L.A. Requiem
   Robert Crais
   (Associate Reviewer-D. H. BROWN)
  1999 Doubleday NY USA
   ISBN: 0385495838


Elvis Cole, a talented & quick-witted PI with skeletons in his closet & his partner, ex-cop Joe Pike with his own dark past are brought into a murder case when a woman is found shot beside a reservoir. The victim turns out to be Pike's former lover & the daughter of a powerful man in the City of Angels.

I had never read Crais before so his characters & plots were new to me although the location had the shadows of a Jonathan Kellerman book.

L.A. Requim also reads a lot like an old-fashioned Chandler. I enjoyed the slight exaggeration of the characters, their motives, emotions & lives.

The Pike character was engrossing in as much as it carried with it the reverberations from most young men's peripheral fantasy about themselves. What we inwardly attribute to our wannabes. when we daydream.

Crais, like JK, tittles our "just-as-we-thought" notion of LA, if we don't happen to live there.

The worlds within unseen worlds from Hollywood to South Central that even passing through remain behind the ever present shroud of smog. Unseen but we just know to be there.

A very good read with some humor & an engaging hero. Always telling me what I just knew was true. & an ending that gave redemption. & brought reality to the plot.

Found some gaping holes that seemed very unrealistic: that cops from one jurisdiction could freely operate in every other jurisdiction with little or no interaction. Given the story & his characters most of those gaffs can be forgiven.

When I finished, was I satisfied? For the most part yes! Will I now look for other Robert Crais books? I do believe so!

Also by Robert Crais: The Monkey's Raincoat; Stalking the Angel; Lullaby Town; Free Fall; Voodoo River; Sunset Express & Indigo Slam.
(10/08/00)

David
A RebeccasReads.com Reviewer

Reviewer's Bio:
D. H. BROWN is the author of the critically acclaimed HONOR DUE and the Citizens Warrior Series. The son of missionary parents and with the help his Uncle Sam, he has touched base in more than 40 countries.  In 1986 he produced the independent children's film Lessie's Rainbow.  During the late 80s and early 90s, he wrote the book Common Sense and delivered the seminars of the same name for the Community Action Network of Seattle (CAN).  While doing his early Vietnam recovery work, he counseled Veterans and spoke widely to men's groups in Washington state, and was a founder of The Lodge of the Wolf.

D. H. BROWN has worked as a Logistics and Weapons Specialist in Viet Nam; day laborer; Director of Security; Armored Car Driver; Police Officer; Professional Hunting Guide; Trapper; Dog Sledder; Homesteader; Truck Driver; General Contractor; Minister; Editor; Writer; Speaker; Restaurateur; Movie Producer; Antique Restoration Specialist; Personal Care Worker; PC Repair Specialist; Computer Instructor; Webmaster and Web Designer. "I write about what I know."

He lives deep in the Pacific Northwest rainforest with his wife, author and editor Rebecca and Buddy Dog, working on his next book.
Visit him at: www.dhbrownbooks.com