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Elvis Cole and Joe Pike #1
The Monkey's Raincoat
Taking the mystery community by storm, this Elvis Cole novel was nominated for the Edgar, Anthony, Shamus, and Macavity awards and won both the Anthony and Macavity for Best Novel of the Year.
When Ellen Lang's husband disappears with their son, she hires Elvis Cole to track him down. A quiet and seemingly submissive wife, Ellen can't even write a check without him. All she wants is to get him and her son back—no questions asked.
The search for Ellen's errant husband leads Elvis into the seamier side of Hollywood. He soon learns that Mort Lang is a down-on-his-luck talent agent who associates with a schlocky movie producer, and the last place he was spotted was at a party thrown by a famous and very well-connected ex-Matador. But no one has seen him since—including his B-movie girlfriend.
At the same time the police find Mort in his parked car with four gunshots in his chest —and no kid in sight—Ellen disappears. Now nothing is what it seems, and the heat is on. It's up to Elvis Cole and his partner Joe Pike to find the connection between sleazy Hollywood players and an ex-Matador.
When Ellen Lang's husband disappears with their son, she hires Elvis Cole to track him down. A quiet and seemingly submissive wife, Ellen can't even write a check without him. All she wants is to get him and her son back—no questions asked.
The search for Ellen's errant husband leads Elvis into the seamier side of Hollywood. He soon learns that Mort Lang is a down-on-his-luck talent agent who associates with a schlocky movie producer, and the last place he was spotted was at a party thrown by a famous and very well-connected ex-Matador. But no one has seen him since—including his B-movie girlfriend.
At the same time the police find Mort in his parked car with four gunshots in his chest —and no kid in sight—Ellen disappears. Now nothing is what it seems, and the heat is on. It's up to Elvis Cole and his partner Joe Pike to find the connection between sleazy Hollywood players and an ex-Matador.
237 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 1987
About the author
Robert Crais
131 books4,260 followers Robert Crais is the author of the best-selling Elvis Cole novels. A native of Louisiana, he grew up on the banks of the Mississippi River in a blue collar family of oil refinery workers and police officers. He purchased a secondhand 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. Other literary influences include Dashiell Hammett, Ernest Hemingway, Robert B. Parker, and John Steinbeck.
After years of amateur film-making and writing short 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 numerous series pilots and Movies-of-the-Week for the major networks. He received an Emmy nomination for his work on Hill Street Blues, but is most proud of his 4-hour NBC miniseries, Cross of Fire, which the New York Times declared: "A searing and powerful documentation of the Ku Klux Klan’s rise to national prominence in the 20s."
In the mid-eighties, 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. (See the WORKS section for additional titles.) Elvis Cole’s readership and fan base grew with each new book, then 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. In this new way of telling his stories, Crais combined the classic ‘first person’ narrative of the American detective novel with flashbacks, multiple story lines, multiple points-of-view, and literary elements to better illuminate his themes. 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. Starkey has since become a leading character in the Elvis Cole series. 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. Additionally, 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.
Elvis Cole returned in 2003 with the publication of The Last Detective, followed by the tenth Elvis Cole novel, The Forgotten Man, in 2005. Both novels explore with increasing depth the natures and characters of Elvis Cole and Joe Pike. RC’s third stand-alone novel, The Two Minute Rule, was published in 2006. The eleventh entry in the Elvis Cole series, The Watchman, will be published sometime in 2007.
After years of amateur film-making and writing short 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 numerous series pilots and Movies-of-the-Week for the major networks. He received an Emmy nomination for his work on Hill Street Blues, but is most proud of his 4-hour NBC miniseries, Cross of Fire, which the New York Times declared: "A searing and powerful documentation of the Ku Klux Klan’s rise to national prominence in the 20s."
In the mid-eighties, 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. (See the WORKS section for additional titles.) Elvis Cole’s readership and fan base grew with each new book, then 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. In this new way of telling his stories, Crais combined the classic ‘first person’ narrative of the American detective novel with flashbacks, multiple story lines, multiple points-of-view, and literary elements to better illuminate his themes. 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. Starkey has since become a leading character in the Elvis Cole series. 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. Additionally, 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.
Elvis Cole returned in 2003 with the publication of The Last Detective, followed by the tenth Elvis Cole novel, The Forgotten Man, in 2005. Both novels explore with increasing depth the natures and characters of Elvis Cole and Joe Pike. RC’s third stand-alone novel, The Two Minute Rule, was published in 2006. The eleventh entry in the Elvis Cole series, The Watchman, will be published sometime in 2007.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,518 reviews
February 9, 2024
SCIMMIE BAGNATE A L.A.
Mi chiedo se a Mondadori potrebbe andare l’Oscar per la più sfrenata fantasia: il titolo originale, The Monkey’s Raincoat, l’impermeabile della scimmia, diventa “Corrida a Los Angeles”. E, in effetti, uno dei personaggi è un ex matador, e la storia si svolge a Los Angeles: quindi, perché mai non evocare una corrida?
In realtà, il titolo originale fa riferimento all’haiku di Matsuo Bashō posto come epigrafe:
Temporale invernale; perfino la scimmia ha bisogno di un impermeabile.
Devo ammettere che anche questa citazione aiuta poco a chiarire il titolo.
Con questa romanzo, da noi pubblicato solo come Giallo Mondadori, Crais inaugura la sua serie di storie dedicate alla coppia di detective privati Elvis Cole e Joe Pike, che man mano sono diventate diciotto.
Crais mostra subito di conoscere le regole del gioco: però, io preferisco soffermarmi su quegli aspetti che mi sembrano presentare un tocco d’originalità.
Di Joe Pike colpisce che pensi che Clint Eastwood sia fin troppo loquace: Joe pronuncia perfino meno parole del grande attore e regista.
Pike è socio dell’agenzia investigativa, ma in ufficio non va mai: la sua stanza non è neppure arredata, eccezione fatta per la targhetta sulla porta. Pike risponde al telefono (fisso, qui siamo ancora in epoca pre-cellulare, 1987) dalla sua armeria ed è sempre pronto a intervenire quando Cole lo coinvolge: averlo accanto, o ancora meglio alle spalle, regala sicurezza. Non si tratta solo di una sensazione: l’ex marine ed ex poliziotto Joe Pike è effettivamente una sicurezza, con qualsiasi arma, a partire dalle mani nude, passando per il coltello, approdando a quelle da fuoco.
Di Elvis Cole colpisce la sensibilità psicologica: si direbbe che abbia frequentato studi di psicoterapia sin da bambino. Ed elargisce le sue riflessioni senza alcun accenno di saccenteria o presunzione, sono momenti in cui Cole sa davvero essere d’aiuto e sostegno.
Anche lui come la maggior parte dei detective, specie se di scuola hard boiled, non riesce a trattenere la battuta tagliente, quella che è facile faccia incazzare il suo interlocutore e possa procurargli una botta in testa o un pugno sul naso. Ma rispetto ai suoi colleghi sembra sapere quando fermarsi (prima che parta il pugno o la botta).
Altro aspetto interessante è che la trama è piuttosto lineare, si riesce a seguire passo passo, senza cedimenti o stanchezza.
Belli i due personaggi femminili, Ellen e Janet, ricchi, sfaccettati, insoliti.
A dire il vero tutta l’umanità che Crais introduce via via si presenta interessante e non banale.
Ci si muove tra produttori cinematografici, starlette, agenti, trafficanti: la tipica fauna losangelina.
Mi chiedo se a Mondadori potrebbe andare l’Oscar per la più sfrenata fantasia: il titolo originale, The Monkey’s Raincoat, l’impermeabile della scimmia, diventa “Corrida a Los Angeles”. E, in effetti, uno dei personaggi è un ex matador, e la storia si svolge a Los Angeles: quindi, perché mai non evocare una corrida?
In realtà, il titolo originale fa riferimento all’haiku di Matsuo Bashō posto come epigrafe:
Temporale invernale; perfino la scimmia ha bisogno di un impermeabile.
Devo ammettere che anche questa citazione aiuta poco a chiarire il titolo.
Con questa romanzo, da noi pubblicato solo come Giallo Mondadori, Crais inaugura la sua serie di storie dedicate alla coppia di detective privati Elvis Cole e Joe Pike, che man mano sono diventate diciotto.
Crais mostra subito di conoscere le regole del gioco: però, io preferisco soffermarmi su quegli aspetti che mi sembrano presentare un tocco d’originalità.
Di Joe Pike colpisce che pensi che Clint Eastwood sia fin troppo loquace: Joe pronuncia perfino meno parole del grande attore e regista.
Pike è socio dell’agenzia investigativa, ma in ufficio non va mai: la sua stanza non è neppure arredata, eccezione fatta per la targhetta sulla porta. Pike risponde al telefono (fisso, qui siamo ancora in epoca pre-cellulare, 1987) dalla sua armeria ed è sempre pronto a intervenire quando Cole lo coinvolge: averlo accanto, o ancora meglio alle spalle, regala sicurezza. Non si tratta solo di una sensazione: l’ex marine ed ex poliziotto Joe Pike è effettivamente una sicurezza, con qualsiasi arma, a partire dalle mani nude, passando per il coltello, approdando a quelle da fuoco.
Di Elvis Cole colpisce la sensibilità psicologica: si direbbe che abbia frequentato studi di psicoterapia sin da bambino. Ed elargisce le sue riflessioni senza alcun accenno di saccenteria o presunzione, sono momenti in cui Cole sa davvero essere d’aiuto e sostegno.
Anche lui come la maggior parte dei detective, specie se di scuola hard boiled, non riesce a trattenere la battuta tagliente, quella che è facile faccia incazzare il suo interlocutore e possa procurargli una botta in testa o un pugno sul naso. Ma rispetto ai suoi colleghi sembra sapere quando fermarsi (prima che parta il pugno o la botta).
Altro aspetto interessante è che la trama è piuttosto lineare, si riesce a seguire passo passo, senza cedimenti o stanchezza.
Belli i due personaggi femminili, Ellen e Janet, ricchi, sfaccettati, insoliti.
A dire il vero tutta l’umanità che Crais introduce via via si presenta interessante e non banale.
Ci si muove tra produttori cinematografici, starlette, agenti, trafficanti: la tipica fauna losangelina.
March 25, 2011
I hated the ‘80s. Hated them while I was living through them and twenty years later I still get slightly queasy when I think about that time. So when I was reading this book written in 1987, and the hero is bragging about wearing white jeans with a white jacket to cover up his shoulder holster, I leaned over and vomited with visions of Sonny Crockett dancing in my head. Fortunately, it got much better.
Robert Crais is one of those mystery writers I’ve been meaning to read for a while now. When I came across his first novel in a used bookstore, it seemed like a good time to give him a try. But even aside from the ‘80s setting, we got off to a rocky start.
