of his own life as the basis of the story. The resulting novel, The Monkey’s Raincoat, won the Anthony and Macavity Awards and was nominated for the Edgar Award. It has since been selected as one of the 100 Favorite Mysteries of the Century by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association.
Crais conceived of the novel as a stand-alone, but realized that—in Elvis Cole—he had created an ideal and powerful character through which to comment upon his life and times. (See the WORKS section for additional titles.) Elvis Cole’s readership and fan base grew with each new book, then skyrocketed in 1999 upon the publication of L. A. Requiem, which was a New York Times and Los Angeles Times bestseller and forever changed the way Crais conceived of and structured his novels. In this new way of telling his stories, Crais combined the classic ‘first person’ narrative of the American detective novel with flashbacks, multiple story lines, multiple points-of-view, and literary elements to better illuminate his themes. Larger and deeper in scope, Publishers Weekly wrote of L. A. Requiem, "Crais has stretched himself the way another Southern California writer—Ross Macdonald—always tried to do, to write a mystery novel with a solid literary base." Booklist added, "This is an extraordinary crime novel that should not be pigeonholed by genre. The best books always land outside preset boundaries. A wonderful experience."
Crais followed with his first non-series novel, Demolition Angel, which was published in 2000 and featured former Los Angeles Police Department Bomb Technician Carol Starkey. Starkey has since become a leading character in the Elvis Cole series. In 2001, Crais published his second non-series novel, Hostage, which was named a Notable Book of the Year by the New York Times and was a world-wide bestseller. Additionally, the editors of Amazon.com selected Hostage as the #1 thriller of the year. A film adaptation of Hostage was released in 2005, starring Bruce Willis as ex-LAPD SWAT negotiator Jeff Talley.
Elvis Cole returned in 2003 with the publication of The Last Detective, followed by the tenth Elvis Cole novel, The Forgotten Man, in 2005. Both novels explore with increasing depth the natures and characters of Elvis Cole and Joe Pike. RC’s third stand-alone novel, The Two Minute Rule, was published in 2006. The eleventh entry in the Elvis Cole series, The Watchman, will be published sometime in 2007.
After years of amateur film-making and writing short fiction, he journeyed to Hollywood in 1976 where he quickly found work writing scripts for such major television series as Hill Street Blues, Cagney & Lacey, and Miami Vice, as well as numerous series pilots and Movies-of-the-Week for the major networks. He received an Emmy nomination for his work on Hill Street Blues, but is most proud of his 4-hour NBC miniseries, Cross of Fire, which the New York Times declared: "A searing and powerful documentation of the Ku Klux Klan’s rise to national prominence in the 20s."
In the mid-eighties, feeling constrained by the collaborative working requirements of Hollywood, Crais resigned from a lucrative position as a contract writer and television producer in order to pursue his lifelong dream of becoming a novelist. His first efforts proved unsuccessful, but upon the death of his father in 1985, Crais was inspired to create Elvis Cole, using elements of his own life as the basis of the story. The resulting novel, The Monkey’s Raincoat, won the Anthony and Macavity Awards and was nominated for the Edgar Award. It has since been selected as one of the 100 Favorite Mysteries of the Century by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association.
Crais conceived of the novel as a stand-alone, but realized that—in Elvis Cole—he had created an ideal and powerful character through which to comment upon his life and times. (See the WORKS section for additional titles.) Elvis Cole’s readership and fan base grew with each new book, then skyrocketed in 1999 upon the publication of L. A. Requiem, which was a New York Times and Los Angeles Times bestseller and forever changed the way Crais conceived of and structured his novels. In this new way of telling his stories, Crais combined the classic ‘first person’ narrative of the American detective novel with flashbacks, multiple story lines, multiple points-of-view, and literary elements to better illuminate his themes. Larger and deeper in scope, Publishers Weekly wrote of L. A. Requiem, "Crais has stretched himself the way another Southern California writer—Ross Macdonald—always tried to do, to write a mystery novel with a solid literary base." Booklist added, "This is an extraordinary crime novel that should not be pigeonholed by genre. The best books always land outside preset boundaries. A wonderful experience."
Crais followed with his first non-series novel, Demolition Angel, which was published in 2000 and featured former Los Angeles Police Department Bomb Technician Carol Starkey. Starkey has since become a leading character in the Elvis Cole series. In 2001, Crais published his second non-series novel, Hostage, which was named a Notable Book of the Year by the New York Times and was a world-wide bestseller. Additionally, the editors of Amazon.com selected Hostage as the #1 thriller of the year. A film adaptation of Hostage was released in 2005, starring Bruce Willis as ex-LAPD SWAT negotiator Jeff Talley.
Elvis Cole returned in 2003 with the publication of The Last Detective, followed by the tenth Elvis Cole novel, The Forgotten Man, in 2005. Both novels explore with increasing depth the natures and characters of Elvis Cole and Joe Pike. RC’s third stand-alone novel, The Two Minute Rule, was published in 2006. The eleventh entry in the Elvis Cole series, The Watchman, will be published sometime in 2007.
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March 25, 2022
I can't stop reading Crais.
In this one, our hero Elvis Cole is pulled into a case by long-time partner, Joe Pike. Despite seven earlier books, this is the first story that has Pike initiating an investigation. A very influential and wealthy father of an ex-girlfriend wants Joe to find her after she's gone missing. Elvis, much to his dismay, is pulled away from helping Lucy settle into her new L.A. apartment in order to help his closest friend.
"The Santa Anas continued to pick up as we drove north to the second Jungle Juice. Palm trees, tall and vulnerable like the necks of giant dinosaurs, took the worse of it. The wind stripped the dead fronds that bunched beneath the crowns and tossed them into streets and yards and onto cars."
Out of all the books I've read so far, this one most follows a traditional mystery format. Shortly after the woman goes missing, she's found dead. For a number of reasons, it becomes Joe and Elvis' primary mission to identify and capture her killer. The investigation takes a number of turns, a couple of which were entirely unpredictable. After decades of mystery books, I always enjoy it when a book manages to realistically surprise me, or at the very least, raise the eyebrows. Of course, as the story progresses, aspects become less plausible. I had trouble believing the character of the murderer, when they became known, and found the combination of cunning and reckless crazy implausible. As it was all in way of a positive outcome, I'm forgiving.
"We asked the people at the flower shop if they had seen anything, but they hadn't. We asked every shopkeeper in the strip mall and most of the employees, but they all said no. I hoped they had seen something to indicate that Karen was safe, but deep down, where your blood runs cold, I knew they hadn't."
Character development is solid, with the bulk of it fleshing out Joe and his history. I found myself appreciated the background, as most of the observations Elvis makes about his best friend tend to be consistent (why, why must he always describe the tattoos and the sunglasses?) and underwhelming. In fact, I'm not sure how much of the Joe backstory is actually known by Elvis. Regardless, it added a lot to the story, and I'm sure future books, even if the general psychology of the individual (as Poirot likes to say) was unsurprising. But I appreciate congruence, that the back-story fits the man we've come to barely know. Elvis' characteristic moments of humor that continue to provide lighter moments, as does the surly attitude of Elvis' cat. I don't know if I can say I enjoyed the direction Elvis' and Lucy's relationship took, but it felt largely organic, reminding me of their first encounters in Voodoo River.
Overall, an enjoyable, diverting read. Took me right out of this rainy fall day to the hot, smoky atmosphere of L.A. Bravo. Thankfully, Crais has already written a few encores.
Re-read: didn't hold up quite as well for me. But you know what? It provided distraction during a time when nothing else was distracting, so I'm going to let the stars stand.
In this one, our hero Elvis Cole is pulled into a case by long-time partner, Joe Pike. Despite seven earlier books, this is the first story that has Pike initiating an investigation. A very influential and wealthy father of an ex-girlfriend wants Joe to find her after she's gone missing. Elvis, much to his dismay, is pulled away from helping Lucy settle into her new L.A. apartment in order to help his closest friend.
"The Santa Anas continued to pick up as we drove north to the second Jungle Juice. Palm trees, tall and vulnerable like the necks of giant dinosaurs, took the worse of it. The wind stripped the dead fronds that bunched beneath the crowns and tossed them into streets and yards and onto cars."
Out of all the books I've read so far, this one most follows a traditional mystery format. Shortly after the woman goes missing, she's found dead. For a number of reasons, it becomes Joe and Elvis' primary mission to identify and capture her killer. The investigation takes a number of turns, a couple of which were entirely unpredictable. After decades of mystery books, I always enjoy it when a book manages to realistically surprise me, or at the very least, raise the eyebrows. Of course, as the story progresses, aspects become less plausible. I had trouble believing the character of the murderer, when they became known, and found the combination of cunning and reckless crazy implausible. As it was all in way of a positive outcome, I'm forgiving.
