VOODOO RIVER

Perhaps it's the abridgment; VOODOO RIVER comes across as a novel with an inexplicable title, and gaps in plot and character development. Robert Crais's book tells of L.A. Private Investigator Elvis Cole's search for the biological parents of television star Jodie Taylor. The plot jumps around, as does Cole, who travels from L.A. to Louisiana and finds himself in the middle of a ring of illegal alien smugglers. The story then defies any logic when Cole and partner Joe Pike take on the smugglers, just because they want to. Patrick G. Lawlor keeps the story moving, but he seems confounded by the book's meandering. Lawlor is best during scenes with Taylor's mother and the town sheriff. Unfortunately, like the listener, he still has to read the other scenes. D.J.S. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine [Published: APR/MAY 03]