I just got done with a marathon reading session of the early Spenser books after Robert B. Parker‘s recent death, and all I could think for the first quarter of this book was that Parker should have sued Crais when he had the chance. The main character Elvis Cole seemed like a younger west coast version of Spenser, and his bad-ass friend seemed like a watered down version of Hawk. The wise-ass dialogue, the lavish descriptions of what Elvis was eating, and the tough guy macho schtick caused me to roll my eyes several times because it almost seemed like a parody of Parker. Add in the dated ‘80s element and this thing was headed for 1 star.
Plus, it seemed like Crais was going out of his way to make Elvis a little too quirky. A detective who is a Vietnam vet was a cliché, but ALL the heroes in stories during the ‘80s were Vietnam vets so I can roll with that. But a private detective named Elvis who does yoga and marital arts, decorates his office with Disney mementos, and he has a mean cat that drinks beer?? That’s a writer just reaching to try and make an offbeat and eccentric character. I was not impressed as we were introduced.
Something happened about halfway through the book, though. Crais seemed to find his own rhythm, and Elvis started seeming less like a collection of character traits and morphed into a protagonist I was actually interested in. The story and the action ramped up nicely to a slam-bang ending. If he got that much better over the course of one book, I’m really interested in seeing how much more Crais improved over the years and considering the lists of awards he’s won, it looks like he has been living up to the promise he showed here.
Robert Crais is one of those mystery writers I’ve been meaning to read for a while now. When I came across his first novel in a used bookstore, it seemed like a good time to give him a try. But even aside from the ‘80s setting, we got off to a rocky start.
I just got done with a marathon reading session of the early Spenser books after Robert B. Parker‘s recent death, and all I could think for the first quarter of this book was that Parker should have sued Crais when he had the chance. The main character Elvis Cole seemed like a younger west coast version of Spenser, and his bad-ass friend seemed like a watered down version of Hawk. The wise-ass dialogue, the lavish descriptions of what Elvis was eating, and the tough guy macho schtick caused me to roll my eyes several times because it almost seemed like a parody of Parker. Add in the dated ‘80s element and this thing was headed for 1 star.
Plus, it seemed like Crais was going out of his way to make Elvis a little too quirky. A detective who is a Vietnam vet was a cliché, but ALL the heroes in stories during the ‘80s were Vietnam vets so I can roll with that. But a private detective named Elvis who does yoga and marital arts, decorates his office with Disney mementos, and he has a mean cat that drinks beer?? That’s a writer just reaching to try and make an offbeat and eccentric character. I was not impressed as we were introduced.
Something happened about halfway through the book, though. Crais seemed to find his own rhythm, and Elvis started seeming less like a collection of character traits and morphed into a protagonist I was actually interested in. The story and the action ramped up nicely to a slam-bang ending. If he got that much better over the course of one book, I’m really interested in seeing how much more Crais improved over the years and considering the lists of awards he’s won, it looks like he has been living up to the promise he showed here.
November 18, 2017
If you've followed my reading recently, it's no secret I've been enjoying Robert Crais' Elvis Cole books. Somehow, I started with book three, Lullaby Town, perhaps because it was the first book in the series with an above four-star average. Thank goodness I did, because what a difference five years makes in personal changes and skill. Crais' first book, The Monkey's Raincoat, is full of one P.I. trope after another, with a 1980s plot ripped off from Miami Vice, and characters created with the depth of pop psychology from Donahue.
We begin in Elvis' office, where he's busy staring at his Pinocchio clock. Ellen Lang arrives, best friend dragging her through the door. Ellen's husband, Mort, is missing, and even more importantly, her son. It becomes rapidly apparent that Ellen is essentially an abused wife, psychologically if nothing else. Her friend, Janet, is technically there to support her, but badgers, eye-rolls, and criticizes as she tries to get her to answer questions. Elvis wisecracks from the start, much to the confusion of Ellen and the annoyance of Joe, as well as Reader Carol. Elvis somewhat unwillingly takes the case, later asking around and discovering Mort has a girlfriend on the side. Not long after, Ellen and Mort's home is tossed, requiring Elvis to come to the rescue and wisecrack with the cops. When Mort is found dead, the case suddenly becomes even more serious--but not so serious that Elvis can't take time out from protecting to have sex with the best friend.
I hate to expound too much further at the risk of spoilers, but these details barely made it to short-term storage. As Elvis investigates, he learns about a shadey co-worker at the studios and a recent party they all attended, thrown by a famous personality and former top matador. In true villain fashion, he and Elvis have a dramatic moment where they size up each other's... egos. Ellen disappears and Elvis keeps trying to call up Joan to offer support, but she's totally frosty to him. This will make it okay for when Elvis goes on to sleep with other women. There's a little detecting, a little lying to the cops, stakeouts, a shoot-out or two, and a miraculous makeover courtesy of a supportive dude. Hurrah!
Joe Pitt is introduced, but in his case, he hasn't become the completely taciturn individual in later books. It's kind of a nice change for his character. The cat is also introduced and is appropriately cranky. There's a nice surprise twist at the end, but now that I think about it, it doesn't square in the least with the earlier characterization(s).
Overall, it was diverting, if a bit eyerolling. Unless you have time in your life to be a series completionist, I'd generally advise skipping this and starting at Lullaby Town instead. It isn't until that book five, Voodoo River, that an overarching emotional plot begins. I plan to have my mom start at that one, but I'll go on to the next in true completionist fashion.
It's a solid four on the oink scale, two-and-a-half on the personal enjoyment one. Skip unless you feel forgiving, because Crais will go on to do much better than this.
For those of you who aren't old Americans, I have links to my cultural references on my blog.
We begin in Elvis' office, where he's busy staring at his Pinocchio clock. Ellen Lang arrives, best friend dragging her through the door. Ellen's husband, Mort, is missing, and even more importantly, her son. It becomes rapidly apparent that Ellen is essentially an abused wife, psychologically if nothing else. Her friend, Janet, is technically there to support her, but badgers, eye-rolls, and criticizes as she tries to get her to answer questions. Elvis wisecracks from the start, much to the confusion of Ellen and the annoyance of Joe, as well as Reader Carol. Elvis somewhat unwillingly takes the case, later asking around and discovering Mort has a girlfriend on the side. Not long after, Ellen and Mort's home is tossed, requiring Elvis to come to the rescue and wisecrack with the cops. When Mort is found dead, the case suddenly becomes even more serious--but not so serious that Elvis can't take time out from protecting to have sex with the best friend.
I hate to expound too much further at the risk of spoilers, but these details barely made it to short-term storage. As Elvis investigates, he learns about a shadey co-worker at the studios and a recent party they all attended, thrown by a famous personality and former top matador. In true villain fashion, he and Elvis have a dramatic moment where they size up each other's... egos. Ellen disappears and Elvis keeps trying to call up Joan to offer support, but she's totally frosty to him. This will make it okay for when Elvis goes on to sleep with other women. There's a little detecting, a little lying to the cops, stakeouts, a shoot-out or two, and a miraculous makeover courtesy of a supportive dude. Hurrah!
Joe Pitt is introduced, but in his case, he hasn't become the completely taciturn individual in later books. It's kind of a nice change for his character. The cat is also introduced and is appropriately cranky. There's a nice surprise twist at the end, but now that I think about it, it doesn't square in the least with the earlier characterization(s).
Overall, it was diverting, if a bit eyerolling. Unless you have time in your life to be a series completionist, I'd generally advise skipping this and starting at Lullaby Town instead. It isn't until that book five, Voodoo River, that an overarching emotional plot begins. I plan to have my mom start at that one, but I'll go on to the next in true completionist fashion.
It's a solid four on the oink scale, two-and-a-half on the personal enjoyment one. Skip unless you feel forgiving, because Crais will go on to do much better than this.
For those of you who aren't old Americans, I have links to my cultural references on my blog.
May 3, 2018
I have been meaning to start this series since last year and had high hopes as many of my friends are Elvis Cole fan. But this didn't work for me.
Case was decent enough but there was just too many twists for a simple case. Cole didn't make a good first impression.
Hope second book will be better than this
Case was decent enough but there was just too many twists for a simple case. Cole didn't make a good first impression.
Hope second book will be better than this
May 29, 2018
Great read!!!
I already have the 2nd book in the series.
I already have the 2nd book in the series.
September 18, 2012
Mort Lang runs off with his son, leaving his wife and daughters in the lurch. Elvis Cole is tapped to find him and promptly ends up in the middle of a plot involving two kilos of cocaine. Can Elvis find the drugs and find Mort and his son?
I have to admit that I wasn't sold on Elvis Cole at the beginning. He felt like a Spenser ripoff with some quirks thrown in for no reason. A wiseass detective that does yoga and is into Disney junk? Then Crais grabbed me and dragged me to the end of the winding tale, showing he knows how to craft a good detective yarn. It wasn't the most original story but it kept me entertained. Cole has some Travis McGee in his parentage as well as Spenser. By the end, I was ready for more Elvis Cole and Joe Pike.
So why only a 3? Some of it was a little dated and Ellen Lang was so helpless for most of the book that it was hard for me to get invested in her part of the story.
To sum it up, I'm looking forward to reading more about Cole and Pike.
I have to admit that I wasn't sold on Elvis Cole at the beginning. He felt like a Spenser ripoff with some quirks thrown in for no reason. A wiseass detective that does yoga and is into Disney junk? Then Crais grabbed me and dragged me to the end of the winding tale, showing he knows how to craft a good detective yarn. It wasn't the most original story but it kept me entertained. Cole has some Travis McGee in his parentage as well as Spenser. By the end, I was ready for more Elvis Cole and Joe Pike.
So why only a 3? Some of it was a little dated and Ellen Lang was so helpless for most of the book that it was hard for me to get invested in her part of the story.
To sum it up, I'm looking forward to reading more about Cole and Pike.
October 28, 2020
First published in 1987, this is the novel that introduced Los Angeles P.I. Elvis Cole and his taciturn sidekick, Joe Pike. As seems to be the case in eighty-five percent of P.I. novels, Cole is whiling away a quiet afternoon in his office when a woman appears who is in desperate need of his help. In this case, though, the woman, Ellen Lang, isn't exactly convinced that she needs Cole's help, but her friend, Janet Simon, is determined that Ellen does need help and that Cole may be the man to provide it.
Lang's husband, Mort, is a B-list Hollywood agent who's fallen on hard times. Mort and the Langs' young son, Perry, have disappeared. Simon believes that Ellen should hire Cole to find them, but Mort has always made all of the family's decisions. Ellen, who is thirty-nine years old, doesn't even know how to write a check and has no idea what to do about her husband's disappearance. Perhaps he had a good reason for leaving with the boy and she should just go home and wait for him to show up again. Absent Mort, her friend Janet is doing all the thinking for her though, and Lang ultimately agrees to hire Elvis to track down her husband and son.
