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Elvis Cole and Joe Pike #3
Lullaby Town
“Quick, cutting wit . . . a keen ear.”—The New York Times Book Review
Hollywood’s newest wunderkind is Peter Alan Nelsen, the brilliant, erratic director known as the King of Adventure.
His films make billions, but his manners make enemies. What the boy king wants, he gets, and what Nelsen wants is for Elvis to comb the country for the wife and infant child the film-school flunkout dumped en route to becoming the third-biggest filmmaker in America. It’s the kind of case Cole can handle in his sleep—until it turns out to be a nightmare. For when Cole finds Nelsen’s ex-wife in a small Connecticut town, she’s nothing like he expects. She has some unwanted—and very nasty—mob connections, which means Elvis could be opening an East Coast branch of his P.I. office...at the bottom of the Hudson River.
“Elvis [Cole] is the greatest . . . [ he is] perhaps the best detective to come along since Travis McGee.”—San Diego Tribune
“[Crais is] far better at the private-eye-novel racket than most writers.”—Newsweek
Hollywood’s newest wunderkind is Peter Alan Nelsen, the brilliant, erratic director known as the King of Adventure.
His films make billions, but his manners make enemies. What the boy king wants, he gets, and what Nelsen wants is for Elvis to comb the country for the wife and infant child the film-school flunkout dumped en route to becoming the third-biggest filmmaker in America. It’s the kind of case Cole can handle in his sleep—until it turns out to be a nightmare. For when Cole finds Nelsen’s ex-wife in a small Connecticut town, she’s nothing like he expects. She has some unwanted—and very nasty—mob connections, which means Elvis could be opening an East Coast branch of his P.I. office...at the bottom of the Hudson River.
“Elvis [Cole] is the greatest . . . [ he is] perhaps the best detective to come along since Travis McGee.”—San Diego Tribune
“[Crais is] far better at the private-eye-novel racket than most writers.”—Newsweek
7 pages, Audio CD
First published March 1, 1992
2463 people are currently reading
2786 people want to read
About the author
Robert Crais
180 books4,582 followers Robert Crais is the author of the best-selling Elvis Cole novels. A native of Louisiana, he grew up on the banks of the Mississippi River in a blue collar family of oil refinery workers and police officers. He purchased a secondhand paperback of Raymond Chandler’s The Little Sister when he was fifteen, which inspired his lifelong love of writing, Los Angeles, and the literature of crime fiction. Other literary influences include Dashiell Hammett, Ernest Hemingway, Robert B. Parker, and John Steinbeck.
After years of amateur film-making and writing short fiction, he journeyed to Hollywood in 1976 where he quickly found work writing scripts for such major television series as Hill Street Blues, Cagney & Lacey, and Miami Vice, as well as numerous series pilots and Movies-of-the-Week for the major networks. He received an Emmy nomination for his work on Hill Street Blues, but is most proud of his 4-hour NBC miniseries, Cross of Fire, which the New York Times declared: "A searing and powerful documentation of the Ku Klux Klan’s rise to national prominence in the 20s."
In the mid-eighties, feeling constrained by the collaborative working requirements of Hollywood, Crais resigned from a lucrative position as a contract writer and television producer in order to pursue his lifelong dream of becoming a novelist. His first efforts proved unsuccessful, but upon the death of his father in 1985, Crais was inspired to create Elvis Cole, using elements of his own life as the basis of the story. The resulting novel, The Monkey’s Raincoat, won the Anthony and Macavity Awards and was nominated for the Edgar Award. It has since been selected as one of the 100 Favorite Mysteries of the Century by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association.
Crais conceived of the novel as a stand-alone, but realized that—in Elvis Cole—he had created an ideal and powerful character through which to comment upon his life and times. (See the WORKS section for additional titles.) Elvis Cole’s readership and fan base grew with each new book, then skyrocketed in 1999 upon the publication of L. A. Requiem, which was a New York Times and Los Angeles Times bestseller and forever changed the way Crais conceived of and structured his novels. In this new way of telling his stories, Crais combined the classic ‘first person’ narrative of the American detective novel with flashbacks, multiple story lines, multiple points-of-view, and literary elements to better illuminate his themes. Larger and deeper in scope, Publishers Weekly wrote of L. A. Requiem, "Crais has stretched himself the way another Southern California writer—Ross Macdonald—always tried to do, to write a mystery novel with a solid literary base." Booklist added, "This is an extraordinary crime novel that should not be pigeonholed by genre. The best books always land outside preset boundaries. A wonderful experience."
Crais followed with his first non-series novel, Demolition Angel, which was published in 2000 and featured former Los Angeles Police Department Bomb Technician Carol Starkey. Starkey has since become a leading character in the Elvis Cole series. In 2001, Crais published his second non-series novel, Hostage, which was named a Notable Book of the Year by the New York Times and was a world-wide bestseller. Additionally, the editors of Amazon.com selected Hostage as the #1 thriller of the year. A film adaptation of Hostage was released in 2005, starring Bruce Willis as ex-LAPD SWAT negotiator Jeff Talley.
Elvis Cole returned in 2003 with the publication of The Last Detective, followed by the tenth Elvis Cole novel, The Forgotten Man, in 2005. Both novels explore with increasing depth the natures and characters of Elvis Cole and Joe Pike. RC’s third stand-alone novel, The Two Minute Rule, was published in 2006. The eleventh entry in the Elvis Cole series, The Watchman, will be published sometime in 2007.
After years of amateur film-making and writing short fiction, he journeyed to Hollywood in 1976 where he quickly found work writing scripts for such major television series as Hill Street Blues, Cagney & Lacey, and Miami Vice, as well as numerous series pilots and Movies-of-the-Week for the major networks. He received an Emmy nomination for his work on Hill Street Blues, but is most proud of his 4-hour NBC miniseries, Cross of Fire, which the New York Times declared: "A searing and powerful documentation of the Ku Klux Klan’s rise to national prominence in the 20s."
In the mid-eighties, feeling constrained by the collaborative working requirements of Hollywood, Crais resigned from a lucrative position as a contract writer and television producer in order to pursue his lifelong dream of becoming a novelist. His first efforts proved unsuccessful, but upon the death of his father in 1985, Crais was inspired to create Elvis Cole, using elements of his own life as the basis of the story. The resulting novel, The Monkey’s Raincoat, won the Anthony and Macavity Awards and was nominated for the Edgar Award. It has since been selected as one of the 100 Favorite Mysteries of the Century by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association.
Crais conceived of the novel as a stand-alone, but realized that—in Elvis Cole—he had created an ideal and powerful character through which to comment upon his life and times. (See the WORKS section for additional titles.) Elvis Cole’s readership and fan base grew with each new book, then skyrocketed in 1999 upon the publication of L. A. Requiem, which was a New York Times and Los Angeles Times bestseller and forever changed the way Crais conceived of and structured his novels. In this new way of telling his stories, Crais combined the classic ‘first person’ narrative of the American detective novel with flashbacks, multiple story lines, multiple points-of-view, and literary elements to better illuminate his themes. Larger and deeper in scope, Publishers Weekly wrote of L. A. Requiem, "Crais has stretched himself the way another Southern California writer—Ross Macdonald—always tried to do, to write a mystery novel with a solid literary base." Booklist added, "This is an extraordinary crime novel that should not be pigeonholed by genre. The best books always land outside preset boundaries. A wonderful experience."
