NOTE: Preface to Part Two of this prescient interview with a master of the craft: “[Crais is] an enlightened crime writer.”—New York Times Book Review
Award-winning and #1 NY Times bestselling author, Robert Crais, spoke to me about breathing life into the ur detective novel, the legacy of Raymond Chandler, his love of LA, and his latest, "Racing the Light."
Robert Crais is the author of 23 novels, 19 of which feature private investigator Elvis Cole and his laconic ex-cop partner, Joe Pike. The first in the series, The Monkey’s Raincoat, won the Anthony and Macavity Awards and was nominated for the Edgar Award.
The latest is Racing the Light, described as "... a pulse-pounding read and Elvis Cole's most dangerous case yet." Bestselling author David Baldacci called it "... another grand slam for the master storyteller Robert Crais. If there’s a better dynamic duo than Elvis Cole and Joe Pike in all of crime fiction, I’m not aware of it.”
On Reader's Digest's list of "30 new books we can't wait to read in 2022," Kirkus Reviews said that, "... [Crais] keeps the traditional detective novel alive and well."
In a previous life Robert Crais was an Emmy-nominated TV writer/producer and spent several years writing scripts for classic television series like Hill Street Blues, Cagney & Lacey, and Miami Vice.
screenwriting thesis program at an American university.
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In this file Robert Crais and I discussed:
- Burning out as a TV writer and chasing the dream of becoming a novelist
- Why he never anticipated fame
- How his novel LA Requiem changed the trajectory of his career
- When your author name gets bigger than the title
- Why he'll always be a meticulous outliner
- And a lot more!
Show Notes:
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