"We asked the people at the flower shop if they had seen anything, but they hadn't. We asked every shopkeeper in the strip mall and most of the employees, but they all said no. I hoped they had seen something to indicate that Karen was safe, but deep down, where your blood runs cold, I knew they hadn't."
Character development is solid, with the bulk of it fleshing out Joe and his history. I found myself appreciated the background, as most of the observations Elvis makes about his best friend tend to be consistent (why, why must he always describe the tattoos and the sunglasses?) and underwhelming. In fact, I'm not sure how much of the Joe backstory is actually known by Elvis. Regardless, it added a lot to the story, and I'm sure future books, even if the general psychology of the individual (as Poirot likes to say) was unsurprising. But I appreciate congruence, that the back-story fits the man we've come to barely know. Elvis' characteristic moments of humor that continue to provide lighter moments, as does the surly attitude of Elvis' cat. I don't know if I can say I enjoyed the direction Elvis' and Lucy's relationship took, but it felt largely organic, reminding me of their first encounters in Voodoo River.
Overall, an enjoyable, diverting read. Took me right out of this rainy fall day to the hot, smoky atmosphere of L.A. Bravo. Thankfully, Crais has already written a few encores.
Re-read: didn't hold up quite as well for me. But you know what? It provided distraction during a time when nothing else was distracting, so I'm going to let the stars stand.
November 2, 2012
A woman Joe Pike used to be involved with is murdered and her father hires Elvis Cole and Joe Pike the find the killer. Things take a dark turn when it turns out the woman was murdered by a serial killer and that serial killer appears to be... Joe Pike?
As I've mentioned in pretty much ever review I've done for an Elvis Cole book so far, I thought he was a Spenser ripoff for the first book or two. This one leaves my initial impression in the dust like a drag racer trying to set a world land speed record on the salt flats. For me, this was the pinnacle of the series so far.
It started off ordinary enough but soon tore the doors off. The mysterious Joe Pike's past was explored, revealing much without killing all the mystery. Elvis's relationship with Lucy is strained near the breaking point so soon after she turned her life upside down to be with Elvis in LA. Elvis is forced to make some difficult decisions on his friend's behalf. Great stuff.
The new supporting characters were interesting. Krantz, with his ties to Joe Pike's past, made him one of the most interesting, even though he's a huge tool. I also really dug Samantha Dolan.
Crais had me going a couple times on this one. I had no idea who the killer was until he was revealed and even though I knew logically the killer wasn't Pike, I questioned myself a few times. For the first time in the series, I found Elvis and Lucy's relationship believable, maybe because it was coming apart. Joe and Elvis's relationship is still far more believable, as was Elvis' despair in the last thirty or so pages of the book, wondering if Pike was alive and if Lucy was still his.
That's about all I can say without revealing too much. L.A. Requiem is the best book yet in the Elvis Cole series. If you like the series up to this point, you'll love this one.
As I've mentioned in pretty much ever review I've done for an Elvis Cole book so far, I thought he was a Spenser ripoff for the first book or two. This one leaves my initial impression in the dust like a drag racer trying to set a world land speed record on the salt flats. For me, this was the pinnacle of the series so far.
It started off ordinary enough but soon tore the doors off. The mysterious Joe Pike's past was explored, revealing much without killing all the mystery. Elvis's relationship with Lucy is strained near the breaking point so soon after she turned her life upside down to be with Elvis in LA. Elvis is forced to make some difficult decisions on his friend's behalf. Great stuff.
The new supporting characters were interesting. Krantz, with his ties to Joe Pike's past, made him one of the most interesting, even though he's a huge tool. I also really dug Samantha Dolan.
Crais had me going a couple times on this one. I had no idea who the killer was until he was revealed and even though I knew logically the killer wasn't Pike, I questioned myself a few times. For the first time in the series, I found Elvis and Lucy's relationship believable, maybe because it was coming apart. Joe and Elvis's relationship is still far more believable, as was Elvis' despair in the last thirty or so pages of the book, wondering if Pike was alive and if Lucy was still his.
That's about all I can say without revealing too much. L.A. Requiem is the best book yet in the Elvis Cole series. If you like the series up to this point, you'll love this one.
June 19, 2012
What’s this? Joe Pike has a personal history? And emotions? I was thinking he was just another Bad Ass Friend of the lead in a crime novel. Is this even allowed?
Elvis Cole gets a call from Joe asking for help. Elvis is shocked when he finds wealthy Frank Garcia treating Joe like a son and begging him to find his missing daughter Karen. Even more shocking, Joe used to date Karen and admits to Elvis that he broke her heart. The two detectives start looking, but the LAPD quickly shows up to break the news that Karen was murdered.
Frank uses all his money and political juice to get Elvis and Joe into the police investigation so they can make sure the cops are doing everything possible, but the lead detective is an old enemy of Joe’s. Things quickly get messy.
This another high quality story about Elvis and Joe, and Crais gets personal this time out. Through flashbacks we learn a lot about Joe’s background including his ugly childhood, why he had to leave the LAPD and why the cops still hate him years later. It adds a lot of welcome depth to a character who could sometimes seem on the cartoonish side.
Once again, the only piece I was left cold on was Elvis��s relationship with his girlfriend Lucy. I’m not even sure why I don’t like her. Crais does a nice job of building up a believable reason for tension and conflict between the two. It’s a dilemma where you can see both sides so I should have felt torn by it, but I was just left hoping that Elvis will finally dump her for good.
Elvis Cole gets a call from Joe asking for help. Elvis is shocked when he finds wealthy Frank Garcia treating Joe like a son and begging him to find his missing daughter Karen. Even more shocking, Joe used to date Karen and admits to Elvis that he broke her heart. The two detectives start looking, but the LAPD quickly shows up to break the news that Karen was murdered.
Frank uses all his money and political juice to get Elvis and Joe into the police investigation so they can make sure the cops are doing everything possible, but the lead detective is an old enemy of Joe’s. Things quickly get messy.
This another high quality story about Elvis and Joe, and Crais gets personal this time out. Through flashbacks we learn a lot about Joe’s background including his ugly childhood, why he had to leave the LAPD and why the cops still hate him years later. It adds a lot of welcome depth to a character who could sometimes seem on the cartoonish side.
Once again, the only piece I was left cold on was Elvis��s relationship with his girlfriend Lucy. I’m not even sure why I don’t like her. Crais does a nice job of building up a believable reason for tension and conflict between the two. It’s a dilemma where you can see both sides so I should have felt torn by it, but I was just left hoping that Elvis will finally dump her for good.
June 24, 2021
The eighth entry in the Elvis Cole series is easily the best to date. It begins when Elvis's partner in the detective agency, Joe Pike, calls and asks for his help. Frank Garcia, a very wealthy and well-connected businessman, is an old friend of Joe's. Garcia's daughter Karen, who is thirty-two, has been missing for a little over twenty-four hours. Garcia has called the police but, not surprisingly, they aren't going to go looking for an adult that has been gone for barely a day. Garcia is worried sick, though. He knows his daughter and he knows that something has happened to her.
It turns out that, back when he was still a cop, Joe dated Karen Garcia, in the process breaking her heart. But he's still tight with the family and so there's no doubt that Joe and, by extension, Elvis, will immediately begin searching for Karen. Sadly, of course, it will turn out that Karen has been shot to death while out hiking, and Cole and Pike will now be trying to find her killer. The homicide detectives investigating the case are not at all happy about this; most of them either dislike or actively hate Pike because of the events that caused him to leave the department. But Garcia has enough political juice that the cops are forced to let the two into the investigation. Naturally, they will attempt to frustrate Cole and Pike at every turn.
This is a very complex plot with a lot of devious twists and turns. The most interesting aspect of the book, however, is that it offers readers of the series a deep dive into the personal history of Joe Pike. Up to now, Pike has been the strong, silent, almost super-hero sidekick who materializes every time it's necessary to bail Cole out of a tight spot. We've known little or nothing about him, save for the fact that he was a Vietnam vet, a former cop, and Cole's largely silent partner. This book, though, is as much Pike's as it is Cole's and Robert Crais has imagined a very unusual and interesting back story for the character. It also turns out that, up to now, Cole hasn't known much more about his partner than the reader.
Also central to the book is Cole's evolving relationship with his new love, Lucy Chenier. Lucy has just given up her life in Louisiana to move to L.A. with her young son in order to be with Cole. Cole is helping Lucy move into her new home when he gets the call from Pike, and their relationship will be sorely tested as the story moves along. As a reader, I'm still not sold on the character or the relationship with Cole. To me it seems more like a plot device than a genuine romantic attraction, and I couldn't get invested enough to care whether the relationship will survive or not.
This is an excellent crime novel, although I'm docking it half a star because I found the great reveal about the killer to be a bit of a stretch. Overall, though, I enjoyed it a great deal. 4.5 stars.
