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John Pellam #2
Bloody River Blues
Jeffery Deaver originaly wrote this under the name William Jefferies.Hollywood location scout John Pellam thought the scenic backwater town of Maddox, Missouri, would be the perfect site for an upcoming Bonnie and Clyde-style film. But after real bullets leave two people dead and one cop paralyzed, he’s more sought after than the Barrow Gang. Pellam had unwittingly wandered onto the crime scene just minutes before the brutal hits. Now the feds and local police want him to talk. Mob enforcers want him silenced. And a mysterious blonde just wants him.Trapped in a town full of sinister secrets and deadly deceptions, Pellam fears that death will imitate art, as the film shoot — and his life — race toward a breathtakingly bloody climax.
368 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1993
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About the author
William Jefferies
8 books27 followersThere is more than one author by this name in the database.
This author: Pseudonym for Jeffery Deaver.
This author: Pseudonym for Jeffery Deaver.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 95 reviews
February 26, 2025
Was this the seed that sprouted into Lincoln Rhyme?
BLOODY RIVER BLUES is #2 in Deaver’s John Pellam, Hollywood Location Scout, series which he wrote originally under the pseudonym William Jefferies.
John Pellam thought he was walking down the street minding his own business but the organized crime gangland-style execution he happened to witness had different ideas. The resulting carnage included two dead and a policeman paralyzed from the waist down with the FBI and the local constabulary convinced that Pellam was close enough to identify the shooters. Police need him to cooperate while mob enforcers are looking to keep his mouth closed – permanently!
BLOODY RIVER BLUES is a gripping police procedural that weaves together police investigative work, the minutiae of Hollywood film production, the travails of romantic relationships and, most interesting of all, the details of medical and psychological therapy involved with the treatment of injury induced paralysis. Given that BLOODY RIVER BLUES was published in 1993 and THE BONE COLLECTOR, the first instalment in Deaver’s long-running Lincoln Rhyme series, was published in 1998, one has to wonder if this was serving as a dry run for Deaver’s germinating ideas to create a quadriplegic detective character. The similarities were really quite striking.
Highly enjoyable and definitely recommended. It's on to #3 HELL'S KITCHEN.
Paul Weiss
BLOODY RIVER BLUES is #2 in Deaver’s John Pellam, Hollywood Location Scout, series which he wrote originally under the pseudonym William Jefferies.
John Pellam thought he was walking down the street minding his own business but the organized crime gangland-style execution he happened to witness had different ideas. The resulting carnage included two dead and a policeman paralyzed from the waist down with the FBI and the local constabulary convinced that Pellam was close enough to identify the shooters. Police need him to cooperate while mob enforcers are looking to keep his mouth closed – permanently!
BLOODY RIVER BLUES is a gripping police procedural that weaves together police investigative work, the minutiae of Hollywood film production, the travails of romantic relationships and, most interesting of all, the details of medical and psychological therapy involved with the treatment of injury induced paralysis. Given that BLOODY RIVER BLUES was published in 1993 and THE BONE COLLECTOR, the first instalment in Deaver’s long-running Lincoln Rhyme series, was published in 1998, one has to wonder if this was serving as a dry run for Deaver’s germinating ideas to create a quadriplegic detective character. The similarities were really quite striking.
Highly enjoyable and definitely recommended. It's on to #3 HELL'S KITCHEN.
Paul Weiss
February 20, 2021
Not Deaver’s best work. John Pellam a location scout working on a silly movie in Maddox, Missouri. He see’s a murderer while getting beer for a poker game. A policeman is paralyzed and this for me was the mist interesting part of the story and his adjustment to his injury. The story is ok with a twist at the end concerning Pellam’s love interest. I liked the bleak setting in a dying town but the story was very generic.
January 2, 2016
This is the first Deaver book I've read that I didn't really like. It was written under a pseudonym and now that I've read it, I'm really glad he didn't put his real name on it.
John Pellam is a Hollywood location scout on location in virtually deserted Maddox, Missouri. He has a poker party each week with a few of the others on location. One afternoon he realizes he doesn't have enough beer for the event and goes into town to buy a case. As he is leaving, a door suddenly swings open on a parked car and a man runs into him, making him drop the case. Shortly afterwards, he hears gunshots.
