Elvis Cole is Back--In a Desperate Fight to Clear his Name...

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.

Chasing Darkness is a blistering thriller from the bestselling author who sets the standard for intense, powerful crime writing.

Robert Crais has written better novels and also, worse ones. This is a pretty straight forward crime story. Serial killer found dead by his own hand, facts don't add up, police complicity may be involved, shady politician around the edges, Elvis involved, Pike also, Carol Starkey shows up, eventually the truth is outed and you have had an entertaining read, but not a memorable one. Cheer up. Could have been worse.

Robert Crais has created another mystery novel that fans of reading won't want to miss. Chasing Darkness once again brings forth Elvis Cole to solve a mystery that could only come from the mind of Crais. It seems a few years back Elvis Cole made a career mistake: a serial killer was exonerated of murder charges that he may have been guilty of. Now with the discovery of a body, this man may have killed again. Was Elvis Cole fooled or was his defense flawless and accurate? Chasing Darkness has an apt name as this novel really does expose the darker side of Crais' imagination. Well-written and impeccable character development lead to a mystery novel hat one shouldn't miss. Another book I would highly recommend is "Sirens" by Tin Geo: Sirens: A Novel I simply devoured it...it was that good.

I found the latest novel, Chasing Darkness, from the Elvis Cole series to be engaging and entertaining and it totally kept my interest throughout the reading. I realize that the novel lacked the in-depth character development of L.A. Requiem, The Forgotten Man, or The Watchman, but having read those, I feel as if Elvis and Joe Pike are old friends and I do not need to have a rehashing of their personal histories everytime I pick up a book. That said, there are still new insights revealed about Joe Pike. He is becoming more talkative and apparently has captured the hearts of more than a few women. I also like that Robert Crais continues to include the characters from the older novels. I like to hear from Lucy, even if it is to say that they are only friends, and Starkey's appearances add enough hints of possiblities that I am anxious for the next novel to see what, if anything, happens with that subplot.
Robert Crais has never disappointed me yet. This book may be lighter in terms of character development, but it is still a good weekend read. You won't be bored.

It was the fire in Laurel Canyon and forced evacuations that led to discovery of the dead man in a house. One Mr. Jones who had a bad foot was found dead apparently from a self inflicted gunshot. Clearly, he had been dead for awhile and maybe the photo album at his feet was the cause. A photo album filled with pictures of seven women at the moment of their deaths at hands of a maniac.

The reclusive Mr. Jones to all his neighbors was actually Lionel Bryd. He had been brought to trial three years ago in the murder of a local prostitute. Hired by his defense attorney, Allan Levy, the World's Greatest Detective Elvis Cole proved that he was miles away at the time Yuonne Bennett died. He simply couldn't have done it.

Yet, her death picture is in his album. Along with six other brutally murdered women. The LAPD Task Force is convinced Bryd was their man all along. They are convinced that Elvis, by getting Bryd cleared, allowed him to kill again. The case is closed, finished and disappearing rapidly and they really don't want to talk to Elvis about any of it.

But, if Bryd did do it, how was he in two places at the same time? While that is the biggest question, there are several more. It just doesn't add up and Elvis isn't going to leave it alone just because members of the task force blame him and tell him to go away.

While he doesn't care about the folks on the task force, he does care about the victims and the fact that he could have made a horrible mistake. If he did, he is responsible. And even if he didn't, he still is responsible. Not only does he hold himself responsible so do the brothers of the latest victim. Wracked with guilt and angst and yet sure he was right, Elvis along with his sidekick Joe Pike, begin to investigate not only the cases but the task force itself. There are connections between the victims and the power elite in both the LAPD and the city and Elvis isn't about to let the real killer get away.

At it's heart, this is an angst novel. The families of the victims are shattered in so many ways. Elvis feels tremendous guilt over his role in events. And while he feels it, demonstrates it and talks about it, it never really comes out and touches the reader.

While this is a perfectly decent novel, this latest novel in the series isn't epic or incredible. The old themes of corruption or at least the possibility of corruption at high levels is trotted out again. So too is the detective full of guilt and sorrow because he might have not only been used as a pawn, but helped a nut job go free. We have seen these themes done many times before with mixed results.

In the end, while not the best book ever in the series, it is a fairly good entry that does little to expand the character. It does however provide a solid vehicle for Elvis to gaze at the hills from his porch and think morose thoughts. That and tell a story that while predictable in many spots, does contain a few surprises, along the way in the hunt for yet another dark evil.


Kevin R. Tipple (copyright) 2008

Ordered as I have with 20 other books from amazon and this is a single mp-3 cd that does not play in my travelling vehicle !!!

Too bad they didn't qualify that when I ordered it and now I have to pay shipping to return.