Robert Crais is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 author of detective fiction

Detective fiction

Detective fiction is a sub-genre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator , either professional or amateur, investigates a crime, often murder.-In ancient literature:...

. Crais began his career writing scripts for television

Television

Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

 shows such as Hill Street Blues

Hill Street Blues

Hill Street Blues is an American serial police drama that was first aired on NBC in 1981 and ran for 146 episodes on primetime into 1987. Chronicling the lives of the staff of a single police precinct in an unnamed American city, the show received critical acclaim and its production innovations ...

, Cagney & Lacey

Cagney & Lacey

Cagney & Lacey is an American television series that originally aired on the CBS television network for seven seasons from October 8, 1981 to May 16, 1988...

, Quincy

Quincy, M.E.

Quincy, M.E., also called Quincy, is a United States television series from Universal Studios that aired from October 3, 1976, to September 5, 1983, on NBC...

, Miami Vice

Miami Vice

Miami Vice is an American television series produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The series starred Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas as two Metro-Dade Police Department detectives working undercover in Miami. It ran for five seasons on NBC from 1984–1989...

and L.A. Law

L.A. Law

L.A. Law is a US television legal drama that ran on NBC from September 15, 1986 to May 19, 1994. L.A. Law reflected the social and cultural ideologies of the 1980s and early 1990s and many of the cases featured on the show dealt with hot topic issues such as abortion, racism, gay rights,...

. He lists amongst his literary influences the authors Raymond Chandler

Raymond Chandler

Raymond Thornton Chandler was an American novelist and screenwriter.In 1932, at age forty-five, Raymond Chandler decided to become a detective fiction writer after losing his job as an oil company executive during the Depression. His first short story, "Blackmailers Don't Shoot", was published in...

, Dashiell Hammett

Dashiell Hammett

Samuel Dashiell Hammett was an American author of hard-boiled detective novels and short stories, and political activist. Among the enduring characters he created are Sam Spade , Nick and Nora Charles , and the Continental Op .In addition to the significant influence his novels and stories had on...

, Ernest Hemingway

Ernest Hemingway

Ernest Miller Hemingway was an American author and journalist. His economic and understated style had a strong influence on 20th-century fiction, while his life of adventure and his public image influenced later generations. Hemingway produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the...

, Robert B. Parker

Robert B. Parker

Robert Brown Parker was an American crime writer. His most famous works were the novels about the private detective Spenser. ABC television network developed the television series Spenser: For Hire based on the character in the late 1980s; a series of TV movies based on the character were also...

 and John Steinbeck

John Steinbeck

John Ernst Steinbeck, Jr. was an American writer. He is widely known for the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden and the novella Of Mice and Men...

. Crais lives in California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

's Santa Monica

Santa Mônica

Santa Mônica is a town and municipality in the state of Paraná in the Southern Region of Brazil.-References:...

 mountains with his family.

Biography

Born in Independence

Independence, Louisiana

Independence, originally known as Uncle Sam, is a town in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 1,724 at the 2000 census...

, Louisiana

Louisiana

Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...

, near Baton Rouge, Crais moved to Hollywood in 1976 where he found work as a screenwriter

Screenwriter

Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...

 for such television series as Hill Street Blues

Hill Street Blues

Hill Street Blues is an American serial police drama that was first aired on NBC in 1981 and ran for 146 episodes on primetime into 1987. Chronicling the lives of the staff of a single police precinct in an unnamed American city, the show received critical acclaim and its production innovations ...

, Cagney & Lacey

Cagney & Lacey

Cagney & Lacey is an American television series that originally aired on the CBS television network for seven seasons from October 8, 1981 to May 16, 1988...

and Miami Vice

Miami Vice

Miami Vice is an American television series produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The series starred Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas as two Metro-Dade Police Department detectives working undercover in Miami. It ran for five seasons on NBC from 1984–1989...

, as well as pilots

Television pilot

A "television pilot" is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell the show to a television network. At the time of its inception, the pilot is meant to be the "testing ground" to see if a series will be possibly desired and successful and therefore a test episode of an...

, TV movies

Television movie

A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...

 and the NBC

NBC

The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

 mini series Cross of Fire

Cross of Fire

Cross of Fire was an American 1989 television miniseries based on the horrific rape and murder of Madge Oberholtzer by D. C. Stephenson, a highly successful leader of the Indiana branch of Ku Klux Klan. It starred John Heard as Stephenson and Mel Harris as Oberholtzer. Lloyd Bridges was also in...

. He was nominated for an Emmy award for his writing on Hill Street Blues.

In the 1980s Crais decided to abandon scriptwriting and become a novelist. Following the death of his father in 1985 Crais was inspired to create his character Elvis Cole writing The Monkey's Raincoat

The Monkey's Raincoat

The Monkey's Raincoat is a 1987 detective novel by Robert Crais. It is the first in a series of linked novels centering on the private investigator Elvis Cole and his partner Joe Pike. Cole is a tough, wisecracking ex-Ranger with an irresistible urge to do what is morally right...

