NCIS New Orleans: Crossroads

NCIS New Orleans #1

by Jeffrey J. Mariotte

NCIS is charged with apprehending dangerous and elusive criminals that pose a threat to the nation’s security. In a city that keeps surviving disaster, one elite team is dedicated to making its shores a little safer.  During the famous Mardi Gras parade, a young Naval oceanographer plunges to his death from a hotel balcony. It’s up to Pride and his crew to investigate. But this is a case that goes from grisly to utterly strange. A gris-gris bag found in the victim’s belongings, a trail of mystical clues, and the haunting figure of a voodoo loa on CCTV at the crime scene all suggest that dark powers are at work in The Big Easy.

Genres: Mystery, Crime

320 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 28, 2017

About the author

Also writes as Jeff Mariotte

Jeffrey J. Mariotte is the bestselling, award-winning author of more than 70 novels, including the Cody Cavanaugh western series, historical western epic Blood and Gold: The Legend of Joaquin Murrieta (with Peter Murrieta), thrillers Empty Rooms and The Devil's Bait, supernatural thrillers Season of the Wolf, Missing White Girl, River Runs Red, and Cold Black Hearts, horror epic The Slab, and the Dark Vengeance teen horror quartet. With wife and writing partner Marsheila (Marcy) Rockwell, he wrote the sf/horror/thriller 7 SYKOS and Mafia III: Plain of Jars, the authorized prequel to the bestselling video game. His most recent release is the short story collection Byrd's Luck & Other Stories, comprising five "traditional" Western tales and five horror-Western stories, two of them brand-new for this edition.

He also writes occasional nonfiction, short fiction (some of which is collected in Nine Frights), and comic books, including the long-running horror/Western comic book series Desperadoes and graphic novels Fade to Black and Zombie Cop. With Marsheila Rockwell, he has published several short stories and is working on more. He has worked in virtually every aspect of the book business, as a writer, editor, marketing executive, and bookseller.

Learn more at www.jeffmariotte.com, and follow him at https://www.facebook.com/JeffreyJMari... and @JeffMariotte on Twitter.

Also writes as Jeff Mariotte

Reviews

[Marina · Rating 4 out of 5]

NCIS along with CSI are my favourite tv shows. So, when I got the chance to read and review this book, I simply couldn’t say NO. NCIS set up in New Orleans is one of a kind because it doesn’t involve military cases and murders only, but also the culture and uniqueness of New Orleans itself.

Imagine spending your vacation in New Orleans at the time of Mardi Gras. Everyone is looking at the parade. Costumes everywhere. Suddenly there is a body in the crowd. A body that falls from a terrace, from a hotel balcony. A body of a young Naval oceanographer.

Agent Pride and his team work on the case. It seems that it isn’t an accident, but a planned murder. The officer couldn’t just fall off the terrace. The angle is very wrong. And the strength needed for throwing a soldier across the fence has to be enormous. But who would like to kill a Naval officer?

New Orleans is famous for its magic. The people brought in the past as slaves brought with themselves part of their original culture. Voodoo is everywhere. The investigation shows trails of voodoo on the body, in victim’s previous life and his family. It seems that the educated Naval oceanographer left his home and stayed in the hotel because he was afraid of the curse. And the curse got him!

But in the twenty-first century, do people believe in curses? Or can the magic be explained logically, with evidence? Agent Pride and his team have a lot job to do to find the real culprit. What hides behind the officer’s fear? Who wins with his death? And why voodoo?

Reading this book was like watching an episode of NCIS. I loved reading it, it kept me puzzled till the last page. Liked the surrounding that made me feel a little bit like Orleanian. Liked the involvement of magic and chemistry and science. Solving a murder has never been easy, especially in New Orleans.

A perfect read for NCIS fans!

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad TV show tie in. The characterisation is pretty true to the show, although a bit clunkily done at times. I have two main niggles though:

1. Why is the cover of the book the S1 DVD cover when the book is set in s3? (Having Brody on the cover is very misleading; it's actually Gregorio-and-Sebastian-era).
2. How dare they cop out of writing Gregorio into the story?! There should always be Gregorio.
3. It went very preachy at the end.

[RumBelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF read approximately 150 pages

I stumbled across this book in the library catalog, quite by accident, and being a huge NCIS fan I was really looking forward to reading it. Unfortunately, at least for me, it was disappointing. I found myself not really caring if I picked it up to keep reading and that was when I knew it had to go.

I did really like the NCIS characters, and how they were portrayed. It was faithful to the show and you could see the show's characters in your head as you read. That to me is the mark of a good adaptation. Also, many of the supporting characters, especially those that were Pride's friends or acquaintances were interesting and quirky. They made the book fun.

My two main problems were plot and pace. The plot started off interesting, especially with the voodoo angle, but, to me, it quickly turned dull. It had a lot of elements relevant to our times, but none of those elements added to it. They just made the story-line boring and uninteresting. Also, there was a lot of extraneous information that did not need to be there, a lot of it coming from Sebastian when he got on one of his rants. It was just plot filler and did little to enhance anything.

