Book ~ "The Big Empty" (2025) Robert Crais

From Goodreads ~ Traci Beller was thirteen when her father disappeared in the sleepy town of Rancha, not far from Los Angeles. The evidence says Tommy Beller abandoned his family but Traci never believed it. The police couldn't find her dad and neither could the detectives her mother hired but now, ten years later, Traci is a super-popular influencer with millions of followers and the money to hire a new detective: Elvis Cole.

Taking on a ten-years-cold missing person case is almost always a loser but Elvis heads to Rancha where he learns an ex-con named Sadie Givens and her daughter, Anya, might have a line on the missing man. But when Elvis finds himself shadowed by a deadly gang of vicious criminals, the simple missing persons case becomes far more sinister and dangerous. Elvis calls in his ex-Marine friend, Joe Pike, to help, but even Pike might not be able to help.

As Elvis Cole and Joe Pike follow Tommy Beller's trail into the twisted nightmare depths of a monstrous evil, the case flips on its head. Victims become predators, predators become prey and when everyone is a victim, can Elvis Cole save them all?

In a case that tests Elvis Cole's loyalty to his clients and himself, the truth must come out no matter the cost. Elvis must face The Big Empty and see justice done.

Elvis Cole is a private detective and is hired by Traci, an influencer and baker, to find her father. Tommy had disappeared on his way home from work 10 years ago. Traci's mother had hired a private detective to find him but nothing came of it so she had him declared legally dead. With the 10 year anniversary of his disappearance coming up, Traci wants Elvis to reopen the case and find out what happened to her father. Ten years is a long time and a lot of the people from the initial investigation are dead or have moved. Elvis finds a witness who hadn't been interviewed all those years ago and this eventually provides him with more clues to follow and he does eventually find out what happened, which provides him with a moral dilemma.

I discovered the Elvis Cole series in the 1990s.  What attracted me to it was that Elvis was funny and tried to be charming ... the books were a fun read.  I found the last few in the series more heavy and serious and not as much fun and didn't really enjoy them. This book seemed to be reminiscent of the earlier books ... yay! It's written in first person perspective when the focus is on Elvis and third person perspective when it's Joe Pike, Elvis' friend and partner (always fun to have Joe in a book!), and the "kill car" (I wasn't crazy about the kill car chapters).  Though it's #20 in the series, it works as a stand alone. As a head's up, there is swearing and violence.

Book ~ "Racing the Light" (2022) Robert Crais

From Goodreads ~ Adele Schumacher isn't a typical worried mom. When she hires Elvis to find her missing son, a controversial podcaster named Josh Shoe, she brings a bag filled with cash, bizarre tales of government conspiracies and a squad of professional bodyguards. Finding Josh should be simple but Elvis quickly learns he isn't alone in the hunt - a deadly team of mysterious strangers are determined to find Josh and his adult film star girlfriend first.

With Elvis being watched and dangerous secrets lurking behind every lead, Elvis needs his friend, Joe Pike, more than ever to uncover the truth about Josh, corrupt politicians and the vicious business cartels rotting the heart of Los Angeles from within. And when Elvis Cole's estranged girlfriend, Lucy Chenier, and her son, Ben, return, Elvis learns just how much he has to lose ... if he survives.

Elvis Cole is a private detective and is hired by Adele to find her adult son, Josh, who is a podcaster. Money is no object as she hands him a pile of cash for the job. As Elvis starts to investigate, he discovers that Josh's parents are the retirees he was told they were ... why would they have so many body guards and does who they really are have anything to do with his disappearance? 

As Elvis starts on Josh's trail, he discovers that Skylar, a porn star/escort friend of Josh's, is also missing. He figures if he can find Skylar, he'll find Josh since her neighbours have said he'd recently stopped by looking for her. When he discovers that Josh's home has been bugged with super duper surveillance technology, he realizes the story Josh was so intent to uncover and podcast about and it might have gotten him killed.