Before long, Ellen's house is ransacked by people obviously looking for something they believe to have been in the house. Mort Lang will turn up murdered, and the son, Perry, will not turn up at all. Cole's job now is to find the missing boy and rescue Ellen Lang from the dangers and other trials and tribulations that have descended upon her. It will lead Elvis on a journey through the seamier side of Hollywood and ultimately to an explosive climax involving a gang of drug dealers and some very bad actors.
This is a book that owes a lot to the P.I. novels that went before it, particularly to Robert B. Parker's Spenser series. Like Spenser, Cole constantly cracks wise, even when it would be a lot smarter not to, and, like Parker, Crais has a tendency to overdue this at times, leading the reader to think that neither Crais nor his protagonist are nearly as funny as they think they are. Like Spenser, Cole has a strong and silent sidekick who seems to have abilities greater than those of most mortal men. There's also a touch of John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee here in that over the course of the book Cole will have to restore a very damaged woman to psychological good health. Inevitably, of course, Cole will also be at odds with the cops through the entire story but will ultimately have to follow his own course, irrespective of the consequences.
For all of that, though, once the plot gets rolling, the book takes on a life of its own and becomes a pretty compulsive page-turner, leading to a violent and very well-choreographed climax. Elvis Cole has always been a little too cute and full of himself for my taste, and I found it hard to imagine that any adult woman could be so naive and incapable of thinking for herself as the Ellen Lang we meet as the book opens. Still, I found The Monkey's Raincoat to be a pretty good read and a nice introduction to a series I've long enjoyed.
Lang's husband, Mort, is a B-list Hollywood agent who's fallen on hard times. Mort and the Langs' young son, Perry, have disappeared. Simon believes that Ellen should hire Cole to find them, but Mort has always made all of the family's decisions. Ellen, who is thirty-nine years old, doesn't even know how to write a check and has no idea what to do about her husband's disappearance. Perhaps he had a good reason for leaving with the boy and she should just go home and wait for him to show up again. Absent Mort, her friend Janet is doing all the thinking for her though, and Lang ultimately agrees to hire Elvis to track down her husband and son.
Before long, Ellen's house is ransacked by people obviously looking for something they believe to have been in the house. Mort Lang will turn up murdered, and the son, Perry, will not turn up at all. Cole's job now is to find the missing boy and rescue Ellen Lang from the dangers and other trials and tribulations that have descended upon her. It will lead Elvis on a journey through the seamier side of Hollywood and ultimately to an explosive climax involving a gang of drug dealers and some very bad actors.
This is a book that owes a lot to the P.I. novels that went before it, particularly to Robert B. Parker's Spenser series. Like Spenser, Cole constantly cracks wise, even when it would be a lot smarter not to, and, like Parker, Crais has a tendency to overdue this at times, leading the reader to think that neither Crais nor his protagonist are nearly as funny as they think they are. Like Spenser, Cole has a strong and silent sidekick who seems to have abilities greater than those of most mortal men. There's also a touch of John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee here in that over the course of the book Cole will have to restore a very damaged woman to psychological good health. Inevitably, of course, Cole will also be at odds with the cops through the entire story but will ultimately have to follow his own course, irrespective of the consequences.
For all of that, though, once the plot gets rolling, the book takes on a life of its own and becomes a pretty compulsive page-turner, leading to a violent and very well-choreographed climax. Elvis Cole has always been a little too cute and full of himself for my taste, and I found it hard to imagine that any adult woman could be so naive and incapable of thinking for herself as the Ellen Lang we meet as the book opens. Still, I found The Monkey's Raincoat to be a pretty good read and a nice introduction to a series I've long enjoyed.
November 15, 2019
Browbeaten into seeing a detective by her best friend Jane, Elvis Cole’s client Ellen Lang is still reluctant. She doesn’t wish to cause any trouble for her husband Mort—even though he’s cheating on her, even though he has threatened to leave. But now Mort has disappeared, and their son Perry has disappeared with him.
Elvis signs on to find them both, and soon discovers that talent agent Mort, desperate to keep his failing business afloat, has become involved with sketchy people with even sketchier connections. Before long Ellen’s apartment is ransacked, a death and another disappearance follow, and Elvis realizes he has a dangerous case on his hands.
I’m almost two-thirds done with my re-reading of Robert Parker’s Spenser series, and I’ve been looking around for another series to read once I’m done. After this first Elvis Cole mystery, I think I’ve found what I need. Crais clearly loves his Spenser, and has adopted many of Parker’s tricks and tropes: wisecracks, sharp scenic descriptions with random bystanders, great tough guy dialog, detailed (too detailed!) descriptions of meals, and even a cute animal (not a dog like Pearl this time, but instead a feral cat that drinks beer.)
Cole is much like Spenser too: a smart-ass with a smart-mouth who is still essentially a boy scout, a man with few illusions who yet strives to be a boy’s version of a knightly hero. The Disney décor of Elvis’ office makes his boyishness clear right away: his desk is covered with Jiminy Cricket figurines, and one of his walls sports a Pinnochio clock, whose eyes move disconcertingly from side to side. And Cole is aware of this boyishness: “I have quite a charming smile,” Elvis says, “Like Peter Pan. Innocent, but with the touch of the rake.” And when Elvis the boyish hard-ass needs an even harder-ass than himself, he calls on his own personal “Hawk” Joe Pike, tight-lipped gun store proprietor and mercenary-for-hire.
I found these similarities to Parker attractive, but if you find them both imitative and irritating, hang on at least until you reach the last half of the book. The plot gets darker, the writing less derivative, and the book concludes with a dramatic attack by the good guys on the bad guys—one of the best sustained action sequences I’ve read in a long time.
May 9, 2020
Book 1 in the Elvis Cole series first published 1987.
This had all the makings of a good read but suffered from an over abundance of unhumorous one-liners. To be fair they weren’t all bad one-liners but they were so constant it completely ruined the mood and tension that should have been there when a father had been killed and his son was abducted.
It’s necessary to inject some humour to add some light to what was a dark tale but this was just over the top, as far as I was concerned.
Ellen Lang’s husband and son have gone missing and she wants Elvis Cole to find them. The husband, Mart Lang, is in the movie business but his life and money has been going down the s-bend for quite some time. To make ends meet Marty has been seen in the company of some very unsavoury characters. The kind of people who think killing is nothing more than just doing business.
To find the missing husband and son Elvis and his partner, Joe Pike, will have to dispense a fair bit of pain and suffering out to some very deserving lowlifes.
If only the humour had been trimmed back and less flippant this would have been a 4 star read but because of it 3.5 stars is the best I can do.
December 19, 2015
The Monkey's Raincoat: The P.I. Who Didn't Want to Grow Up
Mr. Cole, this looks like the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Yeah, with you and the big guy, Joe Pike. Don't tell him I said so. I don't want him to jump to the wrong conclusion. But, after all, he said you taught him good things. Says a lot about you. Seems Joe can take things pretty literal. Know what I mean?
Don't get me wrong. I was a little skeptical about you to begin with. What kind of self respecting PI has a Mickey Mouse phone, a Pinnochio Clock, and Jiminy Cricket figurines spread around his office? Any client walking into the place might wonder if they stepped into the wrong office. Underestimate you. But that's part of that self effacing act of yours, isn't it?
I get it. I used to wear a Mickey Mouse watch in the courtroom. Me? Oh, yeah. I'm Sullivan. ADA, retired. I tried guys that hurt kids. So, the Mickey Mouse watch. You and I would get along. Yeah, call me Mike. I'm retired now. Thank God.
You know, I got what you meant about wanting to be Peter Pan, never wanting to grow up. I worked with a lot of guys that went to the Nam. Yeah, some of them came back different, real different. Effed up. So you saying you decided you didn't want to grow up when your were eighteen in a rice paddy In Country. I get that. You didn't say so, but I bet you saw a bunch of shit you wish you hadn't.
Like I say, we'll get along fine. I had days I wished I hadn't grown up. People don't get me sometimes. I've seen as much as you have. It's the eyes of dead kids get me. Sometimes they look surprised. Others...they don't. Look surprised. It's like they knew it was coming. Some almost looked like they were glad it was over.
That Mickey Mouse watch. It made the living kids smile. I liked that. It pissed off the lawyers who represented the beaters, the rapers, the killers. I liked that, too. It's good when you can get under the other guy's skin. Yeah, you know that, too.
I started figuring you out when Ellen Lang and that barracuda friend of hers came into your office. Ellen's husband Mort is missing. And her nine year old boy, Perry. Ellen, that little hausfrau from Kansas, who didn't even know how to write a check. And that girl friend of hers, riding her to get on with it. Hire you. Get rid of the shit husband. You took that case for less than it was worth. I liked that about you.
Then I got to thinking about that Haiku by Basho at the beginning of your story.
Matsuo Basho, 1644-1694, Osaka Prefecture, Japan
That's the way your mind clicks. You are the raincoat, Mr. Cole. Aren't you? And your client is the monkey. When times get bad you protect your client. Whatever it takes. Joe Pike is your extra muscle. He was in the Nam, too. A Marine. And a cop. Maybe a little zealous. Maybe that's why he's not on the force, but with you.
You're a lot deeper than you let on, Mr. Cole. The records in your house, the music you listen to again and again. The shelf of books you read again and again. The books that fit your life, the way you live it, the way you work it. No wonder some folks don't see you coming, take you for granted. Like a man wearing a Mickey Mouse watch.
Nothing's ever simple as it looks, is it? Yeah, we all knew Hubby Mort was a shit. Had girls on the side. The little hausfrau at home probably knew about them, but wouldn't say a word. When Mort turns up with a bullet in his brain pan, neither you nor I were surprised.
But where's Perry? I wasn't surprised you tore up that fee check Ellen wrote you. All part of being that monkey's raincoat. Isn't it?
There's a real cute phrase the cool people. Wait a minute. The people who think they're cool, say today: "Not my circus, not my monkey." Ain't that a scream? No, I didn't think you would think so. But that's the way most folks are these days. You aren't. Yeah, I like that.
Let me just say, I like your style. And, Joe Pike? I wouldn't want him mad at me. Well, I wouldn't want you mad at me either, Mr. Cole. But I'd be glad for y'all to have my back.
Anybody reads this, I'll just tell them they will have to read this for themselves. I wouldn't want to spoil it for them. Let's just say the good guys win. That's not a bad thing.
Mr. Cole, I'll be back. Say, looks like you could use a good Mickey Mouse watch for your collection. Here. No, I won't miss it. I'm retired. You aren't. Besides, I'll be back to see it from time to time. I'll drop by with a bottle of Glenlivet like you like. Or I may try to talk you into some Glenmorangie Single Malt 18 Years Old. It's good. Like this story.
