Review: Chasing Darkness

Chasing Darkness by Robert Crais

I listened to this one, not having time to actually read while studying for the bar exam. I could listen on the way to and from work (or anywhere else I had to go.) I also checked out the amazon reviews for this before starting it, and the I got a little bit nervous. Long time Crais fans were grumbling. It wasn't the full out rebellion that Evanovich fans were having when Fearless Fourteen hit the shelves (and some even before it hit shelves.) but there was a definite sense of dissatisfaction with this book.

I can see where people might have been disappointed with this one, but I wasn't. I thought it was good. Would I have liked different things? Sure. Did I think the characters were caricatures of themselves? Not at all. Did I think Crais was phoning it in? Nope. There were a couple of places where the tension seemed weak. A couple of places where you could see exactly why it had to be done that way and I winced that it was so transparent. The end was tied up a little too nicely, and I really hated the last few lines. Truly. But the overall "mystery" was fantastic. Yeah, I figured out who it was before the end, but who did it was hardly the main reason for reading the book.

There were some things at the end that didn't get tied up. Whatever happened to Elvis' "clients"? Did they get the information they wanted? What about Starkey? (more about Starkey!!!) You know, things like that. But, overall, it was a good book. Crais fans will like it. Newcomers to the series will probably not be bowled over and may wonder what all the fuss is about.