L.A. Requiem

By: Robert Crais

Narrated by: Ron McLarty

Length: 13 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's summary

Edgar Award nominee Robert Crais’ L.A. Requiem is a gritty, harrowing look into the minds of a serial killer and the men determined to stop him. Elvis Cole and former cop Joe Pike have been partners in a detective agency for 12 years. After an ex-girlfriend of Pike’s disappears, the girl’s father asks them to help the police with the search. When the missing persons case turns into a hunt for a killer who has been stalking victims in Los Angeles, Cole and Pike find themselves battling both a hostile police department and a madman. Ron McLarty’s masterful narration subtly builds a sense of Cole’s and Pike’s growing desperation to find some link between the victims as the body count continues to grow.

©1999 Robert Crais (P)2000 Recorded Books, LLC

Gritty and smooth

Would you listen to L.A. Requiem again? Why?

I would listen again and will listen to other books by this author. The story is gritty but smoothly written and I wanted to find out more about the plot and the characters in the book.

What other book might you compare L.A. Requiem to and why?

The writing in this book is similar to Michael Connelly in his Harry Bosch series. Harry and Elvis Cole talk about LA and life in general spewing their own brand of philosophy.

Elvis and Joe

The story and characters are great. The recording seemed to go in and out and was not as well recorded by the company that creates the recording. I think my other problem with the recording is that Ron McLarty does not do Elvis as well as others have done.

GREAT narrator

What does Ron McLarty bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Ron McLarty is about the best narrator I've listened to. Just a great voice & delivery. Made a huge difference in the listening experience

Any additional comments?

Whispersync is sketchy at best

Held my interest throughout

I found this to be a good, well-written story. It would have earned five stars had it not been for the switching between first person and third person. I wish the author had better navigated this transition. The character development was excellent. Samantha was a bit of a stretch but I was able to picture her perfectly (in my mind) from the author's characterization of her. This is the only book in the series I have listened to but I think both Elvis and Pike are interesting characters as is "Pants." Bought this on sale and might buy another in the series with a credit. A good 13-hour listen.

Great story, all the way through

Danger of loss is the carrying theme here. The story grabs you from the stage and keeps driving nonstop until conclusion. Well narrated by an absolute pro.
Highly recommended !!

Equal to Bosch and Davenport

It surprises me that Crais' name does not get linked with Connolly and Sandford more often. He certainly belongs in that company and, in fact, one of my fantasies is to find out what would happen if Elvis and Harry Bosch got together on a case.
This is definitely one of the very best of the Cole/Pike books and is eminently worth your time and credit. Characters and plot are beautifully balanced, and the LA setting is vivid and evocative. if you have not read any Crais, this would not be a bad place to start even though it is well along in the sequence. It does not substantially spoil any previous cases and actually sheds some very interesting light on the underpinnings of the whole series. I thoroughly enjoyed it far beyond the satisfaction of the well designed plot which moved the book along at a satisfying pace. I tried to find a reason to mark it down to four stars but could not. Do yourself a favor and give it a listen.

Crais is one of the Best...

characters..humor..storyline..and fluidity made this as enjoyable as i have listened to in a long time..i could see each character, and mcLarty sounded as i expected Elvis to sound..i could expound further but i urge you to listen and let your imagination get a work out..enjoy...

Great backround on Joe Pike

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

This book answered many questions about Pike's history and the strong bond between Elvis and him. The performance by Ron McLarty could not have been better.

Engaging

Great story, ha rd to put down. Twists and turns I didn't see coming!
Found myself reading when I should have been working or sleeping.
A little disappointed as I was expecting a sequel. It didn't seem quite finished.......but well worth the read. Really enjoy Ron McLarty narration .

Revenge by Murder

Elvis Cole and Joe Pike were Private Investigators. Pike used to date a woman, Karen. Her father and Pike had become very good friends. Karen went missing and her father called Pike after a couple of day. Cole was also known and well liked by Karen's father.

Karen's body was found dead by two men while they were taking a walk. The Homicide Division of the LAPD were now in charge. However, Cole and Pike were retained, per Karen's father's request. This being the outcome was due to the fact that the father of Karen was quite an influential man with the LAPD.

The book was a good mystery. The process of finding the killer was exciting. There was an unknown factor that the LAPD did not want the public to know. Cole nor Pike were given a warm welcome to the task force by the LAPD for this reason. Therefore, they had to do a lot of their own investigation without their assistance. However, Cole and a female member of the Homicide Division did eventually, after much effort from Elvis, consent to help. He's quite the romantic.

I gave the narrator, Ron McLarty, only three stars because his interpretation of the female voice was not good. However, this did not cause me not to want to listen.

The characters were well developed. The novel was exciting and I wanted to continue because it held my interest. The story had twists and turns that kept me quite interested. I finished the book in two days.

L.A. Requiem was an easy listen and I would encourage that you purchase the book.