Sullivan's Watch
“ ‘Prove yourself brave, truthful, and unselfish, and someday you will be a real boy.’ The Blue Fairy said that. In Pinocchio.”- Elvis Cole Licensed Investigator, State of California
A dream is a wish your heart makes...
Mr. Cole, this looks like the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Yeah, with you and the big guy, Joe Pike. Don't tell him I said so. I don't want him to jump to the wrong conclusion. But, after all, he said you taught him good things. Says a lot about you. Seems Joe can take things pretty literal. Know what I mean?
Don't get me wrong. I was a little skeptical about you to begin with. What kind of self respecting PI has a Mickey Mouse phone, a Pinnochio Clock, and Jiminy Cricket figurines spread around his office? Any client walking into the place might wonder if they stepped into the wrong office. Underestimate you. But that's part of that self effacing act of yours, isn't it?
I get it. I used to wear a Mickey Mouse watch in the courtroom. Me? Oh, yeah. I'm Sullivan. ADA, retired. I tried guys that hurt kids. So, the Mickey Mouse watch. You and I would get along. Yeah, call me Mike. I'm retired now. Thank God.
You know, I got what you meant about wanting to be Peter Pan, never wanting to grow up. I worked with a lot of guys that went to the Nam. Yeah, some of them came back different, real different. Effed up. So you saying you decided you didn't want to grow up when your were eighteen in a rice paddy In Country. I get that. You didn't say so, but I bet you saw a bunch of shit you wish you hadn't.
Like I say, we'll get along fine. I had days I wished I hadn't grown up. People don't get me sometimes. I've seen as much as you have. It's the eyes of dead kids get me. Sometimes they look surprised. Others...they don't. Look surprised. It's like they knew it was coming. Some almost looked like they were glad it was over.
That Mickey Mouse watch. It made the living kids smile. I liked that. It pissed off the lawyers who represented the beaters, the rapers, the killers. I liked that, too. It's good when you can get under the other guy's skin. Yeah, you know that, too.
I started figuring you out when Ellen Lang and that barracuda friend of hers came into your office. Ellen's husband Mort is missing. And her nine year old boy, Perry. Ellen, that little hausfrau from Kansas, who didn't even know how to write a check. And that girl friend of hers, riding her to get on with it. Hire you. Get rid of the shit husband. You took that case for less than it was worth. I liked that about you.
Then I got to thinking about that Haiku by Basho at the beginning of your story.
Winter downpour--
even the monkey
needs a raincoat.
Matsuo Basho, 1644-1694, Osaka Prefecture, Japan
That's the way your mind clicks. You are the raincoat, Mr. Cole. Aren't you? And your client is the monkey. When times get bad you protect your client. Whatever it takes. Joe Pike is your extra muscle. He was in the Nam, too. A Marine. And a cop. Maybe a little zealous. Maybe that's why he's not on the force, but with you.
You're a lot deeper than you let on, Mr. Cole. The records in your house, the music you listen to again and again. The shelf of books you read again and again. The books that fit your life, the way you live it, the way you work it. No wonder some folks don't see you coming, take you for granted. Like a man wearing a Mickey Mouse watch.
Nothing's ever simple as it looks, is it? Yeah, we all knew Hubby Mort was a shit. Had girls on the side. The little hausfrau at home probably knew about them, but wouldn't say a word. When Mort turns up with a bullet in his brain pan, neither you nor I were surprised.
But where's Perry? I wasn't surprised you tore up that fee check Ellen wrote you. All part of being that monkey's raincoat. Isn't it?
There's a real cute phrase the cool people. Wait a minute. The people who think they're cool, say today: "Not my circus, not my monkey." Ain't that a scream? No, I didn't think you would think so. But that's the way most folks are these days. You aren't. Yeah, I like that.
Let me just say, I like your style. And, Joe Pike? I wouldn't want him mad at me. Well, I wouldn't want you mad at me either, Mr. Cole. But I'd be glad for y'all to have my back.
Anybody reads this, I'll just tell them they will have to read this for themselves. I wouldn't want to spoil it for them. Let's just say the good guys win. That's not a bad thing.
Mr. Cole, I'll be back. Say, looks like you could use a good Mickey Mouse watch for your collection. Here. No, I won't miss it. I'm retired. You aren't. Besides, I'll be back to see it from time to time. I'll drop by with a bottle of Glenlivet like you like. Or I may try to talk you into some Glenmorangie Single Malt 18 Years Old. It's good. Like this story.
Sullivan's Watch
October 28, 2022
I listened to this when it came out on probably a CD. I use Goodreads to bookmark books that I have read and later started leaving reviews to help me remember the book.
March 20, 2014
Unless something surprising shapes up as I write this, I don't think I have anything new to add to the general consensus that other reviewers have established for this novel, the first mystery in a series that features private eyes Elvis Cole and Joe Pike. If you've read Robert B. Parker's novels, and I haven't, this may strike you as a rip-off, or so I've heard. However, it seems to be a good rip-off, the kind with promise, because the book starts well and gets better and better, apparently, whether or not Parker's oeuvre is weighing on you.
I enjoyed Elvis Cole's tough guy, first person narration/banter from the get-go. It was ridiculous at times, but in a good way because it was interesting, inappropriate, or odd, like when he tells the client's friend in chapter 1 that he'd "like to lick chocolate syrup off your body." Don't be offended or turned off, the context actually makes it palatable, and Elvis Cole turns out to be a really nice guy, despite a few issues left over from the Vietnam War and despite an interest in Disney merchandise. Details like that don't make him a fully rounded character right away, but I warmed to him as he went about trying to help a woman named Ellen Lang locate her husband Mort and son Perry. His partner Joe Pike does not make an appearance for a long time and we only hear about him from secondary sources, which was an amusing way to build him up because he is one of those over the top mercenary characters, whose presence Crais makes more than acceptable. I suspended disbelief and skeptical humphing completely and let Pike be Pike and I am a better person and reader for it. I don' think the novel twists and turns through virgin territory, but Crais showed in this book, his first I believe, that he could make the most of plot as well as character: some spice gives each scene a robust health. Pike proves human for example. Ellen Lang matures. Cole mutes his banter when necessary.
Despite the fact that it takes place in the horrid 80s, you could do much, much worse and probably not much better, though I haven't read mysteries widely enough to bet on it.
I enjoyed Elvis Cole's tough guy, first person narration/banter from the get-go. It was ridiculous at times, but in a good way because it was interesting, inappropriate, or odd, like when he tells the client's friend in chapter 1 that he'd "like to lick chocolate syrup off your body." Don't be offended or turned off, the context actually makes it palatable, and Elvis Cole turns out to be a really nice guy, despite a few issues left over from the Vietnam War and despite an interest in Disney merchandise. Details like that don't make him a fully rounded character right away, but I warmed to him as he went about trying to help a woman named Ellen Lang locate her husband Mort and son Perry. His partner Joe Pike does not make an appearance for a long time and we only hear about him from secondary sources, which was an amusing way to build him up because he is one of those over the top mercenary characters, whose presence Crais makes more than acceptable. I suspended disbelief and skeptical humphing completely and let Pike be Pike and I am a better person and reader for it. I don' think the novel twists and turns through virgin territory, but Crais showed in this book, his first I believe, that he could make the most of plot as well as character: some spice gives each scene a robust health. Pike proves human for example. Ellen Lang matures. Cole mutes his banter when necessary.
Despite the fact that it takes place in the horrid 80s, you could do much, much worse and probably not much better, though I haven't read mysteries widely enough to bet on it.
May 24, 2013
This Cole novel is not up to par with other Cole stories with much better plots. There is nothing redeeming here. 1 of 10 stars
October 16, 2022
On the one hand, I think I was expecting something more, on the other hand, this was exactly the book I think I needed.
My main problem is that I am unlikely to remember this book and in a month or so. Only 2-3 days from reading it now and I already don't remember the details very much and it's not so easy for me to remember the plot. Which doesn't mean I didn't enjoy this book.
I like to read a book that is heavily inspired by Raymond Chandler from time to time. And with this author you can clearly see such inspiration. If this is what you are looking for then you will definitely find it here. The plot is interesting and the action is very fast-paced. There is also quite a lot of violence, so be aware of it if this is something that is bothering you.
The main character, Elvis Cole, is nice and works well in this role. Although I admit that there is nothing unique about him compared to the other main characters of books in this style. But he's okay. His partner Joe Pike, who only shows up for a moment, seems to be more remarkable to me.
I just don't have much to say about this book. It was fine, and it was what I needed right now. I will probably read more books in this series, I feel like reading these kinds of stories from time to time.
My main problem is that I am unlikely to remember this book and in a month or so. Only 2-3 days from reading it now and I already don't remember the details very much and it's not so easy for me to remember the plot. Which doesn't mean I didn't enjoy this book.
I like to read a book that is heavily inspired by Raymond Chandler from time to time. And with this author you can clearly see such inspiration. If this is what you are looking for then you will definitely find it here. The plot is interesting and the action is very fast-paced. There is also quite a lot of violence, so be aware of it if this is something that is bothering you.
The main character, Elvis Cole, is nice and works well in this role. Although I admit that there is nothing unique about him compared to the other main characters of books in this style. But he's okay. His partner Joe Pike, who only shows up for a moment, seems to be more remarkable to me.
I just don't have much to say about this book. It was fine, and it was what I needed right now. I will probably read more books in this series, I feel like reading these kinds of stories from time to time.
August 21, 2019
“It's easy to sound good. All you do is leave in the parts where you act tough and forget the parts where you get shoved around.”
The first book in the Elvis Cole series is a delight to read. Full of witty comments from the wise-ass Cole and calm cool moments from his P.I. business partner Joe Pike, it's easy to see why this series has been around all these years. When a local Los Angeles talent agent and his son go missing, Cole undertakes the case on behalf of his wife, only to be thrown into a wider web of drug dealers and wannabe starlets. Looking forward to reading more books in this series.
The first book in the Elvis Cole series is a delight to read. Full of witty comments from the wise-ass Cole and calm cool moments from his P.I. business partner Joe Pike, it's easy to see why this series has been around all these years. When a local Los Angeles talent agent and his son go missing, Cole undertakes the case on behalf of his wife, only to be thrown into a wider web of drug dealers and wannabe starlets. Looking forward to reading more books in this series.
November 15, 2008
The start of the Elvis Cole series and supposedly a popular, well-done mystery. This was bad. The mystery wasn't that interesting, the female characters not very believable, and the hero is a dick--and I don't mean that like as a detective.
For example, he doesn't like his client's friend because she is apparently a strong woman who thinks her friend is wasting her time. So Elvis, to get her to shut up, says, "I'd like to pour choclate on you and lick it off." Now, would anybody ever say that? No. If they did, would they get punched? Yes.
