This is an awesome collection of truly outstanding translations of Schiller's drama, five plays total, including "The Robbers," "Don Carlos," "Mary Stuart," "Intrigue and Love," and "The Maid of Orleans." This whopper of a 700-page volume will allow the modern reader to see exactly why Schiller is justly ranked with Goethe as the second giant of German literature. For anyone interested in an inexplicably neglected major figure in world literature, this book is indispensable!

SeaSwept is my favorite Nora Roberts' book. Actually, the entire Quinn Brothers trilogy is an excellent read (Inner Harbor, Rising Tides). SeaSwept introduces you to the Quinn family and in particular, Cameron Quinn. Ms. Roberts' male characters are always strong, sensitive men with an incredible sense of family and morals. Upon meeting Cameron in the opening pages of this book, he's what one would call a "player." But when called upon by his siblings during a family crisis, he comes through shining. It has always been the three Quinn brothers but a family tragedy brings about the possibility of there being a fourth Quinn that they had no knowledge of. SeaSwept is a familial story of strenghth and love and of the ties that bind fathers & sons and brothers to each other. As with each of the Quinn boys, they must come to face their past demons and ultimately, their present, as they each make their way into the future and join to affect the future of their youngest brother, Seth. It is an excellent read and is enchanced by the story setting of the eastern seaboard town in which it takes place.

"Sea Swept" is the first book in the trilogy revolving around the Quinn brothers of Cheseapeke Bay. The entire trilogy is a must read, although each book can stand on its own.
The Quinns are three brothers who were all taken in by Ray Quinn and his wife as abused and neglected juvenile delinquents. Because of the love and understanding of their adopted parents, the Quinn boys turned their lives around and they became a true family.
This is the story of Cameron, the eldest, who is called back home from his life of sailing and adventure after his father is injured in a car accident. As Ray Quinn dies, he asks his three sons to raise Seth, the boy he has just recently adopted. Cam struggles to deal with his father's death and tries to reach Seth's guarded heart. He also meets Anna Spinneli, Seth's social worker, and begins to develop a relationship with her.
The romance between Cam and Anna is realistic and very passionate. The relationship that Cam and his two brothers, Ethan and Phillip, develop with Seth is truly touching and is perfectly written by Nora Roberts.
As the brothers struggle to solve the mystery of who Seth really was to their father, and at the same time try to convince the government that they are capable of raising a child, there are all kinds of funny, heart-warming, and poignant scenes. In the midst of all this, Cam and Anna develop deep feelings for each other and try to figure out where those feelings will take them. The result is an absolutely superior book that you won't soon forget. Trust me, you will love these brothers!

Though I don't care for the title, knowing Nora could've done much better, this book quickly overcame that fault. Sea Swept is a novel written about a family of 3 adopted brothers-Cameron, Ethan, and Phillip, 11 year old Seth, and his social worker, Anna. The book is Cam's story, the famous daredevil son who likes fast boats, cars, and women. Cam has just won a famous boat race as he's notified his Dad is in a coma. As he returns, his Dad becomes coherent long enough to ask his sons to care for Seth. At the time of the accident, he was adopting Seth. The scene is set for shocking discoveries, as rumor has it Seth is Ray Quinn's child. Clearing their Dad's name uppermost in their minds, the three brothers take turns falling in love with young Seth. Each sees part of his past in the boy. You're caught up in the war of love and conflict here, and Nora Roberts makes sure you can step inside each character's shoes. The story unravels in surprising directions. I found the book exciting and captivating, the seaside a perfect backdrop for the tranquility needed during the tempestuous times and impending scandal. Anna is the center of attention, along with Seth, as she's surrounded by three virile, single brothers. You discover her heart-wrenching past as you're already her biggest fan. Taken in by her feisty, sexy, independent and honest to a fault personality, you are indeed *seaswept*...Watching Cam and Anna fight their obvious attraction, the the ways their love for Seth sneaks up on them both is genuine fun. Caught between their tangling and clashing one moment - and fiery passion the next, you are sucked in to Sea Swept without an ounce of resistance!

