Lullaby Town

Rating:
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.

Rating:
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.

Rating:
Summary: Pacy and entertaining
Review: Private detective Elvis Cole is hired by Peter Alan Nelsen, a brilliant, erratic and arrogant movie producer to find his son whom he hasn't seen since deserting him and his mother 10 years before.Peter's ex-wife,Karen, has become unwillingly involved with the mafia in a money laundering scheme and desperately wishes to be "uninvolved". Elvis and his side-kick Pike, battle the baddies to help them escape the mafia's murderous clutches and, after many shoot-outs and thrilling adventures, they do just that.It's a good quick read, pacy and entertaining.

Rating:
Summary: Eminently Fun
Review: Robert Crais does it again. Elvis Cole does it again. Joe Pike: ditto. It's difficult not to get hooked by this series. Elvis is funnier than Fletch and Pike is basically what Dale Gribble from "King of the Hill" would be if he wasn't a complete [baby]. Sure, the plot is similar: woman in jeopardy, child in jeopardy. But the chapters fly by. It's LA, and things can get rough, and, heck, Cole even lives near Connelly's Bosch (look on a map)... but this is an LA where Peter Pan still has a chance and everbody is kung-fu fighting.

Rating:
Summary: WOW!
Review: Robert Crais just gets better and better. Lullaby Town, his take on Hollywood types and the Mafia, is crammed full of action and fascinating characters. When Peter Alan Nelsen hires Elvis Cole, "the World's Greatest Detective," to locate his ex-wife and child, the race is on. It's been over ten years, and the obnoxious Nelsen has become one of Hollywood's top-grossing directors. Now he's decided he wants to be a father. It is quite a mystery---how does a celebrity like Nelsen not get contacted by his ex-wife? You'd think she'd want something from him, right? Or, if not for her, for her son. When Elvis does track the lady down, she claims not to be Karen Shipley, the ex-wife and movie-star-wannabe. Funny, the photo looks exactly like her, and her son could be Nelsen's young clone... What is going on here? One heck of a story! From unreal, insincere, tinseltown LA to virtuous, real small town Connecticut, to the seamy and rotten Big Apple of the NYC Mafia underworld and its assorted creeps and hitmen, Lullaby Town (where does Crais get his great titles?)is among the best in this superlative detective series.

Rating:
Summary: Sweet Music
Review: Robert Crais takes Elvis Cole on the road in Lullaby Town. After the first two books in the series took place in exclusively in the L.A. area, Mr. Crais sends Elvis across the country to the East Coast. The book starts out with Elvis being contacted by Peter Alan Nelsen, who is a big time action movie director, to locate his missing first wife and son. The meeting between Elvis and Nelsen at Nelsen's office is hilarious. In Peter Alan Nelsen, Mr. Crais perfectly captures the stereotypical, self-absorbed Hollywood type. After Elvis takes the case, his search leads him to a sleepy little Connecticut town where he locates Karen (the first wife) and Toby (the son). What Elvis discovers is that Karen isn't leading the simple country life, she's laundering money for the mob. Elvis took on the Japanese mafia in Stalking The Angel and this time he gets a crack at the fabled New York mafia in a way that only Elvis can. Taking the storyline out of L.A. is a nice change of pace as we get to see Elvis outside of his normal element. Lullaby Town further cements Mr. Crais as a great mystery writer and he keen eye and sharp wit are further honed in this third entry in the series.

Rating:
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.

Rating:
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.

Rating:
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.