Carpe Biblio

Robert Crais writes mystery, detective novels starring Elvis Cole and Joe Pike.  Prior to writing the Elvis Cole novels, he worked in Hollywood writing scripts for shows such as Hill Street Blues, Miami Vice, and Cagney & Lacey.  In addition to the Elvis Cole series, he has written Demolition Angel, Hostage, and The Last Detective.   He claims the following authors as being influential in his work – Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, Ernest Hemingway, Robert B. Parker, and John Steinbeck (Robert Crais: A Biography) 

Chasing Darkness, a novel by Robert Crais, stars his favorite protagonists Elvis Cole and Joe Pike.   In this story Elvis takes the lead.  A former case has been reopened.   While evacuating a neighborhood threatened by fire, officers come across the body of Lionel Byrd, an apparent suicide.  They also find lying next to Lionel a scrapbook containing pictures of murder victims.   Three years earlier Lionel had been charged with killing one of the victims in the scrapbook, but Cole found evidence clearing Lionel of the murders.   Since then two more murders have occurred, and pictures of these murders are included in the scrapbook.  Beset by guilt, Cole must determine if he made a mistake and set a murderer free resulting in the death of two more women.

Unlike many detective series, Crais does not write his stories with a template, and this keeps them fresh and unpredictable.  In the past the Cole and Pike novels have contained lots of Special Forces type action.  While Chasing Darkness contains lots of action, it uses less than in  previous novels.  This time Crais includes more psychological suspense, intrigue, and a surprise ending.  In The Watchman, Joe Pike played the major character, and Elvis Cole offered back-up.   This time Pike takes a back seat to supporting character, Carol Starkey, and Elvis Cole once again plays the lead character.  Carol first appeared in Demolition Angel as a bomb squad technician.

This is one of the few genre books that examines the feelings of surviving family members.   All of the victims were young women, but with different socioeconomic status. Some of the victims were prostitutes while others were professional women active in their community.  Some came from established family networks, while others did not. Cole interviews the various family members trying to find a link between the victims, and in doing so reveals the raw emotions of crime survivors.    

You will thoroughly enjoy reading Chasing Darkness.  It is a light, entertaining read packed with suspense and psychological angst.  The reader experiences twists and turns in the plot.  With hot weather approaching this would be a good read for the beach or pool.

Bruce G. Smith 5/9/2009