johnnyb1954's review against another edition
3.0
Hard to believe plot. The parts concerning Elvis and Lucy are awkward and not well written. Last chapter is dumb. It’s an okay detective story. I never understand why Joe Pike is in these books. But they are consistently 3 stars, they’ll do in a pinch.
scott_a_miller's review against another edition
3.0
Seriously. What just happened? A 5 star book almost ended up with 2 because of that stupid ending chapter. What a disappointment.
Most everything was excellent. The characters, the mystery. Sure it felt a little like a certain former Hertz salesman’s story in the ‘90’s but even that was okay. Cole and Pike were as good as always. Lucy and Ben looked like great additions. Then that last chapter. If you read the book, don’t read chapter 39.
Most everything was excellent. The characters, the mystery. Sure it felt a little like a certain former Hertz salesman’s story in the ‘90’s but even that was okay. Cole and Pike were as good as always. Lucy and Ben looked like great additions. Then that last chapter. If you read the book, don’t read chapter 39.
martyfried's review against another edition
5.0
Another excellent book about one of my favorite characters, Elvis Cole, world's greatest detective and his faithful partner, Joe Pike. In this story, he maintains his reputation after being hired by a famous lawyer by quickly finding finding the killers, or suspected killers, and becoming somewhat of a media celebrity. But it was too early to end the book, and it seemed a bit too easy. And then things started getting strange. The killers and certain witnesses seemed to disappear or die. The sleazy lawyer became sleazier. The arresting officer that Elvis had cleared suddenly was under investigation for tampering with evidence and under suspension.
Well, needless to say, our hero Elvis can't let something like this go on, and Joe Pike just happened to have some history with the arresting officer (who is a she, not that it matters). The story gets interesting, although we never really know exactly how things end up. But that's OK, we get to participate in writing the ending.
Well, needless to say, our hero Elvis can't let something like this go on, and Joe Pike just happened to have some history with the arresting officer (who is a she, not that it matters). The story gets interesting, although we never really know exactly how things end up. But that's OK, we get to participate in writing the ending.
joetee's review against another edition
5.0
I couldn’t put this one down. It was a much more by-the-book detective thriller with an interesting mix of an on-going trial. I also enjoy Lucy and Ben getting involved in Elvis’ life. (Read Voodoo River first, at least, before reading this one)
jimbowen0306's review against another edition
3.0
Back in the day I read all the MacKenzie and Genaro books by Dennis Lehane. Set in Boston, they were gritty, but had some humour too. This book, which is set in Los Angeles, works the same vein, but with a little less grit, and humour.
In this book, the wife of a (Hard Rock Cafe style) restauranteur turns up dead. Elvis Cole is brought in for the defence to help the case, which he does, with his usual professionalism, but when things go sideways, to his eyes, he goes rogue, and really solves the case.
It’s not the most profound fiction in the world, but it’s just a little formulaic maybe? You kind of knew the direction of travel, from the moment the body is found.
In this book, the wife of a (Hard Rock Cafe style) restauranteur turns up dead. Elvis Cole is brought in for the defence to help the case, which he does, with his usual professionalism, but when things go sideways, to his eyes, he goes rogue, and really solves the case.
It’s not the most profound fiction in the world, but it’s just a little formulaic maybe? You kind of knew the direction of travel, from the moment the body is found.
dws405's review against another edition
3.0
Easy read about sleazy lawyers and honorable private investigators.
jakewritesbooks's review against another edition
2.0
When baseball players are in a slump, there’s an old school remedy for doing something on the side to help break out of it. It’s called finding a “slumpbuster.” I’m not going to talk about what it actually is since it’s rooted in horrific misogyny (and I suggest you don’t google it either) but I’m going to take the germ of an idea (minus the misogyny) and apply it to reading.