The pace was so slow in this book, I think partly because of all the necessary plot points. It just slowed everything down, and for a book that is essentially about a crime and a criminal investigation it moved at a glacial pace. Books like this need to have a quicker pace to be interesting and engaging to a reader.

I was underwhelmed by this.

[Sohxpie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think with books like this, you have to look at it like it is, a TV Tie-In novel. If you start looking at it like a "proper" novel, then obviously you are going to be disappointed. All this book is trying to be is essentially a written episode of NCIS New Orleans and I think it does a pretty decent job. For the most part, the characters are faithful to their on-screen counterparts.I think the relationship between Chris and Sonya was especially well-written, their banter came across rather well. Sebastian was another strong example however, it did feel more like the team were bullying him at times, on the show it's far more obvious that it's all harmless fun, it just doesn't translate to that on the page. I thought the story was fairly decent, it felt a bit dragged out and slow at times. I think big chunks could have been cut from this story and it would have worked just as well. It just felt like there were times in the novel where irrelevant information was just thrown in. Overall, a pretty decent TV Tie-In novel, sometimes it's just nice to read something that doesn't take itself too seriously.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a very long standing fan of Scott Bakula, I love the N.C.I.S: New Orleans series on tv, and was thrilled when I came across this companion book. It came into the library where I work, and I snapped it up. The characterisation is good, and the story compelling.
I might have given it 5 stars but for one tiny thing, that nevertheless bugged me enormously the whole time I was reading it....
The story features Sonja Percy, a character I really like.
The cover features Meredith Brody, another character I really like - but NOT the same person. I picked it up expecting Merry, and got Sonja. It bugged me. Somebody dropped the ball. Most people reading the book would already be fans of the series, and know the cover is wrong.
PLEASE could somebody fix this in subsequent editions?

[Andy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. It reminded me of an episode of the show. The cover is a bit misleading. The book has Sonja and Gregorio and does not have Meredith (who I miss by the way.) I did love the fact the Sonja was in the book (I miss her as well), she has such chemistry with Lesalle and they were so good together. The story was well written and interesting. I hope they publish more.

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book. Big Fan of NCIS: New Orleans, the cast, and the characters. Was great fun to come along on this cast with the NCISNO crew as they investigated the murder of a Navy officer.

There were all the twists and turns, action and excitement, a bit of Voodoo, a menagerie of wild animals...and Pride was even stalked about and almost eaten by a Tiger!

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reads just like you were watching an episode. That being said the cover is very deceiving as I would place this around season 3 with Percy and Gregario (although she wasn't in the book) and Brody was already gone.

[Brooklyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good characterization

Plot was good, I could see it lifted right from the show. The characters were true himself and it was nice to see a peek into their internal thought processes as well. I would read more from this author.

[Andrew Kirkhouse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting

An interesting read, I love the NCIS programs on television and this was up there with them
Easy enjoyable read

[Rima · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worth the read

I always enjoy books where I know the characters. Definitely worth reading if you watch the TV show . it stayed true to the characters.

[Pauline · Rating 4 out of 5]

TV tie-in. Great series , book follows the characters to a tee. Interesting plot set during Mardi Gras.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stays true to the TV Series just like his 3 Criminal Minds novels

[Margarette Kramer · Rating 3 out of 5]

didn't hold my interest.

[Kilgallen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun tie in to the tv series. Pacing was speedy as was expected as a tv tie in. I love everything New Orleans so this was right up my alley and I loved the Voodoo element.

[Connie · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay…lots about voodoo but not overly so…having not seen the series much, I wasn’t able to picture the characters well, other than Pride.

[Perry Van Wesel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing special, but also nothing bad. It feels like an unaired episode of the show, so fans will enjoy it more than non-fans

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVED THIS BOOK!!!!!! Absolute wonderfully written and it felt like I was watching an episode of NCIS NOLA. Cannot recommend this book enough!

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun romp of a whodunnit in the milieu of one of my favorite television shows. In this outing, a Naval officer is thrown from a hotel balcony and lands on the trident of King Poseidon during a Mardi Gras krewe parade. Needless to say, the gang from NCIS NOLA is on the job in pretty quick order.

I enjoyed this book not only for the tightly constructed mystery, but also for its walk through the streets of a city I love. I was able to follow the geography and know that the author had done his homework in that regard.

Furthermore, the book examines cultural matters like voodoo and environmental concerns like coastal erosion, both of which are realities in Louisiana.

Nicely done.

[Doreen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am peeved by the book cover. That lady agent (whose name I no longer remember) is no longer with the team for like 2 seasons of the series and yet she still graced the cover?
Story wise, you have your typical ncis new orleans crime, similar with what we are getting from its tv series.