A local sleeze has been killed along with the woman he was with and a policeman has been shot in the back. Everyone thinks that Pellam has seen the man who got out of the car AND the driver, since he apparently looked in the window to talk to the driver.
That's not true, but the local police and the FBI think differently. Pellam is harrassed until he is fired from the movie. He is provoked into searching for the killers and the driver of the car.
But there is none of the Deaver "flash" in this. The character of Pellam is not really interesting. The movie is ridiculous (and many working on the set make fun of it). The friendship that develops between Pellam and the cop who was shot is not really believable and the love interest sloppy.
There is a twist at the end that I didn't expect but it was shallow. Not at all in Deaver's remarkable tradition.
I wouldn't really advise anyone who likes Deaver to read this series.
John Pellam is a Hollywood location scout on location in virtually deserted Maddox, Missouri. He has a poker party each week with a few of the others on location. One afternoon he realizes he doesn't have enough beer for the event and goes into town to buy a case. As he is leaving, a door suddenly swings open on a parked car and a man runs into him, making him drop the case. Shortly afterwards, he hears gunshots.
A local sleeze has been killed along with the woman he was with and a policeman has been shot in the back. Everyone thinks that Pellam has seen the man who got out of the car AND the driver, since he apparently looked in the window to talk to the driver.
That's not true, but the local police and the FBI think differently. Pellam is harrassed until he is fired from the movie. He is provoked into searching for the killers and the driver of the car.
But there is none of the Deaver "flash" in this. The character of Pellam is not really interesting. The movie is ridiculous (and many working on the set make fun of it). The friendship that develops between Pellam and the cop who was shot is not really believable and the love interest sloppy.
There is a twist at the end that I didn't expect but it was shallow. Not at all in Deaver's remarkable tradition.
I wouldn't really advise anyone who likes Deaver to read this series.
December 23, 2017
3.5 stars. Jeffery Deaver is an incredibly mystery writer, and I made an unspoken pact with myself earlier this year that I’d read some of his earlier stuff. Well this is Bloody River Blues, book 2 in the trilogy of John Pellam. Both the first book and this one have great plots, but it’s massively unrealistic that one man can be such a trouble-magnet. I’ll definitely read the last one, but I’m excited to get back to his newer stuff.
June 21, 2016
31/100
Zweiter Streich mit dem Ex-Autorenfilmer John Pellam, der als Locationscout immer wieder in örtliche Verbrechen verwickelt wird. In diesem Falls als mutmaßlicher Zeuge eines Mordes, tatsächlich hat der beim Biereinkauf für eine Pokerrunde angefahrene Pellam nicht gesehen, wer im Auto saß. Die erste Hälfte besteht aus Schikanen der Ermittlungsbehörden und ersten Streichen der Gangster und zieht sich doch ziemlich, auch wenn Hänsel Deaver ab und an ein paar Krümel ausstreut, die auf das eigentliche Komplott oder die überraschende Wendung hinweisen. Bis etwas Klarheit ins Intrigenspiel kommt, wirken die Kapitel mit den Innenansichten von zwei lokalen Großkriminellen eher als Hindernisse.
In vielerlei Hinsicht, bis hin zum Recycling des Stevie-Wonder-Witzes, den auch schon das Weib abbekam, dass sich in Todesstille vor lauter Filmgeilheit dem Locationscout an die Brust warf, läuft das Buch nach einem ähnlichen Schema, es gibt einen höchstwahrscheinlichen Bösewicht, den echten Kriminellen und ein paar brutale, aber letztlich unfähige Ausführungsorgane.
Wirklich zukunftsweisend, in Richtung Lincoln Rhyme, ist der beim Mord angeschossene Cop Donnie Buffett, der fortan im Rollstuhl leben muss, auch wenn er als Mann voll funktionsfähig bleibt. In den Gesprächen mit der sexy Ärztin, werden unterschiedliche Grade der Behinderung schon einmal durchdiskutiert. Allerdings ist vieles, im Vergleich zu den LR-Verwirrspielen, noch sehr grob gezimmert. Die meiste Zeit ist der Leser eher verwirrt darüber, dass so etwas überhaupt mal auf den Markt gekommen ist.
