Voodoo River
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- Create Date：2021-04-04 14:58:15
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Robert Crais
- ISBN：140913654X
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Summary
Cole is hired to uncover the past of Jodi Taylor， an actress in a hit TV show。 Elvis leaves his native Los Angeles to head for Louisiana in search of Jodi's biological parents。 But before he can tackle the mystery of the actress's background， he is up against a crazed housewife， a Cajun， and a menacing hundred-year-old river turtle named Luther。 As Elvis learns about the enigmatic actress's origins， he also discovers the real reason he's been sent to Louisiana。
Reviews
John
，
Another great， fast paced entry to this wonderful suspense detective series。 Louisiana setting is a nice change of pace to the series and the new characters are enjoyable。 The plot starts of as a simple gathering of information about n adopted clients natural parents and soon shows that more is going on than meets the eye。 Weirdly enough， this book I actually enjoyed the first half more than the second where the gun fights and killing typically happens in these books。 The first half of the book Another great， fast paced entry to this wonderful suspense detective series。 Louisiana setting is a nice change of pace to the series and the new characters are enjoyable。 The plot starts of as a simple gathering of information about n adopted clients natural parents and soon shows that more is going on than meets the eye。 Weirdly enough， this book I actually enjoyed the first half more than the second where the gun fights and killing typically happens in these books。 The first half of the book is charming， concise， and to the point， and interesting enough as a mystery of who the natural parents are。 When the hammer drops for the second half revealing the secrets happening in the background， you already know who the parents and I just didn't find the second act as satisfying。 It wasn't bad， don't get me wrong。 I just preferred the first half。All in all， you get what you expect from these books and Robert Crais hasn't let me down yet。 Elvis Cole is still my favorite detective。 These books are great for and serve as palate cleansers for me in between the long， grueling epic fantasies I read。 Do yourself a favorite and treat yourself to this series。 。。。more
Chris M
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One of my favorite Elvis Cole books （second only to Lullaby Town）
Brian Card
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it's ok not as good as some of his it's ok not as good as some of his 。。。more
Ray O'Hare
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Excellent， I could not put it down
Kathryn
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It’s interesting how you can go from a simple investigation into an adoption to a complete bloodbath。 Of course， being an Elvis Cole/Joe Pike novel， this is what I’ve come to expect and love。 This particular story brings us to Louisiana and I felt as if I actually took the trip there myself。 Crais does a great job of making the reader feel the essence of Louisiana， the sights， smells， people， and especially the food。 I really enjoyed the different characters， good and bad， and my taste buds were It’s interesting how you can go from a simple investigation into an adoption to a complete bloodbath。 Of course， being an Elvis Cole/Joe Pike novel， this is what I’ve come to expect and love。 This particular story brings us to Louisiana and I felt as if I actually took the trip there myself。 Crais does a great job of making the reader feel the essence of Louisiana， the sights， smells， people， and especially the food。 I really enjoyed the different characters， good and bad， and my taste buds were watering most of the time。 Always enjoy these books and look forward to the next one。 。。。more
DonHSr
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Good series。 Look forward to reading all the books in this series。
Ken Stampe
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TwistyThis was quite the adventure。 Loved the mix of story from looking for a birth family to a wider， darker conspiracy。 Well done。
Jim
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Another excellent Elvis Cole/Joe Pike novel from Robert Crais。 I was surprised to find that the author of Voodoo River hailed from the same Louisiana Cajun country as James Lee Burke， whom I idolize。Although Elvis Cole is nowhere near as haunted by the past as Burke's Dave Robicheaux， he is a recognizable L。A。wiseacre who， balanced by his partner Joe Pike， is a formidable force in confronting evil。 What starts as an assignment to find the sealed records of adoption for a Hollywood TV star ends u Another excellent Elvis Cole/Joe Pike novel from Robert Crais。 I was surprised to find that the author of Voodoo River hailed from the same Louisiana Cajun country as James Lee Burke， whom I idolize。Although Elvis Cole is nowhere near as haunted by the past as Burke's Dave Robicheaux， he is a recognizable L。A。wiseacre who， balanced by his partner Joe Pike， is a formidable force in confronting evil。 What starts as an assignment to find the sealed records of adoption for a Hollywood TV star ends up uncovering a dark world of human "coyotes" organizing illegal immigration from Asia and Latin America。In the course of his investigation， Cole falls for a pretty Baton Rouge attorney representing his client。 I wonder if she shows up in any of the subesequent stories。 。。。more
