Customer Reviews

Voodoo, Ltd.

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Apart from the fun of another Artie Wu and Quincy Durant adventure, this book provides the additional pleasure of uniting them with some of the more memorable charcaters from other Thomas novels. Georgia Blue, former government agent turned killer provides a special tension for Durant in this novel, and con man Maurice "Otherguy" Overby (It wasn't me - it must have been some otherguy who looked like me) brings his own just outside the law talents to bear.

The plot seems a little extreme, even for Thomas whose plots can twist like you wouldn't believe, but he always seems to exaggerate a bit when he is dealing with either California and/or the entertainment industry. Still, the book moves at such a pace and the dialogue and one-liners come so thick and fast that one doesn't have time to fret about how likely some of the convolutions are. This is high speed, fun, great reading.

The book's title, Voodoo, Ltd., derives from a mispronounciation of Wudu, Ltd., a London based detective agency run by two Americans, Artie Wu and Quincy Durant.
Early in the course of this smartly written dark comedy, a wealthy German businessman with the improbable name of Enno Glimm hires Wu and Durant to locate a pair of British hypnotists who have suddenly gone missing in Southern California. Glimm suspects that the hypnotists are about to blackmail Ione Gamble, a Hollywood actress-director, who has been charged with murdering her ex-fiance. Which is to say that Voodoo, Ltd. is the granddaddy of all shaggy dog stories. And what an entertaining one it is!
Before descending onto the Los Angeles scene, Wu and Durant hire three former colleagues to assist them. They are; Booth Stallings a 65 year old counterterrorism expert, Georgia Blue, a statuesque former Secret Service agent who has spent the last five years in a Manila prison, and Maurice Otherguy Overby, an adventurer with dubious ethical standards. Together, these five very colorful and supremely resourceful characters use every trick in the book to solve the mystery while at the same time making sure that one or more of them doesn't double cross the others.
This is a deliciously witty, irreverent novel. Believable? Not for a minute. It's not meant to be.
It is meant to be a hilariously funny, over the top, comedic novel. And by that standard, it is an overwhelming success. Read Voodoo, Ltd., you'll love it.

This is the second book in a series with the same cast of leading characters. Artie Wu and Quincy Durant are still teamed up as a pair of detectives. Booth Stallings has joined Otherguy Overby to form Overby, Stallings Associates, a consulting firm. The plot centers around the murder of a Hollywood producer and subsequent attempts to blackmail film star Ione Gamble. Wu and Durant are hired by Gamble's rep to help on solving her problems. They, in turn, hire Overby, Stallings and Georgia Blue. All are survivors from OUT ON THE RIM. Five years have passed and Georgia has just been released from a Manila prison. The others have made a bundle of money and then lost it in the interim. Now they are hungry for work again. This book is well worth reading.

The New York Times Book review has described Ross Thomas - as the master of the crime thriller.

They are exactly correct, nobody writes plots with the characters and humour of Mr.Thomas.

In this book we have Arty Wu and Quincy Durant ( WuDu Ltd) as Private Investigators who solve -big problems for big bucks - something they are a bit short of at the moment, bucks that is not problems.

They are hired to find two missing hypnotists who are needed to prove the innocence of a movie star charged with killing her ex-fiancee. All run of the mill stuff until things get a bit more complicated.

To complete the job they enlist several of their associates; - who happen to be terrorism experts, con men and con-women. None of these people have any scruples or morals , basically they are all crooks and this makes for a rollicking story set in southern California.

Like all of his books this rocks along with double crosses, triple crosses and other numerous twists which keep you busy to the end.

This is an absolute joy to read.

Also recommended are - The Eighth Dwarf and Twilight at Mac's Place.

Just as good as the novels written under the name Ross Thomas are several under the Pseudonym Oliver Bleeck.

Thomas's books are difficult to get in New Zealand, so any that you find are gems and to be looked after or they are all available through Amazon. There won't be any more as Mr. Thomas passed away in 1995

I read Ross Thomas's "Chinaman's Chance" a few years back and ran into it on CD at my library. "Read" it again and it is great. Ross Thomas is a master of the English language, the books are paced terrifically well, and the characters interesting, multi-layered and inviting. One of the interesting things about Thomas and his characters it that you just never know what they are going to say next. I am about 80% of the way through Voodoo Ltd., and have no idea how it is going to end. To me, "Chinaman's Chance" is the best of this series featuring Wu and Durant, probably because it was first. "Voodoo Ltd.," is better than the second book, "Out on the Rim," however, I do recommend reading them in order if you have the opportunity. Another great book by Thomas is "Missionary Stew." It does not feature Wu and Durant, but it is loads of fun.

If you have not read Ross Thomas before I envy you because you are in for a great treat and have a lot of books to chose from. Like many Ross Thomas books the plot is inventive but also incidental to the humor and flash of the characters. I recommend reading A Chinaman's Chance, and Out on the Rim before reading this book. They earlier books featuring Artie Wu and his partner Durant. It is not necessary to read them in order of publication, but it helps a little, and to be truthful I enjoyed the earlier books more.
St. Martins Press is to be congratulated for reprinting many of his books. He had gone out of print for awhile, but the more I read his books the more I wonder why. He is a great stylist with a edge of dark humor. Ross Thomas should be on anyone's reading list who wants to consider himelf or herself familiar with recent American mystery/thriller writers. He is one of the best.

I got the audio tape for my husband's Christmas in 2006. He really liked it, and I'm glad because he died in January'07.He enjoyed audio books because he was blind.

Ross Thomas could do just about anything he set his mind to, and fortunately for us, the readers, he set his mind to writing fast-paced, funny, complicated thrillers that are as much fun to read the second time around as they are the first.

By the way, VOODOO LTD is the third in the Artie Wu, Quincy Durant series, not the second. The first is CHINAMAN'S CHANCE. All three book, like Mr. Thomas's other books, are terrific.