The Last Detective

Rating:
Summary: Not one of Crais's best
Review: I have been a fan of Robert Crais since I was first captured by Crais's unique and enjoyable style in "Freefall" in the early 90's. "Freefall" was my first Elvis Cole novel, and I was immediately hooked. He quickly became one of my favorite authors. I went on to read every other Cole book I could find, and was sad to see "Hostage" and "Demolition Angel" come out in place of another Elvis story. I was, however, NOT disappointed in either book, as for stand alone novels, these were top notch, well done, fast paced stories that kept you on the edge of your seat.

I was beyond thrilled to hear that Crais was working on another Cole story. But when I got the hard copy of "The Last Detective" in my hands after a very long 4 year wait, I am sorry to say I was highly disappointed.

Gone from this book was Elvis's witty one liners, his fun sense of humor and cast of quirky, odd-ball secondary characters. The thing I've always loved about Elvis is that lying underneath his good-natured humor was a man with good morals, who was absolutely dead serious about getting the job done. Every Elvis book in the past has dealt with serious issues, but not once did Elvis loose the light hearted way in which he dealt with these issues. Unfortunately, that is not the case with "The Last Detective".

There is absolutely no humor in this book, and it is full of darkness, moodiness and a lot of military psycho-babble, which is hard to follow at times and a bit dry. The story is a bit slow, and jumps back and forth from being told in first to third person, making the pace of an already choppy book even choppier. Although I enjoyed "Demolition Angel" and did sympathize with Carol Starkey's dark, moody and foul-mouthed character, and while I applaud Crais's decision to intertwine Starkey with Elvis, I do not think they would make a good romantic pairing, which it appears (if the end of "The Last Detective" is any indication) that Crais is considering for future Cole novels.

The one good part of this book was learning more of Elvis's past. Though that is something I've been longing to be revealed, I would have preferred it to have been done differently somehow, perhaps within in-depth, soul-searching discussions between Elvis and Lucy, or even Elvis and Pike.

All of this said, I am still a huge Crais fan, and will anticipate Crais's next Elvis Cole release. I can only hope that future stories will revert back to his older style of writing, the one which we've come to know and love.

Rating:
Summary: Elvis Cole is the King of the Tough Guys
Review: Elvis Cole is watching 10-year-old Ben Chenier, the son of his girlfriend Lucy, who is away on a journalistic assignment. Ben wanders out behind the house one evening while Cole is on the phone. When he's finished with the call, Ben is gone.

A man calls and says he has the boy and that he is acting in revenge because Cole got some rangers and innocent civilians killed in Vietnam. Cole denies the accusations, but now he's got something to work with.

Cole and his lethal pal, ex-marine, ex-cop Joe Pike learn that the kidnappers are three soldiers of fortune whose leader is wanted as a war criminal for his part in genocide in Sierra Leone. The man was a ranger, like Cole. He's one tough character and he's buried Ben in a box with a tube for him to breath by. Ben is brave, but he is no match for his kidnappers.

Cole's enemy is younger and better trained and he has two professional aides. But that doesn't matter. Cole and Pike live by a sort of Hemingwayesque code combined with a warrior's pride. Like Rambo, they don't back down and like Rambo, when ticked off, they leave violence in their wake.

In the LAST DETECTIVE Robert Crais takes his readers on a wild, twisting and tension filled ride that will have them reading throughout the night. He expertly uses flashbacks to give his readers Cole's back story, something many of us have craved. The flashback's also serve to humanize Cole in a that we haven't seen before.

There are a lot of tough guy characters out there who are fun to read about, Jack Reacher comes to mind, but for my money Elvis Cole is the king of the hill. Well, his sidekick Joe Pike is one pretty tough mutha too, good thing he fights with Cole and not against.

Jeremiah McCain

Rating:
Summary: A Firecracker of a Detective Story
Review: Elvis Cole turns his back on his girlfriend's ten-year-old son Ben while watching him and the boy is snatched. When the kidnappers contact Cole, they say they took the boy to pay back Cole for his role in causing unnecessary deaths during the Vietnam War.

