::READERS REVIEWS::

A Good Read But ... - Robert Crais has done better. One problem I have with his books is strictly a book layout/style point. I have a very hard time reading entire chapters in italic print. I forgot I'd have to deal with that before I bought this book. Afraid I won't be buying any more of his books if that style continues.

Overall, I did enjoy the story.

Love This Series! - I'm really enjoying the Elvis Cole/Joe Pike novels. This is the best one I've read todate. I've read all the other novels by Mr Crais that doesn't feature Elvis and Joe, so I decided to give this series a try and I'm glad I did. I've enjoyed them all. "Demolition Angel" was my first Crais novel and I've been a fan every since. He's definitely on my list of favorite authors.

The Very Best Cole/Pike Book - I own all of the Crais Elvis Cole books, and have read them all at least twice (except "The First Rule" which just came out).

For depth of plot, character development, action and suspense, this is hands-down the best of them all.

*** Small Spoiler ***

Am I the only one who thinks Elvis should have dumped that schlub Lucy and gone with Samantha? She's the shyzz...

L. A. Requiem (Elvis Cole Novels) - The murder of Joe Pike's ex-girlfriend, Karen Garcia, leads Elvis Cole and Joe into dangerous waters as they search for a possible serial killer.

Elvis's girlfriend Lucie doesn't care for the lifestyle he keeps and there's a female detective with a crush on him.

This is an entertaining story with a solid plot. The killer's identity eluded me all through the story and I enjoyed that.

What a Book!!!!! - I have just now read the final words. I closed the book slowly, running my hands all over it, before I held it tightly to my heart for a few moments. I do that after great reads. One of the best Detective titles I`ve red. Oh, man, man, MAN.... what a book!

No reader can ask for anything more, but if you`re an exception, you must read these ones:

The Mysterious Affair at Styles
The Secret Adversary: A Tommy and Tuppence Mystery!

An enjoyable read and a page turner of suspense - If you like a book that has flashback info about things that happened before the time of this story, you'll like this book for that detail. If you do not like flashbacks interrupting the story you're reading, you won't like this book.

I enjoyed this book, which is the first by Robert Crais that I've read. Therefore, I wasn't familiar with Elvis Cole and I think Crais' readers of previous books will be happy to learn about Joe Pike through the flashbacks to know his history growing up and working at LAPD. I liked all the characters in this story regardless of their habits because the author has given each character a reason to like him/her. It was an enjoyable read and a page turner of suspense. If you've been to LA and Palm Springs area, you'll relate to the places where the action takes place.

For Crais' sake! - Robert, I must tell you that page after page in italics is somewhat like mixing stripes with plaids, only much worse.

Forget about Pike's childhood. A psychologist, you ain't.

You embarrass yourself when you try to delve into the Mexican mystique. You are from LA, not L.A.

An uneven book, periods of excellence and of mediocrity - This was my first Crais novel. I'm not sure there will be a second.

Don't get me wrong. I didn't dislike this book at all. Parts of it riveted me. One personality (Joe's) was fleshed out beautifully. But the cardboard police figures, the silly one-line summations of tense or tragic situations by Elvis and the insufficient development of the personality of the criminal were drawbacks in what could have been a truly ingenious book.

There's a lot of potential here (whence 3 stars): maybe someone will comment to let me know if this potential was realized in future Cole/Pike novels.

L.A. Requiem - A page-turner - This is the first Robert Crais book I've read, but now I want to read all of them! What a page-turner with great characters and a complex mystery that kept me guessing and enthralled. Great dialogue and a sense of place that almost becomes a character, L.A. Requiem offers an investigative team who are perfect foils for each other, one light, one dark. I stayed up long into the night to finish reading this. I had to know whodunnit and how everything would shake out at the end. Well paced and with superb character crafting.

One little beef. One secondary character had the last name Chen and another had the last name Chenier.

Good, Kept Me Engaged - I didn't (need to) skip any pages whilst reading this as I have tended to with the other books I have struggled to finish recently. Thanks to the author for restoring an old delight! I am tempted to look up some of his other more popular books in the same series.
P.S. Good for Joe for imparting Daryl a much-deserved lesson.

Glad to find me a new Auther - Thia is my 3rd book of Robert Crais, and I liked that one as well. So added him to my favorite writers, which means another one to collect his books.
I usually like the CIA-FBI type of book, wnd was glad to see some police good ones here.