Crais followed with his first non-series novel, Demolition Angel, which was published in 2000 and featured former Los Angeles Police Department Bomb Technician Carol Starkey. Starkey has since become a leading character in the Elvis Cole series. In 2001, Crais published his second non-series novel, Hostage, which was named a Notable Book of the Year by the New York Times and was a world-wide bestseller. Additionally, the editors of Amazon.com selected Hostage as the #1 thriller of the year. A film adaptation of Hostage was released in 2005, starring Bruce Willis as ex-LAPD SWAT negotiator Jeff Talley.
Elvis Cole returned in 2003 with the publication of The Last Detective, followed by the tenth Elvis Cole novel, The Forgotten Man, in 2005. Both novels explore with increasing depth the natures and characters of Elvis Cole and Joe Pike. RC’s third stand-alone novel, The Two Minute Rule, was published in 2006. The eleventh entry in the Elvis Cole series, The Watchman, will be published sometime in 2007.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 665 reviews
February 20, 2023
Finally--I found a new detective series that manages to entertain without offending. Fabulous. I don't mean that the book is fabulous; I was starting to despair that I could find a private eye series that didn't involve cats or serial killers. Seriously, people--does is have to be one or the other? I mean, honestly--cats are kind of serial killers, right?
I started with this one based on friends' reviews--thanks, friends. Published in 1992, there's definitely an aspect that feels very period to me, but its done well enough so forgetaboutit.
The story has a two part structure, so there isn't much to say about the second without spoiling the first. Our hero is Elvis Cole, a private eye with a smart mouth, no style sense (unless you call a sweatshirt with Mickey Mouse a style), and extensive martial arts training. A good friend asks him to meet with a ridiculously famous Hollywood director who wants him to find his ex-wife and son who he hasn't had contact with in over ten years. Cole doesn't ask enough questions, of course, but who can blame him? Mr. Hollywood Director got on my last nerve as well. Of course, not everyone appreciates Elvis' humor:
"Donnie Brewster made the nervous frown. 'Stop with the humor, okay? I tell him you're brilliant and gifted, you make with the humor, he's gonna know that you're not.'"
Elvis is not in the least a tortured soul, and as for his bestie, Joe Pike, well, who knows? He's a man of few words.
"Pike didn't answer.
'You know the director, Peter Alan Nelsen? He's our client.'
Pike didn't answer some more. Trying to talk with Pike is like carrying on a fill-in-the-blank conversation."
The writing is interesting, with thoughtful bits interwoven. Crais' style is occasionally deceptively simple, with a reliance on 'and' that would have had my English teacher reaching for the red pen.
"I closed the toilet lid and sat on the seat and felt myself living. I felt the blood move and the lungs work and the muscles pull against bone. I hurt, but it was better than being in the hospital and better than being dead."
The plotting managed to surprise me more with a deviation from the traditional missing persons format and then a couple of twists based on actions that were completely logical within character context, just not within the mystery plot format. I appreciated that the missing woman was given a great deal of agency, respect and self-awareness. Kudos to Crais for being ahead of his time.
As far as I can tell, the only downside is that Elvis does indeed own a cat, who probably a closet serial killer. I'll have to learn to tolerate it. Humor, decent writing, a general lack of overt sexism and an absence of torture means this is easily a four star genre read and a series I'll continue.
I started with this one based on friends' reviews--thanks, friends. Published in 1992, there's definitely an aspect that feels very period to me, but its done well enough so forgetaboutit.
The story has a two part structure, so there isn't much to say about the second without spoiling the first. Our hero is Elvis Cole, a private eye with a smart mouth, no style sense (unless you call a sweatshirt with Mickey Mouse a style), and extensive martial arts training. A good friend asks him to meet with a ridiculously famous Hollywood director who wants him to find his ex-wife and son who he hasn't had contact with in over ten years. Cole doesn't ask enough questions, of course, but who can blame him? Mr. Hollywood Director got on my last nerve as well. Of course, not everyone appreciates Elvis' humor:
"Donnie Brewster made the nervous frown. 'Stop with the humor, okay? I tell him you're brilliant and gifted, you make with the humor, he's gonna know that you're not.'"
Elvis is not in the least a tortured soul, and as for his bestie, Joe Pike, well, who knows? He's a man of few words.
"Pike didn't answer.
'You know the director, Peter Alan Nelsen? He's our client.'
Pike didn't answer some more. Trying to talk with Pike is like carrying on a fill-in-the-blank conversation."
The writing is interesting, with thoughtful bits interwoven. Crais' style is occasionally deceptively simple, with a reliance on 'and' that would have had my English teacher reaching for the red pen.
"I closed the toilet lid and sat on the seat and felt myself living. I felt the blood move and the lungs work and the muscles pull against bone. I hurt, but it was better than being in the hospital and better than being dead."
The plotting managed to surprise me more with a deviation from the traditional missing persons format and then a couple of twists based on actions that were completely logical within character context, just not within the mystery plot format. I appreciated that the missing woman was given a great deal of agency, respect and self-awareness. Kudos to Crais for being ahead of his time.
As far as I can tell, the only downside is that Elvis does indeed own a cat, who probably a closet serial killer. I'll have to learn to tolerate it. Humor, decent writing, a general lack of overt sexism and an absence of torture means this is easily a four star genre read and a series I'll continue.
May 1, 2020
I only recently discovered this series but it's really growing on me. I think it's set around the early 1980s in LA as PI Elvis Cole is watching VCRs, using phone books to find people and with no mobile phone needs a fistful of coins to use a public phone when he's out on the job. Elvis is a tough, no nonsense Vietnam vet with a quirky sense of humour and his own sense of justice. He also has a secret weapon in his colleague the enigmatic Joe Pike, an even tougher Vietnam vet and silent killer who comes with his own personal arsenal. Together they make quite a team.
The plot opens with Elvis being asked by the famous, egotistical (and extremely annoying) Hollywood film director Peter Alan Nelsen to find his ex wife Karen and the son he has never met. However, when Elvis eventually tracks them down to their new life in a small town near New York, he discovers that Karen doesn't want to be found as she has got herself deeply involved with an organised crime figure. The action soon ramps up as Elvis tries to help extract her from her situation and has to call in Joe Pike to help him deal with the thugs he has attracted who are now determined to kill him.
I liked this episode better than the opening pair with a good balance between an interesting plot and some high octane action. Elvis shows his compassionate side by trying to help Karen and her son out of a bad situation and is less of a snarky smartass than usual although he still has some great one liners. He also does a good job managing the self absorbed director's tantrums and even helps him find his his human side. So, yes I will be back for more Elvis Cole and especially Joe Pike.
The plot opens with Elvis being asked by the famous, egotistical (and extremely annoying) Hollywood film director Peter Alan Nelsen to find his ex wife Karen and the son he has never met. However, when Elvis eventually tracks them down to their new life in a small town near New York, he discovers that Karen doesn't want to be found as she has got herself deeply involved with an organised crime figure. The action soon ramps up as Elvis tries to help extract her from her situation and has to call in Joe Pike to help him deal with the thugs he has attracted who are now determined to kill him.
