Racing the Light - Robert Crais

Robert Crais pens another of my favorite series - the Elvis Cole and Joe Pike crime novels. The 19th entry is the newly released Racing the Light. 

Elvis Cole is a private investigator in Hollywood, California. Cole's methods are sometimes unorthodox, and his manner is irreverent, but he's a dogged detective who sees every job to it's conclusion. I love his tenacity. His partner is Joe Pike, a man of few words, but lots of action. Jon Stone also has a role in this latest. 

Their newest client is Adele, who comes to the office with no appointment and two 'minders'. Her adult son is missing and she's brought payment in cash. According to her, the cops aren't doing much, so he hears her out. She starts talking about conspiracies and he almost....almost says no. But he's intrigued.

Well, kudos to Crais for this 'absolutely no way I could have ever predicated' plot! Multilayered, intriguing and yeah - conspiratorial. I don't want to give anything away, so I'll stop there. 

The case is great, but for me it's the characters that are the stars. They have personal storylines, with Elvis's taking the stage in this book. His past is back in the form of an ex-girlfriend and her son. And again - the 'I got your back' relationship between Elvis and Joe. 

Crais' writing is wonderful. I can't put his books down. They're action filled and move very quickly as one clue leads to another. But there's also humor woven in - Elvis's dialogue is often not what you have expected. 

Another great read from Robert Crais that I finished too quickly. I'm looking forward to Robert Crais' next book. See for yourself - read an excerpt of Racing the Light. And if you're a fan of John Sandford's Davenport and Flowers books, you need to read Robert Crais.