The Monkey's Raincoat

Infobox Book |
name = The Monkey's Raincoat


image_caption = Cover of 1st edition
author = Robert Crais
country = United States
language = English
series = Elvis Cole series
genre = Detective fiction
publisher = Bantam
release_date = 1987
media_type = Print (Paperback)
pages = 237 pp (1st edition)
isbn = ISBN 0553275852
followed_by = Stalking the Angel

"The Monkey's Raincoat" is a Detective novel by Robert Crais. It is the first in a series of linked novels centering on the private investigator Elvis Cole and his partner Joe Pike. Cole is a tough, wisecracking ex-Ranger with an irresistible urge to do what is morally right. The novel won the 1988 Anthony Award for "Best First Novel" [ [http://www.mysteryreaders.org/macavity.html Macavity Awards] ] and the 1988 Mystery Readers International Macavity Award for "Best Paperback Original" at Bouchercon XVIV [ [http://www.bouchercon.info/history.html History of Bouchercon] ] and has since been named one of the 100 Favorite Mysteries of the Century by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association.

Explanation of the novel's title

The title of the novel derives from a haiku by the Japanese poet Matsuo Basho which is quoted at the start of the novel:

Quote|Winter downpour;Even the monkey needs a raincoat.|Basho|"The Monkey's Raincoat"

Plot summary

Cole is hired by Ellen Lang to find her missing husband and son and in the end, with Cole and Pike's help, she single-handedly kills former matador and crime boss Domingo Garcia Duran, the man responsible for her husband's death and her son's kidnapping. The facts behind the events leading to Ellen's husband's involvement with Duran and his death are explicated and her son Perry is restored to her.

Trivia

*Robert Crais' original outline for the novel had Joe Pike getting killed at the end, so that he would have a moment of tragedy that would push Elvis Cole on to the rescue of the boy. [ [http://www.shotsmag.co.uk/interviews2006/r_crais/r_crais.html Shots Ezine: Interview with Robert Crais (2006)] ]

Awards and nominations

*1988 Anthony Award for "Best First Novel"
*1988 Mystery Readers International Macavity Award for "Best Paperback Original"

Release details

*1987, United States of America, Bantam Books ISBN 0553275852, Pub Date 1987, Paperback
*1989, United Kingdom, Piatkus Books ISBN 0-86188-817-0/978-0-86188-817-7, Pub Date February 1989, Hardback

Footnotes

External links

Main character histories

Elvis Cole - Private Detective, protagonist
Janet Simon - Ellen Lang's friend; worked with Eric Filer at Universal
Ellen Lang - Hires Elvis Cole to find missing husband and son, Perry.
Mort Lang - Ellen's husband
Perry, Cindy, and Carrie Lang - The Langs' children
Kimberly Marsh - Mort Lang's girlfriend
George Feider - Detective with 40+ years of experience, worked with Elvis
Eric Filer - Worked with Janet at Universal
Garrett Rice - Mort Lang's best friend and co-producer on a project with Mort
Joe Pike - Detective/Elvis' partner
Cleon Tyler - Garrett Rice's hired "security"
Simms and Eddie - Cops on the scene after Ellen's house was tossed
Patricia Kyle - Former Cole client, works at General Entertainment Studios
Clarence Wu - Owner of Wu's Engraving