In the meantime, Lucy, Elvis' ex-girlfriend and the love of his life, is back in town with her teenage son and trying to figure out what she wants to do with her life.

I discovered the Elvis Cole series in the 1990s.  What attracted me to it was that Elvis was funny and tried to be charming ... the books were a fun read.  I found this one (and the last few) was more heavy and serious and not as much fun. There were so many characters and relationships and I thought it was confusing at times.  It it hadn't been a Robert Crais/Elvis Cole book, I'm sad to say I would have given up on it. The book is written in first person perspective when the focus is on Elvis and third person perspective when Elvis is not in the scene.  Though it's #19 in the series, it works as a stand alone.  As a head's up, there is swearing and violence.

Book ~ "A Dangerous Man" (2019) Robert Crais

From Goodreads ~ Joe Pike didn't expect to rescue a woman that day. He went to the bank same as anyone goes to the bank and returned to his Jeep. So when Isabel Roland, the lonely young teller who helped him, steps out of the bank on her way to lunch, Joe is on hand when two men abduct her. Joe chases them down and the two men are arrested. But instead of putting the drama to rest, the arrests are only the beginning of the trouble for Joe and Izzy. 

After posting bail, the two abductors are murdered and Izzy disappears. Pike calls on his friend, Elvis Cole, to help learn the truth. What Elvis uncovers is a twisted family story that involves corporate whistleblowing, huge amounts of cash, the Witness Relocation Program, and a long line of lies. But what of all that did Izzy know? Is she a perpetrator or a victim? And how far will Joe go to find out? 

After Joe Pike does his business at his bank, he sees the Isabel, the teller who had taken care of him, get kidnapped right in front of the bank.  He follows the car and saves her.  The would-be kidnappers are found dead shortly after they are released from jail the next day.  When Isabel disappears again, Joe begins to look for her.  He discovers Ted, a family friend of Isabel's who was a retired U.S. marshal, was recently murdered and Joe asks his friend and partner, Elvis Cole, a private investigator to find out what's going on.

Elvis discovers that Ted bragged about some of the people he had put in the witness protection program and it seems that Ted had helped Isabel's family many years ago get a new life.  But there may be someone who still carries a grudge against the family and there may be some missing money they want back ... and they think Isabel knows where it is.

I discovered the Elvis Cole series in the 1990s.  What attracted me to it was that Elvis was funny and tried to be charming ... the books were a fun read.  I find when Joe Pike is the focus, as it is with this book, it is more heavy and serious and not as much fun.  The book is written in third person perspective with whoever the focus is.  Though it's #18 in the series, it works as a stand alone.  As a head's up, there is some swearing and violence.

I found some of the writing a bit lazy and confusing.  Like what is "PT"?  It's something Joe did after a run and before he got dressed.  Another line was "Cole glanced at Carly as they shook."  Did Elvis and Joe shake hands?  Or did they both physically shake?  What's a "scimitar smile"?  I had to look up what scimitar meant and it's a short sword.  What is a sword smile?!  And what's a "Cheez-It dick"?  Chen is describing a police officer ... I didn't know what the "Cheez-It" meant.

Book ~ "The Wanted" (2017) Robert Crais

From Goodreads ~ When single mother Devon Connor hires private investigator Elvis Cole, it's because her troubled teenage son, Tyson, is flashing cash and she's afraid he's dealing drugs. But the truth is devastatingly different. With two other partners in crime, he's been responsible for a string of high-end burglaries, a crime spree that takes a deadly turn when one of them is murdered and Tyson and his girlfriend disappear. 

They stole the wrong thing from the wrong man. Determined to get it back, he has hired a team that is smart and brutal, and to even the odds, Cole calls in his friend, Joe Pike. But even they may be overmatched. The hired killers are leaving a trail of bodies in their wake. A few more won't make any difference. 

