Rating: 
Summary: Crais delivers the goods again
Review: I first discovered Crais not all that long ago, and since then I have been hooked. Elvis Cole is a fantastic character. He is tough, but sensitive and funny, smart, but realistic and he has his flaws as well, which are examined much more closely this time. Joe Pike is also a great character, and this time we get to see what makes him the way he is, how he uses his quiet, tough demeanor to shield against his troubled past. And of course, the cat is pretty cool too. In L.A. Requiem, the supporting cast is stereotypical in many respects, but for the most part they are depicted pretty well. Samantha Dolan as a cop who is after Elvis romantically is a nice addition to the story.The plot this time out is much more ambitious than previous novels. Rather than the typical missing person case, it is a serial killer on the loose this time. There is a much darker, more serious tone to this book than previously encountered. There is still the requisite humor and wisecracks from Elvis, but they are toned down somewhat. Also absent is the usual happy ending. This time around Elvis is left with his world turned upside down and needing to re-evaluate his life. Definitely recomended. If you are an Elvis fan you already know about it, if not than read it and become one.
Rating:
Summary: This one gives up the goods on Joe Pike!
Review: If you've read any of the Elvis Cole books, that header will have you clicking the "buy" button right away. If not, well, listen up. Over the course of the Elvis Cole series, there have been a number of constants. One: Quality. All of the books are excellent. Two: likeable protagonist. You'll love Elvis Cole. Three: the strong, silent, enigmatic Joe Pike. Not just a sidekick. Pike has been Cole's guardian angel throughout the series. And now in L.A. REQUIEM we get to find out how Joe Pike became Joe Pike! On top of that, you've got a locomotive of a suspense novel roaring down the tracks. The book is inventive in form and style, but always accessible. It's a crime novel, a mystery novel, a literary novel. It's about childhood and the love between man and woman and between friends. It's about everything that's important in life and if you only read one book this year, it should be this one. L.A. REQUIEM transcends genres and achieves greatness. Don't miss it.
Rating:
Summary: This Elvis Is Much Better Than Presley!
Review: This was my first Elvis Cole book. Wow. Others have done a fine job of describing the story line for LA Requiem, and there's nothing more I can add to what's been said that will improve anyone's understanding of the book. I just have one comment that may not have been covered before. Elvis Cole is not just another studly, hunky, macho, hard-boiled private detective. A very important part of what Elvis deals with in this book is about how men and women view the effect of their behavior on a partner very differently. I liked the way Crais handled that subject through Elvis and Lucy. It's what makes this book different from the typical detective story, and it's what gives Elvis Cole more depth than most of his competition. Now I'm going to go get the rest of the Elvis Cole books. I know I'm in for a treat!
Rating: 
Summary: L.A. Requiem
Review: Crais bids to break out of his successful Elvis Cole formula'streamlined plotting, smiling charm, slick action, happy endings'with Elvis's ambitious seventh case. This one begins as quiet as you please, with Elvis's unofficial partner Joe Pike asking him to help find the missing daughter of Joe's friend, tortilla king Frank Garcia. Not even the news that Karen Garcia has been shot dead sets it apart. What's new are Crais's persistent glimpses into closemouthed Joe's violent past as an abused child, a Marine on reconnaissance, and an LAPD officer who left plenty of enemies behind when he left the force. Now that powerful Frank Garcia wants Joe and Elvis given permission to tag along with the cops and report back to him on the case, all the bad blood between Joe and his ex-colleagues boils over. And when a second killing seems to have Joe's name on it, L.A.'s finest are only too eager to haul him in. Meantime, things have gotten complicated for Elvis too: Samantha Dolan, the tough Robbery-Homicide cop assigned to babysit him, wants to follow him all the way home, a plan that doesn't sit well with Lucy Chenier, the Baton Rouge attorney who switched homes and jobs to be with Elvis. As the tension ratchets up, even Elvis (Indigo Slam, 1997, etc.) seems to notice that his trademark unvoiced wisecracks are out of key, and he shuts them down long enough to go after the real killer before Joe can get packed off to the big house where all the inmates are who'll just love to greet him. The killer, by design, is a nonentity'one of the few letdowns in a taut, suspenseful case that opens up scars that easygoing Elvis never looked into before. (
Rating:
Summary: Very good, but I hope that Crais is capable of more
Review: There is a lot to like about this book, and it is certainly better than most. But something about Crais' voice occasionally doesn't ring quite true, and keeps him from being one of my absolute favorites. I love certain aspects of Pike's character, and he grew on me to the point where I liked almost everything about him, but his reliance on sunglasses makes him weaker, in my eyes. It is that kind of touch, that phony macho touch, that compensating for inadequacy type of thing, that keeps Crais from greatness in too much of this book. Still, strongly recommended, because it is very good, and reaches greatness at times (Pike's adolescent flashback, etc).
