Stalking the Angel: An Elvis Cole and Joe Pike Novel

Continued character development of both Elvis and Joe. Well written. Holds your interest. Another thriller by Robert Crais. Thank you

So, a cool blonde walks into the office of a sarcastic, wise-cracking private eye in Los Angeles and finds him upside down, at his ease, standing on his head. And we're off on another noir adventure with Elvis Cole, the "world's greatest detective" and his partner, Joe Pike, who never smiles, never takes his sunglasses off even at night, is a stone-cold killer and probable psychopath.Also, let us not forget Elvis' beer-drinking cat and his yellow Corvette and his office that is decorated with Disneyland collectibles. Quirky enough for you?That's our basic cast of characters. What are they up to in Stalking the Angel? Well, that blonde who walked into Elvis' office is there, with her boss, to hire Elvis to find an ancient Japanese text that has gone missing. The book was being kept in the businessman's home safe, but it did not belong to him. It was on loan to him from some of his Japanese contacts. He is understandably anxious to get it back.Cole, somewhat reluctantly because he doesn't like the man, agrees to take on the job and begins his investigation. He meets the businessman's family which consists of a wife, who is a drunkard and who signals that she is oh-so-available to Elvis, and their teenage daughter, who at first meeting appears to be something of a pathetic nonentity.Cole's investigation leads him deep into the Japanese subculture of Los Angeles where he encounters the Japanese mafia, the yakuza. He suspects that this criminal organization is somehow involved in the disappearance of the ancient book, but before he can pursue this thread very far, things start getting extremely complicated.The teenage daughter disappears, apparently having been kidnapped, and the family is warned not to notify the police. Meanwhile, the businessman fires Elvis, since he was supposed to be providing protection for the family and the girl disappeared on his watch. Strangely though, neither of the parents seem all that concerned about her disappearance. At least not concerned enough to actually change their plans.Elvis is mortified about the girl's disappearance and determined to get her back, whether or not he gets paid for it.The practical reader wonders how Elvis Cole will ever make a living as a private detective because he seems to specialize in pissing off his employers and getting fired! Moreover, he never has a straight conversation with anyone. His responses are always sarcastic wisecracks and, for some reason, that seems to rub his employers the wrong way. Truth to tell, it kind of rubbed me the wrong way after a while as well. The character at times seemed to be straining for that sarcastic comeback insult.Cole, undeniably, has some interesting characteristics. He is tough, honest, true to his own moral code, and able to view the world, in all its ambiguity and hypocrisy, with clear eyes. He's also cynical and uses humor to distance himself from uncomfortable emotions. He often makes surprisingly insightful and even poetic observations of his world. He is, in short, a complicated human being. Robert Crais has done a good job of writing him into existence and making us care about him.The pattern of these books seems to be that we start with a seemingly simple investigation that gets more and more complicated as it proceeds and the body count rises, with the climax being a showdown at the O.K. Corral type ending with Cole and Joe Pike facing down the bad guys and basically blowing them all away. This one is even a bit more intricate than that, in that we are left with questions as to what really is the truth of what has happened to the teenage daughter. As she tells Cole, "I'm such a liar."So, what is the truth? We are left to wonder.

To have the detective to go through so much after he was fired isn’t realistic and seemed to me to be a real stretch

The Elvis Cole series written by Robert Crais is turning out to be one of those multi-volume series where I'm going to want to read each book. This is the second in the series so now I've read three of the books and think I understand the characters pretty well. I especially liked having Joe Pike present during so much of this novel. He is such an enigmatic character when compared to the ebullient nature of Elvis Cole and the two opposite characters work very well together. Robert Crais did a very good job of filling this novel with characters who had depth and dimension. As seems to be the case in these novels, there is a lot of driving around the streets of LA and it's surroundings with detailed descriptions of where everything is located. Maybe a little bit on the long winded side for me, but at least I get a good feel for the neighborhoods and countryside.Perhaps what intrigued me most about this plot is that the reader is left not quite sure of why certain things happened. Not that the threads of the plot were not finished up, that's not what I mean. The motivation and truth of why something happened, that's what you are unsure of. And, quite frankly, I think it makes for a much better book because it was left that way. Cole starts off looking for an extremely valuable Japanese book, but the case rapidly moves into other areas because what he encounters is a completely dysfunctional family, a totally self-absorbed billionaire, a kidnapping and a murder. And questions, many, many questions.This second book in the series follows along in the same direction as the others I've read and I will continue to work my way through the Robert Crais canon. And I'm sincerely looking forward to it.

Love this author great shape

Stalking the Angel is book 2 in the Elvis Cole/Joe Pike series. It was first published in 1989 so it is a bit dated in some ways - their investigative techniques and sexist attitudes are at the top of the list. But if you like hard boiled PIs that are smart talking and always looking for trouble you’ve found the right series. In this book Elvis is hired to find a rare ancient Japanese text. That was the tip of the iceberg as the story takes several twists and turns along the way. I love this series and will continue to read them. This one was not my favorite but still a fun read.

I love this combination of people and circumstances. I love the detail to food. I’m pretty sure I would want to marry Joe Pike and be close friends with Elvis. Best two characters EVER

It's a dark who-dunnit in the style of 1940s-1950s film noir. It's a taut page-turner with very little fluff and rapid movement from scene to scene. I was a bit disappointed at the end thinking that perhaps it was too taut. But I still liked it.

At first I did not assume that I would enjoy this author writing about a Private Detective, but thought I would give it a try and I am pleased that I did.I enjoyed his style, his jokes, the good plot and the immense detail which he gives concerning his subject. I still have reservation about his use of guns and I am even more pleased that guns are not such a great part of normal life in the UK.

Not *quite* as good as book one, or the later ones. I guess the author was still finding himself and the characters a bit. On the plus side, it's not quite as formulaic as the other two books I've read. As usual from this author, the occasional belly-laugh, and some great cultural observations.

I went straight from reading the first Cole & Pike novel onto the second. I’m now on number seven with no breaks in between. Cole & Pike have exactly the right balance of thriller coupled with comedy; I’ll probably read all of them.

Crais delivers the works again. A new book by him usually results in my cancelling other things, switching off the tv and settling down with said book until I've read it. This one was no exception

The second in the Elvis Cole & Joe Pike series. I really enjoyed this book. Much easier to get into than the first in the series. If you found the first a bit slow to get going, don't give up. Would recommend.