Customer Reviews: Read 24 more reviews...
 Crais is back! July 18, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Crais is back, in my humble opinion. I will say that I gave up on his work a while back. The stories and their touchy-feely relationships (I have enough of those with Robert B. Parker) with unintersting plots lost my interest...then on a whim at the library I picked up and read the first pages of THE WATCHMAN and was sucked right in and enjoyed it immensley.
I wondered if he would carry this on, and Crais does. In a mirror image of his last book, Pike is a mere guest character and that is fine with me as this allows Crais to flesh out Elvis and does so in a way that does not get mired down in romantic relationships. CHASING DARKNESS opens up well well with enough mystery, suspense, surpirse, etc. to keep the reader going. This was one of those thankful reads with which I slowed down near the conclusion as I did not want it to end. Frankly I had all but given up on this series, and the author after a few unsatisfying books, but after Pike in The Watcman and Cole here in CHASING DARKNESS...I am happy to repeat - Crais is back to form!
One fun thriller--and does Starkey have a crush on Elvis? July 16, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
Crais is a terrific writer, and this book is no exception. Elvis once investigated a man the police were sure had murdered a woman, but Elvis proved he was somewhere else at the time.
Now, years later, new evidence suggests the man did, indeed, commit the murder. What happened? Was Elvis wrong?
Although this is certainly a book about Elvis, Starkey makes a few, brief entrances. Of all the characters he writes about, Starkey is the most sympathetic. I was quite intrigued when Crais hinted she might have a crush on Elvis.
I'm looking forward to the next book, which I hope will develop things further with Starkey.
 Wow! Exciting summer read. July 15, 2008
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
Let me start off by saying I absolutely *hate* books written in first person. I avoid them with a passion. There are very few authors that rise above my boycott of such books\characters and Robert Crais' Elvis Cole is one.
I am one of the few that really did not care for the early Elvis Cole books. The character was a bit too smart-alecky for me, but he has (slightly) matured through the years. And Joe Pike? Please, I'm with Starkey, I'm friends with Cole in order to get close to Pike. ;-)
"Chasing Darkness" started out with a great mystery and, although it had a few rough patches in the middle, it tied everything together in a well thought out mystery with a few curve balls tossed in. Yes, Lucy and, to some extent, Pike were sidelined, but it was good to see Starkey again. Reading about her functioning on the job and her obvious yearning to be back at the bomb squad was a painful but seeing her develop into a character with known demons that can communicate with Elvis and is more than just a passing conversation.
I really enjoyed this book. I got to take away a message that I don't tend to find in most PI/detective mysteries - those working for justice don't always have to take the law into their own hands to see it achieved.
Totally Fun Summer Read July 15, 2008
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
Personally, I was glad to have Elvis back at the center of the story again, and thrilled that Lucy was relegated to nothing more than a single phone call. Joe Pike takes a back door as well, but that didn't bother me this time. I think for any of these mystery writers who have had characters that continue in multiple books it becomes a huge challenge to make the plots fresh while moving the characters forward. I think Crais does it here, and for me this was a page turning fun summer thrill ride.
A Little Tired July 14, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
It's good, but I find myself missing the earlier Elvis Cole, the one who always had a quip or a comeback. Elvis seems a little weaker, a little slower than in earlier books. I also think that the direction Crais has taken the series, toward a more serious tone, paradoxically seems less believable, maybe because the over the top plots are more apparent. Also, nothing happens to advance Elvis' personal life. There is one conversation with Lucy, nothing happens with Starkey and I'm starting to worry that Elvis is going to turn into a simple vehicle to carry a plot.
Still, I liked the plot, I like the characters and I'm looking forward to the next. I would just like to see some emotional resolution.
|