It turns out that, back when he was still a cop, Joe dated Karen Garcia, in the process breaking her heart. But he's still tight with the family and so there's no doubt that Joe and, by extension, Elvis, will immediately begin searching for Karen. Sadly, of course, it will turn out that Karen has been shot to death while out hiking, and Cole and Pike will now be trying to find her killer. The homicide detectives investigating the case are not at all happy about this; most of them either dislike or actively hate Pike because of the events that caused him to leave the department. But Garcia has enough political juice that the cops are forced to let the two into the investigation. Naturally, they will attempt to frustrate Cole and Pike at every turn.
This is a very complex plot with a lot of devious twists and turns. The most interesting aspect of the book, however, is that it offers readers of the series a deep dive into the personal history of Joe Pike. Up to now, Pike has been the strong, silent, almost super-hero sidekick who materializes every time it's necessary to bail Cole out of a tight spot. We've known little or nothing about him, save for the fact that he was a Vietnam vet, a former cop, and Cole's largely silent partner. This book, though, is as much Pike's as it is Cole's and Robert Crais has imagined a very unusual and interesting back story for the character. It also turns out that, up to now, Cole hasn't known much more about his partner than the reader.
Also central to the book is Cole's evolving relationship with his new love, Lucy Chenier. Lucy has just given up her life in Louisiana to move to L.A. with her young son in order to be with Cole. Cole is helping Lucy move into her new home when he gets the call from Pike, and their relationship will be sorely tested as the story moves along. As a reader, I'm still not sold on the character or the relationship with Cole. To me it seems more like a plot device than a genuine romantic attraction, and I couldn't get invested enough to care whether the relationship will survive or not.
This is an excellent crime novel, although I'm docking it half a star because I found the great reveal about the killer to be a bit of a stretch. Overall, though, I enjoyed it a great deal. 4.5 stars.
September 20, 2017
While this does provide a nice glimpse into Pikes formative years, a rather muddled, long, drawn-out ending fails to enhance this story, almost to the point of depression. 6 of 10 stars
March 4, 2014
L.A. Requiem is a breath of fresh, cordite-soaked air for a series that was treading into some seriously-stale territory. Crais wisely eschews the formula of his last seven books and does not have best bud private eyes Elvis Cole and Joe Pike stumbling into a mystery that eventually leads them into several gunfights with the stereotyped criminal gang of your choice. But my bitching aside, the real achievement of this book is that Crais decided it was time to quit playing off how much of a mysterious badass Joe Pike is and finally let's the reader get several long, hard looks behind those shades Pike's always wearing.
Even though the novel is narrated (mostly) by series lead Elvis Cole, this book is as much Pike's as it is his. When the father of an old flame calls up Pike to help find his missing daughter, it's not another twelve pages before she turns up with a bullet in her head. And since the girl's father turns out to be a rich pain in the ass with some serious political sway, the L.A. task force assigned to the murder investigation soon realize that it would behoove themselves to let Elvis and Pike sit-in on the investigation. And, yeah, the detectives on the task force are royally pissed about the situation.
To make matters worse, the lead detective happens to be a weaselly yet mostly-honest cop who has a lingering hard-on to put Pike in prison. And also Elvis finds himself increasingly attracted to a female cop on the force, which is not exactly ideal considering our hero's longtime squeeze, Lucy, has just moved across the country with her kid to start a new life near Elvis.
Crais let's the events move along at a slow boil until the halfway mark, and then everything kicks into overdive as Pike finds himself trying to outrun a murder rap, and Elvis finds himself having to make split-second decisions about what things in his life he holds dearest. All the while, a deranged but sly killer keeps upping the body count as [let's keep this pronoun gender neutral (SUSPENSE!)] sets about airing out some old and grim grievances.
L.A. Requiem is a definite departure from the last four books, and fits more tonally with the aura of melancholy and darkness that were present in the first three books of the series. Crais makes uses of multiple flashbacks which (successfully) answer many of the questions readers may have had about Joe Pike, as well as (less successful) shifts in POV so that the reader gets quick glimpses into the killer's mind, which (kind of clumsily) up the tension.
But gripes aside, Crais really stepped up his game in this entry. L.A. Requiem is darker and denser than any of the other books up to this point. It's also sadder than the other books, with a cast of supporting characters that are more layered than usual. Plus, it's a true joy to watch Crais push Elvis to his limits like never before. As much as we learn about Pike in this novel, we learn just as much about the man who's narrating the story.
Even though the novel is narrated (mostly) by series lead Elvis Cole, this book is as much Pike's as it is his. When the father of an old flame calls up Pike to help find his missing daughter, it's not another twelve pages before she turns up with a bullet in her head. And since the girl's father turns out to be a rich pain in the ass with some serious political sway, the L.A. task force assigned to the murder investigation soon realize that it would behoove themselves to let Elvis and Pike sit-in on the investigation. And, yeah, the detectives on the task force are royally pissed about the situation.
To make matters worse, the lead detective happens to be a weaselly yet mostly-honest cop who has a lingering hard-on to put Pike in prison. And also Elvis finds himself increasingly attracted to a female cop on the force, which is not exactly ideal considering our hero's longtime squeeze, Lucy, has just moved across the country with her kid to start a new life near Elvis.
Crais let's the events move along at a slow boil until the halfway mark, and then everything kicks into overdive as Pike finds himself trying to outrun a murder rap, and Elvis finds himself having to make split-second decisions about what things in his life he holds dearest. All the while, a deranged but sly killer keeps upping the body count as [let's keep this pronoun gender neutral (SUSPENSE!)] sets about airing out some old and grim grievances.
L.A. Requiem is a definite departure from the last four books, and fits more tonally with the aura of melancholy and darkness that were present in the first three books of the series. Crais makes uses of multiple flashbacks which (successfully) answer many of the questions readers may have had about Joe Pike, as well as (less successful) shifts in POV so that the reader gets quick glimpses into the killer's mind, which (kind of clumsily) up the tension.
But gripes aside, Crais really stepped up his game in this entry. L.A. Requiem is darker and denser than any of the other books up to this point. It's also sadder than the other books, with a cast of supporting characters that are more layered than usual. Plus, it's a true joy to watch Crais push Elvis to his limits like never before. As much as we learn about Pike in this novel, we learn just as much about the man who's narrating the story.
August 6, 2010
According to a blurb, Robert Crais is the descendant of Ross MacDonald, who is the literary heir to James Cain, who is the direct inheritor of Raymond Chandler's crown. People who write reviews professionally love saying shit like that, and as in most cases they are wrong. James Ellroy is the heir to Chandler's position. Everyone else is just writing some genre fiction, like Chandler Ellroy is creating art of the the dirt and shit that make up Los Angeles. I'd agree that these other guys maybe are the heirs to Dashiell Hammett, a fine writer but not someone who really makes books fucking sing.
Maybe I shouldn't have started with the 8th book in the series. Maybe I should demand that whomever left this book for free at B&N five years ago have also left the first seven books. I don't know if it would have made much of a difference though.
The plot was four star worthy. I was engaged in what was going on. If only the characters didn't have to speak. If only the characters could be a little less cookie-cutter in their good and bad qualities.
The book was entertaining though, and if I find other books by Crais really cheap I might buy them for a quick roll in the literary hay, but I won't be planning on calling back the next day. But I don't think the book will mind being treated that way.
Maybe I shouldn't have started with the 8th book in the series. Maybe I should demand that whomever left this book for free at B&N five years ago have also left the first seven books. I don't know if it would have made much of a difference though.
The plot was four star worthy. I was engaged in what was going on. If only the characters didn't have to speak. If only the characters could be a little less cookie-cutter in their good and bad qualities.
The book was entertaining though, and if I find other books by Crais really cheap I might buy them for a quick roll in the literary hay, but I won't be planning on calling back the next day. But I don't think the book will mind being treated that way.
September 4, 2017
Loved this 8th book of his Elvis Cole series! My favourite of the series so far!
January 2, 2024
This book was amazing. Intricate plot without being overly complex. The pacing was perfect. I love this duo of Cole and Pike.
Towards the end, I caught myself thinking that, although I don’t often re-read great books (for fear of spoiling that 1st memory/experience of reading it - “The Prince of Tides” by Pat Conroy is one of those), this book is one I’d like to come back to and read again.
Towards the end, I caught myself thinking that, although I don’t often re-read great books (for fear of spoiling that 1st memory/experience of reading it - “The Prince of Tides” by Pat Conroy is one of those), this book is one I’d like to come back to and read again.
January 3, 2015
The best novel by Robert Crais that I've read so far. We get background on the stone face behind the shades otherwise known as Joe Pike plus a finely done story that also features Elvis Cole. Typically well written although you can easily tell twice near the end of the book who is and isn't going to buy the farm. The verbal exchanges between the cops are practically worth the price of the book alone. If you haven't read anything previously by the author this is an excellent place to start. 4 1/2 stars.
