by Robert Crais
Part of Elvis Cole and Joe Pike, book 1
First published 1999
Ellen Lang hires private detective Elvis Cole when her husband Mort vanishes with their young son. Ellen lives as a dependent wife who cannot even handle basic finances without her husband's approval. She wants both of them returned safely with no complications. Cole's investigation pulls him into Hollywood's corrupt underbelly, where he discovers that Mort works as a struggling talent agent. Mort has connections to a disreputable film producer and was last seen at a party hosted by a powerful former bullfighter. His B-movie actress girlfriend also reports losing contact with him. The case explodes when police discover Mort shot four times in his vehicle with no child present. Ellen then vanishes as well. Cole and his partner Joe Pike must uncover how sleazy entertainment industry figures connect to the ex-matador while racing to find the missing boy and determine what happened to Ellen.
Genres: mystery, crime, thriller, detective
Vibes: fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: missing-child, missing-spouse, race-against-time
Setting: Hollywood
Period: 20th-century
237 pages · Paperback · Orion
Content warnings: violence