A review by ncrabb
Lullaby Town, by Robert Crais
3.0
When she was 18, the woman was Karen Nelson, newly married to a guy who wanted to make it big in pictures and didn’t particularly want her or her as-yet-unborn son. He was Peter Alan Nelson—a name that ultimately came to mean something in the world of movie directing. But when they were young, he just wanted out of the relationship.
Accordingly, she moved east, taking the child with her and erasing all evidence of her connection to Nelsen. Flash forward 12 years: Nelson is now a hotshot Hollywood director whose petulance and immaturity is legendary. These days, he always gets what he wants, and what he wants right now is a relationship with his ex-wife and the son he never met. But first he must find them. That’s where Elvis Cole comes in. Cole, as many of you know, is Robert Crais’s Vietnam vet turned private detective. He’s a decent thoughtful guy, and his character is complex enough that I enjoy my occasional forays into his life. It’s been years since I read one of these Elvis Cole books, and it was good to read this one.
While she doesn’t want to be found, Karen is easily enough tracked down by Cole. Now he has to figure out why she so desperately wants her anonymity. What he discovers is sad indeed. Desperate for money when she first came to the small Connecticut town where Cole finds her, Karen began laundering money for a New York mob boss. But she desperately wants out, and she sees Elvis Cole as her ticket out—eventually.
This is a fast-paced thriller that will keep you reading. Elvis has to grapple with mob influence wherever he goes while solving this case, and as you might expect, his life is in danger more than once.
There are no sexual descriptions here, but the profanity flies almost without restraint. The final wind-up scene occurs in, of all places, an untended pumpkin field! Who says Crais doesn’t have a great imagination? Not me, and neither will you if you decide to read this.
Accordingly, she moved east, taking the child with her and erasing all evidence of her connection to Nelsen. Flash forward 12 years: Nelson is now a hotshot Hollywood director whose petulance and immaturity is legendary. These days, he always gets what he wants, and what he wants right now is a relationship with his ex-wife and the son he never met. But first he must find them. That’s where Elvis Cole comes in. Cole, as many of you know, is Robert Crais’s Vietnam vet turned private detective. He’s a decent thoughtful guy, and his character is complex enough that I enjoy my occasional forays into his life. It’s been years since I read one of these Elvis Cole books, and it was good to read this one.
While she doesn’t want to be found, Karen is easily enough tracked down by Cole. Now he has to figure out why she so desperately wants her anonymity. What he discovers is sad indeed. Desperate for money when she first came to the small Connecticut town where Cole finds her, Karen began laundering money for a New York mob boss. But she desperately wants out, and she sees Elvis Cole as her ticket out—eventually.
This is a fast-paced thriller that will keep you reading. Elvis has to grapple with mob influence wherever he goes while solving this case, and as you might expect, his life is in danger more than once.
There are no sexual descriptions here, but the profanity flies almost without restraint. The final wind-up scene occurs in, of all places, an untended pumpkin field! Who says Crais doesn’t have a great imagination? Not me, and neither will you if you decide to read this.