Michele
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I a huge Robert Crais/Elvis Cole fan。 I think I may have read this one years ago， and simply failed to enter it in Goodreads。 In any case， I enjoyed it all over again。 By now I've read all of the books in this series - am as big a fan of Elvis and Joe Pike as ever， and eagerly await new entries in the series。 This one takes him to Louisiana where he meets the marvelous Lucy for the first time， and finds the very dark side of an actress's adoptive history。 Good stuff！ I a huge Robert Crais/Elvis Cole fan。 I think I may have read this one years ago， and simply failed to enter it in Goodreads。 In any case， I enjoyed it all over again。 By now I've read all of the books in this series - am as big a fan of Elvis and Joe Pike as ever， and eagerly await new entries in the series。 This one takes him to Louisiana where he meets the marvelous Lucy for the first time， and finds the very dark side of an actress's adoptive history。 Good stuff！ 。。。more
Marc Hamilton
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Great storyAnother wonderful adventure for Elvis Cole and Joe Pike。 This is the 15th exciting story about the two fellows and as always it never disappoints- great fall reading。 I give it 5 stars。
Shruts
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Voodoo River takes Elvis and Joe out of their L。A。 turf into the unknown world of South Louisiana， where they don't know the rules or the slimy underbelly as well as they do back home。 But in the end it all works out for the good guys， not so much for the bad。And， Elvis has found a romantic interest who may pop up in future installments。 So I have that to look forward to as I start on #6 tonight。 Voodoo River takes Elvis and Joe out of their L。A。 turf into the unknown world of South Louisiana， where they don't know the rules or the slimy underbelly as well as they do back home。 But in the end it all works out for the good guys， not so much for the bad。And， Elvis has found a romantic interest who may pop up in future installments。 So I have that to look forward to as I start on #6 tonight。 。。。more
Michael Martz
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'Voodoo River' is an older （published in '95） Robert Crais novel， with series star Elvis Cole younger， feistier， smart-ass-ier， and still running his World's Greatest Detective shtick。 It's an interesting look back to nearly the beginning of a wonderful series with top-notch characters。It begins with Elvis being hired by a young lady to find her birth parents。 She happens to be the white bread star of a wildly successful TV series and had been adopted as a baby。 Ostensibly she wanted to know if 'Voodoo River' is an older （published in '95） Robert Crais novel， with series star Elvis Cole younger， feistier， smart-ass-ier， and still running his World's Greatest Detective shtick。 It's an interesting look back to nearly the beginning of a wonderful series with top-notch characters。It begins with Elvis being hired by a young lady to find her birth parents。 She happens to be the white bread star of a wildly successful TV series and had been adopted as a baby。 Ostensibly she wanted to know if there were any congenital health risks in her future。 All she had available to her was a Louisiana legal document related to her birth。 Elvis takes the job and the next plane to N'awlins。 His contact there is a beautiful young attorney and they quickly join forces but run into legal impediments。 Elvis also discovers he has some competition going after the same information。 In short order， he unearths a conspiracy involving the local police force， some good ol' boys， and some not so good smugglers。 Elvis manages to find both love and the information he seeks， gets his ass kicked a couple times， and calls in reinforcements in the guise of the great Joe Pike （who becomes a much more interesting， yet no more verbal， character later in the series）。 Things get wrapped up nicely， though bloodily， at the end。Voodoo River was a fish-out-of-water experience for the World's Greatest Detective， with suave and sophisticated Los Angeles native Cole experiencing all that rural and urban Louisiana has to offer。 It was cool to see his reaction to the new environment as well as the environment's reaction to him as he brought his personality and methods into play。 Crais' writing was breezy as usual with snappy dialogue and a good feel for the action。 I thought the conclusion was a little out there with respect to the plan that was put together， but that was my only real problem with the plot。 Otherwise， Voodoo River is a worthwhile look at early Elvis。 。。。more
