Helpful Score: 1
When readers step aboard this book, they should strap themselves in place; this story moves. The pace is almost relentless; the novel careens around hairpin turns and then rotates in a new direction. This is the first time I've read a book about Joe Pike and Elvis (yeah, really) Cole. They are two long-term friends who happen to run a detective agency together.
In this book, the author shares the backstory of Joe Pike (This is the 8th novel about these detectives). To call Joe edgy is an understatement; he scared one detective so badly that he had a smelly accident in front of his peers. Harvey Krantz never forgot and neither did anyone else in LAPD. He hates Joe.
The story starts when the Tortilla King (a powerful Hispanic businessman) calls Joe and asks for help finding his daughter, Karen Garcia. Joe and Karen dated years before and Mr. Garcia trusts Joe, but not LAPD. Unfortunately, Karen's body is soon found near the Hollywood Reservoir, where she had been jogging.
When Karen's death becomes linked to other murders, Krantz jails Joe for killing the main suspect in the murders. This book is so well-done that readers will be hard-pressed to figure out the killer(s) before Robert Crais wants us to know.
There is considerable emotion in this story; at the beginning Joe Pike seems to be a stoic and Elvis hides what he's feeling with throwaway one-liners. But the reader learns the dark secrets of what makes Joe tick and Elvis lets his laid-back humor slip (because of the seriousness of the issues). It is telling how committed each man is to covering the other one's back; they are a great team.
There are some great side characters in this book; John Chen (a James Bond wannabe) and tough cop Samantha Dolan. There's a lot of snappy dialogue, mostly from Elvis Cole. This is a great book.
This Series
1. The Monkey's Raincoat (1987)
2. Stalking the Angel (1988)
3. Lullaby Town (1992)
4. Free Fall (1993)
5. Voodoo River (1995)
6. Sunset Express (1996)
7. Indigo Slam (1997)
8. L. A. Requiem (1999)
In this book, the author shares the backstory of Joe Pike (This is the 8th novel about these detectives). To call Joe edgy is an understatement; he scared one detective so badly that he had a smelly accident in front of his peers. Harvey Krantz never forgot and neither did anyone else in LAPD. He hates Joe.
The story starts when the Tortilla King (a powerful Hispanic businessman) calls Joe and asks for help finding his daughter, Karen Garcia. Joe and Karen dated years before and Mr. Garcia trusts Joe, but not LAPD. Unfortunately, Karen's body is soon found near the Hollywood Reservoir, where she had been jogging.
When Karen's death becomes linked to other murders, Krantz jails Joe for killing the main suspect in the murders. This book is so well-done that readers will be hard-pressed to figure out the killer(s) before Robert Crais wants us to know.
There is considerable emotion in this story; at the beginning Joe Pike seems to be a stoic and Elvis hides what he's feeling with throwaway one-liners. But the reader learns the dark secrets of what makes Joe tick and Elvis lets his laid-back humor slip (because of the seriousness of the issues). It is telling how committed each man is to covering the other one's back; they are a great team.
There are some great side characters in this book; John Chen (a James Bond wannabe) and tough cop Samantha Dolan. There's a lot of snappy dialogue, mostly from Elvis Cole. This is a great book.
This Series
1. The Monkey's Raincoat (1987)
2. Stalking the Angel (1988)
3. Lullaby Town (1992)
4. Free Fall (1993)
5. Voodoo River (1995)
6. Sunset Express (1996)
7. Indigo Slam (1997)
8. L. A. Requiem (1999)
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