Robert Crais, the Mystery Writer

Robert Crais (pronounced like Grace) was born in Louisiana, the date is obscure, but either 1953 or 1954. He was raised on the banks of the Mississippi and comes from a working family of five policemen. Before 1976 he made amateur movies and wrote short fiction, then on to Hollywood to write television and movie scripts for the major networks and was very successful, winning many awards. But in 1980 he wanted to leave Hollywood behind and have more control over his work, so he decided to try his hand at novels.

He tried a mystery or two, but couldn't get enthused about them, so he wasn't too surprised when they were rejected. The death of his father in 1985 changed all that, and Elvis Cole, who is a lot like Crais' father, was born in The Monkey's Raincoat. This novel set the pace for the next couple of decades where he won more writing awards. Crais found his niche as a detective mystery writer. He's written 15 novels from 1987 through 2008. His protagonist is Elvis Cole and Cole's sidekick, Joe Pike. Joe Pike had the lead in The Watchman in 2007.

Crais wrote a couple of "singles" as he calls his mysteries without Cole and Pike, and then went back to the series. Once, a Hollywood movie studio approached him to sell the rights to the Elvis Cole character for over a million dollars. Crais couldn't part with Cole so he turned down the offer and never looked back. He knows his two old friends too well to part with them. It's a matter of loyalty, after all.