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Max Mingus #3
Voodoo Eyes
Meet the man with the voodoo eyes: Solomon Boukman. He'd used voodoo, black magic, and extreme violence to control his people, and to keep anyone who ever heard his name in a state of fear. He'd zombified his enemies with potions and hypnosis and used them as his very own suicide killers. Some said he was the earthly incarnation of Baron Samedi, the voodoo god of death; others said he was The Devil incarnate...Meet his nemesis: For private eye Max Mingus, Boukman has been the cause of unthinkable personal tragedy and professional torment. And when he uncovers a labyrinthine web of death and deceit stretching from the Miami jetset to sinister Cuban slums, the voodoo eyes of Boukman are never far from his mind. But how can Mingus stop him without losing his life, and the lives of those he loves? Meet a thriller that will haunt your dreams.
480 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2011
13 people are currently reading
321 people want to read
About the author
Nick Stone
24 books147 followersNick Stone was born in Cambridge in 1966, the son of a Scottish father and a Haitian mother. His first novel, Mr Clarinet, won the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger, the International Thriller Writers Award for Best First Novel and the Macavity Award for Best First Novel, and was nominated for The Barry Award for Best British Novel.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
September 13, 2021
Voodoo Eyes has possibly the worst and most misleading blurb of any book I’ve read. It’s the third in a non-linear trilogy about Miami PI Max Mingus, but I had no problem reading it as a standalone. I found it at a book swap shelf in a camp site, and picked it rather at random from my unread treebook shelf because I liked the cover and the summary sounded interesting. This is not, however, a spooky paranormal story about a Haitian voodoo priest. Rather, it’s about an unpleasant ageing detective on a quest to find a murder suspect exiled to Cuba after his best friend is murdered. This would’ve been fine, but the blurb essentially gives away the plot’s main twist, and if you’re promising magic in a story, you really should include some.
Max Mingus is a worn-out widowed PI reduced to taking sleazy adultery cases, and his only friend is his former police colleague Joe. When his former mentor is murdered, Max learns that the chief suspect is a former black radical found guilty of killing a cop, who escaped to Cuba decades earlier, is the chief suspect. Then Joe is shot dead in front of him, and Max is blackmailed into travelling to an island still dominated by Castro to find her, but all is not as it seems, and he soon finds himself fighting for his life.
From what I can tell, the previous books are about a younger Max going up against Solomon Boukman, the baddie referred to in the blurb, in Haiti, so you do know that he will appear sooner or later, but it turns out to be very much later, and I think that’s the main problem - we only see the most interesting character of the book in the final chapters. Max’s backstory is a history of policing during a time when anything went in the department - he wasn’t exactly dirty but he engaged in the widespread brutality and framing of innocents that went on, and isn’t really regretful enough about it to make an appealing hero. He describes (via a close third person past narrative POV) every female character in terms of her sexual attractiveness, which is something I have a particular loathing for in male protagonists.
The other negative for me was excessive scene and location descriptions that detract from the action in what is supposed to be a thriller, but sometimes reads like a travelogue. I did find the sociopolitical aspects of life in Cuba interesting, because it’s a country I know very little about, and the writing was certainly atmospheric, but there was way too much about what every building looked like or what everyone was wearing for my taste. This was set in 2008 against the backdrop of Obama’s election victory, which both added to the story in terms of the racial issues highlighted, but also dated it.
Overall it’s a good story with an original setting so if the issues I’ve raised don’t tend to bother you, and you like noirish American fiction, then give it a go. There do not appear to be any other books in the series and I won’t be seeking out the previous ones. 3.5 rounded down.
Max Mingus is a worn-out widowed PI reduced to taking sleazy adultery cases, and his only friend is his former police colleague Joe. When his former mentor is murdered, Max learns that the chief suspect is a former black radical found guilty of killing a cop, who escaped to Cuba decades earlier, is the chief suspect. Then Joe is shot dead in front of him, and Max is blackmailed into travelling to an island still dominated by Castro to find her, but all is not as it seems, and he soon finds himself fighting for his life.
From what I can tell, the previous books are about a younger Max going up against Solomon Boukman, the baddie referred to in the blurb, in Haiti, so you do know that he will appear sooner or later, but it turns out to be very much later, and I think that’s the main problem - we only see the most interesting character of the book in the final chapters. Max’s backstory is a history of policing during a time when anything went in the department - he wasn’t exactly dirty but he engaged in the widespread brutality and framing of innocents that went on, and isn’t really regretful enough about it to make an appealing hero. He describes (via a close third person past narrative POV) every female character in terms of her sexual attractiveness, which is something I have a particular loathing for in male protagonists.
