Elvis Cole, The Monkey's Raincoat by Robert Crais.
This award-winning novel, the first in the Elvis Cole series, The Monkey's Raincoat is grisly yet entertaining. Elvis and his partner, a buddy from Vietnam, have taken on a challenging case.
Smart-mouthed and cocky, Elvis is also pure-hearted. He risks everything for his client, Ellen, who husband and son have gone missing.
Cole likes Disney figurines and the fierce loyalty of his partner, Joe Pike. He hunts down criminals who take advantage of the weak, yet he also despises red tape and police bureaucracy.
His renegade tactics test the patience of LAPD. In the end, he does what he sets out to do--he solves the crime. He also gives Ellen her bit of good news.
