Rating: 
Summary: So predicable...
Review: Reading Free Fall and Voodoo River, I thought Crais was growing as an author (albeit I am several years behind copyright date). Sunset Express did not live up to my heightened anticipation. Crais may have been under pressure to pop out another in the series, and angry about the OJ mess, but that is not a formula for good writing. We have seen the jokes before ("Serbian-American humor" I am sure would be Elvis's comment. That's what he always says when anyone else tries to make a joke.) In Free Fall, Elvis wrangles information in trade for tickets to a concert; here Elvis wrangles information in trade for first-base-side-tickets to the Dodgers. In his next novel he'll probably wrangle information in trade to tickets to a NASCAR race, or a shuttle launching. Over and over Elvis says he is gonna shoot somebody. You can gain weight just by reading these books, with all their detailed descriptions of what is being eaten. I like Lucy, I am glad Elvis found her, and I enjoy the happiness of their being together, so who cares where her ex thinks she should stay on a business trip? In this day and age? Crais probably couldn't think of anything to write, so he probably threw that in to liven up the plot, wowie zowie, just like Alex Cross's loved ones always get some horribly frightening (but ultimately harmless) disease. The book is slow, not very interesting, okay ending. Roger keeps throwing these at me, so I keep reading them, and they are sort of fun on a free evening, but it's still Spense and Hawk for me.
Rating: 
Summary: Wisecracking At Its Finest
Review: Robert Crais has done a wonderful job of writing in the Elvis Cole mystery series. The wisecracking private investigator is back for the sixth novel in his series. Cole is hired by the leading attorney for a multi-millionaire arrested for the murder of his wife. Cole is hot on the tail of the Los Angeles Police Department in suspecting that they have planted evidence in this murder case. As Cole and his "hired muscle" partner, Joe Pike, investigate further, the evidence starts to turn on the defense team. Things heat up with everyone wanting a piece of the self proclaimed "World's Greatest Detective." Throw in a surprise visit from Lucy, Cole's love interest, and you have an intense thriller. What always makes Crais' novels so great is his well-developed, interestingly complex characters. He weaves an amazingly intricate storyline around these characters with well-described settings, making for a complete book. This is another solid effort by Crais, and an excellent novel that is a pleasure to read. Enjoy the ride.
Rating:
Summary: LA has a hot new private eye!
Review: This is my first Elvis Cole book, but it won't be my last. I disagree with the reviews that write Cole off as a Spenser-for-hire clone and his buddy Pike as a Hawk-wannabe. Cole is decent, and tough, and will do what has to be done to take on the bad guys and the establishment---often one and the same! The depiction of the rise and fall of Jonathan Green, world-class criminal attorney who will do anything (emphasize "anything"!) to get his millionaire client Teddy Martin off on the charge of murdering his wife Susan, is a joy to read. Anyone who has ever had reservations about lawyers will empathize with Elvis Cole as he starts to take Green down and get at the truth of the Martin murder case, as the people who could supply answers start turning up dead. Cole's romantic relationship with Lucy Chenier (of Voodoo River) is re-established, and the possibilities there (will Lucy move to LA with her son Ben?) are promising. Comparisons may be drawn with fictional character Angeli Rossi and real-life cop Mark Fuhrman, two LA detectives victimized by the so-called legal system. Fast-paced and entertaining! Keep 'em coming....
Rating:
Summary: OJ with a twist
Review: You're not into this Elvis Cole case too long before you realize that Crais is using the OJ Simpson case as a model. And if you haven't read any of Crais' Elvis Cole novels, you'll also realize before too long that Elvis and his partner Joe Pike are similar in tone to Robert Parker's Spenser and Hawk. But Robert Crais has the ability to take these similarities and craft them into a series and a detective novel with it's very own flavor. Cole is hired to check out a detective who may have planted evidence. His findings aren't consistent with what the defense team wants and Elvis is forced to switch teams and work with Joe Pike to clear up a mess he helped create. Elvis' romantic tangle with a lawyer from Louisiana is brought into play and takes up a little too much page time, but the the climatic 3rd of the book is as satisfying a set of confrontations as anyything in the Spenser series. Not all of the bad guys get their just desserts and Elvis vows at the end to hound those who get away, which would make a nice story for a future case. A great PI novel especially for those who distrust lawyers and the media, which is just about everybody but lawyers and members of the media.
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