I think that is all you need to know.
For example, he doesn't like his client's friend because she is apparently a strong woman who thinks her friend is wasting her time. So Elvis, to get her to shut up, says, "I'd like to pour choclate on you and lick it off." Now, would anybody ever say that? No. If they did, would they get punched? Yes.
I think that is all you need to know.
September 15, 2020
I just love good authors' first books... The rough, often unsure or clichéd start, the growing confidence, and then the finding of their true voice. Truly magic.
Crais's first book is this way in the first third, a bit overwrought and familiar, with too much genre-imitation. The second third rings more true, more relaxed and natural, his true voice gaining power.
And BLAM, the final third coming on heroic and gang-busters and confident. A masterpiece of L.A. noir, with villains and heroes, damsels gaining true grit, dollies and dangerous men, thugs and a calm, cool, black-hearted criminal.
Elvis and Pike are a matched set, on a Mission like my favourite masterpiece, Harry Bosch.
Read this book to watch a first-timer grow into a master. Awesome!
3-stars start, 4-stars middle, and cracking-good FIVE STARS ending!
Robert Crais
Full size image here
There are at least two of Robert's works that he wrote from the heart, with visible love and wonder and care, my very favourites:
1. The Man Who Knew Dick Bong
My review of the collection of short stories by authors honouring Marlowe: Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe
2. Suspect about the detective, Scott, and his dog, Maggie. Robert took the 2 month dog handling course at LAPD before writing this book, and he told me personally how much he loved it. I could see how special this experience was to him.
My review of Suspect
Crais's first book is this way in the first third, a bit overwrought and familiar, with too much genre-imitation. The second third rings more true, more relaxed and natural, his true voice gaining power.
And BLAM, the final third coming on heroic and gang-busters and confident. A masterpiece of L.A. noir, with villains and heroes, damsels gaining true grit, dollies and dangerous men, thugs and a calm, cool, black-hearted criminal.
Elvis and Pike are a matched set, on a Mission like my favourite masterpiece, Harry Bosch.
Read this book to watch a first-timer grow into a master. Awesome!
3-stars start, 4-stars middle, and cracking-good FIVE STARS ending!
Robert Crais
Full size image here
There are at least two of Robert's works that he wrote from the heart, with visible love and wonder and care, my very favourites:
1. The Man Who Knew Dick Bong
My review of the collection of short stories by authors honouring Marlowe: Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe
2. Suspect about the detective, Scott, and his dog, Maggie. Robert took the 2 month dog handling course at LAPD before writing this book, and he told me personally how much he loved it. I could see how special this experience was to him.
My review of Suspect
February 3, 2020
I don't have much of a review except to say: I really enjoyed this noir L. A. mystery in the tradition of Chandler and Hammett written in a more contemporary style. Crais's prose is spare, and the dialogue is savage. Private dick, Elvis Cole is a deadpan smartass who isn't afraid to push his luck for a client, and his psycho partner Joe Pike is as charming as he is scary. The mystery here concerns a missing husband and son, but I can't really say more without spoiling the twists and turns of this tightly plotted adventure. The whole thing crackles with intrigue and danger and the pop of great writing. If it shows its age at all it is in the unapologetic heterosexism and exoticism of its white male fantasy. That side of the book gave me pause, but it is unquestionably brilliant genre writing, and I will certainly be reading more in this series.
November 26, 2017
This is the first book in the Elvis Cole series and the first book by the author that I have read. The book was originally published in 1987 and feels dated when you read it. In addition to things like pay phones it comes across like one of those television PI's from the 1970's or 80's. Magnum P.I. or Rockford. The setting is LA and the author wrote scripts for television so I guess that is understandable. The characters are not very well developed.
We meet Elvis Cole in his office staring at his Pinocchio clock listening to Ellen Lang tell her tale of woe. Her husband Mort and son Perry have disappeared. Janet Simon is Ellen's best friend and has brought her to Elvis's office to locate them because Ellen is weak and submissive. Janet badgers, rolls her eyes, and criticizes. Elvis and Janet don't hit if off but he somewhat reluctantly takes on the case. Ellen is the client, the damsel in distress. Elvis the knight.
Mort is a talent agent who decided to leave his job and start his own agency. Unfortunately he wasn't very successful. Of course the story takes us into the seamier side of Hollywood and drugs and sex. Fortunately Elvis has several contacts in the movie studios as well as the police department to assist him.
Elvis has a partner in his agency. We didn't get to meet Joe Pike when Ellen and Janet showed up at the office. He doesn't spend much time there. When Elvis calls Joe and we finally meet him he apparently isn't much of a conversationalist either. He is more of a Rambo.
This was a fun and enjoyable read. Not much of a mystery or thought required. If you enjoy hard boiled detective stories you will probably like this. I will probably read other books in the series if I am looking for something quick to read.
We meet Elvis Cole in his office staring at his Pinocchio clock listening to Ellen Lang tell her tale of woe. Her husband Mort and son Perry have disappeared. Janet Simon is Ellen's best friend and has brought her to Elvis's office to locate them because Ellen is weak and submissive. Janet badgers, rolls her eyes, and criticizes. Elvis and Janet don't hit if off but he somewhat reluctantly takes on the case. Ellen is the client, the damsel in distress. Elvis the knight.
Mort is a talent agent who decided to leave his job and start his own agency. Unfortunately he wasn't very successful. Of course the story takes us into the seamier side of Hollywood and drugs and sex. Fortunately Elvis has several contacts in the movie studios as well as the police department to assist him.
Elvis has a partner in his agency. We didn't get to meet Joe Pike when Ellen and Janet showed up at the office. He doesn't spend much time there. When Elvis calls Joe and we finally meet him he apparently isn't much of a conversationalist either. He is more of a Rambo.
This was a fun and enjoyable read. Not much of a mystery or thought required. If you enjoy hard boiled detective stories you will probably like this. I will probably read other books in the series if I am looking for something quick to read.
November 29, 2011
My first introduction to Robert Crais' work was through the Joe Pike character. Having read several of the books and being "introed" to Elvis Cole, I (true to my usual form) went back and got the first volume.
Pretty good book. Related in first person rather than third as the Pike books were/are we get Cole's voice telling the story. Pike in the first book I read told one of their client's that "Elvis thinks he's funny"...it's true, he does. Cracking jokes along the way Elvis chronicles the story of a woman who's husband and son have vanished.
So, thanks to all you who recommended this series. It's an enjoyable series about two diverse characters one (Elvis) who lives with a cantankerous cat, takes things with a grain of salt and manages a wise crack even as he's having his features forcibly rearranged and his ribs broken. The other Joe is the strong silent type, a mercenary professional soldier who's as Zen as they come, a vegetarian and dedicated runner. All the books of this series I've read so far I've enjoyed.
Here Elvis has to suss out the truth about what happened to his client, her spouse and her son. He ends up dealing with the nastiest of underworld types as he and Pike put their lives on the line and the story rolls along at a good clip ending in one of those page turning action scenes that everyone always talks about...a "thrill ride" as it were.
Enjoy.
Pretty good book. Related in first person rather than third as the Pike books were/are we get Cole's voice telling the story. Pike in the first book I read told one of their client's that "Elvis thinks he's funny"...it's true, he does. Cracking jokes along the way Elvis chronicles the story of a woman who's husband and son have vanished.
So, thanks to all you who recommended this series. It's an enjoyable series about two diverse characters one (Elvis) who lives with a cantankerous cat, takes things with a grain of salt and manages a wise crack even as he's having his features forcibly rearranged and his ribs broken. The other Joe is the strong silent type, a mercenary professional soldier who's as Zen as they come, a vegetarian and dedicated runner. All the books of this series I've read so far I've enjoyed.
Here Elvis has to suss out the truth about what happened to his client, her spouse and her son. He ends up dealing with the nastiest of underworld types as he and Pike put their lives on the line and the story rolls along at a good clip ending in one of those page turning action scenes that everyone always talks about...a "thrill ride" as it were.
Enjoy.
April 28, 2016
When Ellen Lang walks into Elvis Cole detective agency she asks him to find her missing husband Mort & their son Perry as they are nowhere to be found the case seems simple enough but Elvis isn't thrilled neither is his partner & gun dealer Joe Pike.
Their search down the seamy side of Hollywood's studios lots & sculpted lawns leads them deep into a nasty world drugs, sex & murder. Everybody from cops to starlets & crooks turn on Elvis & Pike, i found this to be okay but i thought it dragged a bit in the middle then came up with a bang to end the story. 31/2 stars
Their search down the seamy side of Hollywood's studios lots & sculpted lawns leads them deep into a nasty world drugs, sex & murder. Everybody from cops to starlets & crooks turn on Elvis & Pike, i found this to be okay but i thought it dragged a bit in the middle then came up with a bang to end the story. 31/2 stars
September 10, 2019
Mort Lang disappears after picking up his 5-year-old son Perry from school. Mort runs a Hollywood talent agency. Ellen Lang, a homemaker who has never written out a check or paid a bill, scared to death, is dragged by her best friend, Janet Simon, into Elvis Cole's office.
Cole is a private detective. He partners with another Vietnam vet, Joe Pike. Pike is a seriously PTSD-damaged Vietnam vet, no longer able to do the social niceties.
Ellen and Mort have two other children, Cindy and Carrie, who are safe at home. Ellen has recently learned Mort has been having an affair with another woman, Kimberly Marsh, an actress. Janet has been doing some detecting of her own. Besides finding out information about the girlfriend, she has also learned Mort was working with a notorious producer Garrett Rice, a known drug pusher.
Cole likes shy, insecure Ellen, but he is not liking the pushy bully Janet very much. Ellen is reluctant to hire Cole. She is certain Mort has a good reason for his mysterious disappearance, or if not that, his leaving with Perry is no one else's business. Ellen secretly thinks Mort has left her because she is so incompetent. But browbeaten by Janet, she hires Cole after all.
Cole retraces Mort's last known movements. He soon is uncovering evidence of a philandering husband, dead-broke, who might be involved with drug-dealing, mafia-connected people. Pike isn't so sure this case is worthy of the detectives, but he hasn't looked into Ellen's eyes, or seen her underlying courage the way Elvis has. However, when the phone call to Ellen is made demanding return of some drugs or the kid gets it, both Cole and Pike know they need to move fast. Worst of all, Ellen had no idea there were any drugs about or where they might be hidden.
'The Monkey's Raincoat', published in 1987, is absolutely wonderful! What an amazing delight it is in discovering this novel! It is one of those rare noirish detective mysteries reminiscent of the style made famous by Dashiell Hammett but at the same time updated with dry satiric late 1970's humor touches! I am thrilled - THRILLED - to meet Elvis Cole!
Ok, be brave aPriL - I'm going against the tide once again....
