Lullaby Town

This is a wonderful installment in the Elvis Cole series. The characterization of Cole's client in spot on while being ridiculous at the same time. Crais is really good at laying people wide open. The damsel in distress this time around is strong but also unforgiving and a little hard to like. But the plot and ensuing violence escalates at a fast pace making this an exhilaraing page turner. Highly recommended.

If you have yet to begin the marvelous Elvis Cole series by Robert Crais, you've got a great treat ahead of you! Few series get off to a stronger start than Mr. Crais did with The Monkey's Raincoat, which won both the Anthony and Macavity awards for best novel while being nominated for the Edgar and Shamus awards as well. Stalking the Angel followed powerfully with classic noir style of the 1930s hard-boiled detective up against evil, but moderated with wise cracks. And the books just keep getting better from there in their characterizations, action, story-telling and excitement.Elvis Cole is the star attraction, the co-owner of The Elvis Cole Detective Agency. He's now 38, ex-Army, served in Vietnam, ex-security guard, has two years of college, learned to be a detective by working under George Feider, a licensed P.I. for over 40 years, does martial arts as enthusiastically as most people do lunch, and is fearless but not foolish. He's out to right the wrongs of the world as much as he is to earn a living. Elvis has a thing for Disney characters (including a Pinocchio clock), kids, cats, scared clients and rapid fire repartee. He drives a Jamaica yellow 1966 Corvette Stingray convertible, and usually carries a .38 Special Dan Wesson. His main foil is partner, Joe Pike, an ex-Marine, ex-cop who moves quietly and mysteriously wearing shades even in the dark . . . when he's not scaring the bad guys with the red arrows tattooed on his deltoids, which are usually bare in sleeveless shirts. Although he's got an office with Elvis, Pike spends all of his time at his gun shop when not routing the bad guys with martial arts while carrying and often using enough firepower to stop a tank. Pike rarely speaks . . . and never smiles. A standing gag is trying to catch Pike with a little twitch of his lips indicating he might possibly be amused. But he's there when you need him. He drives a red Jeep. Robert Parker's Spenser is the obvious character parallel for Elvis, but Spenser and Elvis are different in some ways. Cole is more solitary, usually being alone when he's not working. Cole is very much L.A. and Spenser is ultra blue collar Boston. Cole is martial arts while Spenser boxes and jogs. What they have in common is that they're both out to do the right thing, with money being unimportant. They both love to crack wise as they take on the bad guys. The bad guys hate the "humor" in both cases, and can't do much about it. The dialogue written for each is intensely rich.Mr. Crais has a special talent for making you care about his characters, especially the clients and their kids. You'll want to know what happens to them. With a lot of experience in script writing, Mr. Crais also knows how to set the scene physically and make you feel it. He may be out finest fiction writer about physical movement. He gives you all the clues to picture what's going on . . . but draws back from giving so much detail that you can't use your own imagination

Lullaby Town exemplifies the quality we have come to expect from Robert Crais. I have read previous Crais novels and this book is just as well written as the others. For people who like crime fiction, Lullaby Town is sure to please you. It is well written and keeps you involved the entire way.It was difficult to put the book down. All of Mr. Crais's Elvis Cole novels are well done; this is just another one of his typical works. Cole, the main character, is native to Hollywood. So when he is asked by a famous Hollywood director, Peter Alan Nelsen, to locate Nelson's ex-wife and son, Cole takes it in stride. His search takes him to a small Connecticut town. This makes the novel different than the others in the Elvis Cole series. Elvis is removed from his element, L.A and Hollywood and dumped into a small town. However, just because it is a small town does not mean there is any less wrong doing. By removing Cole from his usual surroundings it reveals more about him. Cole appears to have matured. For those who have been reading all of the Elvis Cole novels it is obvious that Cole has matured. We see things in him that are not as apparent in Los Angeles. Later, Cole is lead to the Big Apple to take on the Mob. For those people who are willing to look past the fact that this is just another typical crime fiction, or detective mystery, this novel is a total hit. You feel as though you are shadowing Elvis Cole as he hunts down the ex-wife of Peter Alan Nelsen. I found myself feeling as though I were part of the plot. The novel is truly riveting and keeps you reading. The duo of Elvis Cole and Joe Pike, Elvis's partner, is guaranteed to keep you interested and curious.