L.A. Requiem

By: Robert Crais

Narrated by: John Bedford Lloyd

“Terrific entertainment . . . A powerful portrait of Los Angeles in our time: swift, colorful, gripping, a real knockout.”—Dean Koontz

The day starts like any other in L.A. The sun burns hot as the Santa Ana winds blow ash from mountain fires to coat the glittering city. But for private investigator Joe Pike, the city will never be the same again. His ex-lover, Karen Garcia, is dead, brutally murdered with a gun shot to the head.

Now Karen's powerful father calls on Pike (a former cop) and his partner, Elvis Cole, to keep an eye on the LAPD as they search for his daughter's killer--because in the luminous City of Angels, everyone has secrets, and even the mighty blue have something to hide. But what starts as a little procedural hand-holding turns into a deadly game of cat-and-mouse. For a dark web of conspiracy threatens to destroy Pike and Cole's twelve-year friendship—if not their lives. And L.A. just might be singing their dirge.

Praise for L.A. Requiem

“One of the best crime novels I've ever read. Absolutely terrific!”—David Baldacci

“Darker, denser, deeper, and more satisfying than anything he’s written before.”—The Denver Post

“[A] whodunit with salsa and soul . . . [Crais] keeps his plot pounding along.”—People©1999 Robert Crais; (P)1999 Random House, Inc., Bantam Doubleday Dell Audio Publishing, A Division of Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

“One of the best crime novels I've ever read. Absolutely terrific!”—David Baldacci

“Terrific entertainment . . . A powerful portrait of Los Angeles in our time: swift, colorful, gripping, a real knockout.”—Dean Koontz

“Darker, denser, deeper, and more satisfying than anything he’s written before.”—The Denver Post

“[A] whodunit with salsa and soul . . . [Crais] keeps his plot pounding along.”—People

Exceptional reading

Robert Crais can always be counted on to give bang for the buck. His signature character, Elvis Cole, is so vivid, he has more flesh of reality than any other fictional detective in literature with the exception of perhaps Sherlock Holmes. Normally the key, he gives way to Joe Pike, his anything but chatty companion, in this outing. Joe is the main guy this time and he carries the story along to its interesting conclusion. I loved this book, as I do all of Mr. Crais' novels, and highly recommend it to anyone in search of good read and a compelling story.

Great book (5 Stars), bad narrator(2 stars)!

I've listened to/read this book with great joy on at least three different occasions. I love Robert Crais' work. Elvis Cole and Joe Pike are quite a team, their loyalty and dedication to each other makes them the best of friends and its a great treat to see them work a case together. This case is a little too close to home for both characters and it will take all of Elvis' detective skills to solve this one (especially since its his friends life in the balance).

LA Requiem, though not the first in the 'Elvis Cole' novels was the first I listened to/read and I was immediately hooked. I've since read every book in this series and have never been disappointed.

I was disappointed however with this particular audio version of LA Requiem. The version I originally listened to and enjoyed was borrowed from the local library. Recorded Books is the name of the company that produced that version and the narrator, Ron McLarty did an outstanding job. In fact it was his reading that helped pull me into the story. He has a gift for making each character real; its quite easy for the listener to get caught-up in the story. If you listen to both versions You will have no problem in seeing the difference in the narration style.

great story, bad reader

Robert Crais is one of my favorite writers of detective fiction and LA Requiem is one of my favorite books of his. I love the Joe Pike character and this story gives some essential background on him that explains a lot about his temperament. The problem with this audio book is the narrator. He was so bad that at several points in the book I actually cringed at his portrayal of characters. I read a previous review that mentioned they heard a version of this book with Ron McLarty narrating and I heartily wish Audible had chosen that version.

Excellent Spenser type stories

Where does L.A. Requiem rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

If you like this type of detective story, it ranks very high with other books of this type. As I have read all of Robert B. Parker's stories, I needed something similar for light reading who-done-its. This series is fun, action packed and not too heavy of a story. The characters are very believable for the time period in which it is set in L. A. area.

What was one of the most memorable moments of L.A. Requiem?

Finding out the history of Joe Pike was most interesting part of the story.

What does John Bedford Lloyd bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Lloyd's reading does set the mood for the story better than just reading it. You would loose some of the detail of the culture if it were just read from the book.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Do the good guys always win?

Any additional comments?

I would recommend the entire series of these stories. It would be better if you started with the first book and read the series in roughly the order they are written. If you like the L. A. area or are curious about the culture during the time period of the stories, these books have a good historical perspective as well.

Robert Crais is amazing...

I have read every book in this series I could get my hands on. Elvis Cole and Joe Pike are two detectives with heart, humor and street smarts. Elivs has a smart mouth that had me laughing out loud and Joe..well Joe doesn't say much but when he does you listen. I highly recommend the Elvis Cole series to everyone who enjoyes a smart mouthed detective, with a great sense of humor thrown in. wonderfully written and read.