First and foremost, I completely respect every review on GR, especially those reviewers who have been kind to me in being my friend on GR. I love you guys! Just saying. But I respectfully disagree about how some of you perceived this book.
Respectfully, WTF! This is a real cool novel! I ADORED it! I couldn't put it down! I read it straight through Friday night into Saturday!
I am mystified by the number of poor reviews (most around three stars), accompanied by various complaints about the horrid 1980's, culturally speaking. There are even disgusted comments comparing 'The Monkey's Raincoat' unfavorably because it is in the same category of 'despised' shows such as Miami Vice, the TV show (?!?!?!?!?!).
O _ O
I LOVED the 1980's, I watched every episode of Miami Vice at least 20 times and mourned when Miami Vice was cancelled. I noticed a retro cable channel is now running it, but unfortunately, the video colors are now running together and the pre-HD tape is terribly blurry. Yes, I checked it out, hoping.
I bought all of the music which was featured in every Miami Vice episode. I adored Disco, too, mostly the BeeGees, and 1960's and 1970's rock. I despised the 1990's music mostly. I liked the nice Rap from singers like M.C. Hammer, but the women-hating gay-bashing stuff leaves me angry towards the singer and the song. I love Indie music and, yes, electronica. Ok, ok, I'm such a girl, well, I am.
I was born in Seattle, where I have lived most of my life, having only a temporary residence (five years each) in Los Angeles and San Francisco. I am probably VERY infused through and through with baby-boomer West Coast culture (yoga practices, navel- staring meditation and pillow-punching scream therapies, pseudo-sun temples and fake Stonehenges all over, the wearing of Mood Stone rings and magic crystals, the gorgeous black-light and velvet posters, lava lamps and algae teas, etc.). I visited my first head shop in 1970. If, gentle reader, 'head' shop is a mystery to you, perhaps I AM too ancient for you to follow! These wonderful marijuana paraphernalia stores of the past are now replaced by dull medical marijuana stores, which, sadly, have none of the idiosyncratic art-design taste that the head shops did. We ironically wore Micky Mouse watches which could cost $3,000, or good cheap copies (me and my brother). I wanted desperately a Micky Mouse phone, standing 18-inches tall, sold by by phone company back in the day. (I DID prefer the Felix Cat wall clock, with the moving eyes and tail over the Mickey Mouse wall clock.)
Maybe it is because we baby-boomer West Coast kids completely bought into and explored every new cultural fad...Far Eastern and Asian culture and music especially explored and adored, especially with LSD and shrooms - we are who we are.
Or maybe it's because after a few hours driving in any direction on the West Coast we can ocean surf, snorkel or scuba-dive, swim, go clam-digging or fishing, or climb mountains, visit ice caves, ski, hike in rain forests or walk amongst Redwood trees, go drive a dune buggy around a desert environment or sand dunes, go hunting for a rumored Big Foot sighting or seek a UFO after a notification from the local UFO club. Back in the day, we could do these things at little or no cost. IDK. We were adventurous in all things without shame, no matter how ridiculous if endorsed by our cultural leaders (anyone with long hair). Because we could. Because it mostly was free or affordable even by the lower classes.
But perhaps the key bit of information which I think some readers may not have is that the manner in which the Vietnam War was conducted gave most of us West-Coast baby-boomers a powerful sense of cynicism as young adults. Vietnam destroyed my generation's faith in the US government. We also lost all faith in business, in anybody over 30 and anyone who wore their hair short - especially our parents. These attitudes have long since been abandoned and forgotten today, even by most baby-boomers.
Our parents raised us in a powerfully socially controlled post-WWII conservative and G-rated clean 1950's American cultural environment. It was a Greatest Generation era which appeared on the surface to be like an arranged and falsified Disneyworld, with enforced decency, intense Christian propaganda, and an image of public innocence. It all was very much a lie - but we were forbidden to discuss in public anything about child abuse, wife-beating, alcohol or drug addictions, etc. European books were banned and American books were heavily censored - particularly sex scenes - often even between married couples - and no swearing. There was no Internet. Television and movies were also under the eye of media censorship boards. White women were forced to quit war-time jobs, primarily manufacturing. They were literally forced into confinement consisting of small bedrooms, living rooms and kitchens. Females were forbidden to have college educations unless it was meant to find a husband, or to have access to any money except through husbands and fathers. These restrictions effectively made being breeders and toilet cleaners the only occupations for white females...
Then suddenly we 1960's teen baby-boomers, having mostly been raised on excessively spotless floors, and in over-decorated houses filled with modern goods our parents were pushed to consume, and having been educated and exhorted to have faith in democracy 24/7, our milk mustaches worn like badges of honor, with G-rated television shows and relentless Church morality surrounding us everywhere - suddenly we were seeing dead young, and forcibly drafted, men, some of whom we knew personally, being cut into pieces on live TV from Vietnam. In full color, which was new tech to us.
On top of the uncensored war video - first time ever shown to the general public in realtime in American history on television news shows - a lot of political and criminal misbehavior by several political administrations was exposed by newly uncensored newspapers and television reporters.
The Greatest Generation fought WWII in total faith in democracy, with the reward of new-tech automatic washing machines and large-finned cars demonstrating proof of concept about progress, and with even total faith in the WWII ex-vet politicians who supported democracy - well, you YA's today have no idea of how shocking the uncensored news of the 1970's was that many of our politicians were crooks and liars. Worse, the Greatest Generation's kids, who were dying in Vietnam for supposedly high moral grounds and righteous reasons, were actually not 'fighting for democracy', the reasons given for the USA's involvement in the Vietnam War. The War turned out to be mostly one of fabricated morality and cultural ignorance.
The YA of the time, us 'baby-boomers', we went boom! We began to question all authority, and protested and marched and condemned all adults over thirty years old. We questioned our parents' patriotism, believing it marred by avarice, stupidity, racism and greed. For those of you not there at the time, we sort of had a Chinese Cultural Revolution, only it began with college students, not manufactured by the political leadership of the country. It spread to high-school students, then slowly took over the mass media. There was violence, mostly coming from the police, conservative politicians and extreme left terrorist groups. Eventually, last to fall in line, politicians concerned about their jobs began to pass civil rights and women's rights laws.
However, the baby-boomer liberalizing revolution was done before the politicians acted. Us YA's lived as if the laws had already changed even though they hadn't. Police didn't want to arrest so many white kids. However, it actually was the voting 'greatest generation' parents who began to slowly change America because they embraced their kid's ideas, especially when white daughters and sons began to 'come out', or come home with friends and spouses of different faiths and races. We adult baby-boomers moved on to making money (yes, after condemning it for 10-15 years as YA's). In passing our 30th birthdays and graduating from college, and having the next generation of kids, we became more socially liberal versions of our parents.
Our YA era had a lingering unconscious effect, though, on our baby-boomer philosophies: 1. many social laws were created by 1950's conservative fascist SOB's and racists (parents!), so laws could be ignored if enough people rejected their legitimacy; 2. politicians are all corrupt from taking money from the military/industrial complex and so are completely untrustworthy; 3. and it is good policy to reject all authority, including parents, especially parents, along with everything WWII parents had done for their kids - like, yes, our loved and adored Disney toys of childhood, which now represented the bourgeois acceptance of Authority (mixed feelings, so lots of ironic shamed joking).
Thus Disney products acquired an ironic taint. I presume this was the mindset present during the writing of 'The Monkey's Raincoat', anyway, when this book was written, for the character Elvis Cole's ironic taste in Disney decorations.
IDK, it made sense to me, anyway.
I want more Elvis Cole!
Cole is a private detective. He partners with another Vietnam vet, Joe Pike. Pike is a seriously PTSD-damaged Vietnam vet, no longer able to do the social niceties.
Ellen and Mort have two other children, Cindy and Carrie, who are safe at home. Ellen has recently learned Mort has been having an affair with another woman, Kimberly Marsh, an actress. Janet has been doing some detecting of her own. Besides finding out information about the girlfriend, she has also learned Mort was working with a notorious producer Garrett Rice, a known drug pusher.
Cole likes shy, insecure Ellen, but he is not liking the pushy bully Janet very much. Ellen is reluctant to hire Cole. She is certain Mort has a good reason for his mysterious disappearance, or if not that, his leaving with Perry is no one else's business. Ellen secretly thinks Mort has left her because she is so incompetent. But browbeaten by Janet, she hires Cole after all.
Cole retraces Mort's last known movements. He soon is uncovering evidence of a philandering husband, dead-broke, who might be involved with drug-dealing, mafia-connected people. Pike isn't so sure this case is worthy of the detectives, but he hasn't looked into Ellen's eyes, or seen her underlying courage the way Elvis has. However, when the phone call to Ellen is made demanding return of some drugs or the kid gets it, both Cole and Pike know they need to move fast. Worst of all, Ellen had no idea there were any drugs about or where they might be hidden.
'The Monkey's Raincoat', published in 1987, is absolutely wonderful! What an amazing delight it is in discovering this novel! It is one of those rare noirish detective mysteries reminiscent of the style made famous by Dashiell Hammett but at the same time updated with dry satiric late 1970's humor touches! I am thrilled - THRILLED - to meet Elvis Cole!
Ok, be brave aPriL - I'm going against the tide once again....
First and foremost, I completely respect every review on GR, especially those reviewers who have been kind to me in being my friend on GR. I love you guys! Just saying. But I respectfully disagree about how some of you perceived this book.
Respectfully, WTF! This is a real cool novel! I ADORED it! I couldn't put it down! I read it straight through Friday night into Saturday!
I am mystified by the number of poor reviews (most around three stars), accompanied by various complaints about the horrid 1980's, culturally speaking. There are even disgusted comments comparing 'The Monkey's Raincoat' unfavorably because it is in the same category of 'despised' shows such as Miami Vice, the TV show (?!?!?!?!?!).
O _ O
I LOVED the 1980's, I watched every episode of Miami Vice at least 20 times and mourned when Miami Vice was cancelled. I noticed a retro cable channel is now running it, but unfortunately, the video colors are now running together and the pre-HD tape is terribly blurry. Yes, I checked it out, hoping.
I bought all of the music which was featured in every Miami Vice episode. I adored Disco, too, mostly the BeeGees, and 1960's and 1970's rock. I despised the 1990's music mostly. I liked the nice Rap from singers like M.C. Hammer, but the women-hating gay-bashing stuff leaves me angry towards the singer and the song. I love Indie music and, yes, electronica. Ok, ok, I'm such a girl, well, I am.
