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Lionel Byrd is found dead in his home, apparently of suicide, when Los Angeles' law enforcement officers are evacuating people due to fires in the area. The death in and of itself wouldn't be alarm-setting, but the photo album full of pictures of dead women is a problem.Lionel had been accused of murdering one of the women, Yvonne Bennett, in the book a few years earlier. Elvis Cole found evidence that set him free. Now the Los Angeles police department is saying that Elvis got two more women ki...
4.5 starsCrais' control of plot, pacing and dialogue are VERY good here, almost 5-stars. This and the first Joe Pike (leading) book are his best by far. (so far) As usual with my reviews, please first read the publisher’s blurb/summary of the book. Thank you. This is one of the best Elvis + Joe so far. Complex and twisty, with interesting characters and a believable plot. You know from the beginning the police "explanation" has to be wrong, but the truth is actually much different.Well done, Rob...
Elvis Cole and Joe Pike represent a great California detecting duo with chic scenery and clever dialogue setting the stage for Crais' creative talents.
Elvis Cole returns front and center in this volume, with Joe Pike and Carol Starkey in strong supporting roles. In Chasing Darkness Elvis is faced with an honor-bound detective’s nightmare. In the midst of a wild-fire and the associated evacuation a man, soon identified as a former murder suspect Cole helped exonerate, is found dead in his home, apparently of a suicide. Unfortunately for Elvis, there is strong evidence found during the preliminary investigation that the dead man was in fact the
I'm not sure why, but before Chasing Darkness, I only read one other novel by Robert Crais. I read a fair amount of crime fiction and Crais is one of the better known authors in the genre so it is strange that I hadn't read anything by him.For the most part I enjoyed the novel. I liked the Elvis Cole character and I appreciated that this PI actually does a reasonable amount of detecting. I find that a lot of the time the PI's in this type of novel tend to stumble onto the solution of a crime rat...
I've enjoyed watching the Elvis Cole character evolve through the many books Robert Crais has written. Like many other private eye types, Elvis has a personal code of honor, a faithful side kick, and a solid footing in a specific geographic place: Los Angeles. This Elvis outing was more plot than character driven, but was a good read during a rainy New England weekend. There's a depth of history to the players in this series by this point, but I prefer it when Mr. Crais develops the back stories...
I believe this is my second or third P.I. Elvis Cole yarn. Very enjoyable read. Solid detective story, vivid setting, good action scenes. I'll be looking to read deeper into the series.
Wow, I really am addicted to this series. Although I had the next book in order coming from a library, I stopped at my local branch to see what was in stock and found Elvis Cole #12. It was a fast, interesting read with a couple of unpredictable twists.A fire is spreading through Laurel Canyon, so two cops are going door to door to alert people to the danger. A woman notes that a man with a bad foot hasn't left his place in days. When they break in, they discover him dead, gunshot wound to the h...
A man Elvis Cole cleared for murder years ago turns up dead with a photo album of seven female murder victims in his possession. Did Cole help clear a killer? Why is the task force still working if the case has been closed? And what is the glory-seeking police chief trying to hide? That's what Elvis Cole and Joe Pike are trying to find out...I have to admit, I had my doubts about this one at first. I should have known Crais had pulled the wool over my eyes yet again when I thought I knew who the...
Elvis Cole was instrumental in clearing Lionel Bird after he was accused of brutally murdering a young woman. Three years later Bird commits suicide and leaves behind a photo album that indicates that not only did he kill the woman that Cole investigated, he also murdered others before and after that.Oops.Cole reexamines the evidence he gathered and is still convinced that Bird was innocent of that crime. So where did the pictures of the dead women come from? And why is a LAPD task force led by
I do like the plot as whether Cole, through his investigation helped an alleged killer avoid prison. LAPD has evidence and believes Cole did help the suspect resulting in more homicides. This was a quick read, but one that my interest kept drifting away. I'm giving three stars as I know Robert Crais can tell a better story.
Robert Crais' books are the literary equivalent of Dark Chocolate HobNobs ! Very addictive - once you've finished one, you want another straight away - and best enjoyed with a nice cup of tea !Chasing Darkness was no exception and another top notch addition to this excellent series. Highly recommended.
As fire rages in the hills close to Los Angeles the fire team starts to move house to house, instructing people to evacuate. But at one address a neighbour shouts a warning that there may be someone still inside. It soon becomes clear that the resident won’t be going anywhere. The body of a man is found and along side is a photo album containing pictures of women - each of them have been brutally murdered. So starts this mid-series book featuring private eye Elvis Cole and his sidekick Joe Pike....
Apparently, my expectations were much too high going into this story. "Chasing Sorrow and Misery," might be more appropriate. 1 of 10 stars
I admit I am reading these books out of order, but it hasn't hurt. I like Crais' spare writing style, yet how he writes description beautifully, bringing Los Angeles to life for me as I listened. I was a bit disappointed with how quickly it ended, leaving me with some questions about why the killer was operating. The same narrator as The Watchman, and he does the Cole/Pike books perfectly well, so I shall not complain.I exhaled a dreamy sigh whenever Pike came around. He is utterly lickable. (Di...
3rd reading - Three years earlier, Elvis had helped a top-notch attorney prove Lionel Byrd hadn't murdered a prostitute. Now, Byrd is found dead from a suicide, and a memory book of photos may prove he killed the pro - and six other girls, too.Cole embarks on a conscience-provoking tour of that case. If he was wrong, two other women were killed after it. During his attempts at the truth, he is met with resistance from the top echelon of a crime task force created when the album was found.I enjoy...
This was a fast and fun read, although not as much humor as many of the previous books. In this story, a man that Elvis helped get off by proving he could not have committed the crime is later believed to be guilty, but Elvis doesn't believe it. There are a few things that make it unlikely, but the case seems to be signed, sealed and delivered. Even the lawyer that Elvis worked for at the time now believes the man did it. The police don't want Elvis to investigate at all, but he lives by his own...
It's good to have ELvis Cole back. I really missed him. Crais's book, however, is more about the journey, not the final destination. For fans of the series, it's great to revisit Cole's quirks and humor plus many of the past characters have cameo appearances. The story is standard, but well done. The ending seemed a bit, forced, rushed and unresolved, but I'm still recommending it. It's a quick read. It's a must for Crais fans. Newbies, I'd start at the beginning of the series or at least with L...
CHASING DARKNESS (Pub. 2008) by Robert Crais was my first read by this author, and is Crais' 15th novel. It was a good read in the fairly classic P.I. who-done-it style. I picked this story up at the recommendation of several Goodreads folks, as well as my favorite author.Crais' writing style is strong, the prose and the story flow easily. It mostly held my interest all the way through, admittedly with a couple slower spots, but not enough to call it boggy. The story opens in California, with a
This book leapt directly into enthralling from the first minute. I got tired of serial killer books 15 or 20 years ago, but this was a really different angle on a serial killer. Instead of glamorizing the killer as most stories revolving around them do by thrusting the reader into their heads (ew!), the killer and the exact nature of his crimes had a secondary role to figuring out what was going on with the police and their handling of the crime. Good and twisty the way Crais always plays it. Hi...