Elvis Cole is a private detective and he is hired by Devon to find out what her teenage son, Tyson, is up to.  She has discovered in his room a lot of cash, some flashy clothes in his closet and a Rolex watch.  As Elvis investigates, he discovers that Tyson and two of his friends are responsible for robbing eighteen houses.

In the meantime, two thugs are on the hunt to find Tyson and his two accomplices to get back something they'd stolen ... and they won't stop until they get them.  Elvis has stumbled into something bigger than he has signed up for but it's up to him and his friend and partner, Joe Pike, to ensure the teenagers stay alive.

I discovered the Elvis Cole series in the 1990s.  What attracted me to it was that Elvis was funny and tried to be charming ... the books were a fun read.  It's been a couple years since Crais has put out a book (I've missed Elvis and Joe Pike!) and this one is reminiscent of an earlier Elvis.  It's not as heavy as the last one and the humour in the writing style is back  (yay!).  Though it's #17 in the series, it works as a stand alone.  As a head's up, there is some swearing and violence.

The book is written from different perspectives.  It's first person when it's Elvis' voice and third person when it's everyone else ... the beginning of the chapters are labelled so you know.

Book ~ "The Promise" (2015) Robert Crais

From Goodreads ~ Loyalty, commitment, and the fight for justice have always driven Elvis Cole and Joe Pike. If they make a promise, they keep it. Even if it could get them killed.

When Elvis Cole is secretly hired to find a grief-stricken mother, he’s led to an ordinary house on a rainy night in Echo Park. Only the house isn’t ordinary, and the people hiding inside are a desperate fugitive and a murderous criminal with his own dangerous secrets. 

As helicopters swirl overhead, Scott and Maggie track the fugitive to this same house, coming face-to-face with Mr. Rollins, a killer who leaves behind a brutally murdered body and enough explosives to destroy the neighborhood. Scott is now the only person who can identify him but Mr. Rollins has a rule: Never leave a witness alive.

For all of them, the night is only beginning.

Sworn to secrecy by his client, Elvis finds himself targeted by the police even as Mr. Rollins targets Maggie and Scott. As Mr. Rollins closes in for the kill, Elvis and Joe join forces with Scott and Maggie to follow a trail of lies where no one is who they claim - and the very woman they promised to save might get them all killed. 

Elvis Cole is a private detective and he is hired to find a woman named Amy.  Meryl, her friend and colleague, said she stole over $400,000 before she disappeared.  Meryl doesn't want the company to know so wants Elvis to quietly find Amy so she can make things right again.  The only lead Meryl can give Elvis is that a friend of Amy's late son will probably know what's going on with Amy.   When Elvis goes to the last known address of the friend, he gets caught up in a murder along with a houseful of explosives ... and the cops figure he's involved somehow.  Elvis had promised Meryl he wouldn't disclose that he's working on a case and that makes him look even more suspicious.

Scott is a cop in the K-9 unit and Maggie is his dog (they were the focus of Crais' 2013 novel Suspect, which I enjoyed).  They are also at the scene and Scott gets a look at the killer's face, which then prompts the killer to go after Scott.  Elvis and Scott eventually work together to find Amy, find the killer before he finds Scott and clear Elvis' name.

I discovered the Elvis Cole series in the 1990s.  What attracted me to it was that Elvis was funny and tried to be charming ... the books were a fun read.  It seems like Crais has changed his writing style over the years and unfortunately so has Elvis.  There were bits of humour here and there but overall I found this book really heavy and serious.  The subject matter was heavy and I found the plot a bit convoluted.  When one of the bad guys was revealed, I kinda went "seriously?!"

The book is written from many perspectives.  It's first person when it's Elvis' voice and third person when it's Scott's, Maggie's, the killer's, etc. ... the beginning of the chapters are labelled so you know. There were A LOT of characters and I  had a hard time keeping them straight sometimes.  As a head's up, there is some swearing in this book.