September 9, 2009
My brothers are so cruel. All of them have, at one time or another, given me a novel late in a series (Doug gave me a Robert Vardeman fantasy novel that was #3 in the series and, naturally, I had to buy the first two and fill out the rest of The Cenotaph Road series. James introduced me to Martha Grimes' Richard Jury series with Jerusalem Inn (somewhere around #5 or #6). And now, my brother David gives me #8 in a series.) Well, you'd better believe I'm going to read the first seven and probably any others that he writes.
To me, Crais' writing is crisper than Wambaugh's and right up there with Connolly's (my favorite). It isn't as disturbing as Ellroy's (which are well-written enough to keep me coming back like a morbid curiosity seeker to a train wreck--I hate myself for enjoying Ellroy, but I do) or quite as nuanced as Dunning's novels. To paraphrase a cliche, he had me at "the a.c. jacked to meat locker."
The only reason I didn't give this book a 5-star rating was because I felt Crais was somewhat ham-handed with his red herring. I can't say more than that without spoiling the mystery, but he was very careful with his red herring--so careful that it wasn't a surprise when the hook was bared. But did I feel like he knew Southern California from San Gabriel to Mulholland to Santa Monica and all the way to Palm Springs and 29 Palms? I spent my college years and a few more in Southern California and this book had me going crazy with the Santa Ana winds and longing for Dodger Stadium (Ironic, since my first loyalties were to the Giants and the Angels--of course, the Angels played in Dodger Stadium/Chavez Ravine when I first started rooting for them).
The book handled the LAPD right. I knew some LAPD and LA Sheriff's Department guys. This book reads like stories they would tell--especially the stories about crummy cops who were promoted because they knew where to plant their lips and the secondary story line about the female detective who accumulated about as much respect as Rodney Dangerfield's stand-up routine.
And one of the main characters, Joe Pike, reminds me so much of an FBI agent I once met. I was only a peripheral witness in a fraud case, but when Crais describes those cold blue eyes and that humorless expression, I see that FBI agent in my mind's eye--time traveling right back, coincidentally enough, to Los Angeles. And when the main protagonist and narrator, Elvis Cole, takes a drive across familiar roads to clear his head and proclaims that he loves L.A., it reminded me of some special drives I had taken in some of those same areas just to get away from some bad situations and clear my head.
The mystery itself was handled very well. One finds oneself truly debating whether this perpetrator is merely a serial killer or has a design. I was several chapters into the book before I made up my mind on that one, even though I was pretty sure early on. I like it when an author makes me doubt my original assumptions.
To me, Crais' writing is crisper than Wambaugh's and right up there with Connolly's (my favorite). It isn't as disturbing as Ellroy's (which are well-written enough to keep me coming back like a morbid curiosity seeker to a train wreck--I hate myself for enjoying Ellroy, but I do) or quite as nuanced as Dunning's novels. To paraphrase a cliche, he had me at "the a.c. jacked to meat locker."
The only reason I didn't give this book a 5-star rating was because I felt Crais was somewhat ham-handed with his red herring. I can't say more than that without spoiling the mystery, but he was very careful with his red herring--so careful that it wasn't a surprise when the hook was bared. But did I feel like he knew Southern California from San Gabriel to Mulholland to Santa Monica and all the way to Palm Springs and 29 Palms? I spent my college years and a few more in Southern California and this book had me going crazy with the Santa Ana winds and longing for Dodger Stadium (Ironic, since my first loyalties were to the Giants and the Angels--of course, the Angels played in Dodger Stadium/Chavez Ravine when I first started rooting for them).
The book handled the LAPD right. I knew some LAPD and LA Sheriff's Department guys. This book reads like stories they would tell--especially the stories about crummy cops who were promoted because they knew where to plant their lips and the secondary story line about the female detective who accumulated about as much respect as Rodney Dangerfield's stand-up routine.
And one of the main characters, Joe Pike, reminds me so much of an FBI agent I once met. I was only a peripheral witness in a fraud case, but when Crais describes those cold blue eyes and that humorless expression, I see that FBI agent in my mind's eye--time traveling right back, coincidentally enough, to Los Angeles. And when the main protagonist and narrator, Elvis Cole, takes a drive across familiar roads to clear his head and proclaims that he loves L.A., it reminded me of some special drives I had taken in some of those same areas just to get away from some bad situations and clear my head.
The mystery itself was handled very well. One finds oneself truly debating whether this perpetrator is merely a serial killer or has a design. I was several chapters into the book before I made up my mind on that one, even though I was pretty sure early on. I like it when an author makes me doubt my original assumptions.
September 19, 2020
A very flawed 3.5 Stars. Could have been Five.
As usual with my reviews, please first read the publisher’s blurb/summary of the book. Thank you.
This is a special book in the series, a breakthrough book for Crais, with real power, eloquence, imagination. There's background on Elvis and Joe, and we begin to see why they are lions among men.
Also, wonderfully, Elvis is becoming my favourite kind of protagonist: The Philosopher-Detective. See quotes below.
Unfortunately, it doesn't last.
A terrific book, up to about 70% through. Sighs.
----
77% through. Ugh. I hate this.
Crais was doing so well. Now it's cliché #1, cliché #2, cliché #3, cliché #4, cliché #5.
That's right... FIVE clichés in a row.
But the story continues, dented, and pretty good until BLAM another cliché.
And now the story is being stretched out, as in other books in the series. Why?
Crais is snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. Again. Ugh.
Again and again, Elvis is presented with the "choice of one person over another" which is crap. Crais repeatedly makes a false equivalence of saving lives over "comfort"... Bull sh*t.
The ending is okay, drawn out, with more clichés and finally an eye-rolling Deus ex Machina.
All in all, a great book ruined by lots of serious flaws.
Notes and quotes:
Pike's Colt Python .357 magnum with a four-inch barrel.
Full size image here
-
Frank's eyes were hollow red blurs, and every crease and line in his face seemed cut deep by something incomprehensibly sharp and painful.
-
Nine year-old Pike remembers abuse amplified horribly by alcohol. I know exactly what he means.
Even as she said it, Joe could feel his heart quicken as the fear spread through his arms and legs. Maybe tonight would be different and nothing would happen, but he couldn't count on that.
Joe also knew that she poured out some of the whiskey and refilled it with water, because he'd seen her do it. His mother had told him, "Joe, your father's a damned mean drunk."
-
Psychologists would speculate that Rusty wanted to vicariously participate in his daughter‘s salvation, as if he were somehow struggling to recapture the manhood he had lost by the violation of his daughter. I thought not. I knew Rusty Swetaggen, and I knew men like him. I believed that he was filled with such a terrible and powerful love for his daughter, and for me, that the great pressure of that welling love had to be relieved or it would kill him. People often die from love, and this is a secret we all keep, even from ourselves.
-
The L.A. skies are so bright with light that only the most brilliant stars are visible, and those are faint and murky. I used to joke that it was this absence of stars that caused so many people to lose their bearings, but back then, I thought answers were easy. Now I know better. Some of us find our way with a single light to guide us; others lose themselves even when the star field is as sharp as a neon ceiling. Ethics may not be situational, but feelings are. We learn to adjust, and, over time, the stars we use to guide ourselves come to reside within rather than without.
-
Eventually, the cat came home, sniffing hopefully when he eased into the kitchen. I opened a can of Bumble Bee tuna, and sat with him on the floor. The Bumble Bee is his favorite. He lapped at it twice, then came to sniff my shoulder. He licked at the bandages, and I let him. There isn't so much love in the world that you can turn it away when it's offered.
Robert Crais
Full size image here
There are at least two of Robert's works that he wrote from the heart, with visible love and wonder and care, my very favourites:
1. The Man Who Knew Dick Bong
My review of the collection of short stories by authors honouring Marlowe: Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe
2. Suspect about the detective, Scott, and his dog, Maggie. Robert took the 2 month dog handling course at LAPD before writing this book, and he told me personally how much he loved it. I could see how special this experience was to him.
My review of Suspect
As usual with my reviews, please first read the publisher’s blurb/summary of the book. Thank you.
This is a special book in the series, a breakthrough book for Crais, with real power, eloquence, imagination. There's background on Elvis and Joe, and we begin to see why they are lions among men.
Also, wonderfully, Elvis is becoming my favourite kind of protagonist: The Philosopher-Detective. See quotes below.
Unfortunately, it doesn't last.
A terrific book, up to about 70% through. Sighs.
----
77% through. Ugh. I hate this.
Crais was doing so well. Now it's cliché #1, cliché #2, cliché #3, cliché #4, cliché #5.
That's right... FIVE clichés in a row.
But the story continues, dented, and pretty good until BLAM another cliché.
And now the story is being stretched out, as in other books in the series. Why?
Crais is snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. Again. Ugh.
Again and again, Elvis is presented with the "choice of one person over another" which is crap. Crais repeatedly makes a false equivalence of saving lives over "comfort"... Bull sh*t.
The ending is okay, drawn out, with more clichés and finally an eye-rolling Deus ex Machina.
All in all, a great book ruined by lots of serious flaws.