Finishing books has been a chore lately and I was disheartened at how much I didn’t like Philip Kerr’s Metropolis so it took me a few false starts before I came to this one. I don’t have the best history with Robert Crais. Stalking the Angel is one of the worst books I ever finished and I’ve tried a few more of his without much success. They’re the kind of bestseller/dad-lit books I tend to avoid; cliches left and right, tough guy dialogue mixed with wisecracks galore, no sensitivity beyond the plight of the white working man.
But they are readable. And I crave LA noirs. So when I heard this was inspired by the OJ Simpson trial, I decided to pick it up. For the first 50%, I’m glad I did. Crais got the memo on how annoying Elvis was in his earlier books and he’s sincerely toned down. I really appreciated that. The beginning of the book itself, with scenes minus Elvis, was pulse pounding and I imagined that had it been written by Michael Connelly, it would have been much better. Yet even when Elvis begins doing his thing, I still found myself relatively entertained. It was sailing towards a 3-star read.
But!
Of course, like a lot of people post-OJ, Elvis has a big problem with how it all went down. The lawyers, the crooks, guys getting off scot free! (Is it “scot free”, “scott free” or “Scott free”?). It helps that he switches the races of the perp and the attorneys but it’s still problematic: cops good, those guys bad. Crais’ generation took all the wrong lessons from Chandler, Hammett and Macdonald. Chandler’s Marlowe was an anti-system dude who hated cops. Hammett’s Red Harvest was basically an apology for his Pinkerton days. Macdonald’s Archer occasionally worked with DAs but almost always had a run in with some overeager foot patrolman. It wasn’t all tough talking, hard drinking, dame screwing real men. Those classics were critiques against the system. Many contemporary PIs like Elvis Cole generally work through the system.
You can write a novel with police corruption and have it be nuanced and respectful to law enforcement. Michael Connelly threads this needle sometimes. But man, this could have, should have been better. This should have finally been my gateway to this series. And instead, I just ended it annoyed.
On the flip side: slump busted! I now look forward to reading something better.
Finishing books has been a chore lately and I was disheartened at how much I didn’t like Philip Kerr’s Metropolis so it took me a few false starts before I came to this one. I don’t have the best history with Robert Crais. Stalking the Angel is one of the worst books I ever finished and I’ve tried a few more of his without much success. They’re the kind of bestseller/dad-lit books I tend to avoid; cliches left and right, tough guy dialogue mixed with wisecracks galore, no sensitivity beyond the plight of the white working man.
But they are readable. And I crave LA noirs. So when I heard this was inspired by the OJ Simpson trial, I decided to pick it up. For the first 50%, I’m glad I did. Crais got the memo on how annoying Elvis was in his earlier books and he’s sincerely toned down. I really appreciated that. The beginning of the book itself, with scenes minus Elvis, was pulse pounding and I imagined that had it been written by Michael Connelly, it would have been much better. Yet even when Elvis begins doing his thing, I still found myself relatively entertained. It was sailing towards a 3-star read.
But!
Of course, like a lot of people post-OJ, Elvis has a big problem with how it all went down. The lawyers, the crooks, guys getting off scot free! (Is it “scot free”, “scott free” or “Scott free”?). It helps that he switches the races of the perp and the attorneys but it’s still problematic: cops good, those guys bad. Crais’ generation took all the wrong lessons from Chandler, Hammett and Macdonald. Chandler’s Marlowe was an anti-system dude who hated cops. Hammett’s Red Harvest was basically an apology for his Pinkerton days. Macdonald’s Archer occasionally worked with DAs but almost always had a run in with some overeager foot patrolman. It wasn’t all tough talking, hard drinking, dame screwing real men. Those classics were critiques against the system. Many contemporary PIs like Elvis Cole generally work through the system.
You can write a novel with police corruption and have it be nuanced and respectful to law enforcement. Michael Connelly threads this needle sometimes. But man, this could have, should have been better. This should have finally been my gateway to this series. And instead, I just ended it annoyed.
On the flip side: slump busted! I now look forward to reading something better.
plantbirdwoman's review against another edition
4.0
Well, that was fun.