Book ~ "Suspect" (2013) Robert Crais

From Goodreads ~ LAPD cop Scott James is not doing so well. Eight months ago, a shocking nighttime assault by unidentified men killed his partner Stephanie, nearly killed him, and left him enraged, ashamed and ready to explode. He is unfit for duty ... until he meets his new partner. 

Maggie is not doing so well, either. A German shepherd who survived three tours in Iraq and Afghanistan sniffing explosives before losing her handler to an IED, her PTSD is as bad as Scott's. 

They are each other's last chance. Shunned and shunted to the side, they set out to investigate the one case that no one wants them to touch: the identity of the men who murdered Stephanie. What they begin to find is nothing like what Scott has been told, and the journey will take them both through the darkest moments of their own personal hells. Whether they will make it out again, no one can say.

Pete and Maggie were stationed in Afghanistan.  When Pete was killed in duty, Maggie was shipped back to the U.S.  Because of her emotional trauma, it's doubtful she'll ever be a service dog again.

Scott is a cop.  He and his partner, Stephanie, were on patrol one night when they got in the middle of a surprise attack.  Three are left dead, including Stephanie.  Scott suffered serious injuries, both physical and emotional.  He can't perform as a cop again and his only option is to get transferred to the K-9 unit.

Seeing something of himself in Maggie, he chooses her as his dog.  Maggie is still mourning Pete and Scott is obsessed with finding Stephanie's killer.  As they work together learning their new roles in the K-9 unit and becoming "pack", they also investigate to figure out who arranged for the attack eight months ago.

Robert Crais is one of my favourite authors and I've read all his books ... I discovered his Elvis Cole series back in the 1990s.  Plus I love stories about dogs and obviously this one focused a lot on Maggie.

Though this book is written in third person perspective, it takes on different points of view including Scott's and even Maggie's.  Scott wasn't much of a dog person (he lied to get the K-9 job) and it was nice to see the connection between he and Maggie grow.   When it was Maggie's point of view, I thought Crais did an excellent job getting into her head and her expressing her thoughts.  For Maggie, it's all about being part of a pack.  Once she forms a bond with Scott, she will do everything to protect him.   I liked Scott's boss, Leland.  Though he seems to be a gruff and cranky man, he becomes a mushball when it comes to dogs.  Joyce is a cop who gives Scott access to the files about the investigation and there are some sparks between them at the end of the book.

The ending came up rather quickly and I was okay with the "whodunnit".  As a head's up, there is some swearing in this book.

I enjoyed this book.  I can see Scott and Maggie being the start of a new series (I hope so!). In fact, I understand that Crais' next book will join Scott and Maggie with Elvis Cole and Joe Pike ... should be good!

Book ~ "Taken" (2012) - Robert Crais

From RobertCrais.com ~ When Nita Morales hires Elvis Cole to find her missing adult daughter, she isn’t afraid, even though she’s gotten a phone call asking for ransom. She knows it’s a fake, that her daughter is off with the guy Nita will only call “that boy,” and that they need money: “Even smart girls do stupid things when they think a boy loves them.”

But Nita is wrong. The girl and her boyfriend have been taken by bajadores – bandits who prey on other bandits, border professionals who prey not only on innocent victims, but on each other. They steal drugs, guns, and people – buying and selling victims like commodities, and killing the ones they can’t get a price for.

Elvis Cole and Joe Pike find the spot where they were taken. There are tire tracks, bullet casings, and bloodstains. They know things look as bad as possible. But they are wrong, too. It is about to get worse. Going undercover to find the two young people and buy them back, Cole himself is taken, and now it is up to Joe Pike to retrace Cole’s steps, burning through the hard and murderous world of human traffickers to find his friend.

But he may already be too late ...

Though I've been a fan of Elvis Cole for many years, I've found the last few books just okay. The last two have been focused on Joe Pike, Elvis' best friend, and Elvis just had small parts in them. While I like Pike, the books where he is the focus are more serious.

