Rating: 
Summary: read all about it: what detectives eat
Review: A good rule for writers is, write what you know about. Stalking the Angel is a good example of what can go wrong when you ignore that rule. The author blows hard to convince us that he is a real tough guy who knows all about real tough things like martial arts, and ends up convincing us that he doesn't. (The note About the Author specifies that he lives with an Akita guard dog. What's he afraid of?) It seems that he researched his background by reading "Shogun" and eating in a bunch of Asian restaurants.I do not expect a detective story writer to be an Orientalist, but the author screws up the background so often that it is distracting. Tang is a Chinese name. Naming your Japanese villain Eddie Tang is like having a Gestapo general named Paddie O'Brian. Maybe to the author, these Orientals all look alike, like waiters in a Chinese restaurant. Thus the sentence in which Elvis performs the "dragon kata from the taekwondo." Dragon is a Chinese martial art element, not a kata, which is a Japanese term; adding a 'the' to Korea's tae kwon do is as annoying an affectation as his "the Nam". Maybe he's trying to show how macho he is, as in the scene -- which drags on for page after page -- in which the hero heroically eats all the pepper the sinister, ungrammatical Oriental cook puts in his food. During and since the war, I have traveled all over Viet Nam, sometimes the only foreigner to set foot in a vicinity for years, and when I ate with these people, we all used chopsticks. Even in the boonies. Don't they know better? If they learned English and read American detective novels, they would discover the error of their ways. Crais informs us that people in Viet Nam don't use chopsticks. Either my friends were all mixed up, or the author was thinking of Burma, or maybe Indonesia. Can't tell all those pesky Orientals apart, can you, sir? Belief must be suspended, credibility given wide leeway. If you kick someone in the side of the head with a reverse spin kick and he appears a few minutes later with a swollen cheek, either you didn't connect or your leg is made of cotton candy. Okay, one guard goes down, so the bad guys just walk away and let the hero sort of roam about at leisure in their stronghold. I did not realize California law was so lenient to PI's. Elvis and Joe go kill half a dozen bad guys, and go home: no inquest, no trial, just go home. Not even OJ got such a good deal. Frankly, I thought the characters were paper-thin, especially Bradely Warren and Joe Pike.The only part of the book that really comes to life is the description of Traci Louise Fishman, a scared, lonely teenager. Here the author is dealing in territory he knows. The rest of it is like a Jet Lee movie: lots of posturing, but it's not the real stuff.
Rating: 
Summary: A Hard-Boiled Walk on the Seamy Side with Wisecracking Humor
Review: A Hard-Boiled Walk on the Seamy Side with Wisecracking Humor If you have yet to begin the marvelous Elvis Cole series by Robert Crais, you've got a great treat ahead of you! Few series get off to a stronger start than Mr. Crais did with The Monkey's Raincoat, which won both the Anthony and Macavity awards for best novel while being nominated for the Edgar and Shamus awards as well. And the books just keep getting better from there in their characterizations, action, story-telling and excitement. Elvis Cole is the star attraction, the co-owner of The Elvis Cole Detective Agency. He's 35ish, ex-Army, served in Vietnam, ex-security guard, has two years of college, learned to be a detective by working under George Feider, a licensed P.I. for over 40 years, does martial arts as enthusiastically as most people do lunch, and is fearless but not foolish. He's out to right the wrongs of the world as much as he is to earn a living. Elvis has a thing for Disney characters (including a Pinocchio clock), kids, cats, scared clients and rapid fire repartee. He drives a Jamaica yellow 1966 Corvette Stingray convertible, and usually carries a .38 Special Dan Wesson. His main foil is partner, Joe Pike, an ex-Marine, ex-cop who moves quietly and mysteriously wearing shades even in the dark . . . when he's not scaring the bad guys with the red arrows tattooed on his deltoids, which are usually bare in sleeveless shirts. Although he's got an office with Elvis, Pike spends all of his time at his gun shop when not routing the bad guys with martial arts while carrying and often using enough firepower to stop a tank. Pike rarely speaks . . . and never smiles. A standing gag is trying to catch Pike with a little twitch of his lips indicating he might possibly be amused. But he's there when you need him. He drives a red Jeep. Robert Parker's Spenser is the obvious character parallel for Elvis, but Spenser and Elvis are different in some ways. Cole is more solitary, usually being alone when he's not working. Cole is very much L.A. and Spenser is ultra blue collar Boston. Cole is martial arts while Spenser boxes and jogs. What they have in common is that they're both out to do the right thing, with money being unimportant. They both love to crack wise as they take on the bad guys. The bad guys hate the "humor" in both cases, and can't do much about it. The dialogue written for each is intensely rich. Mr. Crais has a special talent for making you care about his characters, especially the clients and their kids. You'll want to know what happens to them. With a lot of experience in script writing, Mr. Crais also knows how to set the scene physically and make you feel it. He may be out finest fiction writer about physical movement. He gives you all the clues to picture what's going on . . . but draws back from giving so much detail that you can?t use your own imagination to make things better. I grew up near Los Angeles, and get a special pleasure out of reading his descriptions of the differences in cities, neighborhoods, and buildings in the area. He gets in right . . . and in detail. It's a nice touch! On to Stalking the Angel, the second book in the series: "I love to hear the story
which angel voices tell."