The other negative for me was excessive scene and location descriptions that detract from the action in what is supposed to be a thriller, but sometimes reads like a travelogue. I did find the sociopolitical aspects of life in Cuba interesting, because it’s a country I know very little about, and the writing was certainly atmospheric, but there was way too much about what every building looked like or what everyone was wearing for my taste. This was set in 2008 against the backdrop of Obama’s election victory, which both added to the story in terms of the racial issues highlighted, but also dated it.
Overall it’s a good story with an original setting so if the issues I’ve raised don’t tend to bother you, and you like noirish American fiction, then give it a go. There do not appear to be any other books in the series and I won’t be seeking out the previous ones. 3.5 rounded down.
September 14, 2015
How about a thriller where a detective (think old, worn out and a refugee of a James Elroy novel) investigates the deaths of two ex-colleagues, seemingly at the hands of a long vanished sixties radical?
Or imagine a book where a detective is hired to follow an adulterous couple, but when he actually breaks into the hotel room to take photos of them having sex, discovers only a DVD – filmed in the very same hotel room – of them doing the deed?
Intriguing, no? Something any self-respecting thriller fan would want to read.
Well, ‘Voodoo Eyes’ has both those ideas, but doesn’t really do enough with either (or, indeed, with the voodoo eyes of the title). Instead the book gets bogged down in a sprawling adventure around Cuba, which isn’t anywhere near as exciting as it should be (and has echoes of a ‘What I did in my Summer Holidays” essay), before building to an anticlimactic conclusion.
It’s a shame as there are promising notions here, but the end result is disappointing.
Or imagine a book where a detective is hired to follow an adulterous couple, but when he actually breaks into the hotel room to take photos of them having sex, discovers only a DVD – filmed in the very same hotel room – of them doing the deed?
Intriguing, no? Something any self-respecting thriller fan would want to read.
Well, ‘Voodoo Eyes’ has both those ideas, but doesn’t really do enough with either (or, indeed, with the voodoo eyes of the title). Instead the book gets bogged down in a sprawling adventure around Cuba, which isn’t anywhere near as exciting as it should be (and has echoes of a ‘What I did in my Summer Holidays” essay), before building to an anticlimactic conclusion.
It’s a shame as there are promising notions here, but the end result is disappointing.
August 3, 2011
brilliant as always
October 31, 2011
Voodoo Eyes. by Nick Stone is the third Max Mingus novel. While the story ties in with the previous two books this one worked really well as a standalone.
Miami Noir
I have seen Voodoo Eyes advertised as a thriller - it certainly has some thriller pacing but I really enjoyed the “Miami Noir” feel that the book had about it. No doubt Max Mingus’ role is a private eye shaped the tone of the novel in this regard.
There’s something about setting the novel in Miami, with the heat and humidity, the natural fetid decomposition that occurs in a tropical locale mirrored by human corruption and decay we see in popular culture depictions(I’m thinking Dexter here). Indeed a central theme of the book is corruption an both a personal and organisational level.
Upping the ante
While Voodoo Eyes begins as Miami Noir, Stone is able to direct the story toward standard high stakes thriller territory by shifting the action to Cuba where our protagonist Max crosses paths, with Cuban secret service, retired Black Panther activists, Drug Cartels and the Department of Homeland Security. Stone does an excellent job of putting Mingus in harms way continually and upping the ante.
Not an entirely smooth transition
Initially I found the “hardboiled” descriptions a little long for a thriller. The text was evocative and certainly grounded the reader but I felt tighter writing would have delivered the same effect without the loss of pace I experienced. This was a small hurdle though (possibly just a quirk of Stone’s style) and by the time I had settled into the meat of the novel it annoyed me less.
If you like the look and feel of Dexter, the grittiness and double dealing in films like The Departed you’ll find Nick Stone an enjoyable read.
This book was provided to me by the publisher.
Miami Noir
I have seen Voodoo Eyes advertised as a thriller - it certainly has some thriller pacing but I really enjoyed the “Miami Noir” feel that the book had about it. No doubt Max Mingus’ role is a private eye shaped the tone of the novel in this regard.
There’s something about setting the novel in Miami, with the heat and humidity, the natural fetid decomposition that occurs in a tropical locale mirrored by human corruption and decay we see in popular culture depictions(I’m thinking Dexter here). Indeed a central theme of the book is corruption an both a personal and organisational level.
Upping the ante
While Voodoo Eyes begins as Miami Noir, Stone is able to direct the story toward standard high stakes thriller territory by shifting the action to Cuba where our protagonist Max crosses paths, with Cuban secret service, retired Black Panther activists, Drug Cartels and the Department of Homeland Security. Stone does an excellent job of putting Mingus in harms way continually and upping the ante.
