L. A. Requiem (1999)

A surprisingly thoughtful police thriller. While the plot itself wasn't particularly original or groundbreaking, the language and character development were. There is a particular subplot with the main character's girlfriend that could have been handled in a black and white/he's right she's wrong way that I was pleasantly surprised to find developed with nuance and heart. This was the first of the series I read (found it in a free library) but it will not be the last. ( )

So good in every way! ( )

IF YOU READ ONE CRAIS BOOK, THIS WOULD BE IT. I STILL RECOMMEND READING THEM IN ORDER, HOWEVER. YOU LEARN THE HISTORY OF JOE PIKE WITH GIRLFRIENDS ,THE POLICE, AND ELVIS COLE. THIS ALSO CONTINUES eLVIS WITH HIS GIRL FRIEND FROM lOUISIANA. ( )

I read this years ago, and just read it again. It's one of the very best in the Elvis Cole series. If you haven't tried Robert Crais, I heartily recommend this as a starting place. ( )

A serial killer is stalking LA – or is it a hit man? Either way, Angelinos are being kept in the dark and five people have died. The fifth one is Karen Garcia, a former girlfriend of Joe Pike.

In this novel we learn the Joe Pike back-story as he moves from a caricature to a more fully fleshed out character. Pike is introduced in a series of flashbacks that are dispersed thought the story. This convention is somewhat irritating at first as the story is constantly interrupted to insert another several page long digression into Pike's history with Garcia, his service as a Los Angeles police officer, and the death of Pike's partner.

Eventually Pike is charged with the murder of the man suspected of killing Garcia and Cole and Pike work to find the actual murderer and bring him to justice. ( )