--The Little Corporal
Emily Miller "When the truth is found to be lies,
and all the joy within you dies,
don't you want somebody to love?"
--Jefferson Airplane When Jillian Becker walks into his office, Elvis Cole thinks she's "the best looking woman I'd seen in three weeks" despite being dressed as a "Serious Businesswoman." She introduces her boss, Bradley Warren, and within three pages Elvis is being asked to find the Hagakure, an 18th century manuscript outlining all proper forms of samurai behavior. The Hagakure has disappeared from Warren's home safe, where it was being stored temporarily while on loan from the influential Tashiro family in Kyoto, before a planned exhibition in Warren's new hotel located in L.A.'s Little Tokyo district. Although the manuscript is insured for three million dollars, the insurance won't begin to cover the losses that Warren will suffer from the Tashiro family taking their business elsewhere. As the predicament is being explained, Elvis is wisecracking away. Warren doesn't like his attitude and tells him so. Elvis recommends Pinkerton's. Elvis tells Warren that he won't take the case, and that he doesn't like Warren. Warren tells Jillian to leave a blank check. Jillian calms both men down and Elvis has a new client. The trail of the Hagakure brings Elvis and Joe into some of the most unappetizing situations I remember reading about in hard-boiled fiction. There are Japanese gangsters (the infamous Yakuza), vicious killings, gruesome family secrets, horrible betrayals and dangerous sexual obsessions to deal with. The story develops in small segments from quite different perspectives, usually in chapters of 4-5 pages in length, like a scene in a drama. Each change adds to a mosaic portrait of the characters and the overall situation. So the story moves fast . . . but without leaving you behind. There is enough material in this book to make three or four novels. Pay particular attention to the evolution of your perceptions of Jillian and Mimi. Mr. Crais does a nice job of helping you realize all sides of their characters. That's one quality that takes this book above the best of the Spenser books. After you finish the book, you might find it interesting to think about the dangers that can come from reaching for more than we can handle. What can you do to resist harmful temptation? Donald Mitchell
Co-author of The 2,000 Percent Solution, The Irresistible Growth Enterprise and The Ultimate Competitive Advantage
Rating:
Summary: A Hard-Boiled Walk on the Seamy Side with Wisecracking Humor
Review: A Hard-Boiled Walk on the Seamy Side with Wisecracking Humor If you have yet to begin the marvelous Elvis Cole series by Robert Crais, you've got a great treat ahead of you! Few series get off to a stronger start than Mr. Crais did with The Monkey's Raincoat, which won both the Anthony and Macavity awards for best novel while being nominated for the Edgar and Shamus awards as well. And the books just keep getting better from there in their characterizations, action, story-telling and excitement. Elvis Cole is the star attraction, the co-owner of The Elvis Cole Detective Agency. He's 35ish, ex-Army, served in Vietnam, ex-security guard, has two years of college, learned to be a detective by working under George Feider, a licensed P.I. for over 40 years, does martial arts as enthusiastically as most people do lunch, and is fearless but not foolish. He's out to right the wrongs of the world as much as he is to earn a living. Elvis has a thing for Disney characters (including a Pinocchio clock), kids, cats, scared clients and rapid fire repartee. He drives a Jamaica yellow 1966 Corvette Stingray convertible, and usually carries a .38 Special Dan Wesson. His main foil is partner, Joe Pike, an ex-Marine, ex-cop who moves quietly and mysteriously wearing shades even in the dark . . . when he's not scaring the bad guys with the red arrows tattooed on his deltoids, which are usually bare in sleeveless shirts. Although he's got an office with Elvis, Pike spends all of his time at his gun shop when not routing the bad guys with martial arts while carrying and often using enough firepower