I was born in Seattle, where I have lived most of my life, having only a temporary residence (five years each) in Los Angeles and San Francisco. I am probably VERY infused through and through with baby-boomer West Coast culture (yoga practices, navel- staring meditation and pillow-punching scream therapies, pseudo-sun temples and fake Stonehenges all over, the wearing of Mood Stone rings and magic crystals, the gorgeous black-light and velvet posters, lava lamps and algae teas, etc.). I visited my first head shop in 1970. If, gentle reader, 'head' shop is a mystery to you, perhaps I AM too ancient for you to follow! These wonderful marijuana paraphernalia stores of the past are now replaced by dull medical marijuana stores, which, sadly, have none of the idiosyncratic art-design taste that the head shops did. We ironically wore Micky Mouse watches which could cost $3,000, or good cheap copies (me and my brother). I wanted desperately a Micky Mouse phone, standing 18-inches tall, sold by by phone company back in the day. (I DID prefer the Felix Cat wall clock, with the moving eyes and tail over the Mickey Mouse wall clock.)
Maybe it is because we baby-boomer West Coast kids completely bought into and explored every new cultural fad...Far Eastern and Asian culture and music especially explored and adored, especially with LSD and shrooms - we are who we are.
Or maybe it's because after a few hours driving in any direction on the West Coast we can ocean surf, snorkel or scuba-dive, swim, go clam-digging or fishing, or climb mountains, visit ice caves, ski, hike in rain forests or walk amongst Redwood trees, go drive a dune buggy around a desert environment or sand dunes, go hunting for a rumored Big Foot sighting or seek a UFO after a notification from the local UFO club. Back in the day, we could do these things at little or no cost. IDK. We were adventurous in all things without shame, no matter how ridiculous if endorsed by our cultural leaders (anyone with long hair). Because we could. Because it mostly was free or affordable even by the lower classes.
But perhaps the key bit of information which I think some readers may not have is that the manner in which the Vietnam War was conducted gave most of us West-Coast baby-boomers a powerful sense of cynicism as young adults. Vietnam destroyed my generation's faith in the US government. We also lost all faith in business, in anybody over 30 and anyone who wore their hair short - especially our parents. These attitudes have long since been abandoned and forgotten today, even by most baby-boomers.
Our parents raised us in a powerfully socially controlled post-WWII conservative and G-rated clean 1950's American cultural environment. It was a Greatest Generation era which appeared on the surface to be like an arranged and falsified Disneyworld, with enforced decency, intense Christian propaganda, and an image of public innocence. It all was very much a lie - but we were forbidden to discuss in public anything about child abuse, wife-beating, alcohol or drug addictions, etc. European books were banned and American books were heavily censored - particularly sex scenes - often even between married couples - and no swearing. There was no Internet. Television and movies were also under the eye of media censorship boards. White women were forced to quit war-time jobs, primarily manufacturing. They were literally forced into confinement consisting of small bedrooms, living rooms and kitchens. Females were forbidden to have college educations unless it was meant to find a husband, or to have access to any money except through husbands and fathers. These restrictions effectively made being breeders and toilet cleaners the only occupations for white females...
Then suddenly we 1960's teen baby-boomers, having mostly been raised on excessively spotless floors, and in over-decorated houses filled with modern goods our parents were pushed to consume, and having been educated and exhorted to have faith in democracy 24/7, our milk mustaches worn like badges of honor, with G-rated television shows and relentless Church morality surrounding us everywhere - suddenly we were seeing dead young, and forcibly drafted, men, some of whom we knew personally, being cut into pieces on live TV from Vietnam. In full color, which was new tech to us.
On top of the uncensored war video - first time ever shown to the general public in realtime in American history on television news shows - a lot of political and criminal misbehavior by several political administrations was exposed by newly uncensored newspapers and television reporters.
The Greatest Generation fought WWII in total faith in democracy, with the reward of new-tech automatic washing machines and large-finned cars demonstrating proof of concept about progress, and with even total faith in the WWII ex-vet politicians who supported democracy - well, you YA's today have no idea of how shocking the uncensored news of the 1970's was that many of our politicians were crooks and liars. Worse, the Greatest Generation's kids, who were dying in Vietnam for supposedly high moral grounds and righteous reasons, were actually not 'fighting for democracy', the reasons given for the USA's involvement in the Vietnam War. The War turned out to be mostly one of fabricated morality and cultural ignorance.
The YA of the time, us 'baby-boomers', we went boom! We began to question all authority, and protested and marched and condemned all adults over thirty years old. We questioned our parents' patriotism, believing it marred by avarice, stupidity, racism and greed. For those of you not there at the time, we sort of had a Chinese Cultural Revolution, only it began with college students, not manufactured by the political leadership of the country. It spread to high-school students, then slowly took over the mass media. There was violence, mostly coming from the police, conservative politicians and extreme left terrorist groups. Eventually, last to fall in line, politicians concerned about their jobs began to pass civil rights and women's rights laws.
However, the baby-boomer liberalizing revolution was done before the politicians acted. Us YA's lived as if the laws had already changed even though they hadn't. Police didn't want to arrest so many white kids. However, it actually was the voting 'greatest generation' parents who began to slowly change America because they embraced their kid's ideas, especially when white daughters and sons began to 'come out', or come home with friends and spouses of different faiths and races. We adult baby-boomers moved on to making money (yes, after condemning it for 10-15 years as YA's). In passing our 30th birthdays and graduating from college, and having the next generation of kids, we became more socially liberal versions of our parents.
Our YA era had a lingering unconscious effect, though, on our baby-boomer philosophies: 1. many social laws were created by 1950's conservative fascist SOB's and racists (parents!), so laws could be ignored if enough people rejected their legitimacy; 2. politicians are all corrupt from taking money from the military/industrial complex and so are completely untrustworthy; 3. and it is good policy to reject all authority, including parents, especially parents, along with everything WWII parents had done for their kids - like, yes, our loved and adored Disney toys of childhood, which now represented the bourgeois acceptance of Authority (mixed feelings, so lots of ironic shamed joking).
Thus Disney products acquired an ironic taint. I presume this was the mindset present during the writing of 'The Monkey's Raincoat', anyway, when this book was written, for the character Elvis Cole's ironic taste in Disney decorations.
IDK, it made sense to me, anyway.
I want more Elvis Cole!
March 27, 2013
I started with Elvis Cole #13, which was actually Joe Pike #1. As the second book of the series, I liked Joe Pike #1 best. Having said that, this was a walk in the past for me. I'd call it an entertaining story, more your basic Magnum P.I./Mike Hammer Gumshoe detective novel. Perhaps more along the lines of "Rockford Files" with a more active and ass-kicking, younger James Garner.
What a walk down memory lane, where consensual sex with strangers was possible, people actually used pay phones without needing a "calling card," and there is always the wonderful retro 70s fashion trends. I didn't see a "puka-shell necklace" but i bet Cole's got one with his "liesure suit" because he hates wearing ties.
Realistically, this is a sound, well written and edited Private Eye story. It's got some Noirish tendencies, but only because it want's to fake being "tough and gritty." I'm not sure women will appriciate how their gender is written in this book, but, as books from and about this era go, it's better than most. The archaic formula of an authority stuborn anti-hero, the mob, and a damsel in distress works here, as it always has. Unfair to the damsel, but still, fun to read, and, since our hero is handsome young and unattached, there's a little something for him from the victim's best friend. Ahh.. the seventies and eighties... back when you could get laid in High School with out taking an STD test, and, the begining of the "if your not, your a minority" era. but I digress...
Cole's likeable, sensitive, thoughtful, and every bit the anti-hero on a white stallion and ill fitting chainmail. Not all of the ladies were written as the weaker, fairer, more preyed upon sex, one or two actually had some teeth and willingness to use them or had found a place where they could be individually strong.
As in the previous Crais book I read, Joe Pike is more interesting than Elvis Cole but in this one, less available. I do like the observations about humanity, personal growth and finding the string to change that Crais writes into this book, as he did "The Watchman." Elivs and Joe Pike have a spirituality about them that makes their observations and "heart to heart" talks with the victims and other characters fun and enjoyable to read.
I also applaud and cheer the growth his "victim" goes through as Crais wrote it. Cole and Pike tend to be agents to promote growth and understanding of life in others, yet, change little themselves. It's one thing to write weak, helpless damsels in distress. It's another to write them from weakness to stronger, more indpendent personalities. All healing approved of by me as it appears in this book.
It's a worthwhile read, not as good as "The Watchman" but certainly worth the time to read.
Bottom line. 3.5 to 4.5 depending on what you expect the book to be. Not enough Joe Pike.
Some violence, managable, but "noirish" enough to have a cringe factor high enough that it may affect those people sensitive to such things.
I'd also say that the roles for female characters seems more in keepign with the 1970s and 1980s. Emerging sense of equality, but still, the book is written to a publishing format from the Mike Hammer/Mickey Spilane days where a Dame is needed to play the Damsel in distress, the bitchy sex object and the snarky, improved, damsel of the last ditress the characters saved somebody from. It's a formula, and, it works here if taken in context with the time it was written and written about.
What a walk down memory lane, where consensual sex with strangers was possible, people actually used pay phones without needing a "calling card," and there is always the wonderful retro 70s fashion trends. I didn't see a "puka-shell necklace" but i bet Cole's got one with his "liesure suit" because he hates wearing ties.
Realistically, this is a sound, well written and edited Private Eye story. It's got some Noirish tendencies, but only because it want's to fake being "tough and gritty." I'm not sure women will appriciate how their gender is written in this book, but, as books from and about this era go, it's better than most. The archaic formula of an authority stuborn anti-hero, the mob, and a damsel in distress works here, as it always has. Unfair to the damsel, but still, fun to read, and, since our hero is handsome young and unattached, there's a little something for him from the victim's best friend. Ahh.. the seventies and eighties... back when you could get laid in High School with out taking an STD test, and, the begining of the "if your not, your a minority" era. but I digress...
Cole's likeable, sensitive, thoughtful, and every bit the anti-hero on a white stallion and ill fitting chainmail. Not all of the ladies were written as the weaker, fairer, more preyed upon sex, one or two actually had some teeth and willingness to use them or had found a place where they could be individually strong.
As in the previous Crais book I read, Joe Pike is more interesting than Elvis Cole but in this one, less available. I do like the observations about humanity, personal growth and finding the string to change that Crais writes into this book, as he did "The Watchman." Elivs and Joe Pike have a spirituality about them that makes their observations and "heart to heart" talks with the victims and other characters fun and enjoyable to read.
I also applaud and cheer the growth his "victim" goes through as Crais wrote it. Cole and Pike tend to be agents to promote growth and understanding of life in others, yet, change little themselves. It's one thing to write weak, helpless damsels in distress. It's another to write them from weakness to stronger, more indpendent personalities. All healing approved of by me as it appears in this book.
It's a worthwhile read, not as good as "The Watchman" but certainly worth the time to read.
Bottom line. 3.5 to 4.5 depending on what you expect the book to be. Not enough Joe Pike.
