Rating: 
Summary: Good but not great
Review: I like Elvis & Joe and always enjoy reading about them, but I had a lot of problems with this book. It told me more than I wanted to know about Joe, and now what I feel most strongly for him is pity. The cops were cliches, right down to the climactic scene, and never became well-rounded characters to me. I'm getting tired of Lucy Chenier and want to see her go back to Louisiana for good. Whenever she appeared, I started skimming and evenskipping pages. I also disliked the shifts from first to third person and found them distracting, especially when the viewpoint was neither Elivis's nor Joe's.A good book in many ways, but not the best in the series.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Story
Review: I experienced this book via audio tape. John Bedford LLoyd did an excellent job,conveying each character and nuance of the story. This is my first introduction to this author, and I am very pleased. The suspense and the mystery of the killer was thrilling. Judging by the previous reviewers I'd better catch up and read the other books by this author.
Rating:
Summary: Great book, great ending!
Review: I usually don't comment on other reviews, but I don't understand the "weak ending" comments. This book is an absolute 100% triumph from the first page to the last. The writing, plotting, structure, insight, etc. all are superb. Even if you're not a big fan of police procedurals/PI books, you'll love this one. While I'm complaining about reviews, the Washington Post called this a "hardboiled" genre book. "L. A. Requiem" defies any such labels. It's an outstanding novel that's unlike anything else ever in many ways. A++++.
Rating: 
Summary: Joe Pike steals this book
Review: Crime novels are overrun by anti-heroes these days. Where are all the white-hat-wearing, ride-off-into-the-sunset heroes? Maybe publishers think we don't identify with them. But, then along comes Joe Pike. He is different from his first scene and while his silent demeanor wore a little thin at times, he was one of my favorite characters of the year. Similar to Bud White in L.A. Confidential, Pike lives in a world of black and white, and woe be to you if you step over into the darkness! I applaud Crais for creating a character with such clearly defined boundaries. The only problem is that Elvis Cole is left a little gray in contrast to Pike. A great story with characters who don't disappoint.
Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Murder Mystery
Review: This was the first book by Robert Crais that I have read, and judging by the other reviewers here on Amazon, his Elvis Cole novels have a wide following and this may be the best of the bunch. Having just read LA Requiem, I can only say that this one is a helluva good novel. Readers familiar with the Cole series will no doubt enjoy LA Requiem, but in this novel the real focal character is Elvis' partner Joe Pike. A pretty jogger is found murdered, and the deceased was an ex-girlfriend of Pike, as well as a daughter of a prominent Latin politician in LA. Cole and Pike are hired to investigate the murder, and of course they clash with the LAPD in their investigation of the homicide. Pike is private and reserved, emotionally devastated by the murder, and driven to find the killer at all costs. You really sense the concern Cole feels for his partner throughout the novel. Several scenes of the novel were very richly drawn and demonstrated that Crais does his homework, such as the efforts of the investigators to assist a rookie forensic expert in gathering evidence at the crime scene. Crais really knows his stuff, and it shows. I also thought that the city of Los Angeles was a central character in the story. I have been in LA, and thought the author really has his finger on the pulse of the city - the novel is almost an homage to LA, with all of its inherent problems. I don't read a lot of crime drama/murder mystery novels, other than maybe Thomas Harris' excellent Hannibal Lecter novels, but for some reason this one caught my attention at the bookstore and I picked it up. I must say I've become a fan of Crais, and I look forward to reading his latest, Demolition Angel.
Rating: 
Summary: A dud
Review: Finally, I was seduced by the hype and picked up L.A. Requiem. I was sorely disappointed. I found the characters cliched and flat, the leads most of all. Elvis Cole is a bargain basment Clete Purcel and does Joe Pike have a point, or even a personality? Does detective fiction need another wormy, bad seed detective like Krantz or another strong-willed, independent single mother like Lucy Cheneir? I understand its formula, but how about some off-speed stuff to liven things up? Crais has written how many novels to how much acclaim and his idea of comic relief is a foul-mouthed old lady? Talk about done to death! The only halfway compelling character in the book is killed off and that characters death is telegraphed loud and clear. As is the villain. Everything happens at sunset. Apparently most things in L.A. resemble dinosaurs and every person to handle a gun has to fondle it with sweaty hands. If one more person "spread there hands" I was going to scream. The plot had more holes than the roads here in New Orleans. LAPD couldn't catch a cold without Elvis Cole. They are aware of this, I guess, since no one has a problem with a PI running amok in their investigations. The greatest mystery here is the disappearance of the FBI, who are revealed to have a large stake in the case yet vanish into thin air by the middle of the book. The first seven pages really got my hopes up and the rest of the book was one long let down. L.A. Requiem was my first Crais, and my last. Dennis Lehane, if you're out there, bring us back to Boston soon.
Rating:
Summary: Perhaps the best in the series
Review: Dark. Substantive. Thoughtful. Emotional. Lots of twists and conflicts. The best of Pike and Cole characters. Masterful work by Crais.
Rating:
Summary: Hardboiled & Soft-hearted
Review: Relationships are even more crucial than plot in this whodunit. Elvis Cole and Joe Pike are, as usual, men of action and few words. But as Elvis struggles to first free and then defend Joe,his longtime friend and fellow P.I., it appears these two have a rare and wonderful bond, as well as a deep acceptance and understanding of each other. Elvis reluctantly endangers his relationship with the lovely and beloved Lucy, a powerful woman who is an ethical and responsible attorney. The plot is plausible and captivating, the dialogue works, and the relationships work! A real treat among suspense novels.
Rating:
Summary: Robert Crais is one of my favorite authors
Review: Elvis Cole is a charming, sharp witted, wise-cracking private investigator who is teamed up with a Clint Eastwood type partner, Joe Pike. His novels are fast paced, and entertaining enough to make me laugh out loud. My favorite Elvis Cole novel is L. A. Requiem. It focuses on Joe Pike. Crais' writing is on a completely different level in this one. I highly recommend his books. I have read all but his newest: Demolition Angel. I can't wait to read it!
Rating:
Summary: Great stuff
Review: A great book. I've read all the Elvis Cole mysteries and this is the best of the lot. Compares favorably with James Lee Burke's best stuff. Has what Robert Parker had twenty years ago. A must read for fans of tough-guy mysteries with some smarts and a touch of literary style.
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