I thought this book was the best one he's written in a while. While it's not as whimsical as past books with Elvis, there were glimpses of Elvis' humour and charm.

The chapter grouping was interesting as they jumped around in time (but are clearly labeled) and are written in different voices. When they are using Elvis' voice, they are in the first person. Otherwise, they are in the third person.

The story and concept was interesting ... smuggling illegal ("undocumented") aliens into the States but having them stolen by bajadores who then collect a monthly ransom from their families. If the family don't/can't pay, they are "sent home".

It's great to have Elvis back!

Book ~ "The Sentry" (2011) Robert Crais

From Amazon ~ It’s a routine Southern California day when former cop and sometime mercenary Joe Pike intervenes to break up the gang shakedown of a sandwich shop. The shop is run by Dru Rayne and her uncle, Wilson, two refugees from Katrina starting a new life. The chemistry between Pike and Dru is immediate, prompting him to keep an eye on the store; the gang leader, Venice Trece, will surely return to deliver revenge. But as Pike and his sidekick, private detective Elvis Cole, soon learn, nothing about Dru and Wilson adds up. Even as he’s negotiating a truce with the duplicitous leader of the gang, Pike learns that Dru is likely not the innocent she seems. The latest Pike novel is a testosterone-fueled caper with tough guys doing hard things to bad people, but it doesn’t pack the emotional wallop of Crais’ best work. High-Demand Backstory: Crais’ last Joe Pike novel reached number two on the New York Times best-seller list; longtime fans may find this one not quite up to the author’s high standards, but the demand will still be there.

I love Crais' Elvis Cole series ... he is private detective in Los Angeles. Crais' last couple books have focused on Joe Pike, Elvis' best friend. While I like Pike, I find the tone of the books so very different. Whereas Elvis is funny and quirky, Pike is so much more serious. I like Pike better as a "sidekick".

This book was okay, not great. I wasn't buying that Pike would put his life on the line for Dru, a woman he just met. though he had an instant connection with. Even after it seems that Dru isn't as innocent as he thought, Pike still continues to track down the bad guys to save her.

I found the back story kind of boring and wasn't feeling an emotional tie to the characters.

I'd recommend this book but it's not as good as Crais' past stuff since I'm more an Elvis fan.

Book ~ "The First Rule" - Robert Crais (2010)

From Amazon ~ When garment importer Frank Meyer and his family are executed in their Los Angeles home at the start of bestseller Crais' adrenaline-fueled second thriller to feature PI Joe Pike, LAPD detectives soon connect Meyer to Pike, who knew each other from their days as military contractors. Pike is convinced that Meyer, who left soldiering to start a family, wasn't dirty, even though his murder is the seventh in a series of violent robberies where the victims were all professional criminals. Determined to clear his friend's name, Pike discovers that Frank's nanny and her family have ties to Eastern European organized crime. With the help of PI partner Elvis Cole, Pike engages in a dangerous—and not always legal—game of cat and mouse with some of the city's most dangerous crooks. Pike emerges as an enigmatically appealing hero, whose lethal skills never overshadow his unflappable sense of morality.

I love Elvis Cole ... he's funny and goofy.

Joe Pike is his mysterious friend who is an interesting opposite to Elvis.

This book is focused on Joe Pike's search to find his friend's killer. While it wasn't a bad book, I liked when Elvis was in it because he lightened a somewhat serious writing style.

I found it a bit confusing at times keeping track of everyone and remember who was with who.

Book ~ "Chasing Darkness" (2008) Robert Crais

From Amazon.com ~ It's fire season, and the hills of Los Angeles are burning. When police and fire department personnel rush door to door in a frenzied evacuation effort, they discover the week-old corpse of an apparent suicide. But the gunshot victim is less gruesome than what they find in his lap: a photo album of seven brutally murdered young women -- one per year, for seven years. And when the suicide victim is identified as a former suspect in one of the murders, the news turns Elvis Cole's world upside down.

