Elvis Cole
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Elvis Cole is a fictional character in a series of Robert Crais' detective novels. Elvis, who jokingly proclaims himself to be "The World's Greatest Detective" on numerous occasions, is the classic private investigator: honest, straight-forward, and with a soft spot for a woman in trouble. He is a throwback to an earlier age, especially in the first few novels, which read like 1940s pulp magazine detective stories with snappy dialogue and violent action scenes. [1]
[edit] Character biography
Elvis' background consists of time as a U.S. Army Ranger, with decorated service in Vietnam, and experience as a security guard. Elvis is also well versed in the martial arts, especially Tae kwon do and tai chi. Elvis drives a 1966 "Jamaica yellow" Chevrolet Corvette Stingray convertible that is almost a character unto itself in the early novels, along with his trademark Hawaiian shirts. He prefers to carry a Dan Wesson .38 revolver in a shoulder holster for protection.
Elvis lives in a redwood A-Frame house overlooking a canyon on Woodrow Wilson Drive along with his pet cat. The cat usually has a terrible disposition but tolerates Elvis and revels in the company of Elvis's partner, Joe Pike. His office is located on Santa Monica Boulevard and has several figurines of cartoon characters on his desk and file cabinets. He has expressed the desire to be like Peter Pan and stay a child forever poised on the cusp of adulthood. Though a resident of Los Angeles, California, his investigations have taken him all over the continental United States.
His trusted partner is the often tight-lipped Joe Pike, a USMC veteran from the Vietnam War and a former LAPD officer turned mercenary and gun shop owner. Pike remained a mysterious character until his tragic backstory was fully explored in L.A. Requiem. He is usually called in to "ride shotgun," both figuratively and literally, in Elvis' cases. (The relationship is somewhat similar to Spenser and Hawk in Robert B. Parker's detective novels or Myron and Win in Harlan Coben's novels.)
Elvis' dependable police contact is Sgt. Lou Poitras, a homicide detective at the North Hollywood Division of the LAPD.
Elvis is often noted as 'looking like John Cassavetes 20 years ago'. He uses the name Johnny Stacatto at least once in Stalking the Angel when questioned by a nosey rent-a-cop. Elvis's residence on Woodrow Wilson Drive happens to be the same street on which John Cassavetes lives also.[2]
[edit] Books
The following are the books by Robert Crais that have featured Elvis Cole:
- The Monkey's Raincoat (1987) - Winner, Macavity Award for Best First Novel; Winner, Anthony Award for Best Paperback Original Novel
- Stalking the Angel (1989)
- Lullaby Town (1992)
- Free Fall (1993)
- Voodoo River (1995)
- Sunset Express (1996)
- Indigo Slam (1997)
- L.A. Requiem (1999)
- The Last Detective (2003)
- The Forgotten Man (2005)
- The Watchman (2007)
