I only discovered author Robert Crais a few years ago, and I'm still catching up on some of his oeuvre, which is why my husband gave me a copy of an older Elvis Cole/Joe Pike mystery, Stalking the Angel (#671), originally published in 1989. I had to look up the publication date when Elvis gets ready to go clubbing for a case he's working on, and thinks in his outfit he might be mistaken for Donald Trump! Yes, that was a while back and a few of the other details in the book make you realize just how much everyday life in America has changed since then. Pay phones! In the rest room!!! One thing that hasn't changed, though, is the quality of the narrative.
A rare and culturally significant antique Japanese manuscript has been stolen from a wealthy investment broker's home safe while on loan from an influential Japanese financial partner. The police aren't acting fast enough to suit Bradley Warren, so his attorney persuades him to hire Elvis Cole to locate and return the book as swiftly as possible. It's loathe at first sight, but Elvis could use the work. When the trail leads him to yakuza hangouts, a particularly nasty murder and threats to Bradley's wife and teen aged daughter, Elvis figures he's on the right track. Things take a very dark turn when Mimi is kidnapped and Elvis vows to return her to her family at all costs.
Just when you think you know who did it, the kaleidoscope turns and changes the whole picture.. Crais keeps you guessing up to the end. Joe Pike doesn't play as big a role here as he does in later books in this series, so it's interesting to see how the characters have evolved. I'm glad Elvis Cole never stops being a wiseacre! A great mystery series.
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