CHASING DARKNESS: An Elvis Cole Novel
Robert Crais
Simon & Schuster
Thriller
ISBN: 9780743281645

An invalid named Lionel Byrd is found dead in his LA apartment, the apparent victim of a suicide. What makes this tragedy front-page news is the discovery of a "murder book" at the feet of Byrd's body. This photo album contains explicit pictures of seven different women, all of whom have been brutally murdered over a seven-year period. 

Private detective Elvis Cole takes particular notice of the suicide because he helped clear Byrd of murder charges a few years ago. It now turns out that the woman he was accused of killing at the time is the fifth of the seven victims featured in the album. Cole is torn up on how this could have happened since he was absolutely positive that Byrd was not responsible for the murder of Yvonne Bennett. Moreover, he must now deal with an angry bunch of LAPD investigators who view him almost as an accomplice to Byrd's atrocities. Even worse is the fact that Cole is also being harassed by the family of one of the women allegedly murdered by Byrd after his exoneration. Can Cole --- with the assistance of partner Joe Pike --- safely conduct his own investigation to reveal the truth surrounding the killing spree?

The fact that Byrd was house-bound due to a serious foot injury --- as well as being addicted to oxycodone --- seems to have been overlooked by the LAPD investigators and Deputy Chief Marx, all of whom are looking for a slam-dunk closure to the case. Cole has his office vandalized, receives many harassing phone calls and is involved in a physical altercation with the brothers of victim Debra Repko. When his own investigation finds that a major political figure --- Councilman Wilts --- might be involved in the case, he realizes he has quite an uphill battle on his hands.

Cole never doubts his instincts and is confident that Byrd could not have committed any of these murders, let alone be a serial killer. To prove that Byrd was set up as a fall guy, Cole must cross several legal and ethical lines, and has to battle his personal guilt over the deaths of the two women following the Byrd trial. He appeals to the family of Debra Repko and reluctantly gets them to allow him to proceed with his investigation into apprehending the "real" serial killer.

Robert Crais does not pull any punches and really gets inside the heads of all his characters. When you read his novels you come away feeling you "know" them personally. Also, his knowledge of LA is finely detailed --- particularly his descriptions of the Laurel Canyon area, which is so richly drawn you feel like you're right there in Cole's living room. My only criticism is that, once the killer is revealed, things are wrapped up a little too quickly without allowing readers to understand the motivation behind the killings. Possibly that is the point --- we really cannot understand how the psychopathic mind works.

Crais states it best with this thought from Elvis Cole at the close of CHASING DARKNESS: "The darkness frightens me, but what it does to us frightens me even more. Maybe that is why I do what I do. I chase the darkness to make room for the light." Well said.

    --- Reviewed by Ray Palen

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