Notes and quotes:
Pike's Colt Python .357 magnum with a four-inch barrel.
Full size image here
-
Frank's eyes were hollow red blurs, and every crease and line in his face seemed cut deep by something incomprehensibly sharp and painful.
-
Nine year-old Pike remembers abuse amplified horribly by alcohol. I know exactly what he means.
Even as she said it, Joe could feel his heart quicken as the fear spread through his arms and legs. Maybe tonight would be different and nothing would happen, but he couldn't count on that.
Joe also knew that she poured out some of the whiskey and refilled it with water, because he'd seen her do it. His mother had told him, "Joe, your father's a damned mean drunk."
-
Psychologists would speculate that Rusty wanted to vicariously participate in his daughter‘s salvation, as if he were somehow struggling to recapture the manhood he had lost by the violation of his daughter. I thought not. I knew Rusty Swetaggen, and I knew men like him. I believed that he was filled with such a terrible and powerful love for his daughter, and for me, that the great pressure of that welling love had to be relieved or it would kill him. People often die from love, and this is a secret we all keep, even from ourselves.
-
The L.A. skies are so bright with light that only the most brilliant stars are visible, and those are faint and murky. I used to joke that it was this absence of stars that caused so many people to lose their bearings, but back then, I thought answers were easy. Now I know better. Some of us find our way with a single light to guide us; others lose themselves even when the star field is as sharp as a neon ceiling. Ethics may not be situational, but feelings are. We learn to adjust, and, over time, the stars we use to guide ourselves come to reside within rather than without.
-
Eventually, the cat came home, sniffing hopefully when he eased into the kitchen. I opened a can of Bumble Bee tuna, and sat with him on the floor. The Bumble Bee is his favorite. He lapped at it twice, then came to sniff my shoulder. He licked at the bandages, and I let him. There isn't so much love in the world that you can turn it away when it's offered.
Robert Crais
Full size image here
There are at least two of Robert's works that he wrote from the heart, with visible love and wonder and care, my very favourites:
1. The Man Who Knew Dick Bong
My review of the collection of short stories by authors honouring Marlowe: Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe
2. Suspect about the detective, Scott, and his dog, Maggie. Robert took the 2 month dog handling course at LAPD before writing this book, and he told me personally how much he loved it. I could see how special this experience was to him.
My review of Suspect
July 16, 2023
5 Stars. Definitely the best Cole and Pike book so far. One of the best books I’ve read, period. The were beaten down and almost destroyed. I’m not sure what they will look like in the next one. There’s still unfinished business but I’m not sure how Crais will handle it. Wow. What a book. What characters. What a series.
June 27, 2019
I feel like I just ate a huge bag of McDonald’s while drinking a case of Budweiser and watching a Steven Seagal flick. Not an altogether terrible time I suppose, but certainly a trashy one by any measure.
I have to stop half-expecting these airport thrillers to be something they’re not. Which is better. And less in love with cliches. Excruciating cliches in the case of this one.
The characters’ banter in this book has all of the eloquence and panache of the jeers you’d overhear from a slow twelve-year-old at a WWE wrestling match. For instance, in my 42 years, many of which were misspent, I don’t recall ever actually hearing anyone else call someone ‘a turd’, - and yet that witty putdown is used no less than SEVEN times in the book, and by many different characters to boot. We’re also treated to the descriptors ‘eye boogers’ ‘pap smear’ ‘snot sandwich’ and so forth.
(At about the third turd mention I realized that if I survived this book I’d be in serious need of an adult-lit palate cleanser a la Alice Munro or Graham Greene or something. Relatedly, this morning I cracked open Greene’s ‘Orient Express’)
So Crais likes to have his characters sound the same. When he slips into the various POVs of, say, the professional criminalist John Chen, the 20-something homeless man Edward Deege, and the septuagenarian eye-wit Amanda Kimmel, they all share variations of the same petty, potty-mouthed inner voice. Total turds these people!
But credit must be given where credit is due. Crais knows Los Angeles well. He’s a good tour guide of the city’s streets and neighborhoods, its valleys, parks, and fauna - there is in fact a whole lot of fauna mentioned here for a serial killer novel.
He’s also good with cop talk, giving us a lot of the procedural jargon and forensic details, and tons of stuff on guns and prisons and marines too.
I may not have been the right reader for this book, so let's give Crais the last word with this memorable description of his city:
‘The mirrored towers of Los Angeles rose up out of the basin like an island from the sea. Reflections of the setting sun ricocheted between the buildings, making them glow hot and orange in the west, backdropped with a purple sky. The freeway was a lava flow of red lights chasing the sun. Twilight was beginning.’
I have to stop half-expecting these airport thrillers to be something they’re not. Which is better. And less in love with cliches. Excruciating cliches in the case of this one.
The characters’ banter in this book has all of the eloquence and panache of the jeers you’d overhear from a slow twelve-year-old at a WWE wrestling match. For instance, in my 42 years, many of which were misspent, I don’t recall ever actually hearing anyone else call someone ‘a turd’, - and yet that witty putdown is used no less than SEVEN times in the book, and by many different characters to boot. We’re also treated to the descriptors ‘eye boogers’ ‘pap smear’ ‘snot sandwich’ and so forth.
(At about the third turd mention I realized that if I survived this book I’d be in serious need of an adult-lit palate cleanser a la Alice Munro or Graham Greene or something. Relatedly, this morning I cracked open Greene’s ‘Orient Express’)
So Crais likes to have his characters sound the same. When he slips into the various POVs of, say, the professional criminalist John Chen, the 20-something homeless man Edward Deege, and the septuagenarian eye-wit Amanda Kimmel, they all share variations of the same petty, potty-mouthed inner voice. Total turds these people!
But credit must be given where credit is due. Crais knows Los Angeles well. He’s a good tour guide of the city’s streets and neighborhoods, its valleys, parks, and fauna - there is in fact a whole lot of fauna mentioned here for a serial killer novel.
He’s also good with cop talk, giving us a lot of the procedural jargon and forensic details, and tons of stuff on guns and prisons and marines too.
I may not have been the right reader for this book, so let's give Crais the last word with this memorable description of his city:
‘The mirrored towers of Los Angeles rose up out of the basin like an island from the sea. Reflections of the setting sun ricocheted between the buildings, making them glow hot and orange in the west, backdropped with a purple sky. The freeway was a lava flow of red lights chasing the sun. Twilight was beginning.’
May 28, 2022
After repeated readings, the story never fails to entertain. Our first glimpse of recurring character criminalist John Chen.
3rd read - A wealthy and influential L.A. businessman, Frank, approaches Joe Pike for a favor - Frank's daughter, an old flame of Joe's, is missing. The police have no leads, and Joe asks investigator Elvis for help. Elvis is in the middle of getting his amour, Lucy and her son settled in after she's moved West to be closer to Elvis.
The missing girl is found and the hunt is on for the killer - but then more bodies are tied to hers over the last 1 1/2 yrs. And soon, Joe is under suspicion, and arrest, over eyewitness testimony that ties him to another killing.
This story pushes the limits of two guy's friendship, and I hate to admit, that even after multiple readings, there are several scenes towards the end that had this old guy misty-eyed. (sniff)
2nd read - An old girlfriend of Joe Pike's is missing, and her father asks Joe and Elvis to help find her. She's found - dead - and the hunt is on. This is the tip of an iceberg that adds up to five more bodies. The question is it a serial killer or murder for a reason?
All the boy's jobs are dangerous, but Crais ups the ante with jail time for one or both of our heroes a distinct possibility, because of a decades-long dispute between Joe and a higher up in the police department.
A good buddy story, with Elvis having to choose between helping his best friend, and his love interest transplanted from Louisiana.
3rd read - A wealthy and influential L.A. businessman, Frank, approaches Joe Pike for a favor - Frank's daughter, an old flame of Joe's, is missing. The police have no leads, and Joe asks investigator Elvis for help. Elvis is in the middle of getting his amour, Lucy and her son settled in after she's moved West to be closer to Elvis.
The missing girl is found and the hunt is on for the killer - but then more bodies are tied to hers over the last 1 1/2 yrs. And soon, Joe is under suspicion, and arrest, over eyewitness testimony that ties him to another killing.
This story pushes the limits of two guy's friendship, and I hate to admit, that even after multiple readings, there are several scenes towards the end that had this old guy misty-eyed. (sniff)
2nd read - An old girlfriend of Joe Pike's is missing, and her father asks Joe and Elvis to help find her. She's found - dead - and the hunt is on. This is the tip of an iceberg that adds up to five more bodies. The question is it a serial killer or murder for a reason?
All the boy's jobs are dangerous, but Crais ups the ante with jail time for one or both of our heroes a distinct possibility, because of a decades-long dispute between Joe and a higher up in the police department.
A good buddy story, with Elvis having to choose between helping his best friend, and his love interest transplanted from Louisiana.