I liked this episode better than the opening pair with a good balance between an interesting plot and some high octane action. Elvis shows his compassionate side by trying to help Karen and her son out of a bad situation and is less of a snarky smartass than usual although he still has some great one liners. He also does a good job managing the self absorbed director's tantrums and even helps him find his his human side. So, yes I will be back for more Elvis Cole and especially Joe Pike.
January 25, 2021
After muddling around a bit in the first two books, Robert Crais begins to hit his stride with the third entry in the Elvis Cole series. He's dialed back the constant--and what I thought was often inappropriate--humor and produced a fairly gripping novel. The humor hasn't disappeared, to be sure, but in this book it's not nearly as jarring.
The case seems pretty straightforward, at least initially. Elvis is introduced to a big league movie director named Peter Alan Nelson. Nelson is awfully full of himself and comes off as a total jerk. Years ago, he was briefly married and fathered a son. But he decided that being a husband and father really didn't suit him and so he abandoned his wife and child. The wife divorced him and disappeared with the son. Nelson has heard nothing of either of them in years.
Now he decides that he really wants to meet his son and he hires Cole to find the boy and his mother. Nelson is such a jerkoff that Cole almost refuses to work for him. But Nelson does seem sincere in his desire to meet the boy and so Elvis reluctantly agrees.
Finding the woman and her son is really no problem at all. But once having found her, Cole discovers that she's mixed up in some very serious trouble. This is another case where I think that the tease on the back of the book gives away way too much, and I'm not going to go there. Suffice it to say that Cole decides that he needs to attempt to extricate the woman from her problems before notifying his client that he's completed his mission. This will get Cole himself into some serious danger, and before it's all over, a lot of blood is going to get spilled. A very good read with a great climax.
The case seems pretty straightforward, at least initially. Elvis is introduced to a big league movie director named Peter Alan Nelson. Nelson is awfully full of himself and comes off as a total jerk. Years ago, he was briefly married and fathered a son. But he decided that being a husband and father really didn't suit him and so he abandoned his wife and child. The wife divorced him and disappeared with the son. Nelson has heard nothing of either of them in years.
Now he decides that he really wants to meet his son and he hires Cole to find the boy and his mother. Nelson is such a jerkoff that Cole almost refuses to work for him. But Nelson does seem sincere in his desire to meet the boy and so Elvis reluctantly agrees.
Finding the woman and her son is really no problem at all. But once having found her, Cole discovers that she's mixed up in some very serious trouble. This is another case where I think that the tease on the back of the book gives away way too much, and I'm not going to go there. Suffice it to say that Cole decides that he needs to attempt to extricate the woman from her problems before notifying his client that he's completed his mission. This will get Cole himself into some serious danger, and before it's all over, a lot of blood is going to get spilled. A very good read with a great climax.
January 13, 2012
A Hollywood director hires Elvis Cole to track down a wife and son he abandoned a decade earlier. Cole tracks down the ex-wife and quickly finds out that she's under the thumb of the mob. Can Cole save her and re-unite her with her former husband?
Elvis Cole sure got in over his head in this one. Crazy mobsters, secret deals between crime families, and a Hollywood director that is a colossal asshole make for a great story. As always, Crais let the tension build until a great firefight at the end.
Karen Lloyd, the ex-wife, was far more than a damsel in distress and my favorite member of the supporting cast. Peter Alan Nelson was a douche bag of epic proportions and I have to think Crais drew from his own Hollywood experiences when creating him. The ever-changing dynamic between Karen, Peter, and their son Toby was one of the more memorable parts of the novel. Crais gave us more of a look into the psyche of Elvis Cole, as well as a tiny glimpse behind Joe Pike's sunglasses.
The more Robert Crais books I read, the more convinced I am that he is the real deal. With this volume, any thoughts of Elvis Cole being a Spenser ripoff have vanished. Lullaby Town would be a worthy addition to any crime/mystery fan's book shelf.
Elvis Cole sure got in over his head in this one. Crazy mobsters, secret deals between crime families, and a Hollywood director that is a colossal asshole make for a great story. As always, Crais let the tension build until a great firefight at the end.
Karen Lloyd, the ex-wife, was far more than a damsel in distress and my favorite member of the supporting cast. Peter Alan Nelson was a douche bag of epic proportions and I have to think Crais drew from his own Hollywood experiences when creating him. The ever-changing dynamic between Karen, Peter, and their son Toby was one of the more memorable parts of the novel. Crais gave us more of a look into the psyche of Elvis Cole, as well as a tiny glimpse behind Joe Pike's sunglasses.
The more Robert Crais books I read, the more convinced I am that he is the real deal. With this volume, any thoughts of Elvis Cole being a Spenser ripoff have vanished. Lullaby Town would be a worthy addition to any crime/mystery fan's book shelf.
November 20, 2011
Now that’s more like it!
I’d been hoping that I’d enjoy this series to give me some fresh detective stories, but the results had been mixed so far. The Monkey's Raincoat and Stalking the Angel had a lot I liked, but Elvis Cole and his bad-ass friend Joe Pike were seeming like pale imitations of Robert B. Parker’s Spenser & Hawk to me. Plus, the over the top quirkiness of Elvis’s character and his constant smart ass comments got on my nerves. I’m now thinking that Crais needed a few books to find his own rhythm, and I enjoyed the hell out of this third book in the series.
Elvis gets hired by famous action move director Peter Alan Nelson to locate the son he had from a brief marriage ten years earlier. Nelson is a self-centered prick and supreme asshole enabled by the movie studio and a squad of sycophants. He’s like a less charming version of Brett Ratner. Elvis quickly tracks down the ex-wife Karen to a small town in Connecticut where she’s built a good life for her and her son, but she’s having some issues with being tangled up with the Mafia and a psychotic gangster. Elvis wants to help Karen out, but dealing with the mob will be easy compared to trying to cope with Peter Alan Nelson and his gigantic ego.
I got to meet Robert Crais and watch him on a couple of panels at Bouchercon in St. Louis, and after listening to the guy, my opinion of him improved tremendously. (See Dan’s write-up about our Bouchercon adventure and watching an interview with Crais for more details.)
There were several things that impressed me about Crais. He seemed to take his writing very seriously while still obviously enjoying the hell out of his success and having a great sense of humor. I was surprised at the amount of work he said he put into the books because I think a lot of us tend to imagine that popular thriller writers churn these books out with a minimum of effort while checking their bank accounts, but per Crais, he goes through some long hours in front of the computer and is more than a little frustrated that it hasn’t gotten easier over the years like he once thought it would.
I also liked that Crais can admit when he’s made mistakes and then corrects them. One of my biggest complaints about the first couple of Cole novels was that Elvis was just such a relentless smart ass. I like a wise cracking detective as much as the next crime fiction fan, but if the hero responds with snark to every situation, it gets old in a hurry. Crais said that he realized early in the series that you can’t use humor to respond to things like serious crimes, and he scaled that back. It was evident in this book because when things get ugly, Elvis doesn’t react with a parade of one-liners like he did in the previous books.
I think I’m on my way to becoming a big fan of Robert Crais. You can check out some of the Bouchercon interview I mentioned here.
I’d been hoping that I’d enjoy this series to give me some fresh detective stories, but the results had been mixed so far. The Monkey's Raincoat and Stalking the Angel had a lot I liked, but Elvis Cole and his bad-ass friend Joe Pike were seeming like pale imitations of Robert B. Parker’s Spenser & Hawk to me. Plus, the over the top quirkiness of Elvis’s character and his constant smart ass comments got on my nerves. I’m now thinking that Crais needed a few books to find his own rhythm, and I enjoyed the hell out of this third book in the series.
