false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1256077257m/241936.jpg 241936 19 Don't start reading <I>The Last Detective</I> with much on your calendar. This tense, satisfying thriller will glue you to your chair, as private eye Elvis Cole--the star of eight previous Robert Crais novels, prior to the Cole-less <I>Demolition Angel</I> and <I>Hostage</I>--faces his toughest case: the abduction of his girlfriend's son, 10-year-old Ben Chenier, who was staying with Elvis when he was snatched. Panic at Ben's disappearance turns to terror when the kidnapper phones to reveal his apparent motive, a dark secret from Elvis's past. But the plot thickens and twists, and then twists again, as Elvis and his longtime buddy, tough guy Joe Pike, race the clock against a group of villains as sinister as they are capable. The author mixes Elvis's first-person narration with third-person sections that describe other points of view--a risky technique, but Crais makes it work. He also does a fine job resurrecting the wisecracking Elvis of earlier books while imbuing him with a new depth and darkness. <p> This dazzlingly plotted, crisply told story is threaded with real detection (what a rarity!) and peopled by characters you can't help but care about--including Carol Starkey, the haunted bomb-squad cop from <I>Demolition Angel</I>, who's now a juvenile-abduction detective. Crais has long been getting better with each book, and <I>The Last Detective</I> continues the pattern. <I>--Nicholas H. Allison</I> 2046826 2003 The Last Detective (Elvis Cole, #9) total:627|5:192|4:301|3:119|2:13|1:2| 627 2549 803 39 5 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Jan 14 12:37:49 -0800 2009 Wed Jan 14 12:45:47 -0800 2009
A word of warning, though. Robert Crais writes other books that aren'...more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Sep 08 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 25 15:35:53 -0700 2009 Tue Sep 15 06:19:23 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sun Jul 05 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Apr 10 01:05:47 -0700 2009 Sun Jul 26 23:16:22 -0700 2009 As in L.A. Requiem the atmosphere is somewhat darker. The circumstances Elvis Cole finds himself in are a bit grimmier. Here, Elvis Cole has not much reason to be witty or for being a wise-cracker,...more...]]> 2 0 false false Fri Nov 14 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Nov 12 11:53:22 -0800 2008 Tue Nov 18 13:33:40 -0800 2008
"The Los Angeles River is small, but mean. People who don't kno...more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu Jun 25 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Jun 25 14:57:38 -0700 2009 Thu Jun 25 15:03:14 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2003 Mon Sep 10 15:54:51 -0700 2007 Mon Sep 10 15:58:27 -0700 2007 Read Farrel Coleman - 9th in series

PI Elvis Cole faces his toughest case: the abduction of his girlfriend's son, 10-year-old Ben Chenier, who was staying with Elvis when he was snatched.

Panic at Ben's disappearance turns to terror when the kidnapp...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Nov 18 18:58:18 -0800 2008 Tue Nov 18 19:04:23 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed May 21 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed May 14 12:24:58 -0700 2008 Wed May 21 12:44:24 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Wed Apr 08 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Apr 07 07:42:45 -0700 2009 Tue Apr 07 07:45:10 -0700 2009
Crais uses so many powerful devices to explore the POV of his characters that it reads like a play.]]> 4 0 false false Thu Nov 04 00:00:00 -0800 2004 Fri Aug 28 11:37:18 -0700 2009 Fri Aug 28 11:37:38 -0700 2009 ]]> 3 0 false false Tue Sep 22 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Sep 21 07:21:07 -0700 2009 Tue Sep 22 20:24:28 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Sun May 24 12:41:15 -0700 2009 Sun May 24 12:42:35 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Wed Apr 29 05:31:12 -0700 2009 Wed Apr 29 05:31:57 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Tue Aug 25 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 11 10:57:52 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 25 08:20:52 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Mon Jun 29 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 02 00:03:17 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 02 00:04:45 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Sun Jul 13 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Jul 15 12:34:35 -0700 2008 Tue Jul 15 12:41:36 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu Oct 22 13:06:32 -0700 2009 Thu Oct 22 13:07:52 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Tue Jul 10 15:03:53 -0700 2007 Wed Nov 21 14:29:06 -0800 2007 more...]]> 5 0 false false Mon May 26 08:21:28 -0700 2008 Mon May 26 08:25:33 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Nov 17 17:05:52 -0800 2009 Tue Nov 17 17:06:41 -0800 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=241936