Voodoo River Audiobook By Robert Crais cover art

Voodoo River

An Elvis Cole and Joe Pike Novel, Book 5

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Voodoo River

By: Robert Crais
Narrated by: Mel Foster
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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.

Investigate another case with Elvis Cole and Joe Pike.©2008 Robert Crais (P)2008 Brilliance Audio, Inc. Fiction Hard-Boiled Mystery Private Investigators Southern Suspense Thriller & Suspense United States World Literature Detective

Critic reviews

"Cole, in his fifth appearance, is in fine form. He's as tough, witty, and clever as ever, and his partner Pike exudes danger like no one in suspense fiction this side of Spenser's Hawk. The series has been nominated for Edgars and has won Anthonys. This installment is every bit as good as its predecessors."--Booklist
Engaging Plot • Character Development • Interesting Twists • Enjoyable Humor • Great Performance • Complex Hero
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There are two narrated versions of this book on Audible. Mel Foster is the best narrator for this hard-boiled detective story set in Louisiana. He understands the characters and setting and speaks in a slow cadence while emphasizing the correct words and hesitating at the crucial time in order to bring out the humor in the story. Do yourself a favor and avoid the Patrick Lawlor version. He is not a good narrator for this particular book.

Excellent Narration

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If you could sum up Voodoo River in three words, what would they be?

better narrator required

What did you like best about this story?

The meeting and developing romance between Elvis and Lucy.The setting in Louisiana

What didn’t you like about Mel Foster’s performance?

Flat and dull. No energy. David Stuart is much better with the accents and the various voices.

good story but poor performance.

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Mel’s voice of Elvis and young Ben is good, but he Fails to bring out Pike and this is one of the few books that Pike shows his thoughts.
Must listen to the Pike books ,the Watchman, La Requiem and First Rule to really appreciate that Character and how master Crais perceives him.
This story is a good one. Two stories in one, relatives found and evil discovered.
Were my comments of help?

Lucy is Introduced

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Love story & sex unusual in series and kind of nice rounding out characters. Elvis and Pike are always entertaining & surprisingly thoughtful

Good Crais as usual

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This book was well written with great character development (this is my first Elvis Cole read), great story line, lovely finish and THE BEST voice I've had to pleasure to listen to since Michael Kramer of Brandon Sanderson's book.

Too bad they only have 5 stars.

One of the Best

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good story plenty of twist and turns but very little Joe Pike. that's a bummer.

Not enough Joe Pike!

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I am reading the Elvis Cole series and Voodoo River, the fifth book is the best one yet (and it isn’t even close). I thought that the first two books were very forgettable, the third was decent, the fourth just okay, but Voodoo River was very engaging. The plot takes a number of twists that you don’t see coming, leading to Cole and Pike mixed up against some pretty bad people. Aside from the action/mystery plot line, there are two other character driven subplots that really add to the story. One is the discovery of Jodie Taylor’s family of origin and the circumstances that led to her adoption, and the other is Cole’s budding relationship with Lucy Chenier, the lawyer. I wonder if Lucy will be like Jack Reacher’s many love interests and be gone and forgotten about by the next book. What I really like about this book is that Crais dialed back his earlier obsession with making Elvis Cole the wise cracking detective noir, and instead let the characters develop naturally and integrate with the story. All in all, this was a great read.

This fifth Cole book is the best yet

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It had good detective action, but the Cole/Pike partnership gets much better in later in the series of books. The book had clumsy romantic periods, the storyline was weak, and the Mel Foster performance was just OK. I'm happy this was not the first Crais story I listened to; because I probably wouldn't have chose another.

Later books in Cole/Pike series are better

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Elvis Cole is back with his dry humor and self deprecating attitude as he is hired by a famous television actress to find her birth parents (she was adopted). Apparently, she wants the medical history - not to meet or develop a relationship with them.

In the course of his investigation, he ends up in a small town and puts himself right in the middle of small town politics and crime. It becomes apparent that there is more going on and his investigation has succeeded in stirring the pot and uncovering things that people think should have stayed buried.

As he finds himself a bit over his head, he calls in best friend and business partner Joe Pike.

This is one of those series that are quick and easy to read and/or listen to and I have been having a grand 'ole time making my way through the series.

Why does trouble seem to find him?

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Narrator's voice was too deep. Did not match my mental image of Elvis Cole. The narrator did not do other voices well at all, especially female voices.

Narrator's Voice Did Not Fit the Narrative

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