February 25, 2012
L.A. Requiem is the book in which Robert Crais elevated his game from being simply a great mystery writer to a great writer. The previous books in the Elvis Cole series center around wise-cracking detective Elvis Cole, a smart, moral guy who solves cases. They are usually funny, have good plots and are enjoyable to read.
L.A. Requiem has all of these characteristics, but is a much more powerful book than other Crais efforts. Like its predecessors, Requiem has a good plot: a woman from Elvis' partner, Joe Pike's past is murdered, and Joe and Elvis are tasked with finding the killer. Things quickly move from just a present-day investigation, as slowly, resentments from events long-past are brought into the mix. It is this element that makes the book so good.
The character of Joe Pike has always been a highly original and entertaining one. However, this book takes the time to delve into his boyhood and history in the military in ways that really bring depth to the character. We find out why Joe is persona no grata with the LAPD as well as learn how his childhood affected his present day persona. It is great writing.
At the same time, deeper themes beyond simply moving the plot forward stream throughout the book. Friendship, revenge, humiliation and forbidden love are tied up in the events of the book in ways that make the reader really care about the characters. Lucy Chenier is back, but Elvis also strikes up a friendship with a brash female detective named Samantha Dolan, who is a powerful character. The mousey and resentful Harvey Krantz is another great character.
All of this combines to make the book work on many levels. The mystery unfolds logically and builds over the chapters of the book. Maybe some readers could guess who the killer was, but I was surprised. It builds to a powerful climax and the afterward is powerful as well. L.A. Requiem is not only a good mystery, it works as art. You can read it for fun, but you may find that it makes you feel and think a bit more than you expected to when you picked it up.
L.A. Requiem has all of these characteristics, but is a much more powerful book than other Crais efforts. Like its predecessors, Requiem has a good plot: a woman from Elvis' partner, Joe Pike's past is murdered, and Joe and Elvis are tasked with finding the killer. Things quickly move from just a present-day investigation, as slowly, resentments from events long-past are brought into the mix. It is this element that makes the book so good.
The character of Joe Pike has always been a highly original and entertaining one. However, this book takes the time to delve into his boyhood and history in the military in ways that really bring depth to the character. We find out why Joe is persona no grata with the LAPD as well as learn how his childhood affected his present day persona. It is great writing.
At the same time, deeper themes beyond simply moving the plot forward stream throughout the book. Friendship, revenge, humiliation and forbidden love are tied up in the events of the book in ways that make the reader really care about the characters. Lucy Chenier is back, but Elvis also strikes up a friendship with a brash female detective named Samantha Dolan, who is a powerful character. The mousey and resentful Harvey Krantz is another great character.
All of this combines to make the book work on many levels. The mystery unfolds logically and builds over the chapters of the book. Maybe some readers could guess who the killer was, but I was surprised. It builds to a powerful climax and the afterward is powerful as well. L.A. Requiem is not only a good mystery, it works as art. You can read it for fun, but you may find that it makes you feel and think a bit more than you expected to when you picked it up.
September 13, 2021
This was an outstanding book in more ways than one. This is the book that we finally get to peak into the life of Joe Pike, and we get a real feel for the man behind the sunglasses and it is one hell of a story.
The book starts with Joe calling Elvis and asking for his help, yes you read that right. Joe's old flame has been murdered and he wants Elvis to help him investigate. As is normal in these books the investigation twists and turns and the boys quickly find themselves in trouble. Luck they have each other.
The strongest part of these books is the relationship between Joe and Elvis and the depth of that relationship is more than evident in this book.
So far my favorite read in this series.
The book starts with Joe calling Elvis and asking for his help, yes you read that right. Joe's old flame has been murdered and he wants Elvis to help him investigate. As is normal in these books the investigation twists and turns and the boys quickly find themselves in trouble. Luck they have each other.
The strongest part of these books is the relationship between Joe and Elvis and the depth of that relationship is more than evident in this book.
So far my favorite read in this series.
February 4, 2019
I don’t know what Crais was doing in his personal life when he wrote this book. I don’t know if he changed his diet or got divorced or was going through a midlife crisis or what. But whatever it was, it ended up being a major shot in the ass for a series I already really liked.
Discussion of the masterful plot in detail would be crude but I will say this one starts out with one of Pike’s old flames going missing. Fair warning to all Crais fans, this is an EXTREMELY Pikey book. If you didn’t already love Pike you will be converted and if you were already a fan your fandom will be cast in stone. Not to be outdone, main man Cole still manages to make you laugh and break your heart, despite the focus on Pike.
Even the tertiary characters in this were captivating and memorable. The dialogue, humor, and complicated plots with way too many players are all still here but the first truly epic story in the series added a tremendous weight to the book. I couldn’t put it down and have a newfound respect for Crais.
Discussion of the masterful plot in detail would be crude but I will say this one starts out with one of Pike’s old flames going missing. Fair warning to all Crais fans, this is an EXTREMELY Pikey book. If you didn’t already love Pike you will be converted and if you were already a fan your fandom will be cast in stone. Not to be outdone, main man Cole still manages to make you laugh and break your heart, despite the focus on Pike.
Even the tertiary characters in this were captivating and memorable. The dialogue, humor, and complicated plots with way too many players are all still here but the first truly epic story in the series added a tremendous weight to the book. I couldn’t put it down and have a newfound respect for Crais.
April 6, 2019
True to form, I've been reading this series out of order, beginning with #4, and now, having read #8 of the Elvis Cole series, I'm a fan for sure. The partnership between private detective Elvis Cole and his best friend, former L.A. cop, Force Recon Marine, and all around bad-ass strong, silent type, Joe Pike, forms the epicenter of these novels.
It was refreshing to learn of Joe's backstory, so instead of viewing him as a pure literary caricature, he becomes more human, and I've a better understanding of what made him the rather mysterious figure he is today. The affection and loyalty between Cole and Pike is central to this story, and the cause for considerable friction between Elvis and Lucy, his girlfriend who had recently moved from New Orleans to be with Elvis. Frankly, though their relationship has its strong points, I was hoping more for Elvis to wind up with Det. Samantha Dolan, another strong female character featured prominently in this story.
The plot is a fine one, sufficiently twisted to prevent this reader from guessing the identity of the killer till the very end. The pace was, on the whole, very brisk, but there were a few times when I thought the book could have ended 50 pages sooner. Crais certainly is talented enough, and knows Los Angeles and surrounds quite well. His affection for that city becomes apparent while reading, and especially at the end of the book.
The only nit I've to pick here involves that ending. Crais wraps things up a little to neatly, and disregards credulity a bit too often, forcing the reader to simply smile and remind him / herself that this is a work of fiction, and the heck with reality sometimes. It is a testament to the author's ability to draw the reader so completely into the story's world that it becomes necessary to remind oneself of that fact. Fiction-- not real life; but while riding along with Cole, Pike, etc., it's easy to forget that, and come to view these characters as folks with whom you'd like to share a meal or drink. I'll be back for more-- just not in sequential order.
It was refreshing to learn of Joe's backstory, so instead of viewing him as a pure literary caricature, he becomes more human, and I've a better understanding of what made him the rather mysterious figure he is today. The affection and loyalty between Cole and Pike is central to this story, and the cause for considerable friction between Elvis and Lucy, his girlfriend who had recently moved from New Orleans to be with Elvis. Frankly, though their relationship has its strong points, I was hoping more for Elvis to wind up with Det. Samantha Dolan, another strong female character featured prominently in this story.
The plot is a fine one, sufficiently twisted to prevent this reader from guessing the identity of the killer till the very end. The pace was, on the whole, very brisk, but there were a few times when I thought the book could have ended 50 pages sooner. Crais certainly is talented enough, and knows Los Angeles and surrounds quite well. His affection for that city becomes apparent while reading, and especially at the end of the book.
The only nit I've to pick here involves that ending. Crais wraps things up a little to neatly, and disregards credulity a bit too often, forcing the reader to simply smile and remind him / herself that this is a work of fiction, and the heck with reality sometimes. It is a testament to the author's ability to draw the reader so completely into the story's world that it becomes necessary to remind oneself of that fact. Fiction-- not real life; but while riding along with Cole, Pike, etc., it's easy to forget that, and come to view these characters as folks with whom you'd like to share a meal or drink. I'll be back for more-- just not in sequential order.
October 12, 2014
Man, this one got really personal for Elvis and Joe and had me on the edge of my seat.
Joe gets called into help look for a missing old girlfriend. What seems like it will be easy turns into a nightmare for Joe and Elvis by proxy.
Joe's history growing up is brought out for us to learn why Joe is the way he is. His past will have you shaking your head and wondering how Joe is as normal as he is. We also get to see Joe as a young cop. Through both of these sets of flashbacks you can see Joe's moral code cement together and why once you are a friend of Joe's there isn't anything he won't do for you or to protect you.
