Unabridged CD Audiobook 12 CDs / 13.75 hours long... note this publisher does not seal nor plastic wrap new audiobooks..it is published in a CD binder with a professional label
L.A. Requiem (Elvis Cole Novels)
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle.
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Book Description
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Robert Crais is the author of the best-selling Elvis Cole novels. He was the 2006 recipient of the Ross Macdonald Literary Award.
A native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, he grew up on the banks of the Mississippi River in a blue collar family of oil refinery workers and four generations of police officers. He purchased a second-hand 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.
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 scripting numerous series pilots and movies-of-the-week for the major networks.
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. Elvis Cole's readership 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. 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. 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. 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.
Robert Crais lives in the Santa Monica mountains with his wife, three cats, and many thousands of books. Additional information can be found at his website, www.robertcrais.com.
A native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, he grew up on the banks of the Mississippi River in a blue collar family of oil refinery workers and four generations of police officers. He purchased a second-hand 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.
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 scripting numerous series pilots and movies-of-the-week for the major networks.
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. Elvis Cole's readership 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. 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. 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. 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.
Robert Crais lives in the Santa Monica mountains with his wife, three cats, and many thousands of books. Additional information can be found at his website, www.robertcrais.com.
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
65 of 69 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Exceptional Book,
By Old Fisherman "Jim" (Orange, California USA) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: L.A. Requiem (Elvis Cole Novels) (Mass Market Paperback)
As with most of the reviewers, I've followed Robert Crais from the beginning and this is his best book yet.It starts with Joe Pike's ex-girlfriend, Karen Garcia, being gunned down by the Hollywood Reservoir as she's out jogging. Karen's father, an Hispanic with huge political clout, doesn't trust the police to work the case so he asks Joe to act as an overseer to the case, and Joe involves Elvis Cole. As more evidence surfaces it looks like a serial killer may be at work and when the prime suspect is himself murdered, Joe Pike is arrested for the killing. First, the plot is very well done. It has the requisite twists and turns and I don't think many people will figure this one out before the author wants you to. Secondly, the writing is superb. Crais has always been a good writer in a mild breezy way, but with this book he shows us he can handle deeper emotions. This is a darker, more serious, book than his others and he handles it with aplomb. I, at first considered this series as a Spenser wannabee, but his writing has now pushed him beyond that. He is a very good writer. Third, his characterization is rich. Joe Pike, who up until now has been Elvis Cole's spear carrier, emerges as the complex human being we've always felt he might be. Far from being the emotionless killer, we find that Joe's emotions are there but well hidden. The book does a wonderful job of explaining what made Joe the way he is. Some others have remarked that Joe is a little too unbelievable, but I don't think so. There really are men like this in the world. I can't recommend this book highly enough. I gave it five stars and I don't give out that rating lightly. You won't be disappointed.
37 of 39 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Crais at his best,
By Kenneth Heard (Arkansas) - See all my reviews
This review is from: L.A. Requiem (Hardcover)
Fans of Robert Crais have seen his writing style progress with each of his Elvis Cole novels. All are entertaining, but L.A. Requiem suddenly vaults way ahead of anyone else this year and propels Crais to the top of the heap of detective writers. In fact, list Crais as one of the best writers of any fiction.This, by far, is the best book I've read this year. And I read a lot--I own a used bookstore. L.A. Requiem has its funny stuff, but it's darker than the rest. The book deals more with Joe Pike and his background. At times I felt like I was eavesdropping on Pike, knowing things about him he probably doesn't want us to know. Crais' portrayal of L.A. is a character of itself. The fires in the hills act as a metaphor for the conflict/tension building. The plot is great; they're searching for a killer. But Crais' use of language, thought, description really supercedes the plot. I've always been a big fan of Crais and grab as much of him as I can. I recommend him all the time at our store. L.A. Requiem is outstanding and more readers will take notice. I can't wait for his next book.
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Crais's Absolute Best,
By
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: L.A. Requiem (Elvis Cole Novels) (Mass Market Paperback)
I have all of Crais's books except the newest one, The Forgotten Man.
And this is the best of a very good lot. The Elvis Cole books are better than the non-Cole books (Demolition Angel and Hostage--now a major crummy motion picture). And one reason is Joe Pike. Pike is a mythic creation: sort of like the Eastwoodian Strong Silent Type on steroids. This book tells how Pike got that way. It also has a very nice turn with Who Dun It. Read all the Elvis Cole books, but if you can only read one, read this.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Inside This Book
(learn more)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse and search another edition of this book.
First Sentence:
Uniformed LAPD Officer Joe Pike could hear the banda music even with the engine idling, the a.c. jacked to meat locker, and the two-way crackling callout codes to other units. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
coroner investigator, evidence kit, cigarette boy, none finer Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Joe Pike, Karen Garcia, Parker Center, Stan Watts, Frank Garcia, Los Angeles, Samantha Dolan, Eugene Dersh, John Chen, Lake Hollywood, Laurence Sobek, Harvey Krantz, Palm Springs, Abel Wozniak, Elvis Cole, Task Force, Paulette Renfro, Edward Deege, Abbot Montoya, Charlie Bauman, Paulette Wozniak, Amanda Kimmel, Internal Affairs, Louise Barshop, Riley Ward New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Surprise Me!
Uniformed LAPD Officer Joe Pike could hear the banda music even with the engine idling, the a.c. jacked to meat locker, and the two-way crackling callout codes to other units. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
coroner investigator, evidence kit, cigarette boy, none finer Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Joe Pike, Karen Garcia, Parker Center, Stan Watts, Frank Garcia, Los Angeles, Samantha Dolan, Eugene Dersh, John Chen, Lake Hollywood, Laurence Sobek, Harvey Krantz, Palm Springs, Abel Wozniak, Elvis Cole, Task Force, Paulette Renfro, Edward Deege, Abbot Montoya, Charlie Bauman, Paulette Wozniak, Amanda Kimmel, Internal Affairs, Louise Barshop, Riley Ward New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 8
books:
See all 8 books this book cites
9
books
cite this book:
See all 9 books citing this book
- Free Fall (Elvis Cole) by Robert Crais in Front Matter, and Back Matter
- My First Prayers: Thank You by Anne Riley on page 183
- George Lucas (Virgin Film) by Jim Smith in Front Matter
- Voodoo River (Elvis Cole Novels) by Robert Crais in Front Matter
- Central America (Country Fact Files) by Edward Parker on page 331
See all 8 books this book cites
- Free Fall (Elvis Cole) by Robert Crais in Front Matter, and Back Matter
- Crime Fiction, 1800-2000: Detection, Death, Diversity by Stephen Knight on page 139, and Back Matter
- The Mammoth Encyclopedia of Modern Crime Fiction by Mike Ashley on page 117, and Back Matter
- A Place of Execution by Val McDermid in Back Cover
- Blackwater Sound: A Novel (Thorn Mysteries) by James W. Hall in Front Matter
See all 9 books citing this book
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
![[Start the discussion]](http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/x-locale/communities/discussion_boards/start-new-discussion-sec._V192250339_.gif){kind=small}