Not an entirely smooth transition
Initially I found the “hardboiled” descriptions a little long for a thriller. The text was evocative and certainly grounded the reader but I felt tighter writing would have delivered the same effect without the loss of pace I experienced. This was a small hurdle though (possibly just a quirk of Stone’s style) and by the time I had settled into the meat of the novel it annoyed me less.
If you like the look and feel of Dexter, the grittiness and double dealing in films like The Departed you’ll find Nick Stone an enjoyable read.
This book was provided to me by the publisher.
August 4, 2015
La conclusion à la trilogie de Max Mingus qu'il me tardait tant de lire et qui m'a pourtant tant déçue.
Autant j'avais adoré les deux premiers tomes, autant celui là n'est pas insipide mais presque.
La première partie du roman et longue, il ne s'y passe littéralement rien de concluant et ça n'en fini jamais. J'ai reposé le livre un nombre incalculable de fois tellement j'avais du mal à accrocher.
Et puis il part pour Cuba et là Max Mingus passe un temps fou à tourner dans le vide. Et j'ai beau apprécier toutes les anecdotes et les histoires sur Cuba, le reste du bouquin, c'est à dire l'intrigue et l'évolution de Max, eux ne sont pas à la hauteur, c'est lent et intéressants pour la plus grosse partie. Et puis dans les 30 dernières pages tout s’accélère et se règle en dix secondes.
La fin se veut surprenante (ou pas?) mais ne l'est pas du tout.
Mais mais, on dirait pas, mais j'ai quand même apprécié ma lecture. Au final j'aime beaucoup l'ambiance qui s'installe dans le bouquin à Cuba, j'ai aimé les péripéties de Max et de son ami Cubain. Et j'adore, j'adore comment Stone nous fait découvrir les endroits que visite Mingus.
Bref, est ce que je conseil le livre? Oui si voulez conclure la série de Max Mingus, allez y. C'est pas le meilleur de lot, mais au fond c'est quand même sympa à lire.
Autant j'avais adoré les deux premiers tomes, autant celui là n'est pas insipide mais presque.
La première partie du roman et longue, il ne s'y passe littéralement rien de concluant et ça n'en fini jamais. J'ai reposé le livre un nombre incalculable de fois tellement j'avais du mal à accrocher.
Et puis il part pour Cuba et là Max Mingus passe un temps fou à tourner dans le vide. Et j'ai beau apprécier toutes les anecdotes et les histoires sur Cuba, le reste du bouquin, c'est à dire l'intrigue et l'évolution de Max, eux ne sont pas à la hauteur, c'est lent et intéressants pour la plus grosse partie. Et puis dans les 30 dernières pages tout s’accélère et se règle en dix secondes.
La fin se veut surprenante (ou pas?) mais ne l'est pas du tout.
Mais mais, on dirait pas, mais j'ai quand même apprécié ma lecture. Au final j'aime beaucoup l'ambiance qui s'installe dans le bouquin à Cuba, j'ai aimé les péripéties de Max et de son ami Cubain. Et j'adore, j'adore comment Stone nous fait découvrir les endroits que visite Mingus.
Bref, est ce que je conseil le livre? Oui si voulez conclure la série de Max Mingus, allez y. C'est pas le meilleur de lot, mais au fond c'est quand même sympa à lire.
March 30, 2013
Max Mingus is older and wiser, he still faces danger but is less able to use brut force. I found this book a lot more emotional and there are some sections when your tears will flow. This not a book about voodoo although there is some graphic parts.
Nick Stone has again magically transported a reader to a place from a page. If you want to experience the dodgy and yet beautiful setting of Cuba from a book this is it, and I know I have been there.
Nick Stone has again magically transported a reader to a place from a page. If you want to experience the dodgy and yet beautiful setting of Cuba from a book this is it, and I know I have been there.
August 11, 2019
This book's blurbs give the impression that it's all about Max Mingus' nemesis, Solomon Boukman. And it is, but very indirectly until the end. Of the three books, I liked this one the least. It seems to go on and on about Max's past and all his regrets. Sprinkled in among all that, is a plot. The ending does seem to make it look like Max may have to face Boukman again, but since Max is 58 in this book, I'm not sure he'd survive it.
September 30, 2011
One of the best thrillers I've read in a while, excellent characters, locations so brilliantly described I felt like I was there and a fantastic ending! Didn't realise this was the last in a trilogy, definitely seeking out the previous books now.