Zweiter Streich mit dem Ex-Autorenfilmer John Pellam, der als Locationscout immer wieder in örtliche Verbrechen verwickelt wird. In diesem Falls als mutmaßlicher Zeuge eines Mordes, tatsächlich hat der beim Biereinkauf für eine Pokerrunde angefahrene Pellam nicht gesehen, wer im Auto saß. Die erste Hälfte besteht aus Schikanen der Ermittlungsbehörden und ersten Streichen der Gangster und zieht sich doch ziemlich, auch wenn Hänsel Deaver ab und an ein paar Krümel ausstreut, die auf das eigentliche Komplott oder die überraschende Wendung hinweisen. Bis etwas Klarheit ins Intrigenspiel kommt, wirken die Kapitel mit den Innenansichten von zwei lokalen Großkriminellen eher als Hindernisse.
In vielerlei Hinsicht, bis hin zum Recycling des Stevie-Wonder-Witzes, den auch schon das Weib abbekam, dass sich in Todesstille vor lauter Filmgeilheit dem Locationscout an die Brust warf, läuft das Buch nach einem ähnlichen Schema, es gibt einen höchstwahrscheinlichen Bösewicht, den echten Kriminellen und ein paar brutale, aber letztlich unfähige Ausführungsorgane.
Wirklich zukunftsweisend, in Richtung Lincoln Rhyme, ist der beim Mord angeschossene Cop Donnie Buffett, der fortan im Rollstuhl leben muss, auch wenn er als Mann voll funktionsfähig bleibt. In den Gesprächen mit der sexy Ärztin, werden unterschiedliche Grade der Behinderung schon einmal durchdiskutiert. Allerdings ist vieles, im Vergleich zu den LR-Verwirrspielen, noch sehr grob gezimmert. Die meiste Zeit ist der Leser eher verwirrt darüber, dass so etwas überhaupt mal auf den Markt gekommen ist.
February 28, 2021
Ma gandesc serios daca voi continua sau nu seria, desi foarte rar abandonez o serie. Imi place foarte mult Jeffery Deaver, dar John Pellam nu mi se pare cel mai reusit personaj al sau. Abia pe la jumatatea romanului incepe sa fie cat de cat interesant, dar este foarte departe de celelalte serii ale sale.
June 25, 2017
I liked this better than the first in the trilogy, perhaps because my expectations were not high. These were originally published under a pseudonym, I'm not sure why, and are pretty dated. John Pellam is a movie location scout working on a film shooting in a small Missouri town, when accidentally becomes a witness to a contract killing, although he actually knows a lot less than the bad guys, police, FBI and over-ambitious assistant DA think he does.
Pellam is a strange rather amoral hero, not particularly likeable, although trying to do the right thing, sort of. He makes friends with the police officer who was shot in the spine during the attack and left paralysed, and picks up a floozy in the hospital for the obligatory love interest.
This was a quick read, and I will finish the series since I already have it, but am glad it ends there as I far prefer his Lincoln Rhyme books.
Pellam is a strange rather amoral hero, not particularly likeable, although trying to do the right thing, sort of. He makes friends with the police officer who was shot in the spine during the attack and left paralysed, and picks up a floozy in the hospital for the obligatory love interest.
This was a quick read, and I will finish the series since I already have it, but am glad it ends there as I far prefer his Lincoln Rhyme books.
November 10, 2024
I liked this one better than #1 in the series, so I’m going to finish #3 next.
September 22, 2012
I enjoyed this book as much as I can enjoy a crime thriller at this point in my literature life. I don't want to say my tastes have matured so much as they have broadened away from crime. That being said, Deaver is still one of my favorite authors and he write exceptionally well.
I was expecting you're average run-of-the-mill witness to a major crime story, but I should have known better. Deaver never does anything run-of-the-mill, which is why I suppose I still read his crime novels. Pellam is not the scared timid witness to a crime that freaks out and runs away. In fact, until after his first encounter with the police, he didn't even know he was a witness to a crime. I admire his ability to stand up to the police and his unexpected friendship with a cop who's paralyzed as a result of the crime he "witnessed."