, which won the 1988 Anthony Award

Anthony Award

The Anthony Awards are literary awards for mystery writers presented at the Bouchercon World Mystery Convention since 1986. The awards are named for Anthony Boucher , one of the founders of the Mystery Writers of America....

 for "Best First Novel", the 1988 Mystery Readers International

Mystery Readers International

Mystery Readers International is a fan/reader organization open to all readers, fans, critics, editors, publishers, and writers of Mystery fiction. It was founded by Janet A...

 Macavity Award

Macavity Awards

The Macavity Awards are a literary award for mystery writers. Nominated and voted upon annually by the members of the Mystery Readers International, the award is named for the "mystery cat" of T. S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats. The award is given in four categories -- best novel,...

 for "Best Paperback Original" at Bouchercon

Bouchercon

Bouchercon, the Anthony Boucher Memorial World Mystery Convention, is an annual convention of creators and devotees of mystery and detective fiction. It is named in honour of writer, reviewer, and editor Anthony Boucher....

 XVIV, and has since been named one of the 100 Favorite Mysteries of the Century by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association.

Overview

Crais's usual protagonist and first-person narrator is private detective Elvis Cole, an ex-Ranger

United States Army Rangers

United States Army Rangers are elite members of the United States Army. Rangers have served in recognized U.S. Army Ranger units or have graduated from the U.S. Army's Ranger School...

. Cole's partner is Joe Pike, a former Marine

United States Marine Corps

The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...

. Except for Demolition Angel, Hostage

Hostage (novel)

Hostage is a 2001 thriller novel by Robert Crais, set in Bristo Bay, California, about a small town police chief named Jeff Talley with memories of a failed hostage situation, who must negotiate the same type of situation in his own town if he wants his own family to live...

and The Two-Minute Rule, all of Crais' books feature Cole and Pike, with The Watchman (2007), The First Rule (2010) and The Sentry (2011) centering on Joe Pike.

The author tackles a variety of subjects in his novels. Free Fall was inspired by the Rodney King

Rodney King

Rodney Glen King is an American best known for his involvement in a police brutality case involving the Los Angeles Police Department on March 3, 1991...

 riots and Sunset Express dealt with a killer who bore an uncanny resemblance to O.J. Simpson. The most frequently recurring theme in Crais's books is the value of honesty; in his works, the long-term value of coming clean always outweighs the short-term benefits of covering up the problem. Crais also delves into issues of family and loyalty.

Themes

Robert Crais has stated that "Thematically, again and again my books are about people who are trying to be better than they have been."

Crais on film

In March 2005, Bruce Willis

Bruce Willis

Walter Bruce Willis , better known as Bruce Willis, is an American actor, producer, and musician. His career began in television in the 1980s and has continued both in television and film since, including comedic, dramatic, and action roles...

 appeared in Hostage

Hostage (film)

Hostage is a 2005 thriller film with Bruce Willis that was directed by Florent Emilio Siri. The film was based on a novel by Robert Crais, and was adapted for the screen by Doug Richardson....

, the first Hollywood adaptation of one of his books. Crais refuses to sell the rights to Cole, Pike, and his other recurring characters, preferring to allow his readers to keep their own personal conceptions of the characters.

Elvis Cole/Joe Pike novels

1. The Monkey's Raincoat

The Monkey's Raincoat

The Monkey's Raincoat is a 1987 detective novel by Robert Crais. It is the first in a series of linked novels centering on the private investigator Elvis Cole and his partner Joe Pike. Cole is a tough, wisecracking ex-Ranger with an irresistible urge to do what is morally right...

-- 1987

• Anthony Award
  Anthony Award
  The Anthony Awards are literary awards for mystery writers presented at the Bouchercon World Mystery Convention since 1986. The awards are named for Anthony Boucher , one of the founders of the Mystery Writers of America....
  
   winner
• Macavity Award winner
• Edgar Award
  Edgar Award
  The Edgar Allan Poe Awards , named after Edgar Allan Poe, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America...
  
   nominee
• Shamus Award
  Shamus Award
  The Shamus Award is awarded by the Private Eye Writers of America for the best detective fiction genre novels and short stories of the year....
  
   nominee

2. Stalking the Angel

Stalking the Angel

Stalking the Angel is a 1989 detective novel by Robert Crais. It is the second in a series of linked novels centering on the private investigator Elvis Cole....

-- 1989

3. Lullaby Town

Lullaby Town

Lullaby Town is a 1992 detective novel by Robert Crais. It is the third in a series of linked novels centering on the private investigator Elvis Cole. It was nominated for both the Anthony Award and the Shamus Award....

-- 1992

• Anthony Award
  Anthony Award
  The Anthony Awards are literary awards for mystery writers presented at the Bouchercon World Mystery Convention since 1986. The awards are named for Anthony Boucher , one of the founders of the Mystery Writers of America....
  
   nominee
• Shamus Award
  Shamus Award
  The Shamus Award is awarded by the Private Eye Writers of America for the best detective fiction genre novels and short stories of the year....
  
   nominee

4. Free Fall

Free Fall (Robert Crais novel)

Free Fall is a 1993 detective novel by Robert Crais. It is the fourth in a series of linked novels centering on the private investigator Elvis Cole. It was nominated for the Edgar Award....

