The story was well written with a fast pace and a good plot. I started reading and just didn't want to stop. The story just pulled me in and would not let me go. All kinds of excitement. Hard to set aside once you start! Emotional turmoil.

This is the companion piece to L.A. Requiem, which was Pike's origin story. My god, indulge me, as this is the first time in close to a year that I've had access to a legitimate keyboard. It takes a herculean effort to not just let myself go in a font of word vomit that would ultimately be cathartic to myself but a tremendous irritation to literally everyone else on earth. In short, you're all fucking welcome. You can't ever accuse me of being callous or uncaring to my audience. I mean, you coul...

Loved this 9th book in Robert Crais's "Elvis Cole" series!

I didn't really like this one as much as most of the previous books in this series, perhaps because it simply didn't meet my expectations for an Elvis Cole mystery. The humor was not as good, for one thing. And Joe Pike, my infallible hero, who always saves the day when fighting is required, was not infallible. He seemed to be second-best, and unfortunately, the villain was first. Although, to his credit, Joe did seem to be recovering from a fight with a big bad bear. And although Elvis did a pr...

Neither Cole nor Pike are at their best in this one. Cole spends most of it in a sleep-deprived mania edging on panic, and Pike spends most of it lurking in the shadows. But at the end of the day, these two are still the best at what they do, whether that means crashing through a standard police procedural to an action-packed gun battle to the death or using regular old detective skills to unravel a suspicious kidnapping to unearth the real culprit, someone who has made the stupidest mistake of

The book started off with a useless prologue. It added nothing to the story, it introduced a character that we weren't even sure of until halfway through the book, and it really annoyed me.Then we got into the first chapter. To start things off, the writing was really annoying. I couldn't stand the writing style. Secondly, it had stupid game references and talked about this Blame Queen character from a game who, for some stupid reason, appeared several times in the book saying things like. "If y...

Lots of violence associated with the kidnapping of Ben, Lucy Chenier's son. Luckily, Elvis has his buddy, Joe Pike, for backup.

This may be the most depressing story Crais has written. 5 of 10 stars

Honestly, who let me start reading a thriller after 8 pm? I knew it was dumb, but I have no self-control about these things. In case you are wondering, yes, I stayed up until 2 am to finish. Yes, I read most of the words to do so.Elvis Cole is thinking things are going swimmingly when his girlfriend's son is kidnapped from his back yard. When the kidnappers call, it seems like there might be a connection to Elvis' past in Vietnam, putting a strain on their relationship. Before long, Lucy's ex-hu...

I started this book at bed time thinking that I’d read a couple of chapters before shutting off the light. I ended up reading almost a 100 pages before reluctantly putting it down to get some sleep. So I’m gonna go ahead and put this one in in my personal Page Turner Hall of Fame.Elvis Cole is babysitting his girlfriend Lucy’s son, Ben, but the kid gets snatched when Elvis takes his eyes off him for like 17 seconds. Then comes a phone call in which the kidnapper tells Elvis that Ben was taken as...

I predicted how this would work out while we were reading the first chapter (ask my wife if you don't believe me) and I was about 90% right but this slight case of predictability doesn't stop this being possibly the best book in this series so far. SO damned good!How this series hasn't been made into a movie or t.v. series is beyond me...

I'll admit I launched into this novel with a little trepidation, after reading the Alaska bear-stalking prologue. However, I quickly became engrossed in the kidnap investigation plot, despite not having previously read any of Robert Crais's Cole and Pike series.Ben, the son of Elvis Cole's girlfriend Lucy, disappears suddenly from Cole's Hollywood Hills home, and he soon receives a phone call advising him that this is "payback" for some wrong committed by Cole during his career as an Army Ranger...

Exceptional novel by Robert Crais, complements the previous one of the series of private detectives Elvis Cole and Joe Pike, and I think that it should be read immediately afterwards as a set of two books.Great action, an ingenious plot, with everything that can be expected from a police detective novel, in this case, with the condiment of war actions.It has been a long time since I read a book in one day, in an uninterrupted way, I totally got caught up.Absolutely recommended, a must, in conjun...

As teen sleuth Skylar Robbins says in THE MYSTERY OF SHADOW HILLS, "Everyone leaves a trace." Elvis Cole and his fearsome partner Joe Pike leave no stone unturned until they find every last shred of evidence needed to locate his fiancee's kidnapped son.

When his girlfriend's son is kidnapped right out from under his nose, Elvis Cole goes into overdrive to find him. Ben's kidnappers seem to be tied to Elvis's past as a Ranger in Vietnam, forcing Elvis to relive his early days. Can Elvis and Joe find Ben before the kidnappers kill him? Crais keeps the momentum going from L.A. Requiem and once again, Elvis and Joe wind up in the soup. Instead of Pike, The Last Detective focuses on Elvis' past, from never knowing his father to his "free spirited" m...

Best book I've read in 2014 thus far!

After writing two stand-alones, Robert Crais returned to his series character, Elvis Cole, in The Last Detective. I'd been missing Elvis and looking forward to his return; I only wish I could say that I enjoyed it more than I did. But, for whatever reason, I've never been very fond of crime novels in which the bad guys target the protagonist's family and the protagonist then has to spend the entire novel sorting out the family issues rather than investigating an interesting crime. And such is th...

Reading out of order as some of Cole/Pike books are "free" on audible. Book blurb says it all....The ending action was good and exciting. We also learn about Elvis Cole childhood. 😭

3rd read - As the series goes on, the characters and story-telling gets richer. Elvis and Pike go up against foes, especially one of them, who is better than either of them. Cole's woman, Lucy, is leaving her 10 yr old son with Elvis to watch, and he lets him get kidnapped. The police do their best, but Joe and Elvis can do this better. Mercenaries have the boy, and want a ransom from his rich father.Double- and triple dealing are in the air, and the action is top notch.2nd reading - Elvis is as...

3.5 StarsThere is some "child peril" here, but nothing terrible or upsetting. Not a bad book. But not really up to Crais' abilities. The true villain is obvious from the first 20 pages. I skimmed most of this. There are some good parts and good dialogue, but it's all so predictable. The ending and chase scenes are good, great pacing, and the conclusion is as expected. Notes and quotes:Pike sat at the water's edge with a sense of emptiness. He told himself that he would work harder, that he would...