Elvis helps out by dealing with the police as that isn't an option for Joe. Even with his good reputation Elvis gets crapped on time and time again. Slowly Elvis gets some help from one of the cops. But this help brings new problems.
Elvis runs into issues with Lucy too along the way. I found myself getting mad at Lucy, she kept playing the "girl" card, wanting things to be about her and got mad when Elvis didn't pick her. Elvis was also disappointed with Lucy in that she couldn't understand why he kept leaving to "do the right thing". Something Lucy should have understood as she meet him while working on a case and his sense of moral right and wrong was the same then.
At the end of the book things are at a big crossroads for everyone. Some people know that they can depend on their "family", others not so much, and along the way everyone paid a high price. It will be interesting to see how things go for our characters in their personal lives from here on out.
Joe gets called into help look for a missing old girlfriend. What seems like it will be easy turns into a nightmare for Joe and Elvis by proxy.
Joe's history growing up is brought out for us to learn why Joe is the way he is. His past will have you shaking your head and wondering how Joe is as normal as he is. We also get to see Joe as a young cop. Through both of these sets of flashbacks you can see Joe's moral code cement together and why once you are a friend of Joe's there isn't anything he won't do for you or to protect you.
Elvis helps out by dealing with the police as that isn't an option for Joe. Even with his good reputation Elvis gets crapped on time and time again. Slowly Elvis gets some help from one of the cops. But this help brings new problems.
Elvis runs into issues with Lucy too along the way. I found myself getting mad at Lucy, she kept playing the "girl" card, wanting things to be about her and got mad when Elvis didn't pick her. Elvis was also disappointed with Lucy in that she couldn't understand why he kept leaving to "do the right thing". Something Lucy should have understood as she meet him while working on a case and his sense of moral right and wrong was the same then.
At the end of the book things are at a big crossroads for everyone. Some people know that they can depend on their "family", others not so much, and along the way everyone paid a high price. It will be interesting to see how things go for our characters in their personal lives from here on out.
December 30, 2013
An older Crais that I missed somewhere along the line. It was great reading and actually gave the reader some so Joe Pike's background. The plot is well constructed and fascinating. Cole and Pike are as noir as one could hope. The LA cops (Robbery/Homicide) are as difficult and less than likable as one would expect. Cole and Pike do solve the case, but how engrossing the process is!
July 30, 2020
LA REQUIEM is an emotionally driven fast-paced whodunit thriller that beautifully captures the vibrancy of LA and the dark gritty vibes of crime thrillers. Even though this is the 8th book in the Elvis Cole series, I did not feel at all estranged. It was incredibly easy for me to gel with the characters.
LA REQUIEM picks up Elvis Cole and Joe Pike doing a favor for a friend, who wishes to find his daughter who has gone missing. Things go awry when the woman is found dead, shot in the head with a .22. The situation is complicated further due to Pike having had a romantic relationship with the woman years ago, and this allows for a backstory into Pike’s memories about his experiences with the woman. Not only is the backstory important in giving the narrative an emotional drive, but it also winds up being central to the woman’s death. The gripping narrative switches back and forth between the past and the present, needing both timelines to effectively solve the whodunit mystery. The killing itself isn’t as clear cut as it first seems, with mind-boggling twists and turns arising to throw curveballs in Pike and Cole’s investigations. The entire read and the mystery solving element becomes so enthralling and interesting that I just HAD to find out who was behind it all and why. This book has one of the most gripping storylines I have ever read.
The characters are written so well that I felt intimately acquainted with each one. The protagonists, Pike and Cole, are such a stellar duo that I vowed even before reaching halfway that I would read more books in the series. Their banters, but also the warmth they share as friends, are all worth reading. The dilemmas in solving the case are augmented by emotional dilemmas in their personal lives, which resonate with the situations that have happened to characters in the past and it is addicting to see how they react to the curveballs thrown their ways.
One of the things I like reading in noir crime mysteries and thrillers is how the environment is depicted. LA REQUIEM features a living and breathing city with its unique qualities and ebb and flows with such vivid imagery that a reader feels deeply engrossed in the scenes.
I found the twists and turns in the thriller to be extremely well done and so riveting that I kept turning the pages without putting a stop to the reading. The way the two detectives work through the case is one of intelligence and brilliance more than happenstance. I definitely recommend readers to read this ASAP, and not worry about breaking the order of the series. This book has a life of its own. I am absolutely going to be reading more Elvis Cole and Joe Pike thrillers. A phenomenal crime mystery with a strong emotional center at the helm and brilliant detectives to steer the investigation towards the culprit.
LA REQUIEM picks up Elvis Cole and Joe Pike doing a favor for a friend, who wishes to find his daughter who has gone missing. Things go awry when the woman is found dead, shot in the head with a .22. The situation is complicated further due to Pike having had a romantic relationship with the woman years ago, and this allows for a backstory into Pike’s memories about his experiences with the woman. Not only is the backstory important in giving the narrative an emotional drive, but it also winds up being central to the woman’s death. The gripping narrative switches back and forth between the past and the present, needing both timelines to effectively solve the whodunit mystery. The killing itself isn’t as clear cut as it first seems, with mind-boggling twists and turns arising to throw curveballs in Pike and Cole’s investigations. The entire read and the mystery solving element becomes so enthralling and interesting that I just HAD to find out who was behind it all and why. This book has one of the most gripping storylines I have ever read.
The characters are written so well that I felt intimately acquainted with each one. The protagonists, Pike and Cole, are such a stellar duo that I vowed even before reaching halfway that I would read more books in the series. Their banters, but also the warmth they share as friends, are all worth reading. The dilemmas in solving the case are augmented by emotional dilemmas in their personal lives, which resonate with the situations that have happened to characters in the past and it is addicting to see how they react to the curveballs thrown their ways.
One of the things I like reading in noir crime mysteries and thrillers is how the environment is depicted. LA REQUIEM features a living and breathing city with its unique qualities and ebb and flows with such vivid imagery that a reader feels deeply engrossed in the scenes.
I found the twists and turns in the thriller to be extremely well done and so riveting that I kept turning the pages without putting a stop to the reading. The way the two detectives work through the case is one of intelligence and brilliance more than happenstance. I definitely recommend readers to read this ASAP, and not worry about breaking the order of the series. This book has a life of its own. I am absolutely going to be reading more Elvis Cole and Joe Pike thrillers. A phenomenal crime mystery with a strong emotional center at the helm and brilliant detectives to steer the investigation towards the culprit.
November 27, 2020
For a long time I've been looking for a detective series that I liked as much as Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch and Renee Ballard. I had tried a couple of Crais titles before and found them to be ok or better than ok by a little. Neither were quite what I was looking for since they were written more like thrillers than mysteries since you know who the bad guys were and got their pov. However, L.A. Requiem is pretty much exactly what I was looking for. An interesting case/mystery, tension, action, and good detective work by our MC, Elvis Cole. I also love the way Crais writes the L.A. setting. Much in the same way that Connelly does, the setting almost feels like another character. I'll be checking out more of these.
March 4, 2013
4 stars for the Joe parts. 2 stars for the Elvis parts. Some plot issues were not well thought out.
This is book 8 in the Elvis Cole series with two main characters Elvis and Joe Pike. The Elvis parts were done in first person. I did not care about Elvis. The Joe parts were done in third person and were excellent. I enjoyed reading about Joe and his back story. I would have preferred the entire book be third person.
I had a minor problem with two characters: Eugene Dirsh and Edward Deej. The names were too similar and I had a hard time keeping them straight - especially as an audiobook.
There were references to sex about four times. Three were hinted at or referred to with no details, for example “she was in his bed as he woke up.” The other was described as “we made love on the couch.” There was nothing more detailed than that.
I don’t mind suspending disbelief when something is fun. But here it wasn’t fun enough, so the plot problems annoyed me. For example, Joe took large bullets to the chest and walked away. The FBI were involved in the case and then sort of vanished. The author never completed that thought. Another problem is described in Spoiler below. It was the major climactic scene and made me angry.
The narrator was Ron McLarty. I can’t remember how I felt about him. I think he was fine.
DATA:
Narrative mode: 1st person Elvis. 3rd person Joe. Unabridged audiobook length: 13 hrs and 35 mins. Swearing language: moderate including religious swear words. Sexual language: none. Number of sex scenes: about 4. Setting: current day Los Angeles, California. Book copyright: 1999. Genre: mystery suspense, PI mystery.
SERIES:
I’ve read the following books in the Elvis Cole series.
2 ½ stars. The Monkey’s Raincoat, Book 1
3 stars. L.A. Requiem, Book 8
This is book 8 in the Elvis Cole series with two main characters Elvis and Joe Pike. The Elvis parts were done in first person. I did not care about Elvis. The Joe parts were done in third person and were excellent. I enjoyed reading about Joe and his back story. I would have preferred the entire book be third person.
I had a minor problem with two characters: Eugene Dirsh and Edward Deej. The names were too similar and I had a hard time keeping them straight - especially as an audiobook.