to stop a tank. Pike rarely speaks . . . and never smiles. A standing gag is trying to catch Pike with a little twitch of his lips indicating he might possibly be amused. But he's there when you need him. He drives a red Jeep. Robert Parker's Spenser is the obvious character parallel for Elvis, but Spenser and Elvis are different in some ways. Cole is more solitary, usually being alone when he's not working. Cole is very much L.A. and Spenser is ultra blue collar Boston. Cole is martial arts while Spenser boxes and jogs. What they have in common is that they're both out to do the right thing, with money being unimportant. They both love to crack wise as they take on the bad guys. The bad guys hate the "humor" in both cases, and can't do much about it. The dialogue written for each is intensely rich. Mr. Crais has a special talent for making you care about his characters, especially the clients and their kids. You'll want to know what happens to them. With a lot of experience in script writing, Mr. Crais also knows how to set the scene physically and make you feel it. He may be out finest fiction writer about physical movement. He gives you all the clues to picture what's going on . . . but draws back from giving so much detail that you can?t use your own imagination to make things better. I grew up near Los Angeles, and get a special pleasure out of reading his descriptions of the differences in cities, neighborhoods, and buildings in the area. He gets in right . . . and in detail. It's a nice touch! On to Stalking the Angel, the second book in the series: "I love to hear the story
which angel voices tell."
--The Little Corporal
Emily Miller "When the truth is found to be lies,
and all the joy within you dies,
don't you want somebody to love?"
--Jefferson Airplane When Jillian Becker walks into his office, Elvis Cole thinks she's "the best looking woman I'd seen in three weeks" despite being dressed as a "Serious Businesswoman." She introduces her boss, Bradley Warren, and within three pages Elvis is being asked to find the Hagakure, an 18th century manuscript outlining all proper forms of samurai behavior. The Hagakure has disappeared from Warren's home safe, where it was being stored temporarily while on loan from the influential Tashiro family in Kyoto, before a planned exhibition in Warren's new hotel located in L.A.'s Little Tokyo district. Although the manuscript is insured for three million dollars, the insurance won't begin to cover the losses that Warren will suffer from the Tashiro family taking their business elsewhere. As the predicament is being explained, Elvis is wisecracking away. Warren doesn't like his attitude and tells him so. Elvis recommends Pinkerton's. Elvis tells Warren that he won't take the case, and that he doesn't like Warren. Warren tells Jillian to leave a blank check. Jillian calms both men down and Elvis has a new client. The trail of the Hagakure brings Elvis and Joe into some of the most unappetizing situations I remember reading about in hard-boiled fiction. There are Japanese gangsters (the infamous Yakuza), vicious killings, gruesome family secrets, horrible betrayals and dangerous sexual obsessions to deal with. The story develops in small segments from quite different perspectives, usually in chapters of 4-5 pages in length, like a scene in a drama. Each change adds to a mosaic portrait of the characters and the overall situation. So the story moves fast . . . but without leaving you behind. There is enough material in this book to make three or four novels. Pay particular attention to the evolution of your perceptions of Jillian and Mimi. Mr. Crais does a nice job of helping you realize all sides of their characters. That's one quality that takes this book above the best of the Spenser books. After you finish the book, you might find it interesting to think about the dangers that can come from reaching for more than we can handle. What can you do to resist harmful temptation? Donald Mitchell
Co-author of The 2,000 Percent Solution, The Irresistible Growth Enterprise and The Ultimate Competitive Advantage
Rating: 
Summary: Crais and Elvis grow together...
