Reading order · 16 books · 1987 to 2025 · Set in Los Angeles
Elvis Cole Books in Order
Elvis Cole is a Los Angeles private investigator who calls himself the world’s greatest detective, keeps Disney figures in his office and has a black cat that dislikes everyone. His partner, Joe Pike, a silent former Marine and police officer, is there when things turn violent. Funny, warm and tough.
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Series facts
- Books
- 16
- Published
- 1987 to 2025
- First book
- The Monkey’s Raincoat
- Latest
- The Big Empty (2025)
- Setting
- Set in Los Angeles
The reading order
Every Elvis Cole book in publication order. Choose a title for its cast and summary.
16 books · Set in Los Angeles
- 1The Monkey’s Raincoat1987With Elvis ColeEllen Lang hires Elvis Cole to find her husband and son, who have disappeared.Buy on Amazon
- 2Stalking the Angel1989With Elvis ColeA rare Japanese manuscript has been stolen from a Los Angeles hotel, and Elvis Cole is hired to find it, which brings him up against the Japanese mob.Buy on Amazon
- 3Lullaby Town1992With Elvis ColeA famous film director hires Elvis Cole to find the wife and son he abandoned years ago, and the trail leads to a small town in Connecticut and the Mafia.Buy on Amazon
- 4Free Fall1993With Elvis ColeA young woman asks Elvis Cole to find out what is wrong with her boyfriend, a police officer in an elite unit, and Elvis uncovers police corruption.Buy on Amazon
- 5Voodoo River1995With Elvis ColeA television actress hires Elvis Cole to find her birth parents in Louisiana, where he meets the lawyer Lucy Chenier.Buy on Amazon
- 6Sunset Express1996With Elvis ColeA wealthy restaurant owner is accused of murdering his wife, and his famous defence lawyer hires Elvis Cole to find evidence of his innocence.Buy on Amazon
- 7Indigo Slam1997With Elvis ColeThree children hire Elvis Cole to find their missing father, who turns out to be a counterfeiter in hiding.Buy on Amazon
- 8L.A. Requiem1999With Elvis Cole and Joe PikeThe daughter of a powerful man is found murdered, and Joe Pike, an old friend of hers, is drawn in, and the case brings back Pike’s past in the LAPD.Buy on Amazon
- 9The Last Detective2003With Elvis ColeBen Chenier, Lucy’s young son, is kidnapped while staying with Elvis Cole, and the kidnapper says it is revenge for something Elvis did in Vietnam.Buy on Amazon
- 10The Forgotten Man2005With Elvis ColeAn old man is shot dead in an alley, and with his last breath says he is Elvis Cole’s father, a man Elvis has never known.Buy on Amazon
- 11Chasing Darkness2008With Elvis ColeA man is found dead in his home, an apparent suicide, with photographs of seven murdered women.Buy on Amazon
- 12Taken2012With Elvis ColeA young woman and her boyfriend are kidnapped near the Mexican border, and Elvis Cole goes undercover, but then he is taken too.Buy on Amazon
- 13The Promise2015With Elvis ColeElvis Cole is hired to find a missing woman, a chemical engineer, and his case crosses that of Scott James and Maggie.Buy on Amazon
- 14The Wanted2017With Elvis ColeA single mother hires Elvis Cole because her teenage son has been carrying large amounts of cash and expensive goods, and the son and his friends are in danger.Buy on Amazon
- 15Racing the Light2022With Elvis ColeElvis Cole is hired by a woman whose son, a podcaster, has gone missing, and the trail leads into dangerous territory.Buy on Amazon
- 16The Big Empty2025With Elvis ColeAn influencer hires Elvis Cole to find her father, who vanished from a small desert town ten years ago, and Elvis and Joe Pike find themselves hunted.Buy on Amazon
Do you need to read them in order?
Read the books in order, starting with The Monkey’s Raincoat. From L.A. Requiem on, the series becomes darker and the characters’ pasts matter more.
Who appears in which book
The series’ main characters, book by book. Lead means the book is told around them; minor covers cameos.
| Book | Elvis Cole | Joe Pike | Lou Poitras | Lucy Chenier | Ben Chenier | Carol Starkey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 The Monkey’s Raincoat | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | |||
| 2 Stalking the Angel | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | |||
| 3 Lullaby Town | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | |||
| 4 Free Fall | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | |||
| 5 Voodoo River | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | MMajor | ·Minor | |
| 6 Sunset Express | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | MMajor | ||
| 7 Indigo Slam | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ||
| 8 L.A. Requiem | LLead | LLead | ·Minor | MMajor | ·Minor | |
| 9 The Last Detective | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | MMajor | MMajor | MMajor |
| 10 The Forgotten Man | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor | |
| 11 Chasing Darkness | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | |
| 12 Taken | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | |||
| 13 The Promise | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | |||
| 14 The Wanted | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | |||
| 15 Racing the Light | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | |||
| 16 The Big Empty | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor |
Characters in the Elvis Cole books
9 characters from Robert Crais’s chart, with the number of Elvis Cole books each appears in.
| Character | Books | First in this series |
|---|---|---|
| Elvis ColeLos Angeles private investigator, “the world’s greatest detective” | 16 | The Monkey’s Raincoat 1987 |
| Joe PikeElvis’s silent partner, a former Marine and police officer | 16 | The Monkey’s Raincoat 1987 |
| Lou PoitrasLAPD detective and Elvis’s friend | 16 | The Monkey’s Raincoat 1987 |
| Lucy ChenierLouisiana lawyer and Elvis’s partner | 7 | Voodoo River 1995 |
| Ben ChenierLucy’s son | 3 | Voodoo River 1995 |
| Carol StarkeyLAPD bomb squad detective, later homicide | 3 | The Last Detective 2003 |
| Jon StoneMercenary and Pike’s friend | 1 | Taken 2012 |
| Scott JamesLAPD officer with a K-9 partner | 1 | The Promise 2015 |
| MaggieGerman shepherd and former Marine dog, Scott’s partner | 1 | The Promise 2015 |
Crossovers with Robert Crais’s other series
- Joe Pike: Elvis Cole also appears in 4 of its books; Joe Pike also appears in 4 of its books