With his ex-Marine pal Joe Pike, Cole races time to get Ben back as he tries to find clues to his past that could help find who the kidnappers are, but their investigation is hindered by the boy's father, a businessman from New Orleans who brings his own security professionals into town. He wants his son back and he'll do whatever it takes and more power to him if he can damage Cole's reputation in the process.

There is a sense of a ticking clock in this firecracker of a story that keeps the tension high and there are plenty of unexpected twists and turns that will keep you reading when you have other things to do. Plus we learn a lot about Cole's service in Vietnam and even about his childhood through a series of flashbacks that in the hands of most authors would slow the story down, but not so here, here the flashbacks add to and enrich the story.

Sara "Babe" Hackett, Girlfriend from the Darkside

Rating:
Summary: Have to admit he's getting better.
Review: Would I buy this book? Yes. Why? I came in with and admit I struggled through Voodoo River. This one is just a lot better. Crais had a tough time setting up the Elvis Cole/ Lucy Chernier relationship the former novel, subsequent work seems to have made the writer comfortable with the device, and he works it into the plot structure (I don't think it gives anything away to reveal that by the end of the novel we learn that Lucy's ex is a good/bad guy. Could he reprise?) Joe Pike and Elvis Cole also develop as characters via flashbacks to childhood, wartime and other experiences entangled with plot events . In all of this Crais' prose is clear and driving toward the conclusion. There is little wasted space in this novel. No philosophizing a la Tom Clancy over nature of BAD/bad guys nor confrontation by forces of good with suchlike. ( I thought that ground was covered in "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence") Cole and Pike smite the wicked. Curiously, however, as Cole becomes more human he loses some charm. The wisecracking,rogue "world's greatest detective" is now more the world's toughest detective. This may be as far as this can go without Crais losing the character, but for the time being, ENJOY.

Rating:
Summary: Change is good, most of the time
Review: After reading all the Elvis Cole novels, it is easy to see that in the latest, there is more character development and change for the reader. I've read a few reviews and tend to echo the thoughts of the positive ones and will try to add something more to what has already been said.

Time clearly passes in Crais' Los Angeles, and with it, the lives of his principal characters. Joe Pike, Elvis' partner and otherwise near-superman, is no longer quite so indestructible. Elvis too, is undergoing changes, which become more apparent as the story progresses.

This is good, and a hallmark of good writing, for without change in the characters, the story would essentially remain the same.

Crais reprises several characters from previous novels - most notably Carol Starkey (Demolition Angel) and John Chen the crime scene investigator with an adolescent's obssession with sex. However, it is not necessary to have read previous novels to accept these characters and enjoy their contribution to the tale.

Lucy Chenier, whose kidnapped son Ben is the crux of the plot is not so prominent, for reasons that will become clear by the end of the book.

Pace, as always, is tremendous in Crais' latest work, and there are patches of descriptive prose that convey emotion and location so well. Unusually for Crais, these patches are infrequent, as if he was in two different minds when he wrote certain parts of the book. Also as a criticism is his use of the word "leaked": rain clouds leak rain, eyes leak tears, and so forth. This was noticeable and distracting.

One of the hardest things to do is write from a child's perspective. J. V. Jones does this very, very well, and Crais is not far behind, if at all. The parts of the story where the world is given from Ben's point of view are very well done.

Although I suspected which direction the story would move a fair way before the denouement, it was no less thrilling and shocking. Suffice to say, the resolution was satisfying.

So, I learned more about the characters and got to see them change. I read the book very quickly, never once stumbling through a sentence or wondering about the author's intent. Again, this is a characteristic of a good writer. Suspension of disbelief was no problem either.

Crais obviously pays attention to detail, writes well, crafts his plot with care and ensures there are no loose ends to be tied.

I look forward to his next effort.

