The glittering cast of characters includes Vice President Joe Aprile, who plans to become president, if he can avoid a tempting vice; a glamorous Washington hostess and fund-raiser, Elfie Dorrance, with a propensity for marrying rich and powerful men and then grieving prettily at the end - their end; and Chris Hedras, a special assistant to the vice president, with some very special ambitions. And, of course, Annabel Smith, gallery owner, and Mac Smith, law school professor.
Murder At the Library of Congress by Margaret Truman
Was there a second diary, beyond the one Columbus kept, describing his voyage to the New World? Leading scholars at the Library of Congress think so, and Annabel Smith, with her pre-Columbian interests, has been commissioned by the library's magazine, Civilization, to write about it. She is not the only person interested.
The story begins as bank robber Max Holman is leaving jail, having served his nine-year sentence. He's clean and sober, and the only thing on his mind is reconciliation with his estranged son, who is, ironically, a cop. Then the devastating news: his son and three other uniformed cops were gunned down in cold blood in the LA warehouse district the night before Holman's release.
Frank Meyer had the American dream - until the day a professional crew invaded his home and murdered everyone inside. The only thing out of the ordinary about Meyer was that - before the family and the business and the normal life - a younger Frank Meyer had worked as a professional mercenary, with a man named Joe Pike.
Crais's wise-cracking LA private eye Elvis Cole is one of the most appealing heroes in the genre. In this, his eighth outing, Elvis is torn between loyalty to his best friend and partner, ex-cop Joe Pike, and the need to solve the murder of a young woman, Pike's ex-girlfriend and the daughter of a powerful and rich man. But as the investigation continues the finger of suspicion points more and more at Pike himself.