Elvis gets hired by famous action move director Peter Alan Nelson to locate the son he had from a brief marriage ten years earlier. Nelson is a self-centered prick and supreme asshole enabled by the movie studio and a squad of sycophants. He’s like a less charming version of Brett Ratner. Elvis quickly tracks down the ex-wife Karen to a small town in Connecticut where she’s built a good life for her and her son, but she’s having some issues with being tangled up with the Mafia and a psychotic gangster. Elvis wants to help Karen out, but dealing with the mob will be easy compared to trying to cope with Peter Alan Nelson and his gigantic ego.
I got to meet Robert Crais and watch him on a couple of panels at Bouchercon in St. Louis, and after listening to the guy, my opinion of him improved tremendously. (See Dan’s write-up about our Bouchercon adventure and watching an interview with Crais for more details.)
There were several things that impressed me about Crais. He seemed to take his writing very seriously while still obviously enjoying the hell out of his success and having a great sense of humor. I was surprised at the amount of work he said he put into the books because I think a lot of us tend to imagine that popular thriller writers churn these books out with a minimum of effort while checking their bank accounts, but per Crais, he goes through some long hours in front of the computer and is more than a little frustrated that it hasn’t gotten easier over the years like he once thought it would.
I also liked that Crais can admit when he’s made mistakes and then corrects them. One of my biggest complaints about the first couple of Cole novels was that Elvis was just such a relentless smart ass. I like a wise cracking detective as much as the next crime fiction fan, but if the hero responds with snark to every situation, it gets old in a hurry. Crais said that he realized early in the series that you can’t use humor to respond to things like serious crimes, and he scaled that back. It was evident in this book because when things get ugly, Elvis doesn’t react with a parade of one-liners like he did in the previous books.
I think I’m on my way to becoming a big fan of Robert Crais. You can check out some of the Bouchercon interview I mentioned here.
January 5, 2019
I generally like Robert Crais, but this story was lame beginning to end. 1 of 10 stars
Glad I decided to listen to this again now that I have a better understanding of the main character. This story is well crafted and worthy of 9 of 10 stars!
Glad I decided to listen to this again now that I have a better understanding of the main character. This story is well crafted and worthy of 9 of 10 stars!
February 26, 2024
Four stars rounded up. I feel like the books are hitting their stride. Exceedingly easy read with a more relatable set of characters. Coles sarcasm is dry as the desert. You would hate to piss him off but you love to watch him go at other people.
December 6, 2022
I find it funny how quickly we become accustomed to how the reality of the little things are in whatever period of time we live in. My husband is still laughing at the question I voiced more than once while reading this book. This novel was written in 1992. I found myself wondering and commenting on why Elvis Cole didn't "just call and let people know what kind of trouble was headed their way"? My chuckling husband reminded me that the cell phone mania didn't even exist during this period, so all Cole's detective work had to be done the good "old fashioned" way...standing outside in the weather feeding quarters into a big chunky black, pay phone. In spite of the lack of a devise that wouldn't become attached to our hands until a good 10 or so years in Elvis Cole's future, this showcased the really hard work by this hard-boiled private detective with a heart of pure gold. In this case there was two of them, Elvis and his friend, Joe Pike, who found themselves stepping over bodies and taking on the New York mob. What actually makes this story good is the dialogue...the not too complicated story line...the believable characters, and the occasional, even if predictable, outcome. A lot of people are murdered. Don't even try to keep up with that. The New York Mafia characters, while full of stereotyped speech and mannerisms, still manage to capture your interest. It's been quiet sometime since I read an Elvis Cole book, so I had forgotten how much I loved the smart-a** answers often delivered by Cole. They somewhat reminded me of the John Cory character in Nelson de Mille's books. It was great visiting with Elvis and Joe again.
May 21, 2020
Elvis Cole’s third adventure may be the best so far. It’s well-plotted, exciting. with crisp irreverent dialogue (just like books #1 and #2), but it has a rather interesting structure: there’s no murder to be solved in this one, merely a problem to be resolved.
Merely? The term is misleading for it is certainly a helluva problem. Cole is hired by an immature, self-absorbed Hollywood director to find the wife who left him—taking their infant son with her—ten years ago. He finds the mother and son with relative ease, but subsequebtlu discovers that the bank-manager mother is owned by the DeLuca family, compelled to launder money for the mob. How, Elvis Cole wonders, can we break her ties to Delucas so that this woman is free to choose a new life for herself? There’s only one thing clear from the start: Elvis is going to need the help of his intimidating partner Joe Pike.
Those who feel inclined to skip this one, given there’s no murder to solve, should be aware that there is still plenty of suspense, fast action, and violence. You just have to wait until near the end, when the deal with the DeLuca family starts to implode.
Best so far of a highly recommended series. Give it a try.
June 5, 2012
Lullaby Town, the third book in the Elvis Cole series, starts off very slowly. The opening chapters serve as a character study of arrogant Hollywood director Peter Allen Nelson, followed by a less than inspiring missing person search by Cole for Nelson's estranged ex-wife. However, the story finally starts to pick up momentum when it reaches the East Coast, where the mafia, and hence, all of this book's action, is.
A pattern in this series is starting to emerge, beginning with Cole working alone to solve a mystery, then bringing in Pike when things start to get out of hand, and climaxing with a gunfight with that book's bad guys. Cole and Pike have yet to be interrogated by the police for their many -- albeit justified -- killings. At some point, doesn't the body count alone have to get them in trouble?
I prefer Cole and Pike in L.A., as I didn't think Crais got the overall feel of New York City right (although, to be fair, at some points his details were spot on). I would also like to see more of the enigmatic Joe Pike, who is easily the most interesting character in the entire series.
I'll continue reading this series -- I've heard it gets stronger as it progresses -- but I won't listen to another audiobook, as I didn't care for the narrator's interpretation of Elvis Cole (which is important, as it is first-person narrated). Not to say he did a bad job in any objective way, but it was like seeing an actor play a character differently than you pictured them in your imagination.
A pattern in this series is starting to emerge, beginning with Cole working alone to solve a mystery, then bringing in Pike when things start to get out of hand, and climaxing with a gunfight with that book's bad guys. Cole and Pike have yet to be interrogated by the police for their many -- albeit justified -- killings. At some point, doesn't the body count alone have to get them in trouble?
I prefer Cole and Pike in L.A., as I didn't think Crais got the overall feel of New York City right (although, to be fair, at some points his details were spot on). I would also like to see more of the enigmatic Joe Pike, who is easily the most interesting character in the entire series.
I'll continue reading this series -- I've heard it gets stronger as it progresses -- but I won't listen to another audiobook, as I didn't care for the narrator's interpretation of Elvis Cole (which is important, as it is first-person narrated). Not to say he did a bad job in any objective way, but it was like seeing an actor play a character differently than you pictured them in your imagination.
November 9, 2025
In this outing Elvis is employed by Peter Alan Nelsen, a successful temperamental Hollywood to find his estranged wife Karen and child. The simple case quickly escalates into a nightmare when he finds her but she is embroiled reluctantly with the Mafia laundering money.
The story is set near New York in a small Connecticut town. Pike joins him and they untangle the problem until the volatile Peter arrives and creates a huge problem.
