New Release Books by Robert Crais

Elvis Cole is back in a desperate fight to clear his name in this spectacular thriller from Robert Crais, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Dangerous Man. It’s fire season, and the hills of Los Angeles are burning. When police and fire department personnel rush door to door in a frenzied evacuation effort, they discover a week-old corpse of an apparent suicide. But the gunshot victim is less gruesome than what they find in his lap: a photo album of seven brutally murdered young women—one per year, for seven years. And when the suicide victim is identified as a former suspect in one of the murders, the news turns Elvis Cole’s world upside down. Three years earlier, Lionel Byrd was brought to trial for the murder of a female prostitute named Yvonne Bennett. A taped confession coerced by the police inspired a prominent defense attorney to take Byrd’s case, and Elvis Cole was hired to investigate. It was Cole’s eleventh-hour discovery of an exculpatory videotape that allowed Lionel Byrd to walk free. Elvis was hailed as a hero. But the discovery of the death album in Byrd’s lap now brands Elvis an unwitting accomplice to murder. Captured in photographs that could have only been taken by the murderer, Yvonne Bennett was the fifth of seven victims—two more young women were killed when Byrd walked free. So Elvis can’t help but wonder—did he cause two more young women to lose their lives? Shut out of the investigation by a special LAPD task force determined to close the case, Elvis Cole and Joe Pike desperately fight to uncover the truth about Byrd and his nightmare album of death. Chasing Darkness is a blistering thriller from the bestselling author who sets the standard for intense, powerful crime writing.

A brilliant new crime novel from the beloved, bestselling, and award-winning master of the genre--and Joe Pike''s most perilous case to date. Joe Pike didn''t expect to rescue a woman that day. He went to the bank same as anyone goes to the bank, and returned to his Jeep. So when Isabel Roland, the lonely young teller who helped him, steps out of the bank on her way to lunch, Joe is on hand when two men abduct her. Joe chases them down, and the two men are arrested. But instead of putting the drama to rest, the arrests are only the beginning of the trouble for Joe and Izzy. After posting bail, the two abductors are murdered and Izzy disappears. Pike calls on his friend, Elvis Cole, to help learn the truth. What Elvis uncovers is a twisted family story that involves corporate whistleblowing, huge amounts of cash, the Witness Relocation Program, and a long line of lies. But what of all that did Izzy know? Is she a perpetrator or a victim? And how far will Joe go to find out?

"When a seemingly innocuous bomb call explodes into a charred murder scene, Carol catches the case and embarks on an investigation of a series of explosions that reveal chilling intentions. The bombs are designed expressly to kill bomb technicians. Now, as the one tech who survived the deadliest of blasts, Carol is in for the most perilous fight of her life . . ."--

Introduced in The Monkey''s Raincoat, L.A. private eye Elvis Cole has a smart mouth, a flair for martial arts, a passion for truth, and a borderline sociopath for a partner. When a ruthless hotel magnate hires Cole to find a priceless Japanese manuscript, Cole heads into a nest of notorious Yakuza in the heart of L.A.''s Little Tokyo.

Peter Alan Nelsen is a super successful movie director who is used to getting what he wants. And what he wants is to find the wife and infant child he dumped on the road to fame. It''s the kind of case that Cole could handle in his sleep, except that when Cole actually finds Nelsen''s ex wife, everything takes on nightmarish proportions a nightmare which involves Cole with a nasty New York mob family and a psychokiller who is the son of the godfather. When the unpredictable Nelsen charges in, an explosive situation blows sky high.

In an alleyway in Los Angeles, an old man, clutching faded newspaper clippings and gasping his last words to a cop, lies dying of a gunshot wound. The victim claims to be P.I. Elvis Cole''s long-lost father--a stranger who has always haunted his son. As a teenager, Cole searched desperately for his father. As a man, he faces the frightening possibility that this murder victim was himself a killer. Caught in limbo between a broken love affair and way too much publicity over his last case, Cole at first resists getting involved with this new case. Then it consumes him. Now a stranger''s terrifying secrets--and a hunt for his killer--give Cole a frightening glimpse into his own past. And he can''t tell if it''s forgiveness or a bullet that''s coming next...

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Investigator Elvis Cole and his partner Joe Pike take on the deadliest case of their lives in the new masterpiece of suspense from #1 New York Times-bestselling author Robert Crais. It seemed like a simple case—before the bodies started piling up... When single-mother Devon Connor hires Elvis Cole, it’s because her troubled teenage son Tyson is flashing cash and she’s afraid he’s dealing drugs. But the truth is devastatingly different. With two others, he’s been responsible for a string of high-end burglaries, a crime spree that takes a deadly turn when one of them is murdered and Tyson and his girlfriend disappear. They stole the wrong thing from the wrong man, and, determined to get it back, he has hired two men who are smart and brutal and the best at what they do. To even the odds, Cole brings in his friend Joe Pike, but even the two of them together may be overmatched. The police don’t want them anywhere near the investigation, the teenagers refuse to be found, and the hired killers are leaving a trail of bodies in their wake. Pretty soon, they’ll find out everything they need to know to track the kids down—and then nothing that Elvis or Joe can do may make any difference. It might even get them killed.

