Voodoo River

Written by Robert Crais

Narrated by Patrick Lawlor

L.A. private eye Elvis Cole is hired by popular television star Jodie Taylor to delve into her past and identify the biological parents who gave her up for adoption thirty-six years before. Cole's assignment is to find out their biological history and report back.

It seems all too clear cut. But when he gets to Louisiana and begins his search, he finds that there's something much darker going on. Other people are also looking for Taylor's parents, and some are ending up dead.

And when Cole realizes that his employer knew more than she was telling, Voodoo River becomes a twisting tale of identity, secrets, and murder.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio
• Release date: Jul 25, 2006
• ISBN: 9781423302599

Robert Crais

Robert Crais is the author of many novels, including the New York Times bestsellers The Last Detective, Hostage, and L.A. Requiem. Learn more about his work at RobertCrais.com.

Reviews for Voodoo River

[rickweaver · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

High quality read!

[simonlarsen_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Contains two major story arcs that have very little in common and when forced together in a novel it makes somewhat a mess of both.

[col2910_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Synopsis/blurb........
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 whole host of eccentrics, including a crazed Raid-spraying housewife, a Cajun thug who looks like he's been made out of spare parts, 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...

The latest instalment of Robert Crais’ series involving LA PI Elvis Cole was probably my most enjoyed book so far in this series...........5 down, about 7 to go.

Cole moves off his home turf of Los Angeles and heads to the steamy south to try and track down the natural birth parents of the latest American sweetheart - Jodi Taylor, star of the small screen. Ostensibly Taylor, adopted at birth, wants Cole to establish whether her birth parents had anything in their medical history that may be of concern to her in the future.

Cole quickly realises he’s been duped by the actress and her agent, and that a local investigator has already uncovered the actress’ family history and has been blackmailing her. After confronting the investigator, Elvis crosses paths with the local big-shot, Milt Rossier and his stooges and is warned off. When the investigator turns up dead, Cole realises there’s more at play and calls in Pike.

What started as a relatively uncomplicated investigation into tracing an adoptee’s family history evolves into a sorry tale involving people smuggling from Central America by competing factions of ruthless criminals, who served their apprenticeships operating in 80’s Salvadorean death squads.

Cole for the first time sacrifices his client’s interests in pursuit of a bigger goal, whilst also finding time to romance Lucy Chenier, Taylor’s Louisianan lawyer.

If you like mysteries involving wise-cracking PI’s, enigmatic sidekicks, blackmail, Cajun food, family secrets, murder, people smuggling, race issues, gun-play, crooked cops, violence, romance and a 100-year old snapping turtle this one is definitely the book for you.

5 stars out of 5 from me.

Next month, I will hopefully be reading Sunset Express, winner of a Shamus Award in 1997 – I’m only 16 years late to the party!

I bought my copy of Voodoo River too many years ago to recall exactly where from.

[zmagic69 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This one seemed a little overly ambitious. There was too much going on and the story was a little far fetched. Still a good series.

[ikeman100 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Another good book in a great series.

[brone_2 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Good story but the PC and anti Christian ranting is goofy.

[johnwculuris · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Private Investigator Elvis Cole’s fifth outing is reputed to be one of Crais’ best. Ostensibly about a search for the medical history of a popular TV actress who was adopted as a child, once in her home state of Louisiana Cole finds things are more complicated than expected. The process of the untangling her past brings to light other reprehensible activities permeating a small parish about an hour outside of Baton Rouge. It is the early stages of the investigation that keeps this from being a great novel. The first six chapters or so, some seventy pages, are deathly dull, saved only by Cole’s attraction to, and his person pursuit of, the female attorney with whom he is assigned to work. As adoption law and Louisiana are both unfamiliar territory to him, she is a necessary touchstone, and their interaction, professionally and otherwise, helps alleviate the boredom until the case takes off. But once it does, Voodoo River deserves it reputation. You will spot the mistake that ruins Cole’s plan and leads to the riveting conclusion, and unlike in previous novels, this time the mistake is not Cole’s. As usual, Cole’s laconic partner Joe Pike is on hand once backup is needed, a presences that is always welcome. All things considered, Voodoo River is well worth the trip.

[slvoight_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Elvis and Joe are hired by a famous actress and her agent to find out about her bio parents who are from a small Louisiana town. When Elvis arrives to discovers that someone has been checking out the story before him and there seems to be something else going on in the town and of course Elvis need to fix the problem.

