The Marauders

A Novel

By: Tom Cooper

Narrated by: P.J. Ochlan

Length: 10 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's summary

When the BP oil spill devastates the Gulf Coast, those who made a living by shrimping find themselves in dire straits. For the oddballs and lowlifes who inhabit the sleepy, working-class bayou town of Jeannette, these desperate circumstances serve as the catalyst that pushes them to enact whatever risky schemes they can dream up to reverse their fortunes. At the center of it all is Gus Lindquist, a pill-addicted, one-armed treasure hunter obsessed with finding the lost treasure of pirate Jean Lafitte.

His quest brings him into contact with a wide array of memorable characters, ranging from a couple of small-time criminal potheads prone to hysterical banter to the smooth-talking oil-company middleman out to bamboozle his own mother to some drug-smuggling psychopath twins to a young man estranged from his father since his mother died in Hurricane Katrina. As the story progresses, these characters find themselves on a collision course with each other, and as the tension and action ramp up, it becomes clear that not all of them will survive these events.

©2015 Tom Cooper (P)2015 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"This is one hell of a debut novel. Cooper combines the rough-hewn but poetic style favored by writers like Charles Willeford with the kinds of miscreants so beloved by Elmore Leonard, all operating in the tumultuous modern-day disaster that is New Orleans... With crisp, noir-inspired writing and a firmly believable setting, Cooper has written an engaging homage to classic crime writing that still finds things to say about the desperate days we live through now. Somewhere, Donald E. Westlake, John D. MacDonald and Elmore Leonard are smiling down on this nasty, funny piece of work." ( Kirkus Reviews)

"Cooper offers a believable portrait of a bayou town and a cast of deeply engaging characters wrestling inchoately with the likely extinction of the only life they know. There is real substance and humanity in this fine debut novel." (Booklist)

"Cooper's novel is a blast; descriptions of the natural beauty of the cypress swamps and waterways, along with the hardscrabble ways of its singular inhabitants, further elevate this story." ( Publishers Weekly)

Exceptional Narration

The dead pan narration make the character voices sound that much more dynamic and entertaining. This story has heart, adventure, and laughs. It is thoroughly enjoyable.

What happened to Linquist??!?

Best book on Audible
The narrator did a great Cajun accent on the voices
I need a sequel right away!! Plz

Wanted to like the book, but just didn't.

What did you like best about The Marauders? What did you like least?

The book is mediocre at best. It centers around life in the bayou after Katrina and the BP oil spill. The story meanders, but never really goes anywhere. Amateurish at best.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

I was born and raised in Louisiana, and found the writer quite disrespectful to the Cajun / creole people, and to south Louisiana in general. Over the top stereotypes, bordering on offensive.

Would you be willing to try another one of P.J. Ochlan’s performances?

The narration was horrendous. Perhaps the worst of any of my 500+ audible books. He is robotic, drab, bland, and mind-blowingly dull. Then he adds his "voices" which are just awful. His accents are laughable. Worse, he mispronounces so many words that I felt like throwing my Iphone out of the car window. Seriously ? You couldn't look up the words in a dictionary to see how they are pronounced, or what they mean?? Just a miserable performance.

Was The Marauders worth the listening time?

Nope. Thumbs down. Would not recommend.

Any additional comments?

Hire another narrator.

I thought you said this was optional.

The narrator really missed out on the various Louisiana accents. The stories, some good, were scattered and didn't resolve well. The feel-good ending didn't feel earned.

Enjoyable

I really liked this book, a very solid first effort. There are some loose ends that don't get tied but but the plot is generally enjoyable and I liked the characters. I look forward to Cooper's second book.

Pure Awesome

I just finished this seconds ago and, wow. Just, wow! The narration is pure Awesome. The writing, the story, the characters, all just fantastic. I highly recommend this book. So stop reading this review, and just click the purchase button. Go on, now.

Disappointing

Disappointing in spite of excellent narration. The story just never engaged me. I appreciated the environmental message, but that wasn't enough to carry the narrative.