Elvis Cole and Joe Pike are joined by Suspect heroes LAPD K-9 Officer Scott James and his German shepherd, Maggie, in this heart-stopping thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Robert Crais. Elvis Cole and Joe Pike keep their promises. Even if it could get them killed... Elvis Cole is hired to find a woman who’s disappeared, a seemingly ordinary case, until he learns the missing woman is an explosives expert and worked for a Defense Department contractor. Meanwhile, LAPD K-9 Officer Scott James and his patrol dog, Maggie, track a fugitive to a house filled with explosives—and a dead body. As the two cases intertwine, they all find themselves up against shadowy arms dealers and corrupt officials, and the very woman they promised to save may be the cause of their own deaths.

When a wealthy entrepreneur is accused of murder in Los Angeles, wisecracking private eye Elvis Cole is hired to prove that the evidence was corrupted and becomes suspicious about the defense attorney''s motivations. Prominent restaurateur Teddy Martin is facing charges in his wife''s brutal murder. But he''s not going down without spending a bundle of cash on his defense. So his hotshot attorney hires P.I. Elvis Cole to find proof that Detective Angela Rossi tampered with the evidence. Detective Rossi needs a way back to the fast track after falling hard during an internal investigation five years ago. But Cole needs to know if she''s desperate enough to falsify the case against Martin in order to secure her own position. As Cole and his partner Joe Pike work their way through a tangle of witnesses and an even greater tangle of media, they begin to suspect that it''s not the police who are behind the setup. The sixth book in the Elvis Cole series, Sunset Express is marked by Robert Crais''s dark humor and edge-of-your-seat suspense.

Life in the California sun suits Elvis Cole -- until the day a fifteen-year-old girl and her two younger siblings walk into his office. Then everything changes. Three years ago, a Seattle family ran for their lives in a hail of bullets. Hired by three kids to find their missing father, Elvis now must pick up the cold pieces of a drama that began that night. What he finds is a sordid tale of high crimes and illicit drugs. As clues to a man''s secret life emerge from the shadows, Elvis knows he''s not just up against ruthless mobsters and some very angry Feds. He''s facing a storm of desperation and conspiracy -- bearing down on three children whose only crime was their survival . . ."

Elvis Cole finds himself deep in the bayou of Louisiana searching for the estranged parents of a television star -- but something deadly is looking for him. L.A. private eye Elvis Cole is hired by popular television star Jodie Taylor to delve into her past and identify the biological parents who gave her up for adoption thirty-six years before. Cole''s assignment is to find out their biological history and report back. It seems all too clear cut. But when he gets to Louisiana and begins his search, he finds that there''s something much darker going on. Other people are also looking for Taylor''s parents, and some are ending up dead. And when Cole realizes that his employer knew more than she was telling, Voodoo River becomes a twisting tale of identity, secrets, and murder.

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Elvis Cole and Joe Pike series comes a thrilling novel featuring LAPD K-9 Officer Scott James and his German shepherd, Maggie. Nine months ago, a shocking assault by unidentified men killed Scott James'' partner, Stephanie, nearly killed him, and left him enraged, ashamed, and ready to explode. He is unfit for duty—until he meets his new partner. Maggie is not doing so well, either. A German shepherd who survived two tours in Afghanistan sniffing explosives before losing her handler, her PTSD is as bad as Scott’s. They are each other’s last chance. And they’re about to investigate the one case no one wants them to touch: identifying the men who murdered Stephanie. But what they find could ultimately break them both. One of Booklist''s 10 Best Crime Fiction Books of the Year

Joe Pike must take on his toughest challenge yet. He must hunt down and rescue . . . Elvis Cole. A nail-biting Cole and Pike novel from the No. 1 NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author. Elvis Cole. All round nice guy. Always the first man to help a stranger in distress. This time, however, he''s paid the ultimate price for trying to be the good Samaritan. Joe Pike. A fierce protector and a dangerous enemy. This time his tough guy exterior will be tested to the limit as he risks everything to save his closest friend. The clock is ticking now that Elvis has been TAKEN.

