Chasing Darkness: An Elvis Cole Novel (Elvis Cole Novels)
by Robert Crais
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Book Reviews of Chasing Darkness: An Elvis Cole Novel (Elvis Cole Novels)
Book Review: Who green-lighted this copy&pasted prosaic plot and high-school writing?
Summary: 1 Stars
This is my first [not quite sure how it won't be my last] read of Robert Crais. I was given the understanding that his books are relatively decent, so I went in quite optimistically (I've been looking for a new writer, as I have re-read Stephen King's books as much as I can for the time being, gone through the merry-go-round with Lawrence Block, and each of Lee Child's Reacher... and with Reacher, despite each book having essentially the same plot, I'm entertained. I didn't even have a problem with 'Nothing to Lose', as a number of people have).
But I don't understand someone can go through Chasing Darkness, which may have started decently, but switched to a plot outline dragged straight out of a high-school writing class.
As much as I'd like to take the time to explain how ridiculous the writing was [e.g., Our Hero, the P.I., seems to not be able to do a thing on his own, but has to have some "God of the Machine Benefactor" that is indebted to Our Hero for some reason and therefore completes whatever task needs completing at that particular time. Once said task is done, and another is engendered, another savior stumbles in.
But the absolute worst issue is that after the book starts out okay in the first few pages, and then switches to the part where you want to scream "figure it out already, and move on", the book finally starts to pick up again at the very end.
What is essentially a new plot and is a tad more intriguing, you start wondering if you're missing a couple hundred pages at the end of the book because there's only a few pages left, and if every anomaly Our Hero has brought forth as a means to finding the killer is given one paragraph to be explained in full, you know it still wouldn't be enough.
And it isn't. All the investigative work done and clues that set murders apart from each other or provide similarities between the victims - all ignored. Nothing. Book Ends.
Either sadly or laughably, the book ends with one of the police telling Our Hero the Private Investigator that the police will have to be investigating this for months to find out why everything went on - and any thoughts of Billy Joe Baddie having co-conspirators or others to carry on the work, not looked at. Could it have been a killing club that Billy Joe Baddie formed with six members, and every year the next member kills someone? We haven't a clue. Nor is there reason to think otherwise - there's no thought given any way whatsoever.
People might say I shouldn't expect to have every book wrapped up neatly with all questions answered because when you leave the reader to continue giving thought to many ideas and the ideas could lead people in different paths, that's what makes 'serious writing'. But books like those are intriguing indeed... Stephen King has quite a few. 'Chasing Darkness' is not that. 'Chasing Darkness' is a writer who has a publisher tell him the deadline's up, so just give me what you have... we'll have someone slap an ending on it.
This was pitiful.
Book Review: It's What Elvis Does--Chase Darkness!
Summary: 5 Stars
Robert Crais is among the top mystery/thriller writers alive today. His work is amazing and I find his Elvis Cole/Joe Pike novels to be deeply engaging and addictive. Cole can take so many roles in his novels that the reader can never be totally comfortable with what to expect from novel to novel.
"Chasing Darkness" is titled from Elvis's closing thought in the book, "I chase darkness to make room for the light". The title is apt because this is a much darker Elvis Cole novel than many of the ealier efforts. Elvis is confronted with evidence that his efforts to get an accused serial killer off three years earlier may have been a mistake and the killer has struck twice since, seemingly implicating him in their needless deaths.
Elvis is shut out of the case by most of the police and authorities involved so, wracked with guilt and personal doubts, he works with the ever loyal, Joe Pike, and Detective Carol Starkey to begin unraveling the case bit by bit. And herein is one of the compelling elements of this book. Old fashioned detective work, hunches, and dubious facts all lead Cole deeper and deeper into the case and seemingly always a step ahead of the police who may or may not be involved in solving or covering up the case. Reading Cole's interactions with a powerful police task force is the stuff that Crais is so darn good at and which bring smiles to the loyal Elvis Cole reader.
