Chasing Darkness

An Elvis Cole and Joe Pike Novel, Book 12

By: Robert Crais

Narrated by: James Daniels

Private Investigator Elvis Cole learns that LA fires bring more than heat, they bring his old friend Joe Pike and the past. Cole’s fight to clear his name brings murder and corruption terrifyingly close to home.

It’s fire season, and the hills of Los Angeles are burning. When police and fire department personnel rush door to door in a frenzied evacuation effort, they discover the week-old corpse of an apparent suicide. But the gunshot victim is less gruesome than what they find in his lap: a photo album of seven brutally murdered young women - one per year, for seven years. And when the suicide victim is identified as a former suspect in one of the murders, the news turns Elvis Cole’s world upside down.

Three years earlier Lionel Byrd was brought to trial for the murder of a female prostitute named Yvonne Bennett. A taped confession coerced by the police inspired a prominent defense attorney to take Byrd’s case, and Elvis Cole was hired to investigate. It was Cole’s eleventh-hour discovery of an exculpatory videotape that allowed Lionel Byrd to walk free. Elvis was hailed as a hero.

But the discovery of the death album in Byrd’s lap now brands Elvis as an unwitting accomplice to murder. Captured in photographs that could only have been taken by the murderer, Yvonne Bennett was the fifth of the seven victims - two more young women were murdered after Lionel Byrd walked free. So Elvis can’t help but wonder - did he, Elvis Cole, cost two more young women their lives?

Shut out of the investigation by a special LAPD task force determined to close the case, Elvis Cole and Joe Pike desperately fight to uncover the truth about Lionel Byrd and his nightmare album of death - a truth hidden by lies, politics, and corruption in a world where nothing is what it seems to be.

Chasing Darkness is a blistering thriller from the bestselling author who sets the standard for intense, powerful crime writing.

©2008 Robert Crais (P)2008 Brilliance Audio

Critic reviews

"Little in life is as satisfying as a new Elvis Cole novel. Each installment of Robert Crais' 20-year-old series is like meeting a good friend for lunch who you haven't seen in a long time."--Chicago Tribune

A little darker Elvis

This is a good mystery, where the possible pepetrators keep changing throughout the book. I felt that this one had Elvis having more of Joe Pike's personality due to the the narrator's presentation. It is a little darker, not the sprightly Elvis Cole of other books. Still a great story, just a different presentation.

FINDING A NEW AUTHOR, is priceless.

I enjoy stories I can not predict the endings. I am happy to have found this author.
Looking forward to another.
The story moved quickly and I did not know what was going to happen.
The narration was good, and the descriptions the author gave, made me be able to imagine these characters.
I hope book 2 is as good.
HAPPY READING, WHATS YOUR NEW FAVORITE 📖📚
DEBRA

Great Book, Terrible Narration!

If the book wasn’t so good, I would’ve given up on listening to it. The narrator does not differentiate his voice for the other characters and was boring. Will look for more books by this author but if the same narrator is used—I’ll just have to read the book instead.

Exceptional mystery writing

Robert Craig has plenty of practice doing great writing since his 1970's and beyond working in Hollywood and plenty of practice with his novels. It's not common to find such writing in my favorite genre. I thoroughly enjoyed this and his others I've read. Treat yourself to him!! You will be impressed too.

Top of the Line Story Read By Superb Narrator

Where does Chasing Darkness rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I read several series continuously and Crais' is one of my top five.

What did you like best about this story?

Just effortless storytelling.

Have you listened to any of James Daniels’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

James Daniels is the only believable voice of Elvis and Joe.

My First Crais novel

I very much enjoyed the story - it kept you engaged right from the start. Some great twists and turns but not to outrageous. It felt a little rushed at the end.

another winner by crais

worth it, one of the best storylines from crais amazing twists and turns down to the wire!

Great Start to Finish!

I LOVED this book. Suspenseful with just the right twists and turns.

Entertaining Light Reading

I enjoyed this book and think it might be a series I will continue to read. In the other two Cole/Pike books that I read the plot was obvious early in the book. In this novel there was a small twist that didn't become evident until the last 1/3 of the story. I can't help but like Elvis and Pike although I would like to see more of Pike, especially if he does more than just grunt.

As I have noted in the other two book reviews in this series, I do not like the constant switching of perspective and time. An occasional flashback is one thing but when done throughout the book combined with different views, I think it interrupts the flow of the story.

Cole and Pike, great entertainment

The book starts out with the solving of 7 murders, with the suicide of the killer. That's what it appears to be anyway. But Elvis Cole, had cleared the victim from one of those murders, and won't rest until he discovers the real truth behind the suicide. Thus starts, a real murder mystery, with lots of fact finding, clues, and a whole lot of suspects.
With the combination of Cole's humor, and Pike's cameo pop-ins, it makes for a very interesting listen.
The real killer isn't all that easy to figure out either, as more evidence unfolds throughout the story, til the very end.