A more developed version of this appears on my blog, Irresponsible Reader, as part of my Reread Project.★ ★ ★ 1/2There are two stories being told by Crais in this book -- yes, interwoven and interdependent -- but two stories. The fun one involves Lucy Chenier coming out to LA for work and to see Elvis. She brings along her son to make it a little family vacation. When Elvis gets the news, he becomes a different person than we've seen before -- or at least a more intense version of something we saw in Voodoo River, but that's about it. He's a lovestruck fool -- very clearly -- and Crais does a great job of portraying him that way. The story focusing on Elvis' professional life isn't nearly as fun, heartwarming or cute. Jonathan Green -- high-profile attorney in the F. Lee Bailey, Robert Shapiro, Johnnie Cochran, etc. mold -- and his team of associates (and a camera crew), hire Elvis to help with the defense in the trial of Teddy Martin. Teddy Martin's a celebrity restaurateur accused of the brutal murder of his wife -- a pretty open and shut case, it seems. But Green's people are getting tips like crazy and they need additional investigators to comb through them. One of the more promising tips involves allegations of one of the detectives in the case planting evidence in previous cases. Elvis agrees to investigate Det. Angela Rossi and track down other tips, but insists he'll report the truth, not what will necessarily help the case -- Green agrees to this, insisting that's all he wants. Elvis gets to work and finds some quick results. But it's not too long before he sees a stark discontinuity between what he finds ot about Rossi and other tips and how that information is being used by the defense. Sunset Express is hindered by having one of those plots that people who read (or watch) a lot of detective novels will realize is problematic in a way the characters can't. Everything in Elvis' case moves along too smoothly. Now, in Lullaby Town and Voodoo River, for example, his investigation goes pretty smoothly, but you can tell that the plot complications are going to come from what happens as a result of his work. Here, you can tell there's something wrong with the answers he's finding. Yet, Elvis doesn't have our perspective, he can't tell he's getting yanked around. It's frustrating, just sitting around waiting for things to dawn on him so he can catch up to us.Of course, Rossi knows Joe. They used to work together back when Joe was on the force, and as of this point in the series, she is the member of the LAPD that doesn't hate Joe. For more reasons than that, Joe respects her (although that can't hurt), so when things start to go off the rails for her, Joe insists that his partner step up and clear her name. Joe's not much help on the investigation front, but in the gun packing (and more), fast driving, and personal intensity departments? He's aces. As Free Fall featured Elvis' reaction to/stance/meditation on L.A.'s racial divide and police corruption, this gives us his take on the manipulation of the legal system (and a healthy amount of support for the police -- particularly in light of Free Fall). Elvis has understood the difference between the legal system and justice, and has worked outside (if not at odds with) the system before in the pursuit of justice. But this time, he was seeking justice -- thought he'd helped various people find it -- only to find his work, his self, his name used as a tool to twist the system into preventing justice being carried out. His ultimate solution to this problem is very effective, and would likely be far more effective today than it was 18(!!) years ago. Well done, Mr. Cole.
Millionaire restauranteur Teddy Martin is charged with his wife's murder and hires celebrity attorney Jonathan Green, who hires Elvis Cole to prove an LAPD detective planted evidence. Will Elvis uncover more than he bargained for?Robert Crais's Elvis Cole series is slowly climbing the ranks of my favorite detective series. This one, a take off on the O.J. Simpson case, explores the legal system and how it is inherently full of shit.The supporting cast is an interesting bunch, from the slimey lawyers like Green and Truly, to Kerris, to lowlifes like James Lester, to cops like Angela Rossi and Dan Tomsic. Anglea in particular is bad ass and I hope Crais uses her again later in the series. I like Elvis's relationship with Lucy and Ben quite a bit, even though he fell for her a little too quickly. I'm hoping their relationship actually goes somewhere and she doesn't Susan Silverman the rest of the series for me.Elvis and Joe Pike do what they do best: wander around, pissing people off, until the shooting starts. It's a little formulaic but I like how Crais saves most of the action for the end.Any complaints? Not really. Crais is a good mystery writer and this is another worthwhile entry in the Elvis Cole series.
What do You think about Sunset Express (2005)?
Great read, showing the emotional sides of Elvis and Joe, and introducing detective Rossi. I read this out of order since it was not released on Kindle until recently. Publishers weekly review states: "The public's readiness to believe the worst of its police forces is an undercurrent in the latest case (after Voodoo River) for Southern California PI Elvis Cole. Beginning with the discovery of a corpse off Mulholland Drive in suburban L.A., the plot uncovers high-level venality, advances the romance of the ever-engaging Cole with Louisiana lawyer Lucy Chenier and reveals some of the past of Joe Pike, Cole's enigmatic, seriously strange sidekick. Soon after the body of Susan Martin is found in a garbage bag, Detective Angela Rossi discovers evidence that implicates the victim's husband, wealthy mover and shaker Teddy Martin. Unfortunately, Rossi is under a cloud, having been accused of falsifying evidence in a previous case. Martin's attorney, Jonathan Green, considered one of the country's top five criminal defense attorneys, hires Cole after arriving at his office with a video and sound crew, to investigate Rossi. Though Cole's investigation clears Rossi, Green's subsequent announcement that Cole has proven her guilt, puts the PI at odds with the LAPD, forces him to examine Green's motives in the case and, finally, puts him on a course to correct the series of wrongs in the case that have prompted Lucy to observe: "The law is not about justice."
—Jschmidtu
Crais did it again! Love the stories, the settings, the characters. We also got to see the development between Elvis and Lucille this go round which is great. He deserves to be happy. Another crazy LA tale of mayhem murder and what Private Investigators do to bring on their own kind of justice. In Crais' stories the good cops prevail, somewhat. The frustrating side of this story shows how sexist the police system is for women with ambition, and how being good at your job can sometimes earn you a few enemies, especially if you're better than the boys. This is true to life thought isn't it? We see if everyday when a man is ambitious he's a shark or a wunderkind when it's a woman she's a bitch or she has to be cutting corners or not above board. She can't just be really good at her job. We see the cross side too how lawyers manipulate the system, the media, into swinging the scrutiny in the direction they want. I think the reason I like Crais' writing is it's true to life. There aren't always happy endings and the outcomes are sometimes as frustrating as our daily lives can be. There are glimmers of hop in there and you leave knowing that Cole will do his damnedest to set things straight when he can. He's a modern day Knight fighting for justice and what's right.
—Heather Young
This was my first Crais novel. I started here because I looked like at this point Crais had settled in to the series hand had defined his characters. However, I think I enjoyed the main character more than I actually did the book. There was just too much side story and side comments that distracted from the flow. I thought the whole plot was a little outlandish which made Cole seem totally naïve. Not sure if the ending was intended as a leader into the next book or it just was flat, but in either case, it was far less than satisfying.
—GymGuy
