Elvis Cole & Joe Pike Books in Order
Elvis Cole & Joe Pike by Robert Crais contains 20 books, published between 1987 and 2025. The first book is The Monkey's Raincoat (1987) and the newest is The Big Empty (2025). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 20
- Published
- 1987–2025
- Confirmed
- 20 of 20 titles
- Pages on record
- 4,748 in 15 of 20 books
- Reading time
- 79–119 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 4,748 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 15 of 20 titles with a page count on record.
Elvis Cole and Joe Pike are private investigators in Los Angeles, and Robert Crais's hard-boiled series pairs them. The Monkey's Raincoat (1987) opens the run, which continues through Stalking the Angel (1989), Lullaby Town (1992), Voodoo River (1995), L. A. Requiem (1999) and The Last Detective (2003) to The Big Empty in 2025. Missing persons and drug traffic recur as subjects, and 20 books are catalogued.
How many Elvis Cole & Joe Pike books are there?
Elvis Cole & Joe Pike has 20 books, released between 1987 and 2025.
Elvis Cole & Joe Pike Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 20 Elvis Cole & Joe Pike books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.
- 1The Monkey's Raincoat1987 · 201 pages · confirmed 4/419872014/4
- 2Stalking the Angel1989 · 256 pages · confirmed 4/419892564/4
- 3Lullaby Town1992 · 296 pages · confirmed 4/419922964/4
- 4Free Fall1993 · confirmed 4/41993–4/4
- 5Voodoo River1995 · 293 pages · confirmed 4/419952934/4
- 6Sunset Express1996 · 352 pages · confirmed 4/419963524/4
- 7Indigo Slam1997 · 307 pages · confirmed 4/419973074/4
- 8L. A. Requiem1999 · 416 pages · confirmed 4/419994164/4
- 9The Last Detective2003 · confirmed 4/42003–4/4
- 10The Forgotten Man2005 · 368 pages · confirmed 4/420053684/4
- 11The Watchman2007 · 292 pages · confirmed 4/420072924/4
- 12Chasing Darkness2008 · 288 pages · confirmed 4/420082884/4
- 13The First Rule2010 · 308 pages · confirmed 4/420103084/4
- 14The Sentry2011 · 306 pages · confirmed 4/420113064/4
- 15Taken2012 · 341 pages · confirmed 4/420123414/4
- 16The Promise2015 · 402 pages · confirmed 4/420154024/4
- 17The Wanted2017 · 322 pages · confirmed 4/420173224/4
- 18A Dangerous Man2019 · confirmed 4/42019–4/4
- 19Racing the Light2022 · confirmed 4/42022–4/4
- 20The Big Empty2025 · confirmed 4/42025–4/4
Is there a chronological order for Elvis Cole & Joe Pike?
No separate chronological order is on record for Elvis Cole & Joe Pike, because none of the book listings this catalogue draws on publishes one; the publication order above is the only order given.
Do you have to read Elvis Cole & Joe Pike books in order?
You should read the Elvis Cole & Joe Pike books in publication order, the order of the numbered table above. The catalogue does not record whether each Elvis Cole & Joe Pike book also stands alone.
Where to start with Elvis Cole & Joe Pike
Start with The Monkey's Raincoat (1987), the earliest published title.
What is the newest Elvis Cole & Joe Pike book?
The Big Empty (2025) is the newest Elvis Cole & Joe Pike book released so far.
Is there a new Elvis Cole & Joe Pike book coming?
No next Elvis Cole & Joe Pike book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Awards Elvis Cole & Joe Pike has won
Wikidata records 4 awards for Elvis Cole & Joe Pike. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.
- Barry Award for Best Thriller2008Wonfor The Watchman
- Dilys Award2000Wonfor L.A. Requiem
- Shamus Award1997Wonfor Sunset Express
- Anthony Award for Best Paperback Original1988Wonfor The Monkey's Raincoat
Elvis Cole & Joe Pike at a glance
- Still running
- Elvis Cole & Joe Pike is still running, with a title published as recently as 2025.
- Release pace
- Elvis Cole & Joe Pike books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.
- Length
- 4,748 pages across the 15 of 20 books with a recorded length, a median of 307 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Elvis Cole & Joe Pike books, 6 of 20, were published in the 2010s.
- Corroboration
- 20 of the 20 titles appear in all four independent book listings.
What the Elvis Cole & Joe Pike books are about
18 of the 20 Elvis Cole & Joe Pike books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: private investigators is tagged on 17 of 18. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Private investigators 17 of 18 books
- Elvis Cole (Fictitious character) 13 of 18 books
- Cole, elvis (fictitious character) 6 of 18 books
- Los Angeles (Calif.) 6 of 18 books
- Mystery & detective, hard-boiled 5 of 18 books
- Mystery & detective 4 of 18 books
- Joe Pike (Fictitious character) 4 of 18 books
- Pike, joe (fictitious character) 4 of 18 books
- California 3 of 18 books
- Drug traffic 3 of 18 books
- Investigation 2 of 18 books
- Missing persons 2 of 18 books
More books by Robert Crais
The author page linked below lists every book in publication order.
- Robert Crais books in order 30 books