The Monkey's Raincoat

In Robert Crais's debut novel, the Monkey's Raincoat, he introduced us to PI, Elvis Cole. A cool guy with all the looks and a former cop named Joe Pike as his partner. When Ellen Lang came to him to help find her missing husband and son, he took on the case. Elvis investigated a little bit on Morton Lang's background and ran into some unsavory characters. The more deeper he learned about Lang, the more trouble followed him. He would do anything to find her missing son, when Lang turned up dead. Gangsters, Mexican cartels, and their cronies made sure, it didn't happen. Pike and Cole ruffled up the feathers from the police, when they didn't take kindly to threats and use violent force to get their way. A little bit of humor and a tiny dose of romance made this mystery goes a long way for future books in the series a fun read.

This was a great introduction to the Elvis Cole mystery series. I loved how Elvis and Joe Pike were introduced for their first case. I did feel a kind of sorrow for Ellen Lang and her family, when her husband was missing and later found dead. I did feel there was a spark between him and Ellen, him and Janet as well. I loved the backdrop of California and of Hollywood in general. This had an ounce of humor with plenty of fun dramatic reading.

Ready for a good read? Give this one a try!