Rating: 
Summary: mildly humorous swamp romp
Review: Elvis gets a call to help out a TV actress discover info about her biological parents, which leads him to a small town in Louisiana. Interesting characters abound, including a giant snapping turtle. Soon, Elvis realizes another detective is on the scene, and not everything is as it first appears. The storyline also involves some romance with Elvis first meeting Lucy Chenier (who appears in subsequent Elvis stories), a lawyer from Baton Rouge. Somewhere about 2/3rd of the way into this book, the storyline changes as Elvis takes on a mission to right the wrongs of several folks in the back woods.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent
Review: Fast-paced and action-packed, I loved this book. I love Elvis Cole. I love Joe Pike, too. Lucy was a bit main-strean and boring, but there is no accounting for taste. This one takes us to Cajun country, and Crais handles all the different types of characters well. I found the final action/reaction of this books "damsel-in-distress" a little bit unreal, but it brought closure to the story. I wish it had more Joe Pike and the cat; I missed the cat.
Rating: 
Summary: Weak Entry For Elvis
Review: Have to admit I found the fifth in the Elvis Cole novels a disappointment. Three reasons to be exact: 1) The location change. Part of the appeal of Crais novels are their Southern California locale. Here the plot takes him to the heart of Louisiana to uncover the mysterious past of television starlet Jodi Taylor. 2) A pretty lack luster romance. I'm all for giving your characters a little libido boost, but does it have to be so milk toast and uninteresting? For the first time in any of his books I thought the dialogue seemed false and forced. The relationship between Elvis and Lucy Chenier seemed more like something to fill up pages than anything I cared about seeing develop. Which brings me to my third point. 3) Where's Joe Pike? Crais best character is without a doubt Elvis' partner, Joe Pike. Here he doesn't make an appearance until nearly two thirds of the way through the novel. Consequently I didn't feel the book really kicked off until then, with the thin plot feeling a little dated and contrived. Such a bummer from a usually great writer. Personally I'd suggest any of his first four instead such as "the Monkey's Raincoat."
Rating:
Summary: When's the movie coming out?
Review: Having just read Hostage, Demolition Angel, and LA Requiem, I am now reading Voodoo River. I guess you could say that I like Robert Crais" writing.
The back page always refers to Mr. Crais' credentials as a screenwriter for LA Law and Hill Street Blues, both excellent TV shows from years gone by. Why hasn't any of his books been considered for full-length movies? It seems to be a natural consequence, given his prior work.
I can't help but visualize each of the characters, especially, Joe Pike. I think of Jan Michael Vincent as Joe Pike, cat-like, etc.
Given the success this year of the movie version of Mystic River, I think it might be time to consider one of Crais' novels for a similar treatment. The difficulty lies in deciding which one to do first. LA Requiem was good for the action and character of Joe Pike. Might be a good one to begin with. I'll have to read the rest of the books so I can assess them all.
Later.
Rating:
Summary: When's the movie coming out?
Review: Having just read Hostage, Demolition Angel, and LA Requiem, I am now reading Voodoo River. I guess you could say that I like Robert Crais" writing.
The back page always refers to Mr. Crais' credentials as a screenwriter for LA Law and Hill Street Blues, both excellent TV shows from years gone by. Why hasn't any of his books been considered for full-length movies? It seems to be a natural consequence, given his prior work.
I can't help but visualize each of the characters, especially, Joe Pike. I think of Jan Michael Vincent as Joe Pike, cat-like, etc.
Given the success this year of the movie version of Mystic River, I think it might be time to consider one of Crais' novels for a similar treatment. The difficulty lies in deciding which one to do first. LA Requiem was good for the action and character of Joe Pike. Might be a good one to begin with. I'll have to read the rest of the books so I can assess them all.
Later.
Rating:
Summary: Great book and great series.
Review: Having only lately discovered Robert Crais and his Elvis Cole mysteries, I really enjoyed "Voodoo River." I enjoy the plotting, dialogue and the characters. This is a great series and gets better with each volume.
Rating:
Summary: Don't start with this book
Review: I agree with the other reviews, if this is your first encounter with Elvis Cole DO NOT start with this book! It does not give the background info usually found in the series. I am notorious for read series book out of order but for some reason I managed to read this one starting with book one. Please don't judge the others by the way this one read. I did enjoy this book but I felt there was too much going, blackmail, lost mothers, illegal aliens, romance....some things did wrap up a little to nicely in the end but it was a good read.
Rating:
Summary: A new fan!
Review: I freely confess that I judged this book, initially at least, by its cover. If it hadn't had such a snappy title I might never have picked it up. But Voodoo River caught my eye and once I opened it up, I was hooked. After all, how can you not love a detective named Elvis? I picked up this book shortly after reading one of Robert B. Parker's recent disappointing Spenser offerings, and Voodoo River made me understand exactly why Parker had been disappointing me. Voodoo River is the first book I've read in years with dialogue as snappy as Parker's early Spenser books had. It's the first mystery book I've read in ages that made me laugh out loud at some of the conversations. But Voodoo River had something else - a plot that kept me reading till the last page. I realized as I finished this book that not many recent mysteries have caught me the way Voodoo River did. Not many writers give me characters I care about anymore. Voodoo River added Robert Crais to my list of mystery writers to watch. I can't wait for the next Elvis Cole novel. And this time, I won't care what the title is. I'll pick it up in a heartbeat. PS. I used to think you couldn't have anyone better than Hawk watching your back. That was before I met Joe Pike. Sorry, Hawk.
Rating:
Summary: I'm glad I bought the book!
Review: I had seen this book in my local bookstore and never gave it a second glance. Then one day I was looking for something new to read and I bought it just for the hell of it. Then I started reading it and I loved every page! Elvis is a wisecracking, shoot-first-ask-questions-later, rough and tough LA private detective that you will fall head over heals for. Keep up the good work Mr. Crais!
Rating:
Summary: Robert Crais is the mystery-writer du jour!
Review: I loved this book, and am a new die-hard fan of Elvis Cole. Crais has replaced John & Fae Kellerman, McBain, and even Grafton as my favorite mystery writer! Elvis and his 'silent' partner Joe Pike really captured my interest - and their sardonic humor keep my attention throughout the twists and turns of this novel. Crais has a wonderful ability of really 'seeing' all of his characters with his in-depth descriptions - and you certainly meet a wide variety of Voodoo River. I highly recommend this and any other Robert Crais novel for mystery lovers everywhere
| 
