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The Last Detective by Robert Crais
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The Last Detective (original 2003; edition 2004)

by Robert Crais

Series: Elvis Cole (9)

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
1,6933010,217 (3.8)34
Fiction. Mystery. Suspense. Thriller. HTML:With his acclaimed bestsellers, Hostage and Demolition Angel, Robert Crais drew raves for his unstoppable pacing, edgy characterizations, and cinematic prose. Now, Crais returns to his signature character, Los Angeles private investigator Elvis Cole, in a masterful page-turner that probes the meaning of family and the burdens of the past.

Elvis Cole is back...


Elvis Cole's relationship with attorney Lucy Chenier is strained. When she moved from Louisiana to join Elvis in Los Angeles, she never dreamed that violence would so easily touch her lifeâ??but then the unthinkable happens. While Lucy is away on business and her ten-year-old son, Ben, is staying with Elvis, Ben disappears without a trace. Desperate to believe that the boy has run away, evidence soon mounts to suggest a much darker scenario.

Joining forces with his enigmatic partner, Joe Pike, Elvis frantically searches for Ben with the help of LAPD Detective Carol Starkey, as Lucy's wealthy, oil-industry ex-husband attempts to wrest control of the investigation. Amid the maelstrom of personal conflicts, Elvis and Joe are forced to consider a more troubling leadâ??one indicating that Ben's disappearance is connected to a terrible, long-held secret from Elvis Cole's past.

Venturing deep inside a complex psyche, Crais explores Elvis's need for familyâ??the military that embraced him during a troubled adolescence, his rock-solid partnership with Pike, and his floundering relationship with Lucyâ??as they race the clock in their search for Ben. The Last Detective is Robert Crais' richest, most intense tale of s
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Member:davejohnson
Title:The Last Detective
Authors:Robert Crais
Info:Ballantine Books (2004), Mass Market Paperback, 352 pages
Collections:Your library
Rating:***
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The Last Detective by Robert Crais (2003)

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» See also 34 mentions

English (27)  Spanish (3)  All languages (30)
Showing 1-5 of 27 (next | show all)
Fast read. Typical Crais. Bit of focus on Pike's life as separate from Elvis'... the story was a bit... similar... I don't think you'll find any surprises, but it is a quick light read for the beach. ( )
  crazybatcow | Sep 19, 2023 |
Excellent read! Just wish I didn't skip 8 and go straight to 9, oops! Really liked the look back at Elvis's younger years, and there were some really emotional moments in the book. Just wish Elvis and Lucy didn't end up the way they did but maybe after I read 8 and go back to 10 I'll find out more. Love this series! ( )
  MrMet | Apr 28, 2023 |
I didn't really like this one as much as most of the previous books in this series, perhaps because it simply didn't meet my expectations for an Elvis Cole mystery. The humor was not as good, for one thing. And Joe Pike, my infallible hero, who always saves the day when fighting is required, was not infallible. He seemed to be second-best, and unfortunately, the villain was first. Although, to his credit, Joe did seem to be recovering from a fight with a big bad bear.

And although Elvis did a pretty good job as the world's greatest detective, he seemed a bit desperate and almost lost much of the time. But he too had his problems to deal with. Not only was his girlfriend's son, Ben, missing while staying at his house, but the boy's father blamed Elvis, brought up some bad stuff from his early background that Elvis had neglected to tell his girlfriend that made Elvis look like someone not qualified to care for their son. And the kidnappers seemed to be blaming Elvis due to something he did in the past. I felt sorry for him, but still, he's supposed to be on top of everything, not some pathetic loser. I guess that's why his humor just wasn't up to snuff.

The story was pretty interesting, though, maybe more so than many others. The ending was a bit sad if you're following the ongoing romance, but that's not so important to his real fans.

If this had been my first Elvis Cole book, I think I might have liked it a lot more. Still, a very good read. ( )
  MartyFried | Oct 9, 2022 |
Another great book on a great series. ( )
  ikeman100 | Dec 27, 2021 |
Elvis Cole has been taking care of his girlfriend Lucy's 10-year old son Ben for a couple of days while she has been out of town. The same afternoon that Lucy is coming back, Ben disappears. We soon find out that he was kidnapped while playing in the small canyon behind the house.

The Los Angeles police are called in, but in parallel Elvis Cole and his partner Joe Pike conduct an investigation of their own. There are almost no leads at all, but Elvis and Joe go to work on what little they have. To complicate things further, Lucy's wealthy ex-husband Richard flies in with investigators of his own.

This is a real page-turner novel, with good detective work by Elvis and Joe. A kidnapping case makes for a good thriller, and the sense of urgency here is heightened by the chapter titles, each stating the hours and minutes that Ben has been missing for.

This was the first novel by Robert Crais that I've read, and it left me wanting to read more by him.

As it happens, this book has a lot of similarities with The Hard Way by Lee Child, which I read not long ago. Both books are kidnapping dramas, featuring ex-military men as the investigators (and both of them feature atrocities committed in Africa). In both of them, the protagonists track the kidnappers by working the few clues available - something that in my mind is done very well in both books. And they both feature action-packed final show-downs (they wouldn't be thrillers if they didn't).

I liked both of them, but with a slight edge for THE HARD WAY. So if you liked this one, check out THE HARD WAY by Lee Child as well. ( )
  Henrik_Warne | Dec 13, 2020 |
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» Add other authors (3 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Robert Craisprimary authorall editionscalculated
Daniels, JamesNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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who maintained his post under
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The Church of Pike Angoon, Alaska
The cold Alaskan water pulled at the fishing boats that lined the dock, the boats straining against their moorings to run free with the tide.
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Fiction. Mystery. Suspense. Thriller. HTML:With his acclaimed bestsellers, Hostage and Demolition Angel, Robert Crais drew raves for his unstoppable pacing, edgy characterizations, and cinematic prose. Now, Crais returns to his signature character, Los Angeles private investigator Elvis Cole, in a masterful page-turner that probes the meaning of family and the burdens of the past.

Elvis Cole is back...


Elvis Cole's relationship with attorney Lucy Chenier is strained. When she moved from Louisiana to join Elvis in Los Angeles, she never dreamed that violence would so easily touch her lifeâ??but then the unthinkable happens. While Lucy is away on business and her ten-year-old son, Ben, is staying with Elvis, Ben disappears without a trace. Desperate to believe that the boy has run away, evidence soon mounts to suggest a much darker scenario.

Joining forces with his enigmatic partner, Joe Pike, Elvis frantically searches for Ben with the help of LAPD Detective Carol Starkey, as Lucy's wealthy, oil-industry ex-husband attempts to wrest control of the investigation. Amid the maelstrom of personal conflicts, Elvis and Joe are forced to consider a more troubling leadâ??one indicating that Ben's disappearance is connected to a terrible, long-held secret from Elvis Cole's past.

Venturing deep inside a complex psyche, Crais explores Elvis's need for familyâ??the military that embraced him during a troubled adolescence, his rock-solid partnership with Pike, and his floundering relationship with Lucyâ??as they race the clock in their search for Ben. The Last Detective is Robert Crais' richest, most intense tale of s

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