Rating: 
Summary: Elvis has left the bldg.
Review: This isn't a bad read, but it's not Elvis Cole. I have read all the Crais novels, including Demolition Angel and Hostage, and, like Hostage, this is more of a script than an Elvis Cole novel. And it's not a mystery either. The average reader will figure out "who done it" right out of the gate. I think the author has toned down Elvis a little too much. Hey, this is fiction so it's okay if the main character is a character. It isn't necessary from him to be PC - in touch with his inner self. The early Cole novels seemed more colorful and descriptive. The Last Detective is all business from the beginning - as if it had to fit in the 90 minutes the studio will allow.
Rating: 
Summary: Different, but worth the ride
Review: I have loved this series since the first book, but with the last two, Crais has changed direction. Darker, deeper, more disturbing, nary a joke nor a one-liner in the entire novel. I can't say I'm altogether pleased. This book, quite frankly, is not as much fun as the first few in the series, but still, it works very well. Lucy says to Elvis that, "These things don't happen to normal people." Of course, she's right. The reader has the option of accepting that Elvis and Joe are entirely not normal, or else concluding that the plots are contrived and unrealistic. I'm willing to go with the former. A writer as good as Crais deserves some poetic license, and I'm looking forward to many more volumes of Elvis and Joe in the not too distant future.
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Summary: A Bitter Disappointment
Review: As an Elvis Cole and Robert Crais fan, I waited with great anticipation to read the "The Last Detective". What a bitter disappointment! A predictable plot, I had the villain identified by Chapter 3 and knew immediately the Elvis/Luce relationship was history. Where was the wise-cracking, free-spirt, hilarious Elvis Cole? Looking forward to his return in the next book in the series.
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Summary: JOE PIKE IS THE MAN
Review: The only complaint I have with this book is that is too short. I wanted the story to keep going. That is how enjoyable it was. I am a big Robert Crais fan and have read all his books. This rates right up there with all the other Elvis Cole novels. The MVP of the story goes to Joe Pike. He has to be the most indelible character in fiction. If I ever would want a bodyguard, Joe would be it. For those that have not read The Last Detective yet.......Does Joe meet his match? Do not miss reading this book.
Rating:
Summary: The Last Detective
Review: Kudos to Robert Crais for delivering another slam-bang Elvis Cole novel. This time around Elvis is searching for the kidnapped son of his girlfriend which is somehow linked to his time spent in Vietnam. This book is fabulous! I can't wait to read it again and I can't wait for the next one. Write faster, Robert!
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Summary: Page turner.
Review: I've read all the series.. I would recommend this as being the best. The theme of The Last Detective is kidnapping. A story line, in which the past events in the lives of Joe and, in particular, Elvis cleverly intermingle. How Elvis was landed with his Christian name and a harrowing account of what happened on a tour of duty in Vietnam. I think that these further insights into their characters are due and very worthwhile. Gone is the structured routine of question and interviews by Elvis, in his previous role as the wise cracking PI. Instead he is under the cosh right from the start as blame is laid onto him for the kidnapping of his girlfriend's young son. It would seem, that someone from Elvis's past is responsible. Joe Pike is much more involved in the action in The Last Detective. Rather than just making fleeting "guest" appearances as in the previous books. And the pressure is really on. Not only to clear the name of Elvis, but to locate the missing child. The pair working together, ducking and diving the bullets, make a tough combination. It has a cracking ending. Exciting, loaded with suspense.
Rating: 
Summary: The Elvis Cole Series Only Gets Better and Better
Review: I thought the early Elvis Cole books were pretty light reading. Cole spent most of the books getting off one liners while doing detective work for a series of quirky clients and Joe Pike was always there to save his bacon if real muscle was needed.It was the sort of thing you would grab in paperback for an airplane ride, but not the type of book you would invest hardcover money in. Well, with his three most recent books, LA Requiem, The Hostage and Demolition Angel, Robert Crais became an author worth reading. He continues his growth with his latest in the Cole series. In this story, Cole's girlfriends 12 year old son is kidnapped while in Cole's care. Why he was kidnapped and by whom becomes the focus of the ensuing investigation and the answers do not come easily. The kidnappers seem to know about some dark secret in Cole's service as an Army Ranger in Viet Nam. As the clues are uncovered the story gets more convoluted and the reader becomes more and more involved in the plot. Crais reintroduces LAPD Detective Carol Starkey from Demolition Angel in this book and we get the feeling that we will be seeing her again. I continue to look forward to this author's development and so should you.
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Summary: Read it in a morning.....
Review: Read it in a morning.....and lots I was supposed to do, too. I may have to seek a higher power.....Now, we have to wait another year for the next one.....
Rating:
Summary: Crais Just Keeps Getting Better
Review: The Elvis Cole Series was originally a bit of fluff. A guy that had more one liners than Milton Berle and a seedy cast of clients who were entertaining, but not that interesting a read. It was airport novel stuff. No more. With his last three books, The Hostage, Demolition Angel and LA Requiem Mr. Crais has become a serious writer and one capable of keeping you up late into the night. This is such a book. I don't know what pill he took, but I would like to have a supply of them. In this book, Elvis is in charge of his girlfriend's 12 year old son when he is kidnapped. (the kid) Why it was done takes a while. Who did it gets revealed in good time. How Elvis and the ubiquitous Joe Pike deal with the sinister characters they are up against is always entertaining. This is a keeper.
Rating:
Summary: When Does the Movie Come Out?
Review: There is no excess in the book... Lean and mean. Ready to go and go it does. Within five minutes Crais takes the reader on a roller coaster chase for a kidnapped child. I can see the movie already.
About the people in the book: people don't change. They get more like they always were. Good guys, bad guys and all the others, too. What they do and how they do it all fit with who they are and what drives them.
This was a great sit down and read the whole thing cover to cover book. Later you think about the people.
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