Voodoo River (Elvis Cole and Joe Pike Book 5)

Returning to my reading of Robert Crais's Elvis Cole/Joe Pike series, I've reached entry number five, Voodoo River. I think it may be my favorite so far, although it's hard to say just why that is.It follows the by now familiar formula. Elvis, "The World's Greatest Detective," is hired by someone in trouble, usually a beautiful woman, to extricate her from that trouble. He noodles around doing his detecting thing until he more or less stumbles into a theory of what's going on and how to solve the problem, at which point his more deadly partner, Joe Pike, enters the game and the two of them clean up Dodge, usually with a lot of gunfire involved.I think perhaps my liking of this book may have something to do with its setting. Most of the action takes place in Baton Rouge and New Orleans, places that I have visited and have some familiarity with, so perhaps it was easier for me to enter into the action. Anyway, for whatever reason, it was an entertaining read.The story this time is that Elvis is contacted by television star Jodie Taylor and her agent Sid to look into Jodie's past. She was adopted as a baby back in Louisiana and has no idea who her birth parents were. Now she wants to find out about her biological background and she hires Elvis for the job.Elvis heads to Baton Rouge where he meets the lawyer representing Jodie's interests there, Lucy Chenier. There is an instant attraction between the two and it is clear where this is headed.Elvis begins his investigation and soon starts to turn up evidence of a darker reality that is happening among the bayous around Baton Rouge, something more complicated than the biological history of one thirty-six year old woman.He notices that there seem to be an unusually large number of Hispanics working in the area. A bit more digging reveals that there is a flourishing human smuggling operation going on that brings undocumented immigrants up the river from the Gulf Coast to work processing fish and crayfish. The immigrants are under the radar with no protection of the law and they are being terribly exploited and sometimes killed. It's an injustice that Elvis Cole, Righter of Wrongs, cannot let stand.Soon Joe Pike arrives on the scene and the action kicks up a notch.Meanwhile, Elvis has uncovered the history and origins of his client. (Well, actually, a local PI uncovered it and Elvis stole the information from his office files, but let's not quibble over details.) Once again things get complicated as it develops that the local PI was trying to blackmail Elvis' client with the information that would have been shameful 36 years before and still might cause some problems in 1995 when this book was written. It's interesting to contemplate how things have changed in the last twenty-one years. Things that might then have been considered scandalous no longer are.As always, Crais keeps the plot moving along briskly. It's a plot that has a lot of meat on it with interracial relationships and mixed race children, as well as the element of the smuggling and exploitation of immigrants. Moreover, the two new characters, Lucy Chenier and her son, are appealing and serve to give a bit more depth to Elvis' personality. From what I understand, these become recurring characters, so it will be interesting to see how those relationships develop in future books.All in all, a very satisfying read. The bad guys get their comeuppance. Righteousness reigns in the end and once again Elvis Cole has managed to serve his client's interests and to come out smelling like a rose. Not an easy task in hot and humid Louisiana.

I've never read a Robert Crais novel that was less than a 5 (or maybe a 10) in my estimation. Voodoo River is no exception, even in its second reading. Th action is taut, the suspense is unforgiving. The writing is simply superb. Just what you expect from Robert Crais!

Have been reading Robert Crais books, and specifically the Elvis Cole and Joe Pike individual and collaboration series. All great. Since I read 10-12 before getting to this early version, I’m a bigger fan of later books in the series. They’re all wonderful.

If you enjoy this genre and Robert Crais' previous books in the series, you will enjoy this one too. The majority of the action occurs in the area around New Orleans as Elvis searches for the birth parents of a celebrity actress. But he seems to be retracing steps taken by someone just a few months earlier. Is it possible the client didn't tell him the full story? Very likely. On the positive side, his primary legal contact in the area is a beautiful divorcee with an 8-year old son for whom Elvis quickly falls, in spite of his and her best intentions. This raises the stakes. Elvis has to think about her safety as he starts kicking the various hornets nests needed to get to the truth. Eventually things become too violent for Elvis to handle alone so his partner Joe Pike joins the action. The fun of this series is not in knowing that eventually Elvis and Joe will defeat the villains. That will happen. The fun is in the journey and answering the questions: What's really going on? Who are the bad guys? How will Elvis finally escape from the clutches of the villain on the last couple pages?Many have compared this series to Robert B. Parker's Spencer series and there are similarities or at least overlapping themes. Lee Child's Reacher series sometimes feels similar. This series is a fun read and always entertaining. Worth your time. An older series with a similar protagonist is the Travis McGee books by John D. MacDonald. Another one I'd recommend.

An interesting story that could be real life, the dramatic parts anyway. A good adventure mixed with true friendship, new friendship, and some kinship.I enjoyed it very much.

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Lots of shooting, lots of killing, and a few very bad people. The story takes some serious turns as if it were three different tales.

Elvis and Joe have a not so routine outing in Louisiana delta country among the live oaks and magnolia there is long kept secrets about murder and illigetimate child given up for adoption some 36 years ago. This get severely out of control and dangerous. Excellent read and love the imagery of the old south.

I have never read one of his books before but am familiar the telly stuff that Robert Crais has been the writer of and really liked those. This man puts so much detail into this book that will draw you in and get you to go with the flow from the get-go. He hooks you with his literary skills and ensures that there are no boring lulls for your mind to wander off from. An absolutely masterful author that can spin a yarn so well that I certainly need to get to the end and enjoy the entire ride all the way to it. Voodoo River is such a fantastically written book that brings the whole thing alive in your head.Eamonn

First 5 books re-read in the last week and they still give so much pleasure. In addition to Elvis and Joe, get get to meet the delightful Lucy, worth reading just for that. Robert Crais deserves his place at the top table alongside Connelly and Grisham; if you haven’t yet, give him a try.

Think the characterisation and plot elements really come together in this one.Yep there is a lot that is very familiar by now but, if you were asked to pick out one of the best Cole and Pike stories this would be it.Whilst the guys are their usual tough selves it's nicely balanced by some of the other participants being even more dangerous which adds to the overall tension ...you never quite know who isgoing to survive this story.

Very good story, but the cover image is perhaps misleading as I do not recall any woman with a gun as depicted, otherwise 5 stars

Really like this author and the characters, was looking for a good series to get into after Jack reacher ones not as good as earlier ones