As usual in a Cole novel, not everyone is who or what they seem to be...lesser characters become major characters and potential villains turn out to be red herrings. Motives are never as simple as they appear initially and by mid novel, there is evidence of a potential police cover up, police politics at the highest levels, and incriminations involving local politicians and political power brokers. How Elvis maneuvers his way through all these conflicting trails to find the real truth to the serial murders and the case he worked on initially is powerful can't-stop-reading entertainment.
Crais is a master at characterizations and place. He can make any character credible and believable as well as plant innocent comments or thoughts that later translate into important, life changing clues. He is also a master at describing Los Angeles and its environs in such a manner that you remember what he describes if you were ever there...and feel what he describes if you have never been there before.
All in all, "Chasing Darkness" is a great addition to the Elvis Cole franchise...even if Joe Pike is underutilized in this one. This one deals with Cole's personal struggles with guilt, facing reality, and payback. As I said, it is a bit darker but that only adds texture to a great crime fighting character. And why not a bit darker, since that is what Elvis does--chase darkness to make room for the light.
Book Review: Next Title: Elvis Cole and Sunset Living?
Summary: 3 Stars
So I'm beginning to feel like all of the big names in pop thriller/crime fiction - Lee Childs, James Lee Burke, James Patterson, and now Robert Crais, are getting either bored or lazy, or have somehow managed to misplace the passion and fiery writing that placed them in their well deserved positions (well, except perhaps Patterson) on the big best seller lists. Yes, I'm a Robert Crais fan. The early Elvis Cole was smart, funny, and in your face - definitely an updated, more hip, and slightly more irreverent version of the venerable Raymond Chandler's Phillip Marlowe and today's answer to the hard boiled LA that Chandler invented. And Joe Pike? In Crais' prime, can you think of a supporting cast member more menacing - a more cleverly and intelligently rendered butt-kicker - the hands down candidate for the guy you'd least want to have on the other side of a street fight - or any kind of fight? Leaves me yearning for "LA Requiem", "The Monkey's Raincoat", or Crais' outstanding stand alone effort, "The Hostage".
To be fair, "Chasing Darkness" is by no means a bad read. In fact, it starts out with an intriguing "murder in a locked room-like" premise that is genuinely gripping, and definitely held my attention. And without the distraction and baggage of Cole's annoying girlfriend Lucy hanging around to mush up the action, I was getting ready to declare that "Crais is back" after what a thought were a couple of sub-par installments. But before long it starts feeling a bit tired with crooked cop conspiracy theories and all too familiar themes. And the intimidating Pike is relegated to a near cameo role, emerging with only enough adrenaline to help Elvis beat up some kids. At the end of the day, the enigma unravels too easily, and if you devote more than a few seconds to dissecting the mystery, you'll find a hole big enough for Cole's 'vette and Pike's Jeep to drive through - side-by-side.
When all is said and done, "Chasing Darkness" is mostly an entertaining ride, but essentially flat - a journeyman's effort that had that "got-to-do-this-to-meet-my contract" feel to it. The Crais aficionado - like me - will want to read it, but it is far from his best effort, and a sure sign that the talented Mr. Crais should take the hint from Dennis Lehane and William Lashner, and take some well deserved time off to recharge his classic crime-busting mojo. And should he take this hiatus, Crais fans take heart - their are plenty of great new writers - Huston, Swierczynski, Gischler, McKinty, Doolittle and more - to fill the gaps while the old guys like Crais and Child take a vacation to remember the kind of writing that got them to the top.
Book Review: Elvis Cole--on the case again....WOO HOO!!!!!
Summary: 4 Stars
As all Elvis Cole readers know, Robert Crais has put him through a real wringer as of late. Broken heart, broken bones and a near-broken spirit have tested The World's Greatest Detective in the last few books.
And we loved it, of course.
So, if we tell you that, in Chasing Darkness, Crais has crafted a less Elvis-centric tale of Detective and Case, assume please that we are doing it with all kinds of YAY!!