-- 1993

• Edgar Award
  Edgar Award
  The Edgar Allan Poe Awards , named after Edgar Allan Poe, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America...
  
   nominee

5. Voodoo River

Voodoo River

Voodoo River is a 1995 detective novel by Robert Crais. It is the fifth in a series of linked novels centering on the private investigator Elvis Cole....

-- 1995

6. Sunset Express

Sunset Express

Sunset Express is a 1996 detective novel by Robert Crais. It is the sixth in a series of linked novels centering on the private investigator Elvis Cole. It won the Shamus Award and was named as one of the "Best Books of 1996" by Publishers Weekly....

-- 1996

• Shamus Award
  Shamus Award
  The Shamus Award is awarded by the Private Eye Writers of America for the best detective fiction genre novels and short stories of the year....
  
   winner
• Publishers Weekly
  Publishers Weekly
  Publishers Weekly, aka PW, is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers and literary agents...
  
   – Best Books of 1996 selection

7. Indigo Slam

Indigo Slam

Indigo Slam is a 1997 detective novel by Robert Crais. It is the seventh in a series of linked novels centering on the private investigator Elvis Cole. It was nominated for the Shamus Award....

-- 1997

• Shamus Award
  Shamus Award
  The Shamus Award is awarded by the Private Eye Writers of America for the best detective fiction genre novels and short stories of the year....
  
   nominee

8. L.A. Requiem

L.A. Requiem

L.A. Requiem is a 1999 detective novel by Robert Crais. It is the eighth in a series of linked novels centering on the private investigator Elvis Cole. It won the Dilys Award and was nominated for the Edgar Award, the Anthony Award and the Shamus Award....

-- 1999

• Dilys Award
  Dilys Award
  The Dilys Award have been presented every year since 1992 by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association. It is given to the mystery title of the year which the member booksellers have most enjoyed selling. The Independent Mystery Booksellers Association is an association of retail businesses...
  
   winner
• Edgar Award
  Edgar Award
  The Edgar Allan Poe Awards , named after Edgar Allan Poe, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America...
  
   nominee
• Anthony Award
  Anthony Award
  The Anthony Awards are literary awards for mystery writers presented at the Bouchercon World Mystery Convention since 1986. The awards are named for Anthony Boucher , one of the founders of the Mystery Writers of America....
  
   nominee
• Shamus Award
  Shamus Award
  The Shamus Award is awarded by the Private Eye Writers of America for the best detective fiction genre novels and short stories of the year....
  
   nominee

9. The Last Detective

The Last Detective (Robert Crais novel)

The Last Detective is a 2003 detective novel by Robert Crais. It is the ninth in a series of linked novels centering on the private investigator Elvis Cole. It was a finalist for the Audie award....

-- 2003

• Audie Award Finalist

10. The Forgotten Man

The Forgotten Man (Robert Crais novel)

The Forgotten Man is a 2005 detective novel by Robert Crais. It is the tenth in a series of linked novels centering on the private investigator Elvis Cole. It was nominated for the Shamus Award....

-- 2005

• Shamus Award
  Shamus Award
  The Shamus Award is awarded by the Private Eye Writers of America for the best detective fiction genre novels and short stories of the year....
  
   nominee

11. The Watchman -- 2007

• The Barry Award winner – Best Thriller 2007
• Mystery Ink Gumshoe Award winner – Best Thriller 2007
• Anthony Award
  Anthony Award
  The Anthony Awards are literary awards for mystery writers presented at the Bouchercon World Mystery Convention since 1986. The awards are named for Anthony Boucher , one of the founders of the Mystery Writers of America....
  
   nominee
• International Thriller Writers Thriller Award nominee

12. Chasing Darkness

Chasing Darkness

Chasing Darkness is a 2008 detective novel by Robert Crais. It is the twelfth in a series of linked novels centering on the private investigator Elvis Cole...

-- 2008

• Southern California Independent Booksellers Association – Best Mystery Award nominee

13. The First Rule -- 2010

14. The Sentry -- 2011

Other novels

1. Demolition Angel -- 2000

• Mary Higgins Clark Award nominee

2. Hostage

Hostage (novel)

Hostage is a 2001 thriller novel by Robert Crais, set in Bristo Bay, California, about a small town police chief named Jeff Talley with memories of a failed hostage situation, who must negotiate the same type of situation in his own town if he wants his own family to live...

-- Doubleday—2001

• New York Times Book Review – Notable Book

3. The Two-Minute Rule -- Simon & Schuster—2006

• Best Crime Novel of the Year – London Evening Standard
• Top Ten Best Crime Novels of the Year – Otto Penzler, New York Sun
• Top Ten Best Crime Novels of the Year – Oline Cogdill, Sun-Sentinel
• Best Books of 2006 – January Magazine
• Audie Award Finalist

External links