SPOILERS AHEAD
Pike and Elvis appear to resolve the problem and get Karen out of the Mafia tentacles. But the insane Charlie kills his father and comes after them with 9 men. Pike and Elvis do their thing in a pumpkin patch and airfield killing all the bad guys. They then negotiate an agreement with the new Mafia boss and they live happily ever after until the next time.
The story is set near New York in a small Connecticut town. Pike joins him and they untangle the problem until the volatile Peter arrives and creates a huge problem.
SPOILERS AHEAD
Pike and Elvis appear to resolve the problem and get Karen out of the Mafia tentacles. But the insane Charlie kills his father and comes after them with 9 men. Pike and Elvis do their thing in a pumpkin patch and airfield killing all the bad guys. They then negotiate an agreement with the new Mafia boss and they live happily ever after until the next time.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 30, 2026
I read this years ago ... and just listened to it on audio. Robert Crais has never written a bad book. This story takes Elvis and Joe out of Los Angeles to the east coast -- Connecticut and NY. Narrator (Mel Foster) was fantastic. The Crais books have had 4 or 5 narrators over the years, and Mel is one of my two favorites.
April 14, 2025
Umpteenth reading - I'm only reading this (lie) because I've started re-reading the Will Trent series from Karin Slaughter to read her newest. This, the 3rd Elvis story, is fun, with Elvis's Hollywood friend turning him onto the up and coming producer in the land. Peter is only trying to find his ex-wife and son, who's 12 now. The dad was never a father, too busy being successful, but now he thinks he's entitled for them to share his success. Hard guy to like.
Throw in some New York mafia baddies, drug running and money laundering, and it's action packed.
3rd reading - Even though I've read this series a few times, I still enjoy starting over again. Elvis and Joe are involved with a Hollywood wunderkind, who's looking for his ex-wife and son who's now an adolescent. Elvis's problem is that he cares too much, and thinks he can fix it, but enter the East coast mob, and the action skyrockets.
A multiple time of reading these novels.
One of my fav exchanges: "I looked back at Karen and then at Peter. "Do it."
Karen said, "They're going to kill us, aren't they?"
"They're going to try. But Joe and I won't let them."
Her eyes were big and darting. She held tight to Toby's arm. "How can you stop them? There're eight of them and we're trapped here in the middle of nowhere with them."
Pike chambered a round into his shotgun. "No," he said. 'They're trapped with us."
Smart-guy Elvis and the enigma Joe battle mobsters and Hollywood elite trying to help a director find the son he never wanted to be a father to.
Throw in some New York mafia baddies, drug running and money laundering, and it's action packed.
3rd reading - Even though I've read this series a few times, I still enjoy starting over again. Elvis and Joe are involved with a Hollywood wunderkind, who's looking for his ex-wife and son who's now an adolescent. Elvis's problem is that he cares too much, and thinks he can fix it, but enter the East coast mob, and the action skyrockets.
A multiple time of reading these novels.
One of my fav exchanges: "I looked back at Karen and then at Peter. "Do it."
Karen said, "They're going to kill us, aren't they?"
"They're going to try. But Joe and I won't let them."
Her eyes were big and darting. She held tight to Toby's arm. "How can you stop them? There're eight of them and we're trapped here in the middle of nowhere with them."
Pike chambered a round into his shotgun. "No," he said. 'They're trapped with us."
Smart-guy Elvis and the enigma Joe battle mobsters and Hollywood elite trying to help a director find the son he never wanted to be a father to.
April 17, 2017
Una novela ligera, muy parecida en formato a las de Robert B. Parker y su serie de Spencer & Hawk. Me encantan los diálogos de humor corrosivo de Elvis Cole (Aquí también se asemejan mucho a los mencionados), aunque, en esta entrega, el autor se decanta por un protagonista algo más serio, alejado del estilo casi bufonesco de las anteriores dos novelas.
Como en las anteriores, aquí la investigación principal corre a cargo de Elvis Cole, y será sólo más adelante en la lectura cuando aparecerá su inseparable compañero Pike, a la hora de sacar la artillería pesada. De nuevo encontramos a este último en un papel muy al margen, lo cual es una pena, ya que es un personaje al que Robert Crais debería sacar más provecho.
Por último, la acción se desplaza desde Los Ángeles a New York, a donde Elvis debe viajar para localizar a la mujer y al hijo del cliente que le contrata. Creo que este cambio de emplazamiento no está del todo bien resuelto.
En resumen, novela ligera, para leer en plan divertimento, sin mayores pretensiones. Creo que entre Robert Crais y Robert B. Parker aún me quedan muy buenos ratos que pasar. Para lecturas más complejas siempre puedo volver a Pierre Lemaitre, entre otros. Cada cosa en su momento.
Como en las anteriores, aquí la investigación principal corre a cargo de Elvis Cole, y será sólo más adelante en la lectura cuando aparecerá su inseparable compañero Pike, a la hora de sacar la artillería pesada. De nuevo encontramos a este último en un papel muy al margen, lo cual es una pena, ya que es un personaje al que Robert Crais debería sacar más provecho.
Por último, la acción se desplaza desde Los Ángeles a New York, a donde Elvis debe viajar para localizar a la mujer y al hijo del cliente que le contrata. Creo que este cambio de emplazamiento no está del todo bien resuelto.
En resumen, novela ligera, para leer en plan divertimento, sin mayores pretensiones. Creo que entre Robert Crais y Robert B. Parker aún me quedan muy buenos ratos que pasar. Para lecturas más complejas siempre puedo volver a Pierre Lemaitre, entre otros. Cada cosa en su momento.
December 20, 2018
I'm glad I didn't give up on this series after the first book, Monkey's Raincoat. I wasn't crazy about that one, although it was not bad. But after reading a later one featuring more Joe Pike, I decided to skip to number 3 as others have recommended. It didn't disappoint.
The story was good, the humor seemed to fit in better, and Joe Pike came through. The style is a lot like the Spenser series, but I like it better, perhaps because it's a little less dated. And Elvis Cole is the world's best detective, so there's that.
One of the best Joe Pike lines in the book (and he doesn't say much) is one where they are being chased by 8 mafia guys trying to kill them, and the woman they're helping says:
I'm looking forward to reading more now, and may reread one that I read long ago and forgot about.
The story was good, the humor seemed to fit in better, and Joe Pike came through. The style is a lot like the Spenser series, but I like it better, perhaps because it's a little less dated. And Elvis Cole is the world's best detective, so there's that.
One of the best Joe Pike lines in the book (and he doesn't say much) is one where they are being chased by 8 mafia guys trying to kill them, and the woman they're helping says:
“How can you stop them? There’re eight of them and we’re trapped here in the middle of nowhere with them.”
Pike chambered a round into his shotgun. “No,” he said. “They’re trapped with us.”
I'm looking forward to reading more now, and may reread one that I read long ago and forgot about.
August 4, 2025
This Elvis Cole book has been added to my favorites list – it's about perfect as far as mystery/crime fiction goes.
Cole’s job is to locate an abandoned ex-wife and child a spoiled, famous Hollywood producer wants to see again after ten years. Finding them is the easy part. Getting them out of the mob’s clutches is trickier.