September 2, 2011
Great conclusion to the Max Mingus trilogy. Beautiful descriptions of Cuba. Really powerful story. Shame about that HIDEOUS cover though.
May 9, 2012
I really wasn't sure about this book for the first fifty or so pages but once I got into the flow of the story, I really enjoyed it.
December 3, 2020
Сравнително голям обем за криминален роман. Имаше моменти, където действието се развиваше бавно, дори проточено. Има според мен ненужни обяснения, които по никакъв начин не помогнаха на самата история. Действието се забърза към края. Тогава историята придоби вълнението, което очаквах да получа. Самият край беше вълнуващ. Наистина го четох на един дъх и чаках да получа отговори. Уви, държа да кажа, че вуду в книгата нямаше. Аз очаквах да прочета криминален роман с вуду елементи, а вудуто беше почти нулево.
Книгата ми хареса, може би краят ме спечели. Както казах действието се развиваше бавно, но към края се забърза. Хареса ми развръзката! Имаше напрежение, което е важно за криминален роман!
Мисля, че трябва да прочета другите части, които са свързани с Макс Мингъс, за да преценя коя част ще ми хареса най-много.
Ако искате да прочете първото МнениЕ и други МнениЯ, може да посетите инстаграма ми - "Mnenie.TO"
Книгата ми хареса, може би краят ме спечели. Както казах действието се развиваше бавно, но към края се забърза. Хареса ми развръзката! Имаше напрежение, което е важно за криминален роман!
Мисля, че трябва да прочета другите части, които са свързани с Макс Мингъс, за да преценя коя част ще ми хареса най-много.
Ако искате да прочете първото МнениЕ и други МнениЯ, може да посетите инстаграма ми - "Mnenie.TO"
March 12, 2025
Finally done. This book was okay. The story was okay but the text on the flap was misleading. The whole story was about Vanetta Brown and in the final 30 pages, Solomon Boukman arrived. This story could fit into 300 pages, not 500. There was so much unnessecary details about the scenery. Very annoying. 3 starts out of 5
May 14, 2023
After Max Mingus' former mentor, Eldon Burns, was brutally murdered in his gym, Joe Liston enlists Max's help to find the killer. Max uses his instincts and detective skills to chase down leads and what he finds will shock him and cause him to question everything he knows.
February 16, 2024
Sehr zäh. Die Story dauert ewig da immer alles haargenau beschrieben wird. Eigl ist es ein Buch mit gaaaanz vielen Geschichten über den Detektiv und den weiteren Figuren.... und weiteren Geschichten (nur 1/3 gelesen und ich habe es weg legen müssen)
March 13, 2025
Another entertaining book by Mr. Stone. The only part of the book I was disappointed in was the ending. The first two books had great endings but not this one. However, this should not stop you from reading this book. Up until this point, the story was more than believable.
October 22, 2018
Wasn't my cup of tea. Ended up did not finishing it at 260 pages in.
May 10, 2019
Hoping its not the last we see of Max
Great lead character, but the great thing about these books is the settings and the cultures descibed, haiti and vodou especially.
Great lead character, but the great thing about these books is the settings and the cultures descibed, haiti and vodou especially.
November 1, 2021
Really enjoy this author. This is the fourth I've read, but can't seem to locate anything recently by him
October 19, 2023
this was such a hard read, barely made it to the end. I was just happy to be done
December 1, 2024
Histoire invraisemblable et pas très intéressante.
September 22, 2013
What did i think? Well to put it bluntly, it was rubbish and is hardly worth the 2 stars that i gave it. Over the period of reading this, i wanted to put this down, several times.
The blurb/description that the author wrote on the back of the book made me really intriqued and anticipated to read it, but unfortunatly Nick Stone didn't deliver. To me it reminded me of the adverts that false advertise. The blurb mentions an apparent antagontist, giving a description about the character Solomon Boukman. He'd used voodoo, black magic and extreme violence to control his people None of this is actually mentioned in the book, and the man himself is only mentioned 3 times before apparently appearing in the last 2/3 chapters. It was a huge let down as i was looking forward to a greatly detailed account about him. It felt as if Stone was too lazy to mention anything vague about Solomon in the book and just left it at the blurb to make people interested in reading it.
For a supposed thiller that 'will haunt your dreams' i will not be losing any sleep over this any time soon and the only way i will be kept awake is by how much time i wasted reading this book.
