Masters of thriller writing-Robert Crais

 

 

 

 

Robert Crais hit the thriller space with a bang in 1987, with the publication of his first novel The Monkey’s Raincoat featuring Elvis Cole and Joe Pike. And he hasn’t looked back since!

The thriller landscape is littered with wanna-be tough guys and private eyes but distressingly few can hold one’s interest even through the course of one complete book. Crais however, belongs to the select club of authors who convert a curious reader into a dedicated fan at their first encounter and retain that loyalty over more than thirty years and twenty  plus books.

Elvis Cole has a sense of humour and a smart mouth to go with it, but behind all the laid- back cleverness is a former US Ranger who lives in LA in “..a little A frame house perched on the side of a mountain just off Woodrow Wilson drive in Laurel Canyon”. He does Surya Namaskar and practices Taekwondo on his deck and runs a private detective agency with his friend Joe Pike.

Joe is a perfect foil to his friend and partner and more overtly lethal. He speaks little and smiles less; is a vegetarian, sleeps on the floor in a very bare condo,meditates, runs long distances and owns a gun shop. He is a former Marine-Force Recon-, served in Vietnam, the LAPD and as a mercenary before partnering with Elvis.

Together Elvis and Pike work the dark side of glittering LA, righting wrongs, catching crooks and generally being a pain in the whoosis of old antagonists in the Police force.

Everyone of the eighteen odd Cole and Pike novels is a delightful read. We suspend disbelief very willingly and dive in and relish every clever move by Elvis and every violent one by Pike. Superb entertainment -every time!

In addition to the Cole and Pike series, Crais has written a few stand-alone novels and these too, are outstanding examples of the genre. To give you just a quick peek, a recent book has, as principal protagonist, Maggie Marine. Her formal name is Military Working Dog Maggie, an eighty five pound black and tan German shepherd trained to attack and to detect IEDs. She served two tours in Afganistan , got wounded and lost her handler to an IED and ended up with the K9 unit of the LAPD. Maggie and her new handler together help build a vastly entertaining story.

In sum, you cannot go wrong with a Robert Crais. If you spot one you haven’t read, pick it up instantly before someone else does; find a comfortable couch and a free weekend and enjoy!

Happy reading.