There were references to sex about four times. Three were hinted at or referred to with no details, for example “she was in his bed as he woke up.” The other was described as “we made love on the couch.” There was nothing more detailed than that.
I don’t mind suspending disbelief when something is fun. But here it wasn’t fun enough, so the plot problems annoyed me. For example, Joe took large bullets to the chest and walked away. The FBI were involved in the case and then sort of vanished. The author never completed that thought. Another problem is described in Spoiler below. It was the major climactic scene and made me angry.
The narrator was Ron McLarty. I can’t remember how I felt about him. I think he was fine.
DATA:
Narrative mode: 1st person Elvis. 3rd person Joe. Unabridged audiobook length: 13 hrs and 35 mins. Swearing language: moderate including religious swear words. Sexual language: none. Number of sex scenes: about 4. Setting: current day Los Angeles, California. Book copyright: 1999. Genre: mystery suspense, PI mystery.
SERIES:
I’ve read the following books in the Elvis Cole series.
2 ½ stars. The Monkey’s Raincoat, Book 1
3 stars. L.A. Requiem, Book 8
June 15, 2018
This write-up will probably come off sounding like a 1 or 2-star review, but that is only because it is a reaction to the almost unanimous 4 and 5-star love heaped upon this book (my 1st foray into the Elvis Cole series), and my resultant high expectations for it. It was an entertaining listen, good for a few hours’ diversion. The plot was pretty good, despite some parts that strained credibility. Contrary to what you may read in other reviews, the story can hardly be described as “action-packed.” Instead we’re treated to a lot of police procedure and back-story of Cole’s partner, Joe Pike, who, evidently, through the first 7 books, has been a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma, hidden by sunglasses.
But, while the character of Joe Pike gets thoroughly fleshed out, other major characters are strictly off-the-shelf, paint-by-number throwaway creations:
Chief Inspector Harvey Krantz: Color him irascible, narrow-minded and inept, leaving you to wonder how he rose to such a position.
Officer Samantha Dolan: Color her hostile and bitchy, displaying not a single redeeming quality over the course of the story.
Elvis Cole: Color him enamored of her anyway [eye roll].
From relatively minor points, like [spoiler]a PD mail clerk being able to secret a shotgun out of the evidence room,[/spoiler] to major ones, like [spoiler]Cole’s obstruction of justice charge and subsequent license forfeiture being reversed with the snap of a tortilla magnate’s fingers,[/spoiler] to the real whopper, [spoiler]where Pike takes several shots from a .357 at point blank range, yet manages to leave the house and drive away,[/spoiler] the story is fraught with implausibilities that are, evidently, easily overlooked by fans of the series.
While I might read another Robert Crais book, if I happened across it, as I did this one, for my next crime-fic fix, I would much prefer the superior writing of Michael Connelly, or for some hard-core crime, James Ellroy.
But, while the character of Joe Pike gets thoroughly fleshed out, other major characters are strictly off-the-shelf, paint-by-number throwaway creations:
Chief Inspector Harvey Krantz: Color him irascible, narrow-minded and inept, leaving you to wonder how he rose to such a position.
Officer Samantha Dolan: Color her hostile and bitchy, displaying not a single redeeming quality over the course of the story.
Elvis Cole: Color him enamored of her anyway [eye roll].
From relatively minor points, like [spoiler]a PD mail clerk being able to secret a shotgun out of the evidence room,[/spoiler] to major ones, like [spoiler]Cole’s obstruction of justice charge and subsequent license forfeiture being reversed with the snap of a tortilla magnate’s fingers,[/spoiler] to the real whopper, [spoiler]where Pike takes several shots from a .357 at point blank range, yet manages to leave the house and drive away,[/spoiler] the story is fraught with implausibilities that are, evidently, easily overlooked by fans of the series.
While I might read another Robert Crais book, if I happened across it, as I did this one, for my next crime-fic fix, I would much prefer the superior writing of Michael Connelly, or for some hard-core crime, James Ellroy.
March 9, 2013
A fine book with appropriately crafted twists. The tension of the choice Cole has to make - between his partner and friend Pike, and his girlfriend - is set up very well. The story of murder and the mystery behind it is also quite gripping. But there are false tones throughout the book, there are diversions and, most importantly, the resolution, the denouement, is not satisfying or dare I say, believable at all. It is like a Tamil movie, all shots fired and the hero gets hit, but still gets up to kill the villain and then disappear into the desert and so on. Come on Crais, you can do better than that.
But still, I sort of liked the book. Written well, and there is a stage when it absolutely grips you and you don't realize the pages flying by. That is when you know you have hit a good one.
But still, I sort of liked the book. Written well, and there is a stage when it absolutely grips you and you don't realize the pages flying by. That is when you know you have hit a good one.
March 25, 2018
Robert Crais gets you with his terse writing and his humane characters. Crime fiction at its soulful best.
April 9, 2017
What starts out as a simple missing person's case for private detective Elvis Cole quickly becomes a lot more complicated when her body is discovered with no clues as to who committed the crime. Asked by the girl's father to investigate, things get distinctly more murky when it appears she is the latest victim of a serial killer. It doesn't help matters either that the victim is his co-detective Joe Pike's ex-girlfriend, nor that the police seem determined to obstruct them at every turn.
This is the eighth book in the author's series featuring the investigating exploits of private eye duo Elvis Cole and Joe Pike. Over the years I've read all of the previous books in the series and enjoyed them all - Elvis Cole is a great character, very distinctive and quirky, not your usual private detective fare. None of the previous books are as good as this one however, they are good stories but this one goes deeper and links the story with their past, particularly Joe Pike who has remained something of an enigma until now. In this book you get under the hood so to speak, finding out why he is the way he is and how he got to where he is today.
If you've read previous Elvis Cole novels then you should definitely read this, hopefully you will agree with me that it is his best yet. You'll also benefit from knowing something of the characters histories and relationships which will add something to the book. If you haven't read any of his previous novels though, I would still recommend this book. You don't need any prior knowledge to read and enjoy it, and I think this would be a great place to start. If you really like it and want to read more, you can always go back and start at the beginning with The Monkey's Raincoat, or just go forward as he's written quite a few after this one too.
Overall, a great crime fiction read. I haven't read any in a while, and this has got me right back into them. 5/5.
This is the eighth book in the author's series featuring the investigating exploits of private eye duo Elvis Cole and Joe Pike. Over the years I've read all of the previous books in the series and enjoyed them all - Elvis Cole is a great character, very distinctive and quirky, not your usual private detective fare. None of the previous books are as good as this one however, they are good stories but this one goes deeper and links the story with their past, particularly Joe Pike who has remained something of an enigma until now. In this book you get under the hood so to speak, finding out why he is the way he is and how he got to where he is today.
If you've read previous Elvis Cole novels then you should definitely read this, hopefully you will agree with me that it is his best yet. You'll also benefit from knowing something of the characters histories and relationships which will add something to the book. If you haven't read any of his previous novels though, I would still recommend this book. You don't need any prior knowledge to read and enjoy it, and I think this would be a great place to start. If you really like it and want to read more, you can always go back and start at the beginning with The Monkey's Raincoat, or just go forward as he's written quite a few after this one too.
Overall, a great crime fiction read. I haven't read any in a while, and this has got me right back into them. 5/5.
September 11, 2018
My favorite so far in the Elvis Cole series. Life is going well for Elvis, his girlfriend Lucy relocated from New Orleans to LA and their relationship is progressing until a call from Joe Pike. An old friend hires them to find his missing daughter who was also a girlfriend of Joe's when he was a cop with LAPD. The book gives a lot of history on the mysterious Joe Pike, his youth and his reasons for leaving LAPD. It also lays the background for a lot of resentment of Joe by some members of law enforcement. All of this leads to Joe being framed for murder and Elvis having to choose between his friend and his girlfriend. Hard to put down with lots of twists and turns.
October 21, 2023
Wow! My favorite of the series so far!
The past comes back to haunt Joe in this one. We dive deep into what happened back when he quit the LAPD, but we also get to learn a lot more about Joe from the time he was young and through his time with the Marines. There are some pretty despicable characters in this book; ones that you’re just waiting for karma to kick in. But, this story also deals quite a bit with the friendship and love in the relationships between Joe and Elvis, Elvis and Lucy, and decades-old relationships from Joe’s past. This was definitely a page turner, a must read for fans of the series. It would also work as a stand-alone.
The past comes back to haunt Joe in this one. We dive deep into what happened back when he quit the LAPD, but we also get to learn a lot more about Joe from the time he was young and through his time with the Marines. There are some pretty despicable characters in this book; ones that you’re just waiting for karma to kick in. But, this story also deals quite a bit with the friendship and love in the relationships between Joe and Elvis, Elvis and Lucy, and decades-old relationships from Joe’s past. This was definitely a page turner, a must read for fans of the series. It would also work as a stand-alone.
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