Elvis & Joe in Audiobook: Sunset Express

With this year's release of the 13th book, The First Rule, in the Elvis Cole and Joe Pike novel series by Robert Crais, this is another post in my continuation of a series examining each novel and the audiobook versions that came out of them. All of this traces back to when television writer/producer Crais turned away from Hollywood in the 80's to do what he always wanted, be a novelist. With that, he originated and began to write about a quirky, tough but tender, private detective with the unlikely name of Elvis Cole (and his partner, Joe Pike). That first book's success and uniqueness in portraying the genre with the author's mix of humor and pathos meant a standalone novel gave birth to a popular series that's working past its second decade.

Sunset Express

Robert Crais' sixth novel, Sunset Express (print published in 1996 and pictured above - the classic silhouetted palm tree photograph of L.A. replaces the previous graphic motifs for the cover art), returns Elvis to a Los Angeles in its tumult period, post O.J. Simpson-trial. That true event, and its influences, abound within this novel. Here, the author shines a keen spotlight on the effects of it. Crais examines the media, lawyers, and the public in the unique way that only a fictional tale with our favorite characters can bring to readers. Due to this, having our favorite protagonist involved in a high-stakes, media murder trial of a celebrity defendant offers a new angle and depth to the series.

I look at this book, and the next, as a transitional pair in this series. The author is laying the groundwork for a metamorphosis. Additionally, the author breaks away from his traditional Page One meeting of the client setup (as was done in the first five books). Almost like a police procedural, Robert Crais moves to establish some situation/character background before moving back to the first person narrative of the story. And finally, the author begins to ease into his slow reveal of partners Elvis Cole and Joe Pike's make-up and background. This will continue through much of the remaining books in the series. The changes signaled with this novel don't stop there, either.



Even though I've been going through the books in series order, the U.S. audiobook versions were never published in that sequence. The first audiobook released by Brilliance Audio of the author's work started in mid-series with this novel. The unabridged and abridged versions were released in the same year as the hardcover with book resellers. This, in reality, was David Stuart's initial stint, and he was the first Elvis Cole/Joe Pike audiobook narrator for Brilliance (and he performed both the full and shortened versions). He has a good vocal versatility within this story, but a southern California lad he's not (I'll explain that more in the next book). Audio sample.

Note, the mid-90's was a time the audiobook industry began expanding its distribution formats. The audio cassette had been the traditional medium (and it's still produced to this day, though waning). Brilliance Audio also came up with a way to minimize production costs by getting twice as much on to a single cassette: the dubious and short-lived Bookcassette®. Luckily, the clear move toward audio CD and MP3 disc (and later downloads) as their preferred distribution medium succeeded with audiobook listeners.



Another interesting detail concerning Sunset Express is the fact that Brilliance Audio wasn't the only publisher of an audio version in the U.S. market. Books on Tape, a publisher known to many who've checked out audiobooks from libraries, was licensed to produced their own (in a rare and hard-to-find) unabridged Sunset Express version (ISBN-10: 0913369896) in 1997. The accomplished Michael Prichard was their narrator. Since I've not found a copy of it, here's a sample of Mr. Prichard's work from another book for your examination of his voice and style.



Chivers' cover art for their U.K. audiobook mirrored the book's with its cityscape photograph. Narrator William Roberts has another quality outing with his sixth audiobook turn with these characters. Please notice that Roberts (like Patrick Lawlor and Mel Foster did with Voodoo River) uses the proper French pronunciation for Lucy's last name, Chénier [shey-nyey]. Since she's from Louisiana, it is the way those from the area would pronounce the name [at least that's what I suspected at the time I wrote this]. Narrator David Stuart (and later James Daniels) will use the American enunciation for it [shen-neer]. Here's Roberts' sample with the passage.

Next up: Indigo Slam

The Series:
The Monkey's Raincoat
Stalking the Angel
Lullaby Town
Free Fall
Voodoo River
Sunset Express
Indigo Slam
L.A. Requiem
The Last Detective
The Forgotten Man
The Watchman
Chasing Darkness
The First Rule

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