The Monkey's Raincoat

An Elvis Cole and Joe Pike Novel, Book 1

By: Robert Crais

Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor

Length: 8 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

"Elvis Cole provides more fun for the reader than any L.A. private eye to come along in years."--Joseph Wambaugh

WINNER OF THE ANTHONY AND MACAVITY AWARDS FOR BEST NOVEL • NOMINATED FOR THE EDGAR AND SHAMUS AWARDS FOR BEST NOVEL

Meet Elvis Cole, L.A. private eye....

He quotes Jiminy Cricket and carries a .38. He's a literate, wisecracking Vietnam vet who is determined never to grow up.

Praise for The Monkey's Raincoat

"Outstanding characters, tight plot, and scintillating prose style.... This fast-paced story speeds Elvis Cole to a chilling, heart-stopping ending."--Mystery Scene

"Is Bob Crais good? Put it this way: if they're taking you out to put you against the firing squad wall, and you want to enjoy your last moments on earth, pass on the last cigarette and ask for an Elvis Cole novel."--Harlan Ellison

"Far and away the most satisfying private eye novel in years. Grab this one - it's a winner!"--Lawrence Block

"The best private eye novel of the year...lots of action; bright, crisp dialogue; and sharply drawn characters."--The Denver Post

"Robert B. Parker has some competition on his hands.... Elvis Cole is an appealing character and Crais's style is fresh and funny.--Sue Grafton

"In Crais, a new star has appeared on the private eye scene - a dazzling first novel.--Tony Hillerman

©2008 Robert Crais (P)2008 Brilliance Audio

Critic reviews

"Robert B. Parker has some competition on his hands.... Elvis Cole is an appealing character and Crais' style is fresh and funny."--Sue Grafton

"Is Bob Crais good? Put it this way: if they're taking you out to put you against the firing squad wall, and you want to enjoy your last moments on earth, pass on the last cigarette and ask for an Elvis Cole novel."--Harlan Ellison

Disappointed

Trying to be too cute thru most of the story. I believe there was a lot of extraneous writing here. Disappointed.

Good book but characters were shallow.

Too many characters and didn’t get to know any very well. They were kind of surface people.

Funny, serious, satire, laugh out loud times overall just a great entertaining book.

I’m in mistake and put a review in the title however I loved all the characters. I love their distain for the powers that be showing in the underground. I felt it made fun of a lot of what’s happening in the world today. Sad but true. And this was written in 87.

2 ½ stars. My mind kept wandering.

I wasn’t pulled in.

Told in 1st person by private investigator Elvis Cole. 1st person can work, but in this book I felt like I was missing things. A boy is kidnaped, a man is killed, a woman is kidnaped. The story would be better if I’d seen those things happening. Instead, Elvis is hired to find a guy. He talks to people. He learns this happened and that happened. A few times Elvis fights or shoots someone. I didn’t care about things. I wanted to know more about the boy, but it seemed that everything about him was off stage - happening elsewhere. I didn’t feel the boy’s fears due to first person Elvis. 1st person would work better if Elvis had fears, but he didn’t. The only suspense was when a guy bigger than Elvis was threatening or fighting Elvis.

There were two sex scenes that felt thrown in - no romance or sexual feeling. Elvis is talking to a woman, all of a sudden they have sex, and then Elvis leaves. The sex is referred to with no details.

NARRATOR:
I have mixed feelings about the narrator. It sounded like he was talking through a piece of cloth over the microphone. I had to keep the volume higher than normal to hear him. I think it might be his voice - a soft low sound. His accent and acting were fine.

Genre: PI Mystery Suspense

THIS IS IT

THIS IS THE ONE TO TURN TO WHEN ROBERT PARKER IS BUSY DOING THINGS OTHER THAN SPENSER AND HAWK. CRAIS BRINGS THAT SAME FEEL OF MALE BONDING TO THE MYSTERY STORY WITH HIS CHARACTERS OF ELVIS COLE AND JOE PIKE. HELL, THEY MAY EVEN BE A MORE LETHAL PAIRING THAN HAWK AND SPENSER. THE STORY CARRIES ALL THE ACTION, HUMOR, AND SELF DEPRECATING ASIDES THAT FANS OF THE PRIVATE EYE STORY HAVE COME TO EXPECT. WHICH ISN'T TO SAY THAT CRAIS IS DOING AN IMMITATION, BECAUSE HE IS NOT. HE HAS A STYLE AND VOICE THAT IS ALL HIS OWN. AND PATRICK LAWLOR ELEVATES THE NARRATIVE WITH HIS UNIQUE READING. HIS VOICE IS PERFECTLY SUITED TO THE MATERIAL. HE KNOWS WHEN TO CAMP IT UP FOR THE HUMOROUS ASIDES, AND WHEN TO KEEP IT REAL FOR THE TENDER MOMENTS. THIS ONE'S A CONTENDER FOR TOP TEN LISTENS OF THE YEAR.

I enjoyed the story very much. Mr. Lawlow is good.

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

Yes, a good story, it kept my interest. Wanted to find out more about Pike, his strange partner and the first book is a good introduction to him.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Monkey's Raincoat?

Description of Pike. Also, towards the end when Elvis and Pike were searching for the boy and avoiding being killed and finally capturing the bad guys.

What does Patrick G. Lawlor bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He reads it well so that it is understandable and easy to follow. When he spoke for a female character, I had no problem with knowing who was speaking. I guess the difference between reading the book and hearing it is that I can go out walking and listen to it or listen at night when I don't want to read. I had no problem listening to Patrick G. Lawlor and I could combine listening to the story with exercise.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

no, I like to look forward to hearing more of the story another time.

Any additional comments?

Thank you for being a reliable company for which to download books. I like your selections even through I've read several of the books you offer.

Fine great wonderful happy great great fine great great great fine better better awesome

Fine fines are not always in your car or not your car and the other stuff you have a great fine great job and you have to be blessed with you love love you happy new

poor sound quality

sound went from too loud when Elvis is "speaking " to so low i couldn't hear what was read. very annoying

fantastic book

1st few chapters audio were kind of muffled and could have been better but vreat story

love Robert Crais, didn't like the narrator

I've read many of the Elvis Cole/Joe Pike books. They're great. This is my first audiobook from Audible. When you read, your mind fills in what you don't see and hear. I expected listening to an audiobook to be just a little closer to watching a movie, because your mind has to fill in a bit less. In this case, I had to fill in *more*, because I had to imagine what a real Elvis Cole would sound like, instead of the wimpy voice of this narrator. I'll skip book 2, to the third audiobook in the series, just to try a different narrator.