The Monkey's Raincoat

After my recent reading of L.A. Requiem, I had a yen to re-read the first Elvis Cole novel, The Monkey's Raincoat.  For what it is, it's a very good novel.  The Monkey's Raincoat falls squarely into the tradition of the wise-cracking PI with a heart of gold, and Crais pulls it off well.  Elvis is interesting enough, and the story moves along fast enough that you don't quite notice how implausible the ending firefight is.

Crais also at least acknowledges the potential PTSD that will come as an aftermath of the events in the novel, even if he doesn't do much with it.

Overall, a very solid book, and I can see again why I stuck with the series.

L.A. Requiem

I ended up re-reading L.A. Requiem by mistake -- audible had a 2-for-1 sale, and I thought it was a different Elvis Cole novel.  But this book is one that improves on re-reading.  The first time through, I was disappointed that Crais never really gets into what makes Joe Pike, Cole's enigmatic partner, tick.  We get a few scenes from his point of view, but they don't really form a portrait.

This time around, knowing not to expect those things, it's more clear how much Crais expanded his palette for this novel.  His characters are richer, Elvis is more believable (and less snarky). and it's overall one of the best in the series.  This is still light reading, but it's got enough weight that it doesn't just blow away.

Quick addendum -- I've moved on to reading Denise Mina's Slip of the Knife, and the contrast makes it clear how light-weight L.A. Requiem really is.