Peggy
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Elvis Cole is the oh so cool private eye from Los Angeles。 He has a partner， the dangerous Joe Pike， and they are a formidable duo。 Wise cracking and joking make Elvis especially charming。 He does work for and around the Hollywood elite sometimes， and in this book he is hired by popular TV actress Jodi Taylor。 She plays a clean cut mom in a TV series as wholesome as they come。 In real life Jodi knows she was adopted and she hires Elvis to find her birth mother。 She doesn't want a relationship wi Elvis Cole is the oh so cool private eye from Los Angeles。 He has a partner， the dangerous Joe Pike， and they are a formidable duo。 Wise cracking and joking make Elvis especially charming。 He does work for and around the Hollywood elite sometimes， and in this book he is hired by popular TV actress Jodi Taylor。 She plays a clean cut mom in a TV series as wholesome as they come。 In real life Jodi knows she was adopted and she hires Elvis to find her birth mother。 She doesn't want a relationship with her biological family; she only wants her medical history。 So， off to Baton Rouge goes our hero。 What he finds is that someone has been delving into Jodi's past before him。 And， when the hapless detective who beat Elvis to the information is murdered， Elvis is suspicious。 Then he learns that Jodi and her Hollywood handlers already knew about the previous search。 Elvis is angry at being lied to about the real purpose of the search。 He calls on Joe to join him and together they uncover a much seedier story that a simple adoption search。 Dangerous men with blackmail and murder on their minds turn the story much darker and much， much more sinister。 Elvis falls the Baton Rouge attorney hired to help him with the adoption search。 What happened 36 years ago when Jodi was born is not in the past at all。 I enjoy these books very much。 。。。more
Luke Walker
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A famous actress hires Elvis Cole to look into her past。 The investigation takes Cole to the Louisiana bayou where， of course， things get pretty interesting。 I was interested to find out the Robert Crais is from Louisiana， which gives authenticity to his descriptions of Louisiana culture and cuisine。 This is another very good entry in the Elvis Cole series which I highly recommend！
William
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3。5 StarsNo Voodoo and No River。 As usual with my reviews， please first read the publisher’s blurb/summary of the book。 Thank you。 Again， uneven pacing and dialogue。 This could have been better。A nice romance here， Elvis meets the love of his life。Dan Wesson revolver， carried by Elvis Full size image here Pike's Colt PythonFull size image here Notes and Quotes:7。0% Short sentences。 Cornball humour。 Condescending arrogance。 By-the-numbers plot development。 Zzzzzzz。24。0% Craig's had settled down 3。5 StarsNo Voodoo and No River。 As usual with my reviews， please first read the publisher’s blurb/summary of the book。 Thank you。 Again， uneven pacing and dialogue。 This could have been better。A nice romance here， Elvis meets the love of his life。Dan Wesson revolver， carried by Elvis Full size image here Pike's Colt PythonFull size image here Notes and Quotes:7。0% Short sentences。 Cornball humour。 Condescending arrogance。 By-the-numbers plot development。 Zzzzzzz。24。0% Craig's had settled down now， and the pacing and prose are fine。 A bit more complexity in the plot and characters。 Honestly， I find the sweet little romance more fun than the detection。 "Studly Do-Right" cute。So we watched The Next Generation （Star Trek）。 It was the one where you follow the android， Data， through a twenty-four-hour period in his life， most of which is spent attempting to comprehend the vagaries of the humans around him。 The fun comes in watching the logical， emotionless Data try to make sense of the human condition， which is akin to trying to make sense of the senseless。 He never quite gets it， but he always keeps trying， writing endless programs for his android brain， trying to make the calculus of human behavior add up。 When you think about it， that is not so different from what I do。-Maybe Jimmie Ray had finally realized that he was in over his head and had called for help。 That was possible。 A lot of things are possible until you're dead。-。。。somewhere near his final moment a young woman had called and said that she loved him。 I wondered if he had played back the message。 Jimmie Ray Rebenack was just the kind of guy who would have missed the message， or， if he'd heard it， wouldn't have listened。 Guys like Jimmie Ray never quite learn that love doesn't visit often， and that even when it comes， it can always change its mind and walk away。 You never know。-Jodi Taylor blinked hard several times and had more of the scotch。 The cat crept out onto the deck and sat downwind， barely visible in the dark。 Watching。 I often consider， Does he wonder at the human heart？