The Monkey's Raincoat

The first Robert Crais book I ever read was The Watchman which is a Joe Pike novel.I thought 'where did this guy come from?' I was hooked.I then read several other Robert Crais novels which were Elvis Cole (Joe Pike's partner) novels and was equally hooked.So I had to back track and read the 1st:The Monkey's Raincoat.This book has a simple beginning,a wife looking for her missing husband and son.But the plot thickens as one finds out the involvement of the husband with a very dangerous Mexican drug/sex kingpin and what "property" he's missing. I'm a slow reader but I cruised thru this paperback in what amounted to just a few hours.The action is great and the story is very real.I enjoy reading stories that have the ability to be very true to life.So many pieces of fiction today have to many grandiose situations that are more likely not to happen. Robert Crais is a master storyteller and packs in plenty of action to keep the reader's attention and makes this book a great introduction to his work.

Elvis Cole is a graduate with a 2 year degree from Saigon U ( i.e . a tour in Vietnam in Uncle Sam's Army) He is a detective in 1987 L.A. with a Pinnocchio cuckoo clock with moving eyes in his office. He overcomes morning depression with a yoga, tai chi, tae quan do routine. He shares a beer with his cat. He is a good looking private dick who has a way with the ladies. Two teary eyed dames in a powder blue Mustang GT crossed his path to seek out a missing husband and kid. Elvis starts crisscrossing town looking under rocks for sleazy agents and third rate actresses. I am liking Robert Crais so far on page 40. I am using this work as an entre to this author after reading good things. I would like to advise the readers, though, that the BANTAM BOOKS EDITION paperback which I purchased from Amazon has TINY PRINT. And I have perfect eyes. Beware, with this pot-boiler you will feel like Sherlock Holmes because you will need a magnifying glass to read the tiny words. Well things are heating up. Elvis sexes up the victims hard-bodied best friend. He has her moaning with pleasure. They say Elvis looks like a young John Cassavettes. The client's husband Mort turns up dead. Time to call Elvis's partner Joe Pike. Joe is tall, lean, and all stringy muscle. He is a man of few words behind his tinted aviator glasses. His office which shares a door with Elvis has no furniture and is empty. He is a buddy from Nam. When Elvis needs Joe to put a tail on two bad Mexican dudes with thick necks Joe is on it like white on rice. Joe only needs to know if Elvis also wants them "gutted and cleaned". Elvis knows with a man as dangerous as Joe Pike; he better be careful how he answers. Elvis sits in his Corvette on a stake out on the bad side of town. He is on his second good taco with real meat that puts Taco Bell to shame when he has action. His client is held hostage in a dumpy bungalow. Elvis sneaks in and frees his client; but he has to cap two thick-necked Mexicans to escape whole. The action is coming to a boil. Two pounds of pharmaceutical cocaine are missing. Unless Elvis finds the coke in a hurry a rich, evil Mexican industrialist will kill the clients kid. Just to bring home the point the kidnappers let Elvis listen on the phone as they torture the kid to elicit heart piercing wails. Elvis Cole and Joe Pike go on a little road trip. They go Rambo in 1987 L.A. There is heart thumping gun play and hand to hand combat. The pair tie up the adventure in a neat bow. This book generated a good buzz. These two are a dynamic duo of a detective team. This is a very solid foundation for a series. I recommend this book to all readers. I will now look for the rest of the Elvis Cole series.

Super fun reading for those who enjoy suspense and good guys versus the bad. I can't wait to read the next one!

Great series starter for Robert Crais...The Elvis Cole novels were recommended to me while I was reading the Jack Reacher novels by Lee Child...This series is set in Los Angeles and certainly keeps the reader's attention..It is, to a degree, a lot like the old hard-boiled private eye novels, but has enough freshness to make it highly enjoyable..Cole is a Viet Nam vet who is tough, but not to the the degree some heroes (Jack Reacher in the previously mentioned series) are ..He has a partner, Joe Pike to handle his rough stuff and to take care of his back ..Great start to a series..I had already read two of the books on Kindle and got tired of wating for this one to be published on Kindle, so I ordered this one in print...Always better to read the series in order..