Let me say first that Lullaby Town has just the right balance of Elvis Cole and Joe Pike page time. There is plenty of action and finagling and running down what’s really going on. What made this book a favorite besides all that stuff is it had interesting, flawed characters that eventually showed character growth. And that to criminals that were mean enough to be believable without crossing over into graphic content. Rounding out with edge of your seat suspense toward the climax and that’s the recipe for a favorite book.
I’ll be happily continuing this series.
Cole’s job is to locate an abandoned ex-wife and child a spoiled, famous Hollywood producer wants to see again after ten years. Finding them is the easy part. Getting them out of the mob’s clutches is trickier.
Let me say first that Lullaby Town has just the right balance of Elvis Cole and Joe Pike page time. There is plenty of action and finagling and running down what’s really going on. What made this book a favorite besides all that stuff is it had interesting, flawed characters that eventually showed character growth. And that to criminals that were mean enough to be believable without crossing over into graphic content. Rounding out with edge of your seat suspense toward the climax and that’s the recipe for a favorite book.
I’ll be happily continuing this series.
June 12, 2020
One of the better in the series from the ones I’ve read so far. When the story first began, it was too Hollywood for my liking. But, Elvis takes on a case that brings him to New York, and then rural Connecticut and the action starts up. The last third of the book is impossible to put down, so much so I stayed up way past my bedtime to finish! I was also pleased to see that Elvis seems a little more mature in this story from the first couple, while still keeping his sense of humor. I’ll be happily moving on to the next in this series!
June 15, 2015
Another great Elvis Cole story!
July 3, 2015
Audiobook:
Cole is hired by an arrogant and self-absorbed Hollywood director to find his estranged wife and son, now gone for more than 10 years. He just wants to connect with his son. Finding the woman is easy enough, but Cole learns she is now the VP of a small-town bank who is being used by some Boston mob bosses to launder money.
Now, I think Cole screwed up by trying to fix things in his macho way. A quick call to the FBI (despite her reluctance to enter witness protection) might have solved things since she had evidence of all sorts of wrong-doing. Cole risked messing up her life and that of her kid. She wanted nothing to do with Peter, the Hollywood bigshot, and to my way of thinking should have had nothing to do with Cole either.
All that aside, at least Cole uses his brain to figure a way out for her by pitting one member of the “family” against another. The spate of violence at the end is really not their doing. It was also refreshing that neither Cole nor Pike found it necessary to jump in Karen's bed.
Satisfactory, although Pike starts to grate after a while.
Cole is hired by an arrogant and self-absorbed Hollywood director to find his estranged wife and son, now gone for more than 10 years. He just wants to connect with his son. Finding the woman is easy enough, but Cole learns she is now the VP of a small-town bank who is being used by some Boston mob bosses to launder money.
Now, I think Cole screwed up by trying to fix things in his macho way. A quick call to the FBI (despite her reluctance to enter witness protection) might have solved things since she had evidence of all sorts of wrong-doing. Cole risked messing up her life and that of her kid. She wanted nothing to do with Peter, the Hollywood bigshot, and to my way of thinking should have had nothing to do with Cole either.
All that aside, at least Cole uses his brain to figure a way out for her by pitting one member of the “family” against another. The spate of violence at the end is really not their doing. It was also refreshing that neither Cole nor Pike found it necessary to jump in Karen's bed.
Satisfactory, although Pike starts to grate after a while.
February 11, 2024
Can Elvis Cole ever have a client that is not the worst person in the universe??!?
Peter Alan Nelsen after 12 years 😳👀wants to find his ex-wife and son. Charming. Elvis finds her rather quickly but this is when everything unravels at hyper speed. The mob is involved of course. Several factions of it. Nothing goes as planned and everyone almost ends up dead 💀 even Joe Pike! Eeek.
The end was better than I had hoped. AND we even have a pop in of a past character, who knew? 😳🤔
Peter Alan Nelsen after 12 years 😳👀wants to find his ex-wife and son. Charming. Elvis finds her rather quickly but this is when everything unravels at hyper speed. The mob is involved of course. Several factions of it. Nothing goes as planned and everyone almost ends up dead 💀 even Joe Pike! Eeek.
The end was better than I had hoped. AND we even have a pop in of a past character, who knew? 😳🤔
March 13, 2014
Predictable. Shoot this guy, shoot that guy, shoot the other one. Bad guys are violent, good guys are better shots. Ho hum.
September 13, 2019
favorite part of the book was when Elvis beat up the movie director douche....
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 23, 2025
Having dived back to this early book in the series, it’s pretty clear to me that Crais was still in the process of fleshing out his main characters - Elvis Cole and Joe Pike. Cole is quick with the lip and handy with his fists (as he continues to be through numerous future episodes) and Pike is a silent but threatening presence lurking in his shadows. So in broad terms things remain the same. But only as we learn more and more about these men will they begin to feel more real, more believable. This is the natural order of things, I accept that, but I can’t help feeling that the later books are so much more rewarding.
The story here - Cole being hired to find the long estranged ex-wife of a rich, self obsessed filmmaker - is a bit thin and certainly excessively convoluted. I lost interested towards the end, as my believably radar was tweaked in the wrong direction just too many times. It’s not the best book in the series by a long chalk, but then Crais sets such a high bar with subsequent episodes.
The story here - Cole being hired to find the long estranged ex-wife of a rich, self obsessed filmmaker - is a bit thin and certainly excessively convoluted. I lost interested towards the end, as my believably radar was tweaked in the wrong direction just too many times. It’s not the best book in the series by a long chalk, but then Crais sets such a high bar with subsequent episodes.
March 17, 2013
Ok, a few rambling thoughts on Robert Crais. Who is this guy, where'd he come from, how'd he get so popular? Well the first thing to know is that Crais is not from California at all. He is a native of Louisiana, grew up in a blue collar family, and read his first crime novel The Little Sister when he was 15. And that's all it took. Chandler gave him his love for writing. Other authors that have inspired him were Hammett, Hemingway (seems like that's true of all the crime writers), Parker, and Steinbeck (huh?).
How'd he get so popular? In short: television and L.A. Requim. Robert Crais has a very impressive resume as a screenwriter for such television series as Hill Street Blues, Miami Vice (damn, I loved that show too!), Cagney & Lacey. But what hits home the most with Crais himself is his work on the 4 hour mini series Cross of Fire which is about the Ku Klux Klan and is probably more relevant to his home state of Louisiana than it is to Hollywood. Following a growing dissatsifaction of a screen writer's constraints, Crais began writing novels. L.A. Requim, which is the 8th Elvis Cole novel, is what landed him as an author that defied all genres and in it outsurpassed even the legendary Ross Macdonald.
Enough about Crais, the guy's good. So, what about Elvis Cole? Naming someone Elvis had to have been a fairly deliberate decision. To me the name seems iconic, Warholish, Disneylandish, a bit theatrical if not cynical. In fact his novels and trinkets therein are suffused with cultural icons: Spider Man mug, Jiminy Cricket (latent fantasy of wanting to be Peter Pan?), and his yellow Corvette. Even his slogan seems hamstrung with Hollywood's obsession with icons: Elvis Cole is The world's Greatest Detective! But in reality there's nothing ridiculous about Cole: he's tough, honest, ponders morality and ambiguity and hypocrasies while staring out the balcony window in his office.Yes, he's cynical, a smart ass, a comic relief in many ways...but behind the seeming humor lies a Dan Wesson .38, the Vietnam War, martial arts and his biggest gun of all: Joe Pike.