Review: After enjoying Demolition Angel, I made the commitment to go back and read all the Elvis Cole books in order. I love to read a series in the correct order to watch the growth of the author (who by Demolition Angel, a stand alone, was a great writer) and his characters. The leap from the Monkey's Raincoat to STalking the Angel was pretty big. Characters have more depth--esp. Elvis. Instead of sleeping around, drinking, and wisecracking, we get a glimpse (and just a glimpse) into Elvis' soul. The book is fast paced and funny, but also sad. Crais has created a terrific series and I plan to read all of them even if takes me years.
Rating: 
Summary: So real and charming
Review: Another Elvis Cole story. I read this book simply because I like the Elvis Cole character very much. In this story, he was righteous as usual, but what made him humane and loveable was that, like every human being, he was not perfect. He could get emotionally carried away, he was also prone to making wrong deductions and judgment. Beneath his tough ways, he had a vulnerable side too. We were shown these side of his character amidst a plot that appeared complex enough to make me stay interested in the book from beginning till the end. In this story, Cole was tasked to find a valuable Japanese manuscript. Soon after, the threats made to his client and his family, the disappearance of his client's daughter, the involvement of a Japanese cult and the Japanese mafia made the assignment appeared more dangerous and complex than it really was. I found myself on an exciting ride as Cole and his partner, Pike, took it upon themselves to rescue the missing daughter, and at the same time, unravel the riddles that were puzzling them (as well as me). A thoroughly enjoyable, hard to put down book.
Rating:
Summary: Elvis Cole does Japanese noir!
Review: Another wonderful entry in this great series! I love the way Mr. Crais uses detective novels to write about serious issues. When he describes the loneliness of an outcast teenaged girl, I was in tears. A few pages later I was ROTFLMAO when a stubborn parking attendant confronts Elvis Cole. This is a fast, funny, thoughtful book. I REALLY enjoyed it!
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining
Review: Elvis Cole has been hired to retrieve an ancient Japanese manuscript stolen from a prominent LA businessman. It soon turns into a rescue of the businessman's daughter who has apparently been kidnapped by the yakuza, the Japanese Mafia. Things are not as they appear and Elvis and Joe Pike do battle with some pretty tough guys. The humor that Crais uses liberally, makes it easy to get into the heart of the story. The action fell a little short of other Crais novels I've read, but overall it was an entertaining read.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining
Review: Elvis Cole has been hired to retrieve an ancient Japanese manuscript stolen from a prominent LA businessman. It soon turns into a rescue of the businessman's daughter who has apparently been kidnapped by the yakuza, the Japanese Mafia. Things are not as they appear and Elvis and Joe Pike do battle with some pretty tough guys. The humor that Crais uses liberally, makes it easy to get into the heart of the story. The action fell a little short of other Crais novels I've read, but overall it was an entertaining read.
Rating:
Summary: Robert Crais is one of my favorite authors
Review: Elvis Cole is a charming, sharp witted, wise-cracking private investigator who is teamed up with a Clint Eastwood type partner, Joe Pike. His novels are fast paced, and entertaining enough to make me laugh out loud. My favorite Elvis Cole novel is L. A. Requiem. It focuses on Joe Pike. Crais' writing is on a completely different level in this one. I highly recommend his books. I have read all but his newest: Demolition Angel. I can't wait to read it!
Rating:
Summary: Elvis and Joe Meet the Japanese Mafia
Review: Elvis Cole is a wisecracking laidback dude who seems intent on annoying everyone who crosses his path with his whimsical humour. The only person who seems to laugh at his jokes is me. This time, Elvis is hunting down a priceless book called the Hagakure for a very wealthy businessman. As usual, the man Elvis is working for annoys Elvis and so he goads him mercilessly with witty repartee and cornball humour (impressing his client no end). Once the investigation begins the trail leads to the Japanese mafia, also known as the Yakuza. Joe Pike makes his appearance from this point on (what Elvis Cole mystery would be complete without him?) and together they try to track down the missing book. As far as detective novels go, the Elvis Cole series continues to entertain. The humour of Elvis' narration mixed with the action and drama ensures that the story breezes along and never fails to entertain. There are some twists and turns toward the end of the book that help add some spice to the mystery and gave it an ending that I wasn't really expecting.
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