L.A. Requiem (Elvis Cole Novels)
by Robert Crais
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Book Summary Information
Author: Robert CraisEdition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2000-02-01
ISBN: 0345434471
Number of pages: 416
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9780345434470
- Condition: New
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Book Reviews of L.A. Requiem (Elvis Cole Novels)
Book Review: Crais' Masterpiece...A true "must read"
Summary: 5 Stars
It is funny, I don't usually pay much attention to the little plugs that author's give one another, but sometimes, they are not just selling a friend's book, but actually are right. I came to Robert Crais' after reading all the Harry Bosch novels. There is a small scene where Bosch acknowleges Cole in one of the later Bosch novels--a simple scene where they drive past each other. COnnelly liked Crais, which was good enough for me. I read Demolition Angel (which is good) and Hostage (which I loved--please, Bruce Willis don't make a bad movie from a great book) and turned to Cole--from the beginning.
All of the books in the series are really good. However, the earliest books, nominated for awards even, were a bit thin and airy. The stories were usually fun, but the stakes weren't too high. As the series goes on, Crais and his characters grow. By Free Fall, things change. Elvis deepens. He falls in love. He saves and the plot does indeed thicken. However, my biggest complaint was the lack of "backstory" on Elvis and Joe. I loved Joe, but why didn't he smile? Why did Elvis come to LA (we still don't know, but I think we learn that in the next two books). LA Requiem was the book I was most looking forward to reading and made all that came before worth the time and expense. That is not say you won't enjoy the novel if you don't read others first, just that this is a richer experience with the history behind it.
All of that said, I was not prepared for how incredible Requiem would be. On the front, David Balldaci (a writer I have not write) called it one of the best crime novels he had ever read. He was right. It is a masterpiece. It rivals Connelly's best and has echoes of James Ellroy. For me, that is high praise, as those are my two favorite crime writers. I'm sure it also harkens back to earlier masters, but, alas, I have not read them yet.
I don't want to say too much about the plot, except to say I could not put the book down. The last chapter is lyrical and beautiful and moving. The book is sad, so very sad, yet hopefully. Joe is finally revealed (mostly). Elvis becomes a man in crisis, but is revealed to be even better than we thought. Lucy? Some mysteries still there. I must admit that Chen gave me some laughs and I hated Krantz (too over the top?). The book is really one of the finest pieces of mystery fiction to come along. It will remain one of my most favorite novels. A true masterpiece. I'm nervous to finish out the series. One, because I will miss it. And two, because I wonder if anyone can write this well again. A gigantic leap forward and worth all the time you put in, even if I will only have 4 hours of sleep before work...
Summary of L.A. Requiem (Elvis Cole Novels)
The day starts like any other in L.A. The sun burns hot as the Santa Ana winds blow ash from mountain fires to coat the glittering city. But for private investigator Joe Pike, the city will never be the same again. His ex-lover, Karen Garcia, is dead, brutally murdered with a gun shot to the head.Now Karen's powerful father calls on Pike (a former cop) and his partner, Elvis Cole, to keep an eye on the LAPD as they search for his daughter's killer--because in the luminous City of Angels, everyone has secrets, and even the mighty blue have something to hide. But what starts as a little procedural hand-holding turns into a deadly game of cat-and-mouse. For a dark web of conspiracy threatens to destroy Pike and Cole's twelve-year friendship--if not their lives. And L.A. just might be singing their dirge.
More than 10 years ago, I was shocked to learn that some puerile piece of fluff had won the Edgar for Best Paperback Original, when it was so obvious to me and virtually everyone else in the Western Hemisphere that the award should have gone to The Monkey's Raincoat, the book that introduced Elvis Cole, private eye, and is to this day one of the funniest books I've ever read.
The terrific Elvis Cole series has grown through the years, each book better than the last, but nothing prepared me for the quantum leap (yes, it's a cliché, but it belongs here) that Crais has made with L.A. Requiem. It's not as funny as the other books in the series, but it's a beautifully plotted detective story, rich with police procedure, and it will keep even the most sophisticated reader at sea right until the end. And that's what elevates this book to the level of literature.
This one is more about Joe Pike, Elvis's silent sidekick, than it is about Elvis. We learn, through Pike's own eyes, how his childhood made him the way he is today. It's also about a friendship so strong that it threatens Elvis's relationship with his beloved Lucy. It is a tender but dark book--a serial killer book--but it doesn't attempt to outgross the other serial killer books on the shelf. It is funny at times and chilling at other times, making it one of the rare books that can't help but linger in the memory long after it's been read and put away. --Otto Penzler
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