Rating: 
Summary: At Last!
Review: Title: The Last Detective
Author: Robert Crais
Publisher: Doubleday
Genre: Detective Mystery Series
ISBN 0-385-50426-8
Rating: R I approached "The Last Detective," by Robert Crais with mixed emotions. After what happened in LA Requiem I knew that this wouldn't be the "Monkey's Raincoat" all over again, as a matter of fact, it will probably never be the "Monkey's Raincoat" again. While knowing that change is a necessary part of life, it's not always my favorite part. And I worried, what does he mean "The Last Detective?" Are we going to say good-bye to Elvis Cole forever? But eagerness overcame trepidation and I plunged in.
Then everything else fell away. The setup sends chills up your spine, like a movie scene where the music stops and nothing moves but the hero, headed towards unknown but certain disaster. Then back to normal for a brief moment, and you wonder why your heart is beating so fast.
Is there anything that could be more frightening than losing your child? The answer is yes; losing someone else's child, a child who was entrusted to your care. And that's what the spine chilling and heart racing were all about. As Cole nears the end of his week with Ben, someone snatches the 10-year old son of Elvis Cole's girlfriend, Lucille Chenier. One minute he and Elvis are talking dinner, the next minute Ben is gone.
What follows is a story that will shake you on many levels. It will shake your beliefs about family, love, war and revenge. It will take you to the edge of fear, frustration and frailty. It will force you to look at what you expect from your heroes. It will teach you that finding out that they are real does not lessen them but makes their deeds even more heroic. To accomplish this, Crais pulls out all stops as his writing style catapults into the literary stratosphere. Without losing any of his familiar crispness, he layers on depth and dimension through the use of flashbacks and narrative perspective that could only succeed in the hands of a pro.
We've also come to expect a strong supporting cast of players to accompany Elvis Cole and are not disappointed. Joe Pike, not fully recovered from his near-death experience is back on the job none-the-less. And the irony of these two Zen-ish guys breaking down doors, freaking out and kickin' a** was definitely not lost! On the other hand, Lucy Chenier does not have her finest hour as we see her shrewish, whiney side emerge under fire. And the Chenster, re-appears, John Chen horny crime scene investigator who still can't get a girl ... even with his nifty silver Porche.
Often the best books push the boundaries of genre as well. Suspense, mystery and humor in one book pack a powerful punch. And I especially love a thriller in the hands of a mystery writer because it doesn't blindside the reader with some supernatural resolution. Also, Crais kindly allows us to discover the perpetrators along with Elvis and Joe, maybe even before Elvis and Joe if we're really paying attention! You don't get that kind of thrill in your average suspense novel.
There's all this and more that telling would spoil...and I'd never do that. As I recommended with LA Requiem, read a couple of the early stories in the series first to get the full impact of The Last Detective by Robert Crais. About the Reviewer: Maggie Harding is a substance abuse counselor in Phoenix, AZ. who wanted to be Brenda Starr before life intervened. Her reviews can be heard every Wednesday on BookCrazy.net. To contact Maggie, e-mail [...].
Rating:
Summary: Who is Elvis Cole?
Review: The 5 stars are for fans of the series, naturally. This entry concerns the kidnapping of Elvis' girlfriend, Lucy Chenier's, son Ben, ostensibly by someone seeking lethal revenge on Elvis. But author Robert Crais uses this background to reveal much more about Elvis than we have previously known, much the same as he did for Joe Pike in L.A. Requiem. While I note some reader's miss the wise-ass, wise-cracking humor of the earlier Elvis Cole books, which is definitely missing in this and the previously mentioned novel, what takes its place is a much more rounded portrait of our two protaganists, which I find not only gratifying but will be useful in appreciating future Cole/Pike adventures. I have only recently gotten into this series and Michael Connelly's excellent Hironymous Bosch novels, which share the same general territory (Hollywood/LA) and reflect each other while showing how two fine authors can cover the same turf and yet be very different reads. Matter of fact, Robert Crais gives the nod to his colleague in this novel, because that is surely Harry Bosch having a cigarette outside the Hollywood PD station who has a nodding acquaintance and conversation with his neighbor, Elvis Cole. At any rate, Crais has fun with this novel, shifting viewpoints and perspectives, and bringing Elvis a little more into focus. Good read.
Rating: 
Summary: First book I've read of this author, I may read some more.
Review: I received this as a free audio book, so I should not complain. It was more of a MAN's mystery than I am use to reading. All characters were very predictable. The only females were overly emotional or sexual. The "mystery of the book" I had figured out really early so there was no really surprise element to this book. It had an excellent flash back to Vietnam, I got the feeling that the author was there. All in all, not a bad book, I'm glad I listened to it.
Rating:
Summary: excellent, fast read.
Review: as with the other Cole books, the book is
an excellent fast read. I read it in one day.
The story moves fast and the tone is darker than
some of the other Cole books.
It does become obvious to the reader what is really
happening long before the characters in the book see it, but
it is still a fun ride.