"Rising Tides" is the second book about the three Quinn brothers. This story revolves around Ethan and his relationship with Grace Monroe. Ethan has had perhaps the most disturbing past of the three boys adopted by Ray and Stella Quinn, but he has managed to become a wonderful, caring man and successful fisherman. Ethan and Grace have been friends for years. Grace cleans houses (including the Quinn's) and waitresses in order to support herself and her two year old daughter, Aubrey. Grace works incredibly hard and is a wonderful, complex character. Grace has been in love with Ethan for years and vice versa, although neither of them has acted upon it. This story is full of love and sadness, romance and fulfillment, as Grace and Ethan finally come together. It is a truly touching and lovely story, and is probably my favorite of the three.
Seth's story is also continued in this installment, as his mother begins to pose more of a threat to him. The interaction between Seth and his brothers makes this more than just a simple romance. NR does a fabulous job of dealing with difficult emotions and complex relationships. She really makes the reader care about these characters and what happens to them.
I highly recommend this book. It is full of all the aspects of life, and mixes moving and poignant scenes with humorous and amusing ones that will make you laugh. This is an excellent read and you do not want to miss it!

Rising Tides is the second book in the trilogy of the Quinn brothers. This second book of the trilogy was my favorite so far! I haven't read the third one yet but I will. This book was very simple with a few twists and turns. I would highly reccomend this novel!

Ethan is the eldest brother and a fisherman, still living in the Maryland shore town where he was raised by Ray and Stella Quinn. He is a quiet, seemingly content man but you later learn that he has kept his emotions and such to himself for many years. Ethan shared Ray's loves of the sea, boating, and fishing. Ethan seems satisfied with his life until he comes to face his past demons when youngest brother, Seth joins the family and with a similar past. Ethan is drawn to Seth having realized they both experienced horrific abuse at the hands of their natural parents during their early childhood. Because of this common thread, the story of their relationship is quite an emotional read. Ethan establishes a strong paternal relationship with his youngest brother and together, they are both able to put their past to rest. During the course of this book, Ethan realizes he is worthy of a loving relationship with Grace Monroe and her daughter Aubrey whom you will meet in Rising Tides and fall in love with. Ethan is the strongest of the Quinn brothers and through his love for his family and his job, he is able to give each of this brothers the emotional grounding they need to get through their family tragedy and learn to enjoy their lives once more.

I love Nora Roberts books! I like it when she writes something more than a romance or mystery. The real life topic in this book is child abuse and the devastating, life long effect it can have on families and people. Nora manages to get across this very disturbing subject and still write an enjoyable book with a wonderful romance!

Rising Tides is the story of the eldest Quinn brother, Ethan. Ethan is a fisherman, still living in the Maryland shore town where his was raised by Ray and Stella Quinn. He is a quiet, seemingly content man but you later learn that he has kept his emotions and such to himself for many years. Ethan shared Ray's loves of the sea, boating, and fishing. On the whole, Ethan seems satisfied with his life until he comes to face his past demons when youngest brother, Seth joins the family. Ethan is drawn to Seth having realized they both experienced horrific abuse at the hands of their natural parents during their early childhood. Because of this common thread, the story of their relationship is quite an emotional read. Ethan establishes a strong paternal relationship with his youngest brother and together, they are both able to put their past to rest. During the course of this novel, Ethan realizes his dream to be a shipbuilder and also along the way realizes that he is worthy of a loving relationship with Grace and her daughter Aubrey whom you will meet in Rising Tides and fall in love with. I believe Ethan is the strongest of the Quinn brothers and through his love for his family and his job, he is able to give each of this brothers the emotional grounding they need to get through their family tragedy and learn to enjoy their lives once more.

It is not often i find an American Private eye author which i like (im English). There are very few, the only two i can think of right now being Sue Grafton and Michael Connelly.

I thought, after finishing The Monkey's Raincoat, that this would probably be yet another American PI novelist which i read a couple of, and get bored with. However, i was very very wrong. Robert Crais is a superb, superb writer. It is just this one book which lets him down. All the others are briliant.

The PI's in this novel are the main character Elvis Cole, and his detective agency partner Joe Pike.

It's quite clear from reading this - his first novel- that Robert Crais does have considerable potential, not just because his characters are drawn so superbly. Which they are. The lead two characters are the best PI's i have ever read. they're brilliantly interesting, especially the silent but deadly Joe Pike. I am glad i didn't just read this one, and did decide to read a couple more.

This book is somewhat laclustre in it's style and content. All the hallmarks of his future novels are there. Well rounded plot, well drawn cahracters, the great humour which seems to seep out of all PI novels of this day and age.

But there is definitely something in it that does not click in the mind of the reader. As it is a first novel, the writing isn't particularly confident, or assured. Also, you feel he was trying to pack a lot into quite a small number of pages. this, essentially, is a mafia/mob/gangster tale. It's understandable, he was young when he wrote this. He's an american, he's male. It's understadable he would like to write a book about mob related issues and mafia style morals and violence. But this novel is very much "one for the boys". I can't women liking this as much as men.

You even get the feeling that at times Mr Crais wasn't really taking this very seriously. At times this crosses the line into piece of comedy writing. And not very good comedy. If he restricts his humour,as he does in his other books, it makes them extrememly funny. But in this one it doesn't. it's overused.

The plot is slightly...complicated. And boring. are the two words which comes to mind. really, a lot does happen, but none of the events are really that interesting. As a first novel, it is not really a very good one. The plot is not all that interesting, and the mix of humour and mob violence does not really work.

However, this book still does have Robert Crais most prolific hallmark. His furious yet subtle compassion. He has a very finely honed sense of right and wrong, and he tries to brings this out in this novel, without the reader actually noticing he is doing it. and he manages it brilliantly. This fact made me want to read more of his, otherwise i might not have continued. And i was glad i did, because from here on in it's plain sailing. ALl his other novels are much better. the humour is not so much a central part of the book, and the plots are all interesting and very readable. He goes on to tackle the topic of the mafia yet again much better in several of his other novels. (namely Indigo Slam)

In short, if you want to read Robert Crais, it is not really necessary that you read this. Like every good Pi novels he reintroduces the characters with each new book. So you can give this one a miss and concentrate on his other novels. Which are well worth a read.

This is the first entry in Robert Crais' Elvis Cole series and is a great read. Crais is a former TV writer who wrote for Emmy Award winning series such as L.A. Law and Hill Street Blues. In Elvis Cole, he creates a charcter who, on the surface, seems to be just another wise cracking private eye, but is actually so much more. Along with his perpetually sunglassed partner Joe Pike, Elvis owns a P.I. Agency in Los Angeles. Pike is quite interesting as well. He says little and lives life according to a strict code of discipline. He reminds me a little bit of Clint Eastwood from his spaghetti western days. The book opens with Elvis meeting with Ellen Lang & her friend Janet. It appears that Ellen's husband Mort has kidnapped their son. Elvis reluctantly takes the case and what appears to be a routine case of a missing person turns into something much bigger. Through many twists and turns involving small time Hollywood agents and actresses, he eventually comes face to face with a Mexican crime lord, who is a former bullfighter. He thinks Elvis has his missing cocaine and the story ends with Elvis searching for the cocaine and a showdown in the crime lord's compound. Crais weaves many interesting characters into a fast paced, humorous tale. The book contains the right amount of twists and turns to keep you on your toes, but not too many as to seem implausible. He reveals just enough about Elvis & Pike for us to get know them, but leaves somethings about them uncovered, so they can be explored in future books. This book is as entertaining as any I ever read and if you enjoy mystery novels, you love this one.

The Monkey's Raincoat, grabs you from the first chapter, puts you on the edge of your seat and keeps you there to the climactic end of the book. Meet Elvis Cole, Viet Nam vet, ex-security guard turned private investigator. He's a hard boiled, wise-cracking detective who gives Mike Hammer and Sam Spade a run for their money. The case begins as Ellen Lang hires Elvis to find her missing husband, Hollywood agent, Mort, who's taken their son and disappeared. Unfortunately, the case is a bit more complicated than just a simple missing person. Mort is soon found shot dead in his car, there's no sign of the son and Ellen is missing too. Elvis Cole is now on a mission to find mother and son and it involves missing drugs and some pretty frightening bad guys. Robert Crais has created a great mystery with a tight plot, full of terrific, interesting characters. His writing is crisp and sharp with witty and irreverent dialogue and action packed scenes. This is a fast paced, page turner that won't let you down. Mr. Crais deserved all the nominations and awards this book won.

For Elvis Cole it looks like an easy case. Three kids walk into his office and want to hire him to find their missing father. Before it's over Cole is up to his neck in the Russian mafia, Vietnamese patriots, the Federal witness protection program, and a "funny money" scheme.

The book is well plotted and moves along nicely, with a few unexpected twists and turns. Cole is his usualy wise-cracking self and Joe Pitt is as quiet and grim as ever. I've read all of Mr. Crais' novels and I don't know if this is better than the rest, but it's just as good. These guys always remind me of Robert Parker's Spenser and Hawk characters with their byplay. All in all a good book.

For me, the mystery of Indigo Slam is why it was out of print for years. Originally published in 1997, it didn't come out in paperback till 2003 (and the hardcover disappeared), while other later Crais novels (including another Cole book) did the usual hardcover-to-paperback cycle and remained on the shelves. Whatever the reason, it's here now and it's really good.

Elvis Cole, self-proclaimed World's Greatest Detective, is hired by three children to find their father. Motivated more by conscience than money, he helps them. When it turns out that the father is on the run from the Russian mob, Elvis starts getting in over his head. Fortunately, there is his laconic partner Pike to watch his back.

Mystery fans will see a certain similarity between the Cole books and Robert Parker's Spenser. Both feature wise-cracking tough private eyes with mysterious but generally good-hearted partners. Unfortunately, over the years, I found Spenser getting unlikably smug and self-righteous, while Cole remains a pleasure to read about. And both Cole and Pike are much more well-developed than either Spenser or Hawk, neither of whom even reveal their full names (the single-named hero is a bit of a tired gimmick nowadays...Richard Stark's Parker is forgiven because he's been around since the mid-60's).

You don't need to have read other Elvis Cole novels to get into this one; Crais makes it easy to get right into things. For fans of the private-eye novel, you'll find this - like all the other novels by Crais - delightfully entertaining.

Robert Crais breathes new life into the wisecracking PI genre with his Elvis Cole series. What at first looks like a Spenser clone, becomes fresh and satisfying with Crais' guidance. Cole and his partner Joe Pike find themselves as nursemaids to 3 kids whose father has flown from the care of the witness protection program. What looks to be a case of finding a deadbeat drugged out lowlife takes a turn when the father turns out to be a bit different than Cole's image of him. The fight to save the family brings Cole into conflict with Vietmnamese expatriates, the Russian mob, the Witness Protection Program and the US Treasury. It leads to an exciting chase at Disneyland which guarantees that this book will never be made into a Disney film and a stunning conclusion which puts the family in extreme jeopardy. Write on, Mr Crais, write on.

Robert Crais has created an appealing and humorous protagonist for his Los Angeles-set crime novels in private investigator Elvis Cole. Cole is a fascinating combination of post-Viet Nam hardboiled cynicism and golden-hearted idealism, a wisecracking, Corvette-driving master of martial arts who is also a first-rate detective. Crais makes Cole's adventures all the more appealing through his lively and witty writing style; his stories are carried along by his colorful descriptions of places and people, and he punctuates his narrative with clever verbal "zingers" through which Crais demonstrates considerable insight into human beings and their foibles.

In this, the second of the Elvis Cole novels, Crais focuses upon a crime scenario involving the *yakuza*, the so-called "Japanese Mafia." The first part of the book sets out the elements of a potentially intricate mystery involving the stealing of a precious Japanese sacred text; this leads to murder, kidnapping, and a fascinating foray into the Japanese-American underworld by Cole and his gun-toting associate, Joe Pike.

The promise that is presented by the first part of the book, however, goes largely unrealized in the second. The "mystery" proves to be fairly easily solved, and the last portion of the story mainly involve a lot of chasing, fighting, and ultimately shooting of stereotyped Asian bad guys by Cole and Pike. Cole actually has a heart of gold (of course), and ends up doing much of his crime-solving work for free, because it is the "right thing to do." To a point, this is reasonable as part of the author's strategy for creating a hero appropriate to the genre. However, by the end of the book, the highly risky course of action followed by our heroes simply out of the goodness of their hearts seems way too implausible, and their methods for righting wrongs way too violent. The story actually impressed me as akin to something one might see in a private eye television series, i.e., light on intricacy of plot, heavy on "fightin' and shootin'," and with a highly simplistic differentiation between the "good" and the "bad" characters.

Crais is an indisputably skillful writer who can turn a phrase as well as any of the best crime story writers around today. However, *Stalking The Angel* is lightweight fare when compared to the deeper, more substantial work of say, Michael Connelly. Having now read Crais' first two Cole novels, I am curious to read one or more of his more recent works. I want to see whether as Crais has developed his mystery writing acumen he has shown himself capable of developing books in which the appeal to readers is based not just upon private eye wisecracks, alluring locales, and a socko series of action-packed sequences, but also upon a more highly-crafted plot structure.

In this second book of the series, Elvis Cole is back, spouting witty dialogue, trying to save the girl, and eliminate the bad guys. Sound pretty much appropriate for a detective story? Not when it involves a Disney-figurine-loving guy driving a yellow corvette.

A priceless Japanese manuscript is stolen and snappy private investigator Elvis Cole is hired to find it. Bradley Warren and the best looking woman he has seen in weeks, Jillian Becker, need Elvis to find the Hagakure, and money is no object thanks to the blank check they left him. In the process, Warren's daughter, Mimi, is kidnapped by the Japanese mafia, making Elvis' work that much harder. Elvis' trail runs cold several times, as the storyline takes several unexpected twists.

