Undoubtedly prompted by the success of recent Crais bestsellers (Demolition Angel; Hostage), his audio publishers have gone back to the second book in his increasingly popular Elvis Cole series, originally published in 1989, for a lively and colorful outing that manages to capture much of the author's early innocence and freshness. Stuart brings the quirky Cole to life quickly, combining his strengths (tenacity, incorruptibility, frequent flashes of humor) with his oddities (his love of the Disney artifacts that litter his office) to make a credible whole person. Other characters emerge with equal vocal skill: the enigmatic Joe Pike, Cole's muscular sidekick; a glowering Los Angeles property developer, his alcohol-impaired wife and their fragile adolescent daughter, who winds up being kidnapped by Japanese gangsters. Cole, hired to find a rare Japanese manuscript, discovers that the teenager's fate is very important to him personally forging a bond between the detective and children in peril that has become a hallmark of the series. For those who have been fans of Elvis since book one, The Monkey's Raincoat, it's good to have his early adventures around to listen to. For more recent Crais converts, this could prove an eye-opening revelation of how Cole got to be who he is. Based on the Bantam mass market. (Oct.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Hard-nosed private detective Elvis Cole returns ( The Monkey's Raincoat ) to do battle for a teenaged girl kidnapped as part of a scheme involving the theft of a priceless Japanese manuscript outlining samurai behavior. While Cole's wry sarcasm and attempts at ``cute'' often fall flat, his humanity and integrity carry him through an apparently convoluted but mostly transparent plot. Los Angeles settings, Japanese heavies, wild action, and businesslike prose, however, make this better than many.

Stalking the Angel is a righteous California book: intelligent, perceptive, hard, clean.”—James Ellroy
 
“Out on the West Coast, where private eyes thrive like avocado trees, Robert Crais has created an interesting and amusing hero in Elvis Cole . . . definitely new.”—The Wall Street Journal
 
“Robert Crais is one of the rising young stars of the private eye genre . . . Devottees of the rock ‘em, sock ‘em school should find [Stalking the Angel] tasty.”—The San Diego Union