Three years earlier Lionel Byrd was brought to trial for the murder of a female prostitute named Yvonne Bennett. A taped confession coerced by the police inspired a prominent defense attorney to take Byrd's case, and Elvis Cole was hired to investigate. It was Cole's eleventh-hour discovery of an exculpatory videotape that allowed Lionel Byrd to walk free. Elvis was hailed as a hero.

But the discovery of the death album in Byrd's lap now brands Elvis as an unwitting accomplice to murder. Captured in photographs that could only have been taken by the murderer, Yvonne Bennett was the fifth of the seven victims -- two more young women were murdered after Lionel Byrd walked free. So Elvis can't help but wonder -- did he, Elvis Cole, cost two more young women their lives?

Shut out of the investigation by a special LAPD task force determined to close the case, Elvis Cole and Joe Pike desperately fight to uncover the truth about Lionel Byrd and his nightmare album of death -- a truth hidden by lies, politics, and corruption in a world where nothing is what it seems to be.

I'm a fan of Robert Crais and his Elvis Cole series.

This book was okay but not great.

I find that I enjoy the earlier Elvis books more ... they are lighter and funny, which to me, was the appeal. This one is more like a crime thriller.

There were so many characters that I had a hard time at times keeping they all straight.

I figured out who dunnit way before the end ... but I still don't know why he/she dunnit. I was getting tired and I wanted to be finished so maybe I missed the motive? And I don't know how/where he/she dunnit. I guess I needed more of the details to pull it all together.

Book ~ "The Two Minute Rule" - Robert Crais (2007)

From Amazon.com ~ Max Holman is a career criminal. At least he was until he violated the two-minute rule, bank robbery's inviolable maxim. When he stayed in the bank four minutes, he was arrested by FBI agent, Katherine Pollard. The intervening decade hasn't been kind to either of them. Holman spent it in jail; Pollard quit the FBI to raise her kids and then lost her husband to his secretary and death, in that order. The day Holman is paroled from prison he learns that his son, Richie, an LAPD officer, was gunned down. The investigating officers assure Holman that Richie's killer acted alone and then committed suicide. Something doesn't feel right, and Holman turns to Pollard, the only cop he ever trusted. She is suffocating in a cash-poor widow's hell and reluctantly begins to help Holman investigate. The unlikely allies butt up against a seemingly impenetrable wall of corruption and soon find many of their theories discredited. In general, Crais' Elvis Cole novels are superior to his stand-alone thrillers, but this is his best effort yet in the latter category.

I'm a big fan of Crais' Elvis Cole series and I have to agree that I'm not crazy about his books when he steps away from Elvis. But I did enjoy this one. And I didn't know "whodunnit" 'til it was revealed at the end.

Would I recommend this book? Yes!

Book ~ "The Watchman" - Robert Crais (2007)

From Amazon.com ~ Joe Pike, the intriguing, enigmatic partner of L.A. PI Elvis Cole, takes center stage in this intense thriller from bestseller Crais. To pay back an old debt, Pike is coerced into protecting Larkin Barkley, a hard-partying young heiress whose life is in danger after a "wrong place wrong time" encounter that quickly escalates and spins out of control. The enemy is shadowy, violent and relentless — but the fierce, focused Pike, one of the strongest characters in modern crime fiction, is equal to the challenge. The breathless pace and rich styling are sure to appeal to readers of hard-boiled fiction in general, but since up to now Pike has mostly remained in the background, some fans of the Elvis Cole series may find the explicit picture that emerges of Pike at odds with the image they've constructed for themselves.

It's been a long while since I've read one of Crais' books. I enjoy his Elvis Cole private detective series. Joe Pike is Elvis' best friend.

It was interesting to read a story from Pike's point of view. Pike has always kept to himself for the most part. This novel allows reader to get to know more about Pike. Elvis is more humorous and outgoing and the two are a good contrast.

Would I recommend it? Yes!!