Review of L.A. Requiem by Robert Crais

I listened to Crais speak at a conference. Quite the storyteller. 

His prose is reminiscent of Elmore Leonard. Same with the pacing and the subject matter. To look at his covers you might immediately think “Michael Crichton” or “Michael Connelly” or something. But judging from my first foray into his noir series, his work is a cut above. I would put it on a level with Chandler and the greats, except we have seen these plots so many times it’s reaaaalllllllyyyyy difficult to make it feel fresh. There is enough pizazz and snarky humor here to keep my interest all the way through. A kidnapping here, a murder there, it all comes out in the wash. When all else fails, have the main character whip out his gun and start shooting.

The killer could have been more 3-D, but our main cast was fairly interesting. Not exactly unique, but like any character on a cop drama, when they aren’t rattling off one-liners, they’re slapping people around. It’s all good fun, until someone loses a body part. Then it’s a lot of fun.

I will probably read more Crais. Is it pronounced Craze or Cries? Either one would be appropriate. Oddly, I remember a fair amount of his keynote speech but am really blanking on the pronunciation. He strikes me as an all-around interesting guy. And he has nailed down the essential elements of crime drama to an uncanny degree.

I’m watching LA Noir films recently, including LA Confidential and the “criminally” underrated Under the Silver Lake, and need more of that Mulholland Dr. atmosphere in my reading life. LA is just the best place to stage a Noir. Can we all agree on that?