Elvis Cole is a Private Investigator in L.A. He has a girlfriend named Lucy Chenier and a best friend, Joe Pike. In his new mystery, Elvis must try to clear Joe of a murder charge and hang on to his relationship with Lucy. The name of the book is L.A. Requiem. The writer behind Elvis Cole is Robert Crais.

Lucy has just moved to L.A. from Louisiana. She and Elvis were beginning a new phase of their relationship. Lucy is a lawyer who has just gotten a job working for a television station in L.A. She has a young son named Ben.

Joe Pike is Elvis' partner and best friend. At one time he was a cop on the LAPD. Something happened a long time ago and most cops on the force have hated Pike since then. He runs a gun shop and provides the hard line side of the detective partnership. He wears sunglasses all the time and has red arrow tattoos on his upper arms.

Karen Garcia is missing. She is the daughter of tortilla giant, Frank Garcia. He is a friend of Pike's. He wants Joe and Elvis to find Karen. She usually goes running at Hollywood Lake. Joe and Elvis go up there and find Karen's car but not her. They go to her apartment and then the cops arrive and let them know that Karen's body has been found at the lake.

We find out that a long time ago, when Joe was still on the police force, he and Karen had a relationship. It ended with him breaking her heart. Now, years later, she has been murdered. Pike becomes the number one suspect in the case.

Frank Garcia uses his influence to allow Elvis and Pike to assist the police in the investigation. This doesn't set well with the police, especially because the whole thing involves Pike. The case is turned over to Robbery-Homicide, the top investigative unit of the LAPD. The top cop in the unit, Harvey Krantz has a history with Pike and would like to see him nailed to the wall.

Samantha Dolan is a member of the Robbery-Homicide squad. She is assigned to keep Elvis in the loop as far as Karen's case goes. The squad still thinks that Pike is involved with Karen's murder but they have to give Elvis copies of reports and other things related to the case. Dolan becomes attracted to Elvis. She would like Elvis to reciprocate, but he is in love with Lucy.

In earlier Elvis Cole novels we get to see Joe Pike but he is a man of mystery. He looms big, bad and mysterious in each of the books. We never find out much about Joe Pike. That is, until now. Robert Crais takes us into the past of Joe Pike and reveals to us what made Joe become like he is. From memories of a violent childhood to the death of Joe's partner on the police force, we get to see who and what Joe Pike really is.

As the bodies begin to pile up, Elvis races to find the killer. He is sure that the killer isn't Pike. But around every corner the evidence seems to stack up against Pike. Is someone setting Pike up? If so, what is their motive for doing so? The killer might be someone on the police force or maybe it really is Pike doing the killing.

I have always wondered about the Joe Pike character and what he was really about. Now I know. Pike reminds me of Hawk in the Spenser books by Robert Parker. Only I think that Pike might be just a little tougher than Hawk. But I wouldn't want to go up against someone that was like either of them.

L.A. Requiem is the best Elvis Cole mystery yet. The story is solid and fast paced. We get to see a side of Joe Pike that hasn't been revealed before. Robert Crais has written another great mystery novel. I can't wait to read the next one.

To learn more about Elvis Cole, Joe Pike or their creator, visit the Robert Crais web site. It can be found at www.RobertCrais.com.

Copyright © 2000 Bruce E. Von Stiers