Private investigators Joe Pike and Elvis Cole get double-crossed in this twisty, gripping New York Times bestseller that will have readers on the edge of their seats. When gangbangers shake down the modest owner of a Los Angeles eatery, Joe Pike intervenes. For all intents and purposes, Pike saved Wilson Smith''s life. But for reasons of their own, Smith and his lovely niece, Dru, are curiously resentful. It''s only when Pike''s feelings for the woman deepen that he and his partner, Elvis Cole, discover that Dru and her uncle are not at all who they seem, and everything Pike has learned about them is a lie. But it''s much more than a deception. It''s a trap. And with every new twist it''s proving to be a killer.

Devastated by the murder of his estranged son on the day of his own release from prison, former bank robber Max Holman launches a renegade investigation and discovers that the chief suspect is being wrongfully targeted by the LAPD. Reissue. 100,000 first printing.

“Elvis Cole provides more fun for the reader than any L.A. private eye to come along in years.”—Joseph Wambaugh WINNER OF THE ANTHONY AND MACAVITY AWARDS FOR BEST NOVEL • NOMINATED FOR THE EDGAR AND SHAMUS AWARDS FOR BEST NOVEL Meet Elvis Cole, L.A. Private Eye. . . . He quotes Jiminy Cricket and carries a .38. He’s a literate, wisecracking Vietnam vet who is determined to never grow up. When quiet Ellen Lang enters Elvis Cole’s Disney-Deco office, she’s lost something very valuable—her husband and her young son. The case seems simple enough, but Elvis isn’t thrilled. Neither is his enigmatic partner and firepower, Joe Pike. Their search down the seamy side of Hollywood’s studio lots and sculptured lawns soon leads them deep into a nasty netherworld of drugs, sex—and murder. Now the case is getting interesting, but it’s also turned ugly. Because everybody, from cops to starlets to crooks, has declared war on Ellen and Elvis. For Ellen, it isn’t Funtown anymore. For Elvis, it’s just a living . . . He hopes. Praise for The Monkey''s Raincoat “Outstanding characters, tight plot, and scintillating prose style. . . . This fast-paced story speeds Elvis Cole to a chilling, heart-stopping ending.”—Mystery Scene “Is Bob Crais good? Put it this way: if they''re taking you out to put you against the firing squad wall, and you want to enjoy your last moments on earth, pass on the last cigarette and ask for an Elvis Cole novel.”—Harlan Ellison “Far and away the most satisfying private eye novel in years. Grab this one—it''s a winner!”—Lawrence Block “The best private eye novel of the year . . . lots of action; bright, crisp dialogue; and sharply drawn characters.”—The Denver Post “Robert B. Parker has some competition on his hands. . . . Elvis Cole is an appealing character and Crais''s style is fresh and funny.”—Sue Grafton “In Crais, a new star has appeared on the private eye scene—a dazzling first novel.”—Tony Hillerman

“A thoughtful and powerful page turner.”—People Elvis Cole is just a detective who can''t say no, especially to a girl in a terrible fix. And Jennifer Sheridan qualifies: Her fiancé, Mark Thurman, is a decorated LA cop with an elite plainclothes unit, but Jennifer''s sure he''s in trouble—the kind of serious trouble that only Elvis Cole can help him out of. Five minutes after his new client leaves his office, Elvis and his partner, the enigmatic Joe Pike, are hip-deep in a deadly situation as they plummet into a world of South Central gangs, corrupt cops, and conspiracies of silence. And before the case is through, every copy in the LAPD will be gunning for a pair of escaped armed-and-dangerous killers—Elvis Cole and Joe Pike. “Elvis Cole provides more fun for the reader than any L.A. private eye to come along in years.”—Joseph Wambaugh “Elvis lives, and he''s on his way to being crowned the king of detectives.”—Booklist

Joe Pike and his partner Elvis Cole must solve the murder of an old friend and his entire family in this gripping thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Robert Crais. When Frank Meyer and his family are executed during a home invasion, the police begin investigating the secret life they''re sure Meyer had. Joe Pike''s on a hunt of his own: to clear his friend''s name, and to punish the people who murdered him. What starts out as a simple trail gets twisted fast by old grudges, double crosses, blood vengeance, and a crime so terrible even Pike and his partner Elvis Cole have no way to measure it.

Elvis Cole has got a problem to solve - and this time it''s personal. Elvis Cole''s girlfriend, Lucy, is out of town, and she has left her young son Ben in Elvis''s care. Elvis and Lucy have had a few problems lately - not least over his job as a private investigator. But at last things seem to be getting better. Then Ben disappears. One minute he''s playing his computer game in Elvis''s house; the next he has vanished. Elvis looks everywhere, but he just can''t find Ben; and neither can Lucy when she arrives. Then Elvis receives a phone call about Ben - and realises that something from his own past has come back to haunt him...