Joe Pike, the avenging angel, is a tool used sparingly by Crais. Use him too much and you wonder why he isn't the main character (we know Crais has struggled with this as he produced 4 separate novels featuring Pike as the hero); use him too little and you start wondering why the big guns aren't being pulled out by Elvis. What you want to do is increase the anxiety level of the reader towards the hero, not get the reader frustrated with him. Crais handles this expertly...and uses Pike to increase the anticipation in readers.
The Elvis Cole novels should be considered hard boiled detectives primarily in that Crais deviates from the traditional Romantic tradition found in detective stories and crime fiction by introducing Cole as a detective with a decidedly cynical attitude towards the emotions (i.e. apprehension, horror, terror, and awe such as are found in other crime and thriller stories). And yet, we find sprinkled throughout the books insightful observations of the world as seen through Elvis's eyes. In the following passage, Elvis observes the effects of dry brush fires raging through L.A.:
Picture the detective at work in his office, fourth floor, Hollywood, as the Devil's Wind freight-trains down from the desert. Though dry and brutally harsh, the desert wind is clean. It pushes the smog south to the sea and scrubs the sky to a crystalline blue. The air, jittery from the heat, rises in swaying tendrils like kelp from the seabed, making the city shimmer. We are never more beautiful than when we are burning.
Like I said, it really came together following the publication of his 8th Elvis Cole novel. Pike his side kick, Lou Poitras (Cole's detective friend) gruffy as ever, shifting view points, a relaxation of Cole's zany character...it all came together following L.A. Requim. So, believe me. All in all, you will not be disappointed with the Elvis Cole series. There are a lot of these novels so sit back and enjoy! I most certainly did.
As with all series reviews, this one covers all the Elvis Cole books. So if you've read this review of mine than you've read 'em all.
How'd he get so popular? In short: television and L.A. Requim. Robert Crais has a very impressive resume as a screenwriter for such television series as Hill Street Blues, Miami Vice (damn, I loved that show too!), Cagney & Lacey. But what hits home the most with Crais himself is his work on the 4 hour mini series Cross of Fire which is about the Ku Klux Klan and is probably more relevant to his home state of Louisiana than it is to Hollywood. Following a growing dissatsifaction of a screen writer's constraints, Crais began writing novels. L.A. Requim, which is the 8th Elvis Cole novel, is what landed him as an author that defied all genres and in it outsurpassed even the legendary Ross Macdonald.
Enough about Crais, the guy's good. So, what about Elvis Cole? Naming someone Elvis had to have been a fairly deliberate decision. To me the name seems iconic, Warholish, Disneylandish, a bit theatrical if not cynical. In fact his novels and trinkets therein are suffused with cultural icons: Spider Man mug, Jiminy Cricket (latent fantasy of wanting to be Peter Pan?), and his yellow Corvette. Even his slogan seems hamstrung with Hollywood's obsession with icons: Elvis Cole is The world's Greatest Detective! But in reality there's nothing ridiculous about Cole: he's tough, honest, ponders morality and ambiguity and hypocrasies while staring out the balcony window in his office.Yes, he's cynical, a smart ass, a comic relief in many ways...but behind the seeming humor lies a Dan Wesson .38, the Vietnam War, martial arts and his biggest gun of all: Joe Pike.
Joe Pike, the avenging angel, is a tool used sparingly by Crais. Use him too much and you wonder why he isn't the main character (we know Crais has struggled with this as he produced 4 separate novels featuring Pike as the hero); use him too little and you start wondering why the big guns aren't being pulled out by Elvis. What you want to do is increase the anxiety level of the reader towards the hero, not get the reader frustrated with him. Crais handles this expertly...and uses Pike to increase the anticipation in readers.
The Elvis Cole novels should be considered hard boiled detectives primarily in that Crais deviates from the traditional Romantic tradition found in detective stories and crime fiction by introducing Cole as a detective with a decidedly cynical attitude towards the emotions (i.e. apprehension, horror, terror, and awe such as are found in other crime and thriller stories). And yet, we find sprinkled throughout the books insightful observations of the world as seen through Elvis's eyes. In the following passage, Elvis observes the effects of dry brush fires raging through L.A.:
Picture the detective at work in his office, fourth floor, Hollywood, as the Devil's Wind freight-trains down from the desert. Though dry and brutally harsh, the desert wind is clean. It pushes the smog south to the sea and scrubs the sky to a crystalline blue. The air, jittery from the heat, rises in swaying tendrils like kelp from the seabed, making the city shimmer. We are never more beautiful than when we are burning.
Like I said, it really came together following the publication of his 8th Elvis Cole novel. Pike his side kick, Lou Poitras (Cole's detective friend) gruffy as ever, shifting view points, a relaxation of Cole's zany character...it all came together following L.A. Requim. So, believe me. All in all, you will not be disappointed with the Elvis Cole series. There are a lot of these novels so sit back and enjoy! I most certainly did.
As with all series reviews, this one covers all the Elvis Cole books. So if you've read this review of mine than you've read 'em all.
April 4, 2016
The World's Greatest Detective, Elvis Cole, gets hired by the world's third most famous movie director, Peter Alan Nelson, to locate his ex-wife and son whom he lost contact with when the son was just a baby more than ten years ago. Nelson is a world-class narcissist that the movie studios just can't say no to, because he makes so much money for them with his adventure films. He always travels with an entourage and every sentence, every thought begins and ends with "I."
Finding the ex-wife and son proves to be easy enough for the World's Greatest Detective, even though she has changed her name and tried to obliterate any trace of her relationship with Nelson. She's living in a small town in Connecticut where she has forged a good life for herself and her son. She's the manager of the local bank and a realtor. Unfortunately, her position at the bank has put her in the clutches of a local gangster and mafia-type, who is forcing her to help launder his ill-gotten gains. She is caught and can't get free.
When he talks to her, Elvis learns that she doesn't want any part of her egotistical ex-husband or his money. She has never told her son who his father is. What she does want is to get free of the mafia and to be able to continue to live the quiet, normal life of a small town businesswoman and mother. The World's Greatest Detective offers to help her make that happen.
But in order to accomplish that, of course, Elvis has to call in the big guns - i.e, his partner, Joe Pike. Once Pike is in town, they formulate a plan to try to dislodge that unmovable object, the mafia. Then, Peter Alan Nelson shows up and throws a monkey wrench into the works.
This was the third in Robert Crais' Elvis Cole series and it seems to be a bit of a turning point. The first two books featured Elvis making one wisecrack after another. His response to any and every situation was the sarcastic retort. This one showed Elvis being somewhat more serious. The humor was still evident but it was toned down a bit. That was an improvement, in my opinion. Snark is perfectly fine in small doses, but a little goes a long way, especially when the character is dealing with life or death situations.
The story takes several twists and turns before building toward the final shootout which seems to be
the trademark of a Crais thriller. I lost track of the body count, but all except one were bad guys - mostly very bad guys - and the reader is not unhappy to see them go.
These stories have been compared, both favorably and unfavorably, to Robert B. Parker's Spenser series. They also remind me somewhat of Lee Child's Reacher series. Elvis isn't quite the lone rolling stone that Reacher is, but their military backgrounds and personalities have similarities.