The blurb/description that the author wrote on the back of the book made me really intriqued and anticipated to read it, but unfortunatly Nick Stone didn't deliver. To me it reminded me of the adverts that false advertise. The blurb mentions an apparent antagontist, giving a description about the character Solomon Boukman. He'd used voodoo, black magic and extreme violence to control his people None of this is actually mentioned in the book, and the man himself is only mentioned 3 times before apparently appearing in the last 2/3 chapters. It was a huge let down as i was looking forward to a greatly detailed account about him. It felt as if Stone was too lazy to mention anything vague about Solomon in the book and just left it at the blurb to make people interested in reading it.
For a supposed thiller that 'will haunt your dreams' i will not be losing any sleep over this any time soon and the only way i will be kept awake is by how much time i wasted reading this book.
December 18, 2011
It is hard to give this books high marks after you have read his previous two book, which got five stars. This book lacks the ferocity, darkness and the evil characters of the first two books. One of the reason maybe the fact that Mingus is now 60 years old and like me his reflexes have slowed down considerably.
I was going to give this book 2 stars but then the last 80 pages changed my mind . The begining is not bad and the author does a good job of setting up the story and the characters for what one hopes will be a action packed story. Instead what you get is a Frommer's tour of Cuba and a lesson in Spanish translation. For those of you that loved his first two books, it is my opinion you will be somewhat disappointed, on the other hand, I am glad I read it so there is continuity to the next book: "Inaguration Day"
I was going to give this book 2 stars but then the last 80 pages changed my mind . The begining is not bad and the author does a good job of setting up the story and the characters for what one hopes will be a action packed story. Instead what you get is a Frommer's tour of Cuba and a lesson in Spanish translation. For those of you that loved his first two books, it is my opinion you will be somewhat disappointed, on the other hand, I am glad I read it so there is continuity to the next book: "Inaguration Day"
March 19, 2018
A Miami cop turned private investigator gets drawn into a mystery surrounding shooting of ex colleagues and in turn mysteries concerning Cuban emigrés to the USA. He is hounded by the FBI and later the Cuban Secret Service when he goes to that island at the behest - or threats - of the Feds. I honestly don't know whether his descriptions of Cuba are influenced by American propaganda or whether he been able to visit and see for himself. I've never been able to understand the continued petulance of successive US administrations to Cuba. It strike me as very petty. The book isn't bad. The character of Max Mingus is well drawn - no he man as can so often be the case with the main character in American thrillers. However, we barely meet the man with the Voodoo Eyes as promised on the cover. A decent read.
July 16, 2014
Wer Bücher um den einsamen Wolf mag, der allein gegen alle agiert und von einer gefährlichen Situation in die nächste stolpert und erst am Ende die Zusammenhänge sieht, der ist mit diesem Buch bestens beraten. Da viel Spanisch gesprochen wird, ist es auch keine schlechte Entscheidung, sich das Buch von Christian Baumann vorlesen zu lassen, denn er macht seine Sache wirklich gut.
Ich gebe 07/10 Punkte. Mehr erfahrt ihr wie immer in meinem Blog: http://sunsys-blog.blogspot.de/2014/0... .
Ich gebe 07/10 Punkte. Mehr erfahrt ihr wie immer in meinem Blog: http://sunsys-blog.blogspot.de/2014/0... .
March 14, 2015
This books actually pretty good, first half is strong, drifts throughs a bit to the end though. One standout is the descriptions of Cuba itself, vivid and very educational.
The biggest issue I have with this book is that the title and blurb have almost nothing to do with the content of the story, I genuinely thought I was reading a misprinted version that had been given the wrong cover. The title is cheap and cynical and I doubt chosen by the author.
The biggest issue I have with this book is that the title and blurb have almost nothing to do with the content of the story, I genuinely thought I was reading a misprinted version that had been given the wrong cover. The title is cheap and cynical and I doubt chosen by the author.
January 12, 2014
I liked this book. It started off with a rather striking opening and then never let up on its pace. The characters were interesting, the story lovely and convoluted, the political intrigues were fascinating. I really enjoyed learning about cuba through the story. It was poignant in places too which I always think is the sign of a good book.
December 2, 2015
Bought this in a Waterstones bargain sale box for £1. Didn't realise it was the 3rd book about the main character, but the back story gave all the important details. Story was good in places, not so in others and I thought the ending was a bit rushed, and that the writer had run out of ideas. Despite this, it was pleasant enough and I learnt something about Cuba.
August 25, 2016
Haven't read the first two books, which probably explains why I was waiting the whole time for explanation of this Solomon Boukman who was in the blurb. A readable, albeit typical crime novel, which wasn't mind-blowing but had a sense of realism in its characters. Good ending.
October 16, 2012
ok thriller set in miami and cuba with a retired cop hunting down the truth about his expartners murder
December 11, 2014
Read 200/500 pages.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews