Famous for his Los Angeles crime novels, particularly the Elvis Cole and Joe Pike books. He also lives in Los Angeles.
An award winning novelist, his books have made the New York Times best seller list. Is the 2006 recipient of the Ross MacDonald Literary Award. He has authored many New York Times best sellers.
Crais attended the prestigious Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers' Workshop with Kim Stanley Robinson, Gregory Frost, and many others, in 1975.