Review: The Monkey's Raincoat - Robert Crais

I remember when THE MONKEY’S RAINCOAT was published to great reviews, followed by more critically acclaimed novels featuring Los Angeles private detectives Elvis Cole and Joe Pike. But even though I read and really enjoyed several stand-alones by author Robert Crais, I never get around to reading any of this series. Until now. Several friends recommended it to me, so I figured it was finally time to give it a try.

So naturally, I read the first book, published as a paperback original by Bantam in 1987. For comparison purposes, me reading THE MONKEY’S RAINCOAT now is the same as me reading THE MALTESE FALCON in 1969, although THE MONKEY’S RAINCOAT feels a lot more contemporary until you start noticing that there aren’t any computers and Elvis Cole has to find a phone booth when he’s away from his office or home and has to make a call.

Elvis is the narrator of this yarn. He owns a private detective agency in partnership with the violent, enigmatic mercenary Joe Pike, who also owns a gun shop. Elvis is hired to find a missing talent agent by the man’s wife, and that’s the start of a case that spirals into murder, kidnapping, and drug dealing.

That’s really are there is to say about the plot, because there’s nothing even resembling a twist in this novel. It’s straight ahead, about as linear as a mystery novel can get and still be considered a mystery. The characters are all good, though. Elvis is a likable narrator with a talent for banter, and Pike is particularly intriguing. The writing is fast-paced and paints a good portrait of Hollywood in the Eighties. The case comes to a satisfying conclusion.

But something still seemed lacking to me. There are a few echoes of Raymond Chandler, but the Robert B. Parker influence is much heavier and I’ve seen other readers refer to the first several books in this series as Spenser in Hollywood. That’s a fairly apt description. But I’ve also been assured that the series develops into something more than that. Crais is a talented writer and I’m certainly willing to read more by him. After my mixed reaction to this one, I may wait a little while to do it.