Elvis is once again, complimented by his sociopathic, always-wearing-shades partner, Joe Pike. Straight-faced cop Lou Poitras is also back in a minor background role, but always adding a dry humor to the novel. Mimi, the kidnapped daughter, is a very interesting character in this book, as she is the focal point of the investigation, and it is her that brings out Elvis' human side. If anything, STALKING THE ANGEL, opens the readers eyes to Cole's serious, yet sensitive feelings. This human element made for a much more complete novel.

This was a very good book, that reads exceptionally well. The flow is quite nice, with the amusing hero in Elvis taking center stage. This is another solid effort from Robert Crais.

Hard-boiled and always wisecracking private detective, Elvis Cole and his ever silent partner, Joe Pike are back and better than ever in Stalking the Angel. This time out, he's hired by hotel magnate, Bradley Warren, to find the Hagakure, a priceless Japanese manuscript, that's been stolen from Warren's personal safe in his Holmby Hills mansion. As he and Pike begin their investigation, Warren's daughter is first threatened and then kidnapped from right under their noses and Elvis and Joe are now on a mission to find both the manuscript and the girl, unharmed..... Robert Crais has done it again! Stalking the Angel is a fast paced mystery/thriller, you'll have to finish in one sitting. This is a story that has it all...writing that's smart and spare, with never a wasted word; crisp, irreverent dialogue and suspenseful, riveting scenes. And, as Pike and Cole circle closer and closer to the truth, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat, turning pages to the story's shocking and satisfying conclusion. Stalking the Angel is a book mystery fans shouldn't miss.

Robert Crais has done a wonderful job of writing in the Elvis Cole mystery series. The wisecracking private investigator is back for the sixth novel in his series.

Cole is hired by the leading attorney for a multi-millionaire arrested for the murder of his wife. Cole is hot on the tail of the Los Angeles Police Department in suspecting that they have planted evidence in this murder case. As Cole and his "hired muscle" partner, Joe Pike, investigate further, the evidence starts to turn on the defense team. Things heat up with everyone wanting a piece of the self proclaimed "World's Greatest Detective." Throw in a surprise visit from Lucy, Cole's love interest, and you have an intense thriller.

What always makes Crais' novels so great is his well-developed, interestingly complex characters. He weaves an amazingly intricate storyline around these characters with well-described settings, making for a complete book.

This is another solid effort by Crais, and an excellent novel that is a pleasure to read. Enjoy the ride.

Crais does it again. The only reason I give this four and not five stars is I have come to expect so much of Crais that I have set his books for extremely high standards. Elvis Cole has developed the more tender side as his love life grows, but this doesn't take away from the intriguing mystery and the characters themselves. If anything I think these developments make Elvis become more realistic and add to the story. If you have read the previous books don't be worried that this will skip a beat.

For any concerned Spenser fans, I'll say that I was a fan of Crais before I picked up a Spenser novel, and I have to admit I was initially blown away by the thought that Elvis Cole and Joe Pike were a reenactment of Spenser and Hawk. After reading this book though I think that while Crais may have been inspired by Spenser's stories, that his books do not fall into the category of imitations. They definitely stand on their own. In other words if you love Spenser then you'll love these books too, for the characters and stories and you will be begging for the next one to come along.

I can only guess that this book is not published due to some issue between Crais and the publisher of this book and Indigo Slam. I found my copy at a used book store. It's definitely worth the search. No matter how you find it, pick it up and bring it home.

You're not into this Elvis Cole case too long before you realize that Crais is using the OJ Simpson case as a model. And if you haven't read any of Crais' Elvis Cole novels, you'll also realize before too long that Elvis and his partner Joe Pike are similar in tone to Robert Parker's Spenser and Hawk. But Robert Crais has the ability to take these similarities and craft them into a series and a detective novel with it's very own flavor. Cole is hired to check out a detective who may have planted evidence. His findings aren't consistent with what the defense team wants and Elvis is forced to switch teams and work with Joe Pike to clear up a mess he helped create. Elvis' romantic tangle with a lawyer from Louisiana is brought into play and takes up a little too much page time, but the the climatic 3rd of the book is as satisfying a set of confrontations as anyything in the Spenser series. Not all of the bad guys get their just desserts and Elvis vows at the end to hound those who get away, which would make a nice story for a future case. A great PI novel especially for those who distrust lawyers and the media, which is just about everybody but lawyers and members of the media.