Rating:
Summary: Cole and Pike are Back!!!!
Review: The last two Elvis Coles had been almost boring because of the taming effect his new relationship had on him. But this one brought him back with a vengeance . . . with Pike struggling to come back from serious injuries from the last outing. This gave the excellent character Joe Pike a lot more depth. Thoroughly enjoyable.
Rating:
Summary: A thrilling, gripping detective story!
Review: Elvis Cole is a private detective. He has a past--and until now, it's been a mystery. But someone is dragging Cole through his own dirt, and revealing the skeletons in his closet.
Cole's girlfriend's son, Ben, has just been kidnapped. Whoever did it is a professional...he is used to stalking humans, and is NOT one for failure. Cole, along with his silent-but-deadly partner/friend Joe Pike, is about to enter a world where no one can be trusted, where danger lurks around every corner...and where hope may only be an illusion.
Robert Crais is a great writer. Though he has written other novels with different characters (Carol Starkey, who appeared in his novel DEMOLITION ANGEL, plays a role here), his best have always been his Elvis Cole mysteries. An engaging and multi-leveled character, Elvis Cole is often overlooked in today's reading world...but shouldn't be. And neither should Crais. THE LAST DETECTIVE is a great, thrilling read by a great, engaging author.
Rating:
Summary: A Darn Good Mystery/Action Thriller
Review: Elvis Cole, LA private inspector, is baby-sitting his girlfriend's son, when all of a sudden the child disappears. Elvis's goal is to find the child, all the while working with tight lipped partner, the LA cops, his girlfriend's ex husband, and many other goons and low-lifes.
While not a literary masterpiece, this book is a fun page turner. The action and fluidity is constant, the plot is well conceived, and the stand-offs between Elvis and everyone else keeps things interesting. Though the plot is pretty standard, the unraveling of the plot is magnificent. Crais could have turned the book into a sappy kid story, but instead concentrated on the kidnapping hunt.
This is a great page turning read. One of those books where before you know, you've reached the end.
Rating:
Summary: Cole and Pike are the best
Review: I've just completed "The Last Detective", and I'm sad it's over, yet satisfied I've just read a very good book. The struggling insights into himself Cole is wrestling out of his experiences and the further development of Pike's cracking rigidity make the story of a kidnapping far more than routine. There is a lot hidden within the lines of a well written story. I recommmend it highly. If you can read them in order, (the Elvis Cole stories - check the copyright dates for the order of publication)the full evolution of the series comes to light easier. However, each book loses nothing when read out of sequence.
Rating:
Summary: Who is Elvis Cole?
Review: The 5 stars are for fans of the series, naturally. This entry concerns the kidnapping of Elvis' girlfriend, Lucy Chenier's, son Ben, ostensibly by someone seeking lethal revenge on Elvis. But author Robert Crais uses this background to reveal much more about Elvis than we have previously known, much the same as he did for Joe Pike in L.A. Requiem. While I note some reader's miss the wise-ass, wise-cracking humor of the earlier Elvis Cole books, which is definitely missing in this and the previously mentioned novel, what takes its place is a much more rounded portrait of our two protaganists, which I find not only gratifying but will be useful in appreciating future Cole/Pike adventures. I have only recently gotten into this series and Michael Connelly's excellent Hironymous Bosch novels, which share the same general territory (Hollywood/LA) and reflect each other while showing how two fine authors can cover the same turf and yet be very different reads. Matter of fact, Robert Crais gives the nod to his colleague in this novel, because that is surely Harry Bosch having a cigarette outside the Hollywood PD station who has a nodding acquaintance and conversation with his neighbor, Elvis Cole. At any rate, Crais has fun with this novel, shifting viewpoints and perspectives, and bringing Elvis a little more into focus. Good read.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: First of all, I've been a huge fan of Elvis Cole and Robert Crais since I read The Monkey's Raincoat. This series has been incredibly enjoyable, to say the least. The turn that Crais took at LA Requiem was probably necessary to breath new life into the series and, in fact, that was my favorite of the bunch. The problem is that I miss the lighthearted banter! The new Elvis too closely resembles the real world, a world I'm trying to escape by reading these books in the first place. The biggest flaw with The Last Detective is the simple fact that I knew who done it the minute I read the story outline prior to actually reading the book. That occured while I was reading Indigo Slam a year ago! This is the first time ever in my experience that I knew who the guilty party in a mystery was before I even read the book. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it sure is incomprehesible to me that Elvis wouldn't have been immediately aware of who done it right away too. This book was written for new readers of the series who never picked up an Elvis Cole book prior to this. I enjoyed alot of the elements of this story but couldn't get past this part. The story would have been every bit as accessable to all potential readers if Elvis would have openly suspected the bad guy right from the start and then worked to prove him culpable. When his character walks around oblivious as to who done it, especially in light of many elements of the last 2 or 3 novels that point directly at the bad guy, this story lost alot for me. It's my least favorite in the franchise.
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