[tatoosh-3 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The plot takes a long time to develop in this, the fifth offering in the Elvis Cole/ Joe Pike series. Cole initially undertakes to find the identity of the birth parents of a TV actress who was adopted. She claims she doesn't want to meet them but just wants to learn if there are any health issues in the family history she should know about. About 100 pages into the book, when Cole has identified the birth parents, we find that the actresses' real concern is that she is being blackmailed. That's a long time to spend on the build-up to the real story.The plot unfolds from that plot in predictable fashion. Joe Pike is called in for a bit part; apparently Joe still can't or won't talk much. Cole beds the "astonishingly sexy, beautiful" lawyer he is working with, develop a complicate plot to bring the three groups of bad guys down, and finally resolves the problem in a multi-sided gunfight. The book is pretty much what we would expect. You can read that in two ways. You can conclude that it is somewhat formulaic, or that Crais delivers the entertainment that we were seeking. For the time being I somewhat favor the second interpretation, but the series and characters will have to evolve over the next few novels or I will grow bored.

[quibee · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A typical Cole and Pike novel--nice fast-paced mystery, with evil villains that need to be overcome and our heroes fighting overwhelming odds, as usual.
A Hollywood star was adopted and wants to find out who her biological parents were, so Elvis heads to Baton Rouge, where, with the help of an attractive female lawyer, he finds out what he needs to know.
Unfortunately, as is usual in a Cole and Pike novel, it's never just that simple and the star's family are involved in a bit of nastiness that needs sorting out.

[msphotogirl · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I liked this Crais the best out of all of them I've read so far. Most of the previous I read have started out slow. This one did not. It moved from the very beginning. I'm enjoying reading about Elvis and Joe.

[lamour_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

TV actress, Jodi Taylor asks Elvis to find her birth mother as she was adopted. She doesn't want her birth mother to know about the search. However things unravel when Elvis discovers that Jodi's father was black and he was murdered. This leads to the discovery of a human trafficking scheme in which Joe & Elvis plus Jodi and her mother all find their lives in danger.This is the Elvis Cole novel in which we first meet Luci Chenier, the Baton Rouge lawyer who becomes Elvis' love interest in later novels.

[aliceanna-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Very enjoyable with lots of local color, a tight plot, interesting characters ... lies, betrayal and a past that no one acknowledges fuel a dangerous climax.

[susanbeamon · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I like these PI thrillers, and Elvis Cole is one of the good one. The author has a long series, and I have probably jumped in the middle but it doesn't really matter. The action is steady and logical, the danger is true to the action and circumstances, and the characters make sense.

[mikedraper · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Elvis Cole, PI is asked to find the biological parents of a TV personality.He travels from LA to Louisiana where he comes to a southern land where people have their own mind sets on doing things and accepting help from the outside. He has help from an attractive attorney from Baton Rouge.The TV star, Jodi Taylor, would like even more information on the historical happenings of the area where her biological parents lived.Elvis and his partner, Joe Pike, return and learn about locals who are smuggling drugs and illegal emigrants.This is a well written story with an original plot and interesting characters.

[susanamper · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Hired by popular television star Jodie Taylor to find the biological parents who gave her up for adoption thirty-six years earlier, Los Angeles private eye Elvis Cole becomes suspicious when other investigators searching for Jodie's parents are killed.This is the novel where Elvis meets Lucy Chenier in New Orleans. A good read although the ending was a letdown.

[stevealdous · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I love Robert Crais' Elvis Cole novels and his easy writing style. This was a good story that was let down slightly by its hamfisted Hollywood movie ending. Cole and Pike are great characters and the series would grow from here.

[thoughtsofjoylibrary · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Elvis Cole, LA private eye, travels to Louisiana to find the biological parents of a well-known actress.This book provided the missing piece I've been waiting for. Having read the series out-of-order (my bad), I already knew something and wondered how it came to be. Now I know. :)Elvis's wit continues (and again, some phrases are repeated too often, but I still like him - a lot) and Joe Pike makes his appearance as well, making this a another very good mystery.Originally posted on: Thoughts of Joy

[stuartw_64 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Thoroughly enjoyed reading.

[dakoty · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

What I learned...I love his writing style

[charlottem_63 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Elvis leaves Los Angeles to investigate a case in Louisiana. Joe Pike arrives later to help out. Elvis meets Lucy and Ben. There is a lot of action, especially by the river. Good triumphs over evil as the reader knows it will, but will Elvis get his girl?