Sunday, December 21, 2008

The Monkey's Raincoat

The Monkey's Raincoat by Robert Crais is the first in the Elvis Cole series of detective novels. This book won 2 awards in 1988:

Anthony Award for best paperback original
Macavity Award for best first mystery

It's on the list of 100 Favorite Mysteries of the Century as selected by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association.

from the inside of the book:
When quiet Ellen Lang enters Elvis Cole's Disney-Deco office, she's lost something very valuable - her husband and 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 and 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.

I liked it for the most part. It was an enjoyable read, and I got a kick out of the characters.

Here's a piece of music the book specifically mentions Cole listening to:

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