-The Polara and the Cadillac were at the foot of the building， along with a couple of two-and-a-half-ton trucks。 Both of the trucks were idling， their exhausts breathing white plumes into the damp air like waiting beasts。 Pike and I slipped off the road and into the sawgrass。 I said， "Pod people。" Pike looked at me。 "It's like the nursery Kevin McCarthy discovers in Invasion of the Body Snatchers。 The one where the pod people are growing more pods and loading them onto trucks to be shipped all over the country。" Pike shook his head and turned back to the building。 "You're something。"Robert CraisFull size image hereThere are at least two of Robert's works that he wrote from the heart， with visible love and wonder and care， my very favourites:1。 The Man Who Knew Dick BongMy review of the collection of short stories by authors honouring Marlowe: Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe2。 Suspect about the detective， Scott， and his dog， Maggie。 Robert took the 2 month dog handling course at LAPD before writing this book， and he told me personally how much he loved it。 I could see how special this experience was to him。My review of Suspect。 。。。more
Maygirl7
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3。5 stars A fun read。 I really enjoyed Elvis falling head over heels for Lucy。 It’s not often you see a tough guy PI ga ga for a woman who doesn’t immediately telegraph a positive reaction。 The other notable moment was a scene approximately 40ish % into the book between Elvis， the studio boss， Jodie， and Jodie’s sleazy agent/manager。 It was the perfect trifecta of race， class， and gender whipped up into a super nasty and realistic blend。 Crais’ rendition of the ways in which powerful people mani 3。5 stars A fun read。 I really enjoyed Elvis falling head over heels for Lucy。 It’s not often you see a tough guy PI ga ga for a woman who doesn’t immediately telegraph a positive reaction。 The other notable moment was a scene approximately 40ish % into the book between Elvis， the studio boss， Jodie， and Jodie’s sleazy agent/manager。 It was the perfect trifecta of race， class， and gender whipped up into a super nasty and realistic blend。 Crais’ rendition of the ways in which powerful people manipulate race， gender and class and the fear of those who feel the lack of that power is pitch perfect。 It was a slap in the face reminding me that there is nothing new about people exposing bone deep injustice and inequality。 What’s new is that at least for a while more than a few people and organizations and businesses are paying attention and taking action。 。。。more
Jason
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Like most Cole and Pike novels， the book starts out great， while the end leaves much to be desired。
Jia Cherng
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Voodoo River brought more emotion and passion into Elvis Cole， finally bringing abour a long awaited liaison in Lucy Chenier。But as with the previous books， this one has more or less the same problem too， with overly dramatic fight sequence and a little bit too much bravado。This book is one of the better read in the series， with the passion between Lucy Chenier and Elvis Cole invoking the emotions of readers and a plot in a deep seated social issue。
Tom Gorski
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Clever mystery/thriller。。。unusual for the Cole series it is not set in LAX but in Louisiana。。。allows for the introduction of Lucy Chenier as a character。 Good fast read。
Paschalis
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elibrary
Jack Schultz
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Elvis and Joe remind one of Spenser and Hawk。
Charlene Roberson
，
Elvis Cole has a new case。 And it seems to be pretty easy and straightforward。 A well-known TV actress was adopted as a baby and she wants to find out about her birth parents。 Not to meet them， just to find out about any possible health-related history。 So Elvis goes to Louisiana to meet with the lawyer who has been unable to open the adoption files and try to find another way to do it。 But every time he interviews someone about the case， it seems someone else has been there before him， asking t Elvis Cole has a new case。 And it seems to be pretty easy and straightforward。 A well-known TV actress was adopted as a baby and she wants to find out about her birth parents。 Not to meet them， just to find out about any possible health-related history。 So Elvis goes to Louisiana to meet with the lawyer who has been unable to open the adoption files and try to find another way to do it。 But every time he interviews someone about the case， it seems someone else has been there before him， asking the same questions。 。。。more
Elmer Foster