A crucial element to any series is the ability to change pace and still move forward, and this installment does just that.
Crais immediately sets the scene: During a brush-fire evac, LAPD discovers the apparent suicide of one Lionel Byrd. We learn that, some years prior, Elvis helped clear Lionel of a murder charge. Evidence from the death scene tends to incriminate Byrd in that murder and many others.
Elvis is visited by a couple of bitter detectives that inform him of the current facts, including that two of the murders Byrd is implicated in occurred after Elvis cleared him, and of course Elvis demands to be dealt in. Cops say no way, conflict ensues, and we are rolling!!
Crais does a great job of refreshing the basic skeleton of the Cole series by bringing back the elements we've always appreciated--Elvis disrespects authority, Elvis gets the crap kicked out of him, Elvis Goes Detecting. We've always loved the set pieces Crais constructs when he send Elvis door-to-door to find out stuff. It's when we get to see a little bit of how Crais views the world and the people in it. He gives us the taste, and then doesn't linger, as Chasing Darkness is a very fast-paced story with twists and turns worthy of the roads in Elvis' beloved Laurel Canyon.
As the story unreels, Elvis finds himself stalked, beaten, and accused of murder. Just another day for World's Greatest.
Crais is using the story to get at a couple of notions, primarily how we process grief--particularly when it becomes a desire for revenge. Elvis is, in fact, chasing various kinds of darkness. Some of it his own, but primarily that of others, and the essence of the book is what happens when an open soul--Elvis--offers himself to souls that are stricken and closed. Even when those souls hold some pretty damn malevolent intentions towards his own.
The connections that Elvis makes in these situations will warm your heart. But don't get too comfy, cuz you know that Elvis will soon be abused again.
And that's just how we like it!!!
Book Review: Not his best Elvis Cole story
Summary: 3 Stars
I like Robert Crais's Elvis Cole character, his sidekick Joe Pike and most of his other standing characters. The dialog is usually crisp and more than a little reminiscent of the classic noir novels of the 40s. The plots generally have a hole or two, but nothing that Crais's storytelling can't overcome.
In "Chasing Darkness", Crais gets off to a strong start as police clear homes in the path of a Los Angeles wildfire and discover the body of Lionel Byrd, an apparent suicide. His body has been in his house for several days and at his feet is a photo album that ties him to the gruesome murders of seven young women.
Thus it is that two nasty, snarling cops enter Elvis Cole's office while he is engaged in banter with his enigmatic partner, Joe Pike. The cops are hostile to Cole because three years ago, working for prominent criminal attorney Alan Levy who was representing Byrd pro bono, Cole discovered a surveillance tape that proved Byrd couldn't have committed the murder he was accused of. Since the dismissal of those charges, police now believe that Byrd committed two more killings and that Cole, having found the evidence that seemed to exonerate Byrd, is responsible for those deaths.
Good opening.
But things bog down quickly after that. The plot is simply too strained. Even Crais's usually strong storytelling isn't enough to pull the reader over some gaping holes, one of which is simply a massive chasm.
Cops seem to be corrupt, evidence disappears as do mysteries strangers. Cole is attacked (no suprise there), rescued, warned of dire consequences and he labors on, ultimately solving the bit whodunit.
Problem is that by the end of this tale, who cares? I didn't. It doesn't help that Crais telegraphs the conclusion long before he reaches it, making the last several chapters nothing more than a slog.
"Chasing Darkness" is not awful. If it were the first work of someone new on the scene, it would be worth of high praise. But Robert Crais is not only a veteran, his Elvis Cole, Joe Pike and subsidiary characters are well established and Crais is an exceptionally strong storyteller. But he isn't up to the standards he has set in this book.
It's okay and nothing more. You certainly won't question your sanity by reading "Chasing Darkness" all the way through, but you won't be bowled over either.
Hopefully, Crais's next effort will be stronger.
Jerry