The World's Greatest Detective, Elvis Cole, is back on his home turf of Los Angeles after a sojourn in Louisiana in the last book. In Louisiana, he met Lucy Chenier, who, along with her young son, is still a part of his life.
In Los Angeles, high-powered defense attorney Jonathan Green is defending millionaire restauranteur Teddy Martin who is charged with his wife's brutal murder. Green hires the WGD to try to prove that an LAPD detective named Angela Rossi planted evidence - namely the murder weapon - to make Martin appear guilty.
Elvis' investigation doesn't go the way Green wants it to. In fact, he proves just the opposite. Angela Rossi seems clean and dedicated to her job and it looks like Martin is guilty.
Green thanks Elvis for his work and moves on. But soon it appears that some of the people interviewed by Elvis are unaccountably changing their stories to make it appear that Rossi is untrustworthy and Green's appearances on television news imply that the evidence was planted and that his client has been framed.
Meanwhile, Elvis is distracted because Lucy and her son are coming for a visit.
Adding yet another twist to the story, we learn that Elvis' partner, Joe Pike, has a history with Angela Rossi. She was a rookie cop just as he was leaving the force and apparently they had a relationship. Joe is fully convinced that Angela is a good cop, not dirty.
The supporting cast of characters here is interesting, from the upright little old lady who is the mother of the convict who holds part of the key to the mystery to the slimy group of lawyers and investigators in the Green orbit. Angela and her partner, Dan Tomsic, are compelling as well, and one hopes to see them again in later Cole and Pike mysteries.
Lucy and her son, Ben, serve to soften the characters of Cole and Pike and give them a deeper dimension, but I could have done with a bit fewer sloppy moments of touching and significant glances between Lucy and Elvis. Their deep and abiding love seems to have come on a bit quickly and it's hard to take it completely seriously. We'll see how this relationship develops - if it does - in future books.
Crais, as always, writes with a light and bemused touch and he moves his plot along with breakneck speed toward a bang-up conclusion. These books are popcorn for the brain, but one needs a little popcorn in one's life.
The World's Greatest Detective, Elvis Cole, is back on his home turf of Los Angeles after a sojourn in Louisiana in the last book. In Louisiana, he met Lucy Chenier, who, along with her young son, is still a part of his life.
In Los Angeles, high-powered defense attorney Jonathan Green is defending millionaire restauranteur Teddy Martin who is charged with his wife's brutal murder. Green hires the WGD to try to prove that an LAPD detective named Angela Rossi planted evidence - namely the murder weapon - to make Martin appear guilty.
Elvis' investigation doesn't go the way Green wants it to. In fact, he proves just the opposite. Angela Rossi seems clean and dedicated to her job and it looks like Martin is guilty.
Green thanks Elvis for his work and moves on. But soon it appears that some of the people interviewed by Elvis are unaccountably changing their stories to make it appear that Rossi is untrustworthy and Green's appearances on television news imply that the evidence was planted and that his client has been framed.
Meanwhile, Elvis is distracted because Lucy and her son are coming for a visit.
Adding yet another twist to the story, we learn that Elvis' partner, Joe Pike, has a history with Angela Rossi. She was a rookie cop just as he was leaving the force and apparently they had a relationship. Joe is fully convinced that Angela is a good cop, not dirty.
The supporting cast of characters here is interesting, from the upright little old lady who is the mother of the convict who holds part of the key to the mystery to the slimy group of lawyers and investigators in the Green orbit. Angela and her partner, Dan Tomsic, are compelling as well, and one hopes to see them again in later Cole and Pike mysteries.
Lucy and her son, Ben, serve to soften the characters of Cole and Pike and give them a deeper dimension, but I could have done with a bit fewer sloppy moments of touching and significant glances between Lucy and Elvis. Their deep and abiding love seems to have come on a bit quickly and it's hard to take it completely seriously. We'll see how this relationship develops - if it does - in future books.
Crais, as always, writes with a light and bemused touch and he moves his plot along with breakneck speed toward a bang-up conclusion. These books are popcorn for the brain, but one needs a little popcorn in one's life.