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Being a fan of Sherlock Holmes， Bosch， Spenser， Scudder， Reacher， etc。， I just feel let down by Elvis Cole。This is the fifth entry and it seems to be a cookie cutter， rip off of the above。 Cole doesn't provide any specific sensational investigative abilities。 He can't seem to get through any mishap without Joe Pike （aka Spenser's Hawk）。 He clearly steals Spenser's cooking abilities， Reacher's way with the ladies， and Bosch's Vietnam heritage -along with his address （even transposes the pet from Being a fan of Sherlock Holmes， Bosch， Spenser， Scudder， Reacher， etc。， I just feel let down by Elvis Cole。This is the fifth entry and it seems to be a cookie cutter， rip off of the above。 Cole doesn't provide any specific sensational investigative abilities。 He can't seem to get through any mishap without Joe Pike （aka Spenser's Hawk）。 He clearly steals Spenser's cooking abilities， Reacher's way with the ladies， and Bosch's Vietnam heritage -along with his address （even transposes the pet from grumpy dog to grumpy cat） and locale。 The supposed draw is the Hollywood clientele but even that seems to be a let down in this story。So let's traipse down to the Bayou for some racial tension and back story。 Even the bad guys are phoned in here， with lackluster lingo and stereo typical descriptions， even the ending was surmised chapters before it occurred， yawn。 Not even the mole twist was surprising given the ham-fisted， ill timed， insertion with no build up or presence of the character into the story line。 Almost as if Crais was taking noted from Saturday afternoon crime novellas and fashion a "new" story of it。With Crais being a native of the bayou， one would believe he could envision a more realistic adventure beyond human trafficking in the middle of hick-ville。Not sure that Elvis Cole has any more to see beyond his Dan Wesson and Disney office furniture， which is good enough for the first story but come on， where's the reason to follow this smuck？Thanks for reading 。。。more
Libbie C。
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Super story！ Elvis and Joe are solving a mystery in Louisiana。 And Elvis fall in love。 。 。 Fast paced and difficult to put down。
Michael Ward
，
This was extremely good and had a lot of twists & turns。 It kept you on edge！ Good over evil did prevail。
Glenn
，
Here's a trivia point。 Robert Crais needs get a better proofreader。 In the novel Stalking the Angel he has a Japanese-American character named Eddie Tang。 Tang is a Chinese name， not Japanese。 In Voodoo River， near the end， he has a character light a "Tarryton 100。" The cigarette brand， famous for the slogan "I'd rather fight than switch，" was Tareyton。 Little careless errors， but they add up to raise questions about Mr。 Crais' attention to detail。Crais uses the buddy system。 Elvis Cole， the nar Here's a trivia point。 Robert Crais needs get a better proofreader。 In the novel Stalking the Angel he has a Japanese-American character named Eddie Tang。 Tang is a Chinese name， not Japanese。 In Voodoo River， near the end， he has a character light a "Tarryton 100。" The cigarette brand， famous for the slogan "I'd rather fight than switch，" was Tareyton。 Little careless errors， but they add up to raise questions about Mr。 Crais' attention to detail。Crais uses the buddy system。 Elvis Cole， the narrator， is the lead guy， and he's sensitive， sometimes emotional， sometimes hysterical。 Joe Pike is the cold killer of the team。 What often happens is that Elvis gets into situations that only Joe can retrieve。 Which is to say， Elvis could only get out of these situations by sacrificing his nice-guy image。 So Joe is there to do the dirty work。In Voodoo River， a pretty good story is somewhat spoiled at the end by the deus ex machina effect of an unexpected army showing up to take care of the bad guys。 And the main bad guy being eaten by his own snapping turtle is just too pat。 。。。more
Scooby Doo
，
This novel didn't hold together as well as previous novels。 The story jumped from one plot to another without a strong tie between them。 Cole's motivation to pursue the second plot wasn't clear。 This novel didn't hold together as well as previous novels。 The story jumped from one plot to another without a strong tie between them。 Cole's motivation to pursue the second plot wasn't clear。 。。。more
Yemic
，
A good read， although not has interesting as some of the previous books。 Having said， Joe is just brilliant。 The man of little words。
Kirsten stracke
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I'm starting to enjoy this series a lot more。 I read an interview with the author where he said to start with #5 because the earlier books sucked and I think he was right。 This was a fun detective read with a decent but realistic （for a crime/PI book） twist。 I'm starting to enjoy this series a lot more。 I read an interview with the author where he said to start with #5 because the earlier books sucked and I think he was right。 This was a fun detective read with a decent but realistic （for a crime/PI book） twist。 。。。more
Bruce Gleba
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Well layed out story
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Voodoo River
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Voodoo River&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Voodoo River&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0