Rating:
Summary: Elvis in the real world...
Review: I agree with many here who feel that L.A. Requiem is the best of the Elvis Cole series, but I not sure yet how I feel about that. I've read them sequentially and I must say that Elvis Cole could be the most likeable character in any book that I've read. This is a guy I'd like to drink a beer with! Part of the joy of reading the Robert Crais series is the sort of Superman nature of Elvis Cole...here's a guy who has represented a large L.A. Real Estate developer, the 3rd biggest Director in Hollywood, a very famous female TV star and now an enormously wealthy producer of Tortillas and yet still appears no better off financially than he did in the first book, the Monkey's Raincoat. In addition, after Sunset Express there wouldn't be a cop in all of Southern California who didn't know and love Elvis. In the real world Elvis would have a national office with hundreds of detectives working for him because no power on Earth could stop the flow of referrals that he would get! The phone would never stop ringing. The truth, however, is that after 7 books reality needed to make an appearance and in L.A. Requiem it has. Many elements of this story relating to the central characters are simply natural consequences and ultimately the story is alot darker than it's predecessors. I loved this book but alot of me yearns for the Superman of the past books who could get away with so much with such joy. I actually feel sorry for a fictional character!
Rating:
Summary: Master Storytelling
Review: I've read all of Robert Crais' work in the last few months, but had put off reading L. A. Requiem and The Last Detective because I knew the relationship between Lucy and Cole was deteriorating. Considering that Robert Crais is the author, I should have known better. I whipped through LAR and am almost done with The Last Detective and think they are probably the best of the series. One reason is that you learn so much more of the background of Pike in LAR and about Cole in the Last Detective, which goes far towards explaining why these characters are the way they are today. There are some sad and heart wrenching moments in both books, but I was riveted throughout and would give 10 stars if I could. Elvis and Joe can move next door to me anyday.
Rating:
Summary: Pike's Story at Last
Review: L.A. REQUIEM takes up right where INDIGO SLAM left off. Lucy Chenier and her nine-year-old son Ben have moved to So Cal from Louisiana to be with our erstwhile hero Elvis Cole, Private Eye, but why she got her own place and didn't move in with Elvis, I didn't quite get. Probably because it makes breaking up so much easier to do when you don't live together. But other then that little thing that didn't sit right with me, I really loved this book that belongs as much to the dark and brooking Pike as it does to Elvis. At last, after all this time, we learn about Pike's past and what make's him tick. Politically connected Frank Garcia's daughter Karen went jogging and didn't come home. Frank goes to the police, but she hasn't been missing long enough. Frank calls Lucy's old boyfriend Pike, who brings Elvis into the investigation. Elvis wants to know Pike's relationship to the missing girl. Pike answers, "I broke her heart." And that's all Elvis needs to know. Then Karen's body is found and now it's not a missing person case anymore. It's murder and Frank uses his connections to get Elvis in on the investigation. But as the investigation unfolds Elvis finds himself should out by a blue wall of resistance. The cops resent an outsider among them and they hate Pike because of his past. Then clue after clue points to Pike, then there is an eyeball witness who swears she saw Pike kill the man that found Karen's dead body. Pike is arrested, charged with murder and the cops are all slapping each other on the back. Of course Pike isn't content to let Elvis run around and prove his innocence, he quickly escapes and all of a sudden the cops aren't so happy anymore and now they think Elvis is somehow involved. To make matters worse the killer who looks like Pike threatens Ben and that just about puts paid on the relationship with Lucy as Elvis and Pike race to catch the killer and clear Pike's name. L.A. REQUIEM would get five stars from me just for the delicious background on Pike alone, but in addition to that we get the usual excellent detective mystery from Robert Crais that we have come to expect. An excellent book. Reviewed by Vesta Irene
Rating:
Summary: The best in the Elvis Cole series
Review: If you read any of the other books in the Elvis Cole series, you are sure to have questions about Joe Pike. This "mouth- twitching", "round the clock sunglass wearing" guy is an enigma wrapped in a riddle who leaves you wondering who the heck he is, and leary to find out.
Robert Crais takes you into Joe's past by skillfully maintaining two separate storylines that finally join the past and present Joe together in a climax that will not dissapoint!
Rating:
Summary: Incredible Journey of Joe Pike
Review: If a book can be beautiful then L.A. Requiem is it. Mr. Crais uses a murdering spee in L.A. as a backdrop to the inner workings of Joe Pike. This author is not only a terrific storyteller but a master at character development. I really can't think of a sidekick in modern fiction that has more depth than Joe Pike. The plot weaves the current case that Elvis and Joe are working on with pivotal moments from Joe's past. We now begin to understand this most enigmatic character. Brilliant writing. Finally, the loyalty and trust of Elvis and his friend are tested and stretched to the limit. Simply the best novel of the series.
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