Rating:
Summary: ELVIS COLE GROWS UP, LOSES VOICE
Review: It was inevitable: Elvis Cole had to grow up. And he does, in a charming yet deeply saddening way. . . .

In the ninth round of Elvis Cole novels, Crais has abandoned the old wise-cracking , sarcastic voice for Cole, who now faces his greatest threat: the sudden disappearance of his girlfriend Lucy's son, Ben. Lucy has moved out to LA to be in Elvis' world, and is not a happy woman. At all. I used to live in Hell-A. I know just how she feels.

To add to her misery, her ex-husband Richard, who hates Cole, is trying to break them apart with the hope Lucy and Ben will return to Louisiana. Lucy is on the verge, although isn't interested in Richard. Ben is torn.

As Elvis and my fave jarhead Joe Pike, who's recovering from a severe gunshot wound to the shoulder, go a-hunting for Ben, the two are thrust into a miasma of danger and lies and deception and lies and danger.

Did I mention danger?

The antagonist in The Last Detective is an ex-Army dude who reeks of Ranger and D-Boy experience, a lethal combo that gets Elvis into . . . well, you'll need to read for yourself.

What I miss the most is Elvis' smartassness. It attracted me to the series in the first place, and I was always pleasantly surprised and delighted to read his stories regardless of the storyline.

After Crais wrote Demolition Angel and Hostage, both of which were in an equally serious tone, I think he allowed this dark tone to seep into Elvis' mind during The Last Detective. The storyline is cool, Elvis is "there," but not quite there. He seems always in a daze, walking stoically from one scene to the next, expecting Joe Pike to do all the dirty work. Oops, or perhaps "Demolition Angel" Starkey, who makes short appearances as a police officer in the Juvenile Section.

And you know, with all this said, I still give him 5 stars and would award more if possible, because Crais is a great storyteller and even if Elvis did finally grow up, well, what the heck. He's still a lovable character you can't help but want to root for. And when he gets into trouble, you want to see how the blazes Joe Pike will get him out of it.

Elvis, I wish you were still a kid, and I love you anyway. . . .

Dean Garner
Santa Barbara, CA

Rating:
Summary: The Last Detective
Review: A tough guy who loves Disney collectables and kids. Elvis Cole is my kind of guy.

While babysitting his girlfriends kid; Ben Chanier , his young charge is kidnapped. That is the first chapter. From there Elvis, his girlfriend and partner all have to look to there pasts to solve the mysstery of the kidnappers and try and get young Ben back.

This book is so fast paced that I had to read it twice. The action is non stop.

Rating:
Summary: Not exactly a page turner
Review: I bought this book by relying on the first four
customer reviews, all five stars. This was a silly
tale without any strong characters. Having just
finished "The Vanishing Man" and "The Da Vinci Code",
I can't give this book more than one star. Whoever
wrote about tension and suspense, I could not find
any of them. The book was too predictable, and Elvis
lacks the smarts to be a half decent P.I.

Rating:
Summary: Tension Action Everything!
Review: Elvis Cole is taking care of 10 year old Ben Chenier while Ben's mother, Lucy, is out of town. Lucy and Elvis have been together for awhile and now Elvis is getting closer to Ben. Suddenly Ben is kidnapped from Elvis' home. There seems to be a connection between Elvis' Vietnam War years and the motive for the kidnapping. The flashbacks to Cole's experiences in Vietnam are absolutely riveting...a little reminiscent of Black Hawk Down, but even better. Joe Pike is back after suffering significant injuries eight months earlier. He is still not 100%. Will he be able to help Cole save Ben? The ending is tension filled with non-stop action (took me half an hour after I finished the book to get my neck muscles to relax). An excellent addition to the Elvis Cole series.

Rating:
Summary: Stone cold serious Elvis Cole
Review: Things are not so funny when his girlfriend's son is kidnapped right from under his nose. Gone are the wisecracks, but rightly so - this case has got to be solved ASAP. Cole's time in Vietnam is focused here - also not too funny. Excellent Cole/Pike adventure.