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Rating: 
Summary: Lullaby Town
Review: Foregoing his familiar LA turf, Robert Crais ventures to New York City and the sleepy Connecticut suburb of Chelam in this offbeat and entertaining mystery. Private investigator Elvis Cole is in his best wisecracking form, while Joe Pike's stoic form is always there exactly when needed. The change in venue was a refreshing change of pace, and the east coast-west coast banter was humorous and effective, as Crais succeeds in poking fun at both the shallowness of Hollywood and the brutishness of the east coast crime families. Despite a typically dark and threatening plot, Crais keeps the pace light and the one-liners flowing, building up steam towards an exciting - if not particularly surprising - climax. All in all, a more than satisfying read, and well worth the time invested.
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Summary: Elvis Spenser?
Review: I see from other reviews that I am not the first to notice the similarities between Cole and Spenser. Lullaby Town is the third in the Cole series and the third one I've read, I'm a stickler that way, and it bears the strongest resemblence yet to Parker's Boston PI.Not to say this is a bad thing. While I am a longtime Spenser fan I'm sorry to say that the series is beginning to lose it's zip. Enter Crais. Although there is strong evidence that he is Parker influenced, he gives Cole and Pike the gusto that Spenser and Hawk used to have. I highly recommend the Cole series, at least the one's I have read, they make a great addition to any mystery/PI lovers library. I look forward to reading the next one. Note to Parker fans: Try the Jesse Stone series. Very fresh and very original.
Rating: 
Summary: Eminently Fun
Review: 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. Stalking the Angel followed powerfully with classic noir style of the 1930s hard-boiled detective up against evil, but moderated with wise cracks. 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 now 38, 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 Lullaby Town, the third book in the series. The title refers to the peddler who sells dreams in Lullaby Town. In our case, it's Hollywood. The peddler in the story is Peter Alan Nelson, a motion picture director dubbed as the King of Adventure by Time magazine (think Steven Spielberg and George Lucas wrapped up into one hyper personality), which also called him "arrogant, brilliant, demanding." In real life, he has the maturity of a male 2 year old, and has worse habits. Elvis is hired to find Nelson's ex-wife and child so Nelson can form a relationship with his son, whom he's ignored virtually from birth. The studio doesn't want Nelson distracted by all this yearning for his son because he's due to start a new movie in three weeks. Elvis has no trouble finding the ex and the son. They've left a trail a mile wide across the country to Connecticut where Nelson's mousy young wife has turned herself into a successful banker who doesn't want to hear anything from Nelson. At this point, Elvis's job would amount to bringing them all together gently . . . except that the ex, who now calls herself Karen Lloyd, has a little problem with the biggest crime family in the East. Elvis and Joe set out to eliminate the little problem and are tested to the limits of their talents. The story develops rapidly 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 two novels. Pay particular attention to the evolution of characters of Karen Lloyd and Peter Alan Nelson. Mr. Crais does a nice job of helping you realize many sides of their characters over a period of about 10 years. That's one quality that makes this book compelling reading. After you finish the book, you might find it helpful to think about the potential downside of possessing all that you dream of having. Can you select better dreams to turn into reality? Donald Mitchell
Co-author of The 2,000 Percent Solution, The Irresistible Growth Enterprise and The Ultimate Competitive Advantage
Rating:
Summary: "There's a quaint little place..."
Review: Most detectives would give their eyeteeth to be hired by a director as famous as Peter Alan Nelson, the king of the adventure movie. Admittedly, the job was only one of finding Nelson's ex-wife and child who he hasn't seen in eleven years. Suddenly, after dumping them for a film career Nelson feels a gap in his life which he intends to plug with Toby, his son, like it or not. Nelson likes Elvis Cole because the detective is macho and has lots of attitude. You can imagine what Cole actually thought, but sometimes money is money. Cole finds out that Nelson's wife is far from the loser that the director thought she was. He finds Karen Lloyd in Chelam, Connecticut. The failed actress has become a bank vice-president, raising her son on her own and doing well. Not as well as she should be, though. In the hard days, she did a favor for the mafia and now she's in Charlie DeLuca's back pocket. Since Charlie is the son of the Capo and a complete psychotic, this is not a good place to be. No problem, Elvis Cole and Joe Pike to the rescue. By now, the reader should know that Pike/Cole solutions inevitably involve a surfeit of chaos and violence. This time is no exception. Cole has to worry about Toby, the mafia (several mafias), Peter Alan Nelson (who never behaves as if he is as old as Toby), and a steady flow of crazies. Something a lot worse than a little money laundering is going on and Cole is stuck right in the middle of it. Being Robert Crais' answer to the tired old archetype of the Los Angeles private investigator, you can trust Cole to smiles, cracks sarcastic jokes, play hero, and wait until you're not looking before he hits you up side of the head with a cast iron two-by-four. This book, the third in the series, drags just a bit. Or perhaps, it is just a little too predictable. I like the interchanges between Pike and Cole, and the plot twists that it starts with, but the novel settles down into its plot too soon. The inevitable violence comes arrives early and is over played. Still, this is a pretty good read, not one a fan would ever want to miss.
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Summary: Another Terrific Yarn
Review: Once again Crais weaves a brilliant yarn. This one had fewer wisecracks than others, but it sped along on a good tight story line. If you are not familiar with Mr. Crais, he is similar to Parker's best Spenser novels. His characters have depth and his plots twist just when you thought they were done. Terrific mystery that keeps the pages turning.
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Summary: Fast-paced fun!
Review: The comparisons to Spencer are obvious. Even the storyline here is familiar. But despite all that, the book is a fun, fast-paced, enjoyable crime novel. Cole is an easy-to-like wisecracking hero with a heart of gold. Pike is the cold, matter of fact, partner that you can always rely on. In this novel, Cole and Pike are hired by an egotistical and pompous movie director to locate his ex-wife and son. Finding her isn't much trouble, but then Cole decides to help her and learns that she is in a terrible predicament. Cole and Pike eventually run into the NY mob, and from there the story blisters towards a satisfying (and very violent) conclusion. I highly recommend this for fans of the hard-boiled PI genre.
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Summary: Shocking Ride
Review: This is a wonderful installment in the Elvis Cole series. The characterization of Cole's client in spot on while being ridiculous at the same time. Crais is really good at laying people wide open. The damsel in distress this time around is strong but also unforgiving and a little hard to like. But the plot and ensuing violence escalates at a fast pace making this an exhilaraing page turner. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Still good, still the best private eye in town...
Review: This is not Crais' best, but another worthy entry into the Cole-Pike series. This one, interestingly, takes place in the mafia world and NY/CT/NJ tri-state area. It is a good jolt to have the story--a darkish one--take place out there. The characters remain fresh and we even have some visits from some old characters (I love this--always great to reward long time fans with visits from characters from other books). Cole is still a mystery at this point (unlike Bosch, we don't know much about him yet and I'm reading the books in order). My only criticism of this volume is that Peter Alan Nelsen is a little too cartoonish for my tastes, but otherwise, a great book.
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