Some violence, managable, but "noirish" enough to have a cringe factor high enough that it may affect those people sensitive to such things.
I'd also say that the roles for female characters seems more in keepign with the 1970s and 1980s. Emerging sense of equality, but still, the book is written to a publishing format from the Mike Hammer/Mickey Spilane days where a Dame is needed to play the Damsel in distress, the bitchy sex object and the snarky, improved, damsel of the last ditress the characters saved somebody from. It's a formula, and, it works here if taken in context with the time it was written and written about.
December 15, 2015
Set in the Hollywood of the 1980s this feels a bit dated, but only because it was written then as the debut novel of screenwriter Robert Crais, who wrote scripts for Hill Street Blues and Miami Vice amongst others so it has that authentic 1980s feel about it. At first Crais' PI, Elvis Cole seems like a wise-cracking smart-arse but he grows on you as his smart, compassionate side comes out. Apart from quoting Jiminny Cricket and being a yoga and martial arts practitioner, Cole is a Vietnam vet whose partner, Joe Pike is a mercenary he calls in when he needs heavy duty surveillance and gun power.
When Cole takes on a job to find missing husband Mort and young son Perry for Ellen Lang, he expects it to be a simple case of a husband running away with his younger mistress but instead when Mort is found dead and the boy missing, the case gets a whole lot more complicated involving done very nasty characters from Hollywood's seamier side. While the plot line is not terribly inventive, the characters, the smartness and the sharp quips kept it interesting. This was a good introduction to a series that promises to get even better.
When Cole takes on a job to find missing husband Mort and young son Perry for Ellen Lang, he expects it to be a simple case of a husband running away with his younger mistress but instead when Mort is found dead and the boy missing, the case gets a whole lot more complicated involving done very nasty characters from Hollywood's seamier side. While the plot line is not terribly inventive, the characters, the smartness and the sharp quips kept it interesting. This was a good introduction to a series that promises to get even better.
January 24, 2021
Hm... Well, I had to skim the last 15% to finish this. The writing is decently competent but I felt like the book just dragged on a bit too long. Cole is attempting to be a wise-cracking smartass, but he falls short of the mark, and that was before he slept with his client and her best friend. Pike is supposed to be this dour muscleman type with a heart of gold. They both come across more anti-hero than hero though, going all vigilante in order to bring their case to a satisfying closing, but there's so much trauma left hanging at the end that I can't see it as leaving anyone in a good place. More like they're on the doorstep to a good place, but the threshold is the size of the Grand Canyon. Except maybe Pike. He seems to thrive on causing trauma, so he's probably in seventh heaven, he's just too stoic and manly to crack a smile. And why does he wear sunglasses at night and indoors? Even the nameless tomcat is semi-feral. Because MEN GRRRR.
I don't know. There's potential, but I'm already not liking where these characters are going, so I'll probably just stop here.
I don't know. There's potential, but I'm already not liking where these characters are going, so I'll probably just stop here.
September 27, 2019
Good beginning to an addictive series. I love going back and reading a book written in the 80s. Authors didn’t need to worry about being politically correct. Man....do I long for those days again....
February 20, 2013
Robert Crais published his first novel featuring his now-famous L.A. private detective, Elvis Cole, in 1987. "The Monkey's Raincoat" was an instant success, garnering nearly every single award for the mystery genre, including nominations for the Edgar and Shamus (which, in the mystery writer's world is akin to the Oscar and the Golden Globe). He deserved every single accolade. Cole is (like Robert Parker's Spenser, who is his most obvious literary blood-brother) a lovable, wise-cracking detective who still believes in things like chivalry and justice. He's a thirty-something man-child who still watches cartoons, collects Disney memorabilia, has a rescue cat who likes to drink beer, and quotes Jiminy Cricket whenever it's appropriate. He's also a tough motherf****r who won't blink when he has to shoot a man in the kneecap. His partner in his detective agency is the giant behemoth of a man named Joe Pike, a monosyllabic silent-type who lets Cole do the footwork and only comes in when Cole needs some extra muscle and/or to do something that is borderline illegal, which is apparently frequently. "The Monkey's Raincoat" starts off as a routine domestic case, in which a woman hires Cole to find out where her estranged husband disappeared to with their young nine-year-old son. Cole thinks it's nothing more than a custody battle, but when the husband is found murdered with no sign of the missing son, things get serious quickly. At the heart of the issue is a missing kilo of cocaine worth lots and lots of money, stolen from a Colombian drug cartel. The cartel believes (incorrectly) that the husband's wife has the drug cache, and they are keeping the kid as collateral until they get back the drugs. Cole isn't so much worried about going up against a cartel as he is about safely reuniting the kid with his mother. After all, he's got Joe for all the heavy lifting. And stabbing. And shooting. And breaking of limbs.
March 26, 2012
What drew me to read this was a review from Orson Scott Card recommending the latest Elvis Cole novel by Robert Crais, but since I like to read things in order, I decided to start with The Monkey's Raincoat instead of Taken.
Despite the protagonist's propensity to dress like a Miami Vice extra, and his obsession with Disney trinkets (the reasons for which are not adequately explored), I enjoyed this 80s-era detective story on steroids, which culminated in a finale that read like the climax of Arnold Schwarzenegger's Commando.
Having now read a fair number of this genre of story, I am starting to see some definitive patterns/tropes.
Does the protagonist (check all that apply):
[ ] drink heavily?
[ ] search for a MacGuffin?
[ ] sleep with a woman involved in the case?
[ ] slap the same woman to cure her hysterics?
[ ] treat the police with no respect whatsoever?
[ ] get pulled in for a meeting with the antagonist by his heavies?
[ ] have a bad-ass side kick? (as pointed out by the OSC review)
If you checked off five or more of these, you are definitely reading a hard-boiled/noir detective story.
The only complaint I have is with Kindle, and not this book. The Kindle application automatically opens the book to the beginning of the primary text -- skipping the cover, title page, table of contents, and any inscriptions. Normally, this is not an issue, but with The Monkey's Raincoat, it skipped the following haiku, and hence, I had no idea why the book was titled what it was:
Winter downpour;
Even the monkey needs a raincoat.
Despite the protagonist's propensity to dress like a Miami Vice extra, and his obsession with Disney trinkets (the reasons for which are not adequately explored), I enjoyed this 80s-era detective story on steroids, which culminated in a finale that read like the climax of Arnold Schwarzenegger's Commando.
Having now read a fair number of this genre of story, I am starting to see some definitive patterns/tropes.
Does the protagonist (check all that apply):
[ ] drink heavily?
[ ] search for a MacGuffin?
[ ] sleep with a woman involved in the case?
[ ] slap the same woman to cure her hysterics?
[ ] treat the police with no respect whatsoever?
[ ] get pulled in for a meeting with the antagonist by his heavies?
[ ] have a bad-ass side kick? (as pointed out by the OSC review)
If you checked off five or more of these, you are definitely reading a hard-boiled/noir detective story.
The only complaint I have is with Kindle, and not this book. The Kindle application automatically opens the book to the beginning of the primary text -- skipping the cover, title page, table of contents, and any inscriptions. Normally, this is not an issue, but with The Monkey's Raincoat, it skipped the following haiku, and hence, I had no idea why the book was titled what it was:
Winter downpour;
Even the monkey needs a raincoat.
December 3, 2022
Ok, I get this was published in 1987 and that this genre of writing had lots of “meaningless sex with SOME emotion behind it” (not love but some other emotion, like desperation, sympathy or pity of a sort behind it, so it wasn’t just the MC and secondary characters being completely devoid of morals and therefore “bad”), but it still sits poorly with me. Also the “he had a LOT to drink, so it was easier for him to do what he did and that absolves him” thread didn’t work for me either.
That being said, the pacing felt off, though it could be my attention span has deteriorated and I can’t read like I used to back in the day, so back in the day books don’t speak to me anymore.
What I DID love was that it was a little piece of amber for the 1980s. Pay phones and land lines, no computers or cell phones, let alone smart phones. Answering machines, remember them??
So this gets points for nostalgia and for the snark/sense of humor of the MC H. I also liked all of Elvis’ friends, they were fun in different ways to be around. He even had a female friend, though he had some tension on his end, or a suggestion of it, she did not seem to for him. She was engaged to a dentist, so Elvis seemed to respect that. I wonder if that’ll be a plot point in a future book. I sincerely hope not.
Despite not loving this first book, I have read reviews that they get a lot better, so I will continue with the series and hope that I find they get better as well.
3, I’m not giving up yet, stars.
That being said, the pacing felt off, though it could be my attention span has deteriorated and I can’t read like I used to back in the day, so back in the day books don’t speak to me anymore.
What I DID love was that it was a little piece of amber for the 1980s. Pay phones and land lines, no computers or cell phones, let alone smart phones. Answering machines, remember them??
So this gets points for nostalgia and for the snark/sense of humor of the MC H. I also liked all of Elvis’ friends, they were fun in different ways to be around. He even had a female friend, though he had some tension on his end, or a suggestion of it, she did not seem to for him. She was engaged to a dentist, so Elvis seemed to respect that. I wonder if that’ll be a plot point in a future book. I sincerely hope not.
Despite not loving this first book, I have read reviews that they get a lot better, so I will continue with the series and hope that I find they get better as well.
3, I’m not giving up yet, stars.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 2, 2009
Not so long ago I read my first Robert Crais book "the Two Minute Rule" and simply adored it. The humanity of the characters touched me greatly. I wanted to read more Robert Crais and so I started to read the Elvis Cole books in the right order and I'm glad I purchased the first three (so far).
This introduction to the Elvis Cole series is a highly entertaining read. The outstanding characters make up for an average plot. I enjoy how well the author pulls off the combo of the taciturn Pike and the extremely talkative Cole. Cole & Pike are both very appealing men, who have gone through a lot and learned a lot in their previous career choices. They both come across as men feeling good in their skin. I can't wait to read more about their bond, their alliance, their friendship.
Robert Crais reminds me a lot of John Sandford (but not so bloody) and Harlan Coben, with the wit, humor and action of Lucas Davenport and Myron Bolitar. And now I have Elvis Cole! Outstanding writer and I look forward to each novel that he writes.
This introduction to the Elvis Cole series is a highly entertaining read. The outstanding characters make up for an average plot. I enjoy how well the author pulls off the combo of the taciturn Pike and the extremely talkative Cole. Cole & Pike are both very appealing men, who have gone through a lot and learned a lot in their previous career choices. They both come across as men feeling good in their skin. I can't wait to read more about their bond, their alliance, their friendship.
Robert Crais reminds me a lot of John Sandford (but not so bloody) and Harlan Coben, with the wit, humor and action of Lucas Davenport and Myron Bolitar. And now I have Elvis Cole! Outstanding writer and I look forward to each novel that he writes.
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