Stalking the Angel
An Elvis Cole and Joe Pike Novel
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4.1 • 730 Ratings
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- $6.99
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- $6.99
Publisher Description
Meet Elvis Cole, L.A. private eye . . . he quotes Jiminy Cricket and carries a .38. He’s a literate, wisecreacking Vietnam vet who is determined never to grow up.
The blonde who walked into Cole’s office was the bestlooking woman he’d seen in weeks. The only thing that kept her from rating a perfect “10” was the briefcase on one arm and the uptight hotel magnate on the other. Bradley Warren had lost something very valuable—something that belonged to someone else: a rare thirteenth-century Japanese manuscript called the Hagakure.
Just about all Cole knew about Japanese culture he’d learned from reading Shogun, but he knew a lot about crooks—and what he didn’t know his sociopathic sidekick, Joe Pike, did. Together their search begins in L.A.’s Little Tokyo and the nest of notorious Japanese mafia, the yakuza, and leads to a white-knuckled adventure filled with madness, murder, sexual obsession, and a stunning double-whammy ending. For Elvis Cole, it’s just another day’s work.
Praise for Stalking the Angel
“Stalking the Angel is a righteous California book: intelligent, perceptive, hard, clean.”—James Ellroy
“Out on the West Coast, where private eyes thrive like avocado trees, Robert Crais has created an interesting and amusing hero in Elvis Cole.”—The Wall Street Journal
“Devotees of the rock ‘em, sock ‘em school should find [Stalking the Angel] tasty.”—The San Diego Union
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Undoubtedly prompted by the success of recent Crais bestsellers (Demolition Angel; Hostage), his audio publishers have gone back to the second book in his increasingly popular Elvis Cole series, originally published in 1989, for a lively and colorful outing that manages to capture much of the author's early innocence and freshness. Stuart brings the quirky Cole to life quickly, combining his strengths (tenacity, incorruptibility, frequent flashes of humor) with his oddities (his love of the Disney artifacts that litter his office) to make a credible whole person. Other characters emerge with equal vocal skill: the enigmatic Joe Pike, Cole's muscular sidekick; a glowering Los Angeles property developer, his alcohol-impaired wife and their fragile adolescent daughter, who winds up being kidnapped by Japanese gangsters. Cole, hired to find a rare Japanese manuscript, discovers that the teenager's fate is very important to him personally forging a bond between the detective and children in peril that has become a hallmark of the series. For those who have been fans of Elvis since book one, The Monkey's Raincoat, it's good to have his early adventures around to listen to. For more recent Crais converts, this could prove an eye-opening revelation of how Cole got to be who he is. Based on the Bantam mass market.
Customer Reviews
Pretty Good Read
Definitely worth the time.
Enjoyed this One!
I enjoyed this 2nd Elvis Cole book, and am looking forward to the rest of the series. I like the humor in the books, and Elvis' sarcastic statements and thoughts. It was good to see Joe Pike as well. The book had an engaging storyline, and it kept me guessing.
Elvis Cole is hired to find an important Japanese book that has been stolen. As he tries to find it, he comes up against organized Japanese crime, as well as some surprises.
I really like Elvis, and I felt badly for him in this book. He tried so terribly hard to do the right thing for Mimi, but his efforts didn't turn out like he had planned. It was tough to see him wondering if he'd done the right thing. Great characters and an interesting storyline made this an enjoyable addition to the series.
Stalking ...
I couldn't put it down. Loved the witty writing.