Elvis Cole and Joe Pike are an interesting duo, always on the side of the angels. I find it fascinating that no matter how many bad guys they whack, they never get arrested or asked too many embarrassing questions about the carnage. I guess the angels must be on their side, too.
Finding the ex-wife and son proves to be easy enough for the World's Greatest Detective, even though she has changed her name and tried to obliterate any trace of her relationship with Nelson. She's living in a small town in Connecticut where she has forged a good life for herself and her son. She's the manager of the local bank and a realtor. Unfortunately, her position at the bank has put her in the clutches of a local gangster and mafia-type, who is forcing her to help launder his ill-gotten gains. She is caught and can't get free.
When he talks to her, Elvis learns that she doesn't want any part of her egotistical ex-husband or his money. She has never told her son who his father is. What she does want is to get free of the mafia and to be able to continue to live the quiet, normal life of a small town businesswoman and mother. The World's Greatest Detective offers to help her make that happen.
But in order to accomplish that, of course, Elvis has to call in the big guns - i.e, his partner, Joe Pike. Once Pike is in town, they formulate a plan to try to dislodge that unmovable object, the mafia. Then, Peter Alan Nelson shows up and throws a monkey wrench into the works.
This was the third in Robert Crais' Elvis Cole series and it seems to be a bit of a turning point. The first two books featured Elvis making one wisecrack after another. His response to any and every situation was the sarcastic retort. This one showed Elvis being somewhat more serious. The humor was still evident but it was toned down a bit. That was an improvement, in my opinion. Snark is perfectly fine in small doses, but a little goes a long way, especially when the character is dealing with life or death situations.
The story takes several twists and turns before building toward the final shootout which seems to be
the trademark of a Crais thriller. I lost track of the body count, but all except one were bad guys - mostly very bad guys - and the reader is not unhappy to see them go.
These stories have been compared, both favorably and unfavorably, to Robert B. Parker's Spenser series. They also remind me somewhat of Lee Child's Reacher series. Elvis isn't quite the lone rolling stone that Reacher is, but their military backgrounds and personalities have similarities.
Elvis Cole and Joe Pike are an interesting duo, always on the side of the angels. I find it fascinating that no matter how many bad guys they whack, they never get arrested or asked too many embarrassing questions about the carnage. I guess the angels must be on their side, too.
February 26, 2023
Wow…..so disappointing. My first Robert Crais book, and I’m not sure if I will read another. The plot/story and character development were so thin and weak. Surely, Robert Crais improved in his subsequent books? The dialogue was so contrived and cheesy. Harsh review, but I’m a little spoiled by the masterful writing and storytelling of John Sandford and Michael Connelly.
September 2, 2024
Ugh. I just CANT with Elvis Cole. DNF at about 25%. He hasn’t slept with anyone yet. I assume the lucky lady this time around is the ex-wife of the guy who hired him, since that’s the only woman with 1) a name, 2) any page time and 3) important enough to the plot to have in the book. I didn’t read enough, nor were the parts I skimmed ones where he was getting it on. I don’t care to read more to find out.
Also, Joe Pike seems like a pretty with it and amazing guy, what the heck is he doing at Elvis Cole’s beck and call? All he seems to do is aid and abet Elvis, making sure he doesn’t get killed from doing something stupid. Maybe he enjoys shooting bad guys dead? From other reviews, it seems this book series has a body count that would make Rambo worried they were losing first place.
I’m sad, as the beginning of the book actually grabbed me and had such promise, I like Patricia Kyle and the fact that she is an equal to Elvis and won’t sleep with him. I think Elvis is better in LA and hope the next book keeps him there.
This East Coast Goomba plot and locale was not the best.
2, I am reluctantly going to solider on since I’m borrowing the series from a friend but it’s got a possible crooked cop in it and I don’t like that trope so we will see if that’s a DNF as well, stars.
Also, Joe Pike seems like a pretty with it and amazing guy, what the heck is he doing at Elvis Cole’s beck and call? All he seems to do is aid and abet Elvis, making sure he doesn’t get killed from doing something stupid. Maybe he enjoys shooting bad guys dead? From other reviews, it seems this book series has a body count that would make Rambo worried they were losing first place.
I’m sad, as the beginning of the book actually grabbed me and had such promise, I like Patricia Kyle and the fact that she is an equal to Elvis and won’t sleep with him. I think Elvis is better in LA and hope the next book keeps him there.
This East Coast Goomba plot and locale was not the best.
2, I am reluctantly going to solider on since I’m borrowing the series from a friend but it’s got a possible crooked cop in it and I don’t like that trope so we will see if that’s a DNF as well, stars.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 29, 2018
Good Elvis Cole/Joe Pike case. I especially liked it because they are not super heroes.
August 5, 2017
Okay, THIS is more like it! The setting, plot, writing and characters all seemed to finally gel for me with this series and I had a blast with this one. Elvis only gets more and more likable and Pike only gets more and more badass. A quick aside about Pike, I really don’t get the hate he gets sometimes. The character’s whole charm is that you don’t ever know what’s going on in the dude’s head other than he’s Cole’s buddy to the death and will put a motherfucker on ice with the greatest of ease. What else do you need? Angst? That would only ruin the fun of these books. I did find it funny that even Cole has no idea as to how Pike can see in the dark with his ever-present sunglasses on. Onward to more Cole/Pike goodness with Free Fall!
October 15, 2016
Lullaby Town is not a bad book. But it's not a particularly good book either. Nor is it memorable. What it is, is predictable and formulaic.
In its defense, the story is well written, and the last few chapters were riveting. But that's like saying that a team scored two goals late in the match, when they were down four-nil in the seventieth minute. A valiant effort late, but they still lost.
All the major characters were cookie-cutters and had little depth or definition. Hard-boiled private eye who served in Vietnam? Check. His partner, former special forces? Check. Movie executive who doesn't think about anyone but himself? Check. Single mother? Check. Mafia of various types? Check.
The main plot starts with the aforementioned movie exec who was married, had a son, got divorced, and never gave his family a second thought until ten years later when he suddenly wants to be the boy's father. The why is never really explored. The other main plot is that his ex-wife has a new life, a new name, and is involved in a money-laundering scheme with the Mafia that she wants out of. Why did she get involved in the first place? It boiled down to "I needed the money." Again, very unsatisfying.
Lullaby Town winds up being a lackluster and disappointing novel, in large part because the story wasn't bad, but with some thought and effort, it could have been so much better.
In its defense, the story is well written, and the last few chapters were riveting. But that's like saying that a team scored two goals late in the match, when they were down four-nil in the seventieth minute. A valiant effort late, but they still lost.
All the major characters were cookie-cutters and had little depth or definition. Hard-boiled private eye who served in Vietnam? Check. His partner, former special forces? Check. Movie executive who doesn't think about anyone but himself? Check. Single mother? Check. Mafia of various types? Check.
The main plot starts with the aforementioned movie exec who was married, had a son, got divorced, and never gave his family a second thought until ten years later when he suddenly wants to be the boy's father. The why is never really explored. The other main plot is that his ex-wife has a new life, a new name, and is involved in a money-laundering scheme with the Mafia that she wants out of. Why did she get involved in the first place? It boiled down to "I needed the money." Again, very unsatisfying.
Lullaby Town winds up being a lackluster and disappointing novel, in large part because the story wasn't bad, but with some thought and effort, it could have been so much better.
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