In typical Deaver style, the bad guys are mostly good, just with a few bad habits, and the good guys need a swift kick in the balls. But not all the time. I especially liked that it didn't end how I hoped it would. As the French would say, "How like life."
A good read for even the passing crime novel fan.
I was expecting you're average run-of-the-mill witness to a major crime story, but I should have known better. Deaver never does anything run-of-the-mill, which is why I suppose I still read his crime novels. Pellam is not the scared timid witness to a crime that freaks out and runs away. In fact, until after his first encounter with the police, he didn't even know he was a witness to a crime. I admire his ability to stand up to the police and his unexpected friendship with a cop who's paralyzed as a result of the crime he "witnessed."
In typical Deaver style, the bad guys are mostly good, just with a few bad habits, and the good guys need a swift kick in the balls. But not all the time. I especially liked that it didn't end how I hoped it would. As the French would say, "How like life."
A good read for even the passing crime novel fan.
February 17, 2018
Too many cops abusing their power & that U.S. Attorney Peterson is the worst. Blackmailing & hiring FBI agents to attack innocent people because he wants a 'witness' to say what he wants them to say when they didn't see the man that Peterson wants to take down. Also willing to ruin's a man's livelihood just to get what he wants. He has crossed that line and no one is willing to go against him because he is the U.S. Attorney & can make up any crimes he see fit just to keep his power & position.
I wonder if half the charges against Cummins is real or made up by the U.S. Attorney just because he dislike successful Russian business men.
There was no good cop in it. I hate dirty cops & this book has a lot of them. So I didn't like this book very much.
I wonder if half the charges against Cummins is real or made up by the U.S. Attorney just because he dislike successful Russian business men.
There was no good cop in it. I hate dirty cops & this book has a lot of them. So I didn't like this book very much.
December 28, 2016
John Pellam is the most boring main character I can remember. This book was first published in 1993 as the 2nd in a series of 3 under the pseudonym of William Jefferies. I can't understand why Jeffery Deaver would write such drab books when his other books are so good. This had too many characters and sub plots running with time spans in between their appearances. It was meant to make you try to figure out who are the bad ones, but instead you were trying to remember who they themselves were. Then I was thinking, do I really care who the character was because they were so dull.
December 5, 2018
Several years ago, I worked as a liaison between the book publishers and various retailers. One of the perks (pretty much the only perk) is that we could get free paperback books anytime we wanted. Even though that’s now been almost eight years ago, my garage is still lined with unread yarns - just waiting to be consumed some day. When I came across, and then read a Jeffery Deaver book titled The Stone Monkey, I was hooked. Upon completion, I quickly ventured outside to the sultry holder of the cars to see if there were any other works by this author that might await me. Alas, there were only a sad few. I then learned the author had about twenty-five pieces of work, so my next visit was Ebay. To may a long story a bit longer, I came across a listing of about fifteen of the author’s works for $25. A steal!
So, with a new collection of books by a new author, it was time to do some reading. As I’ve mentioned in earlier blogs on the subject, I’m always compelled, if possible, to read multiple offerings of an author in order of release. Although that might come across to some as a bit obsessive-compulsive (it is), it’s also rewarding because, in many cases, authors will end up telling a linear group of stories from one book to the next, and although not necessary, it can be beneficial to start from the start.
Written around the late 1980’s (under a pseudonym William Jefferies), the story takes place in a hard-hit (fictional?) town called Maddox, Missouri. The only thing looking up for this town, is when a Hollywood company shows up to use the town as a backdrop for its story. Our protagonist is John Pellam, who is the location scout for this particular film. Although the film is already in production, the film’s director is one of those eccentric types who keeps changing his script as he is filming, so Pellam needs to stick around the sleepy town for awhile. Not that this should bother him. He works free lance, after all, so as long as the money keeps coming in....
Well, in this particular dreary municipality, a second rate murder is about to go down. Pellam just happens to be walking through downtown buying a case of beer, and although he doesn’t really see anything happen, he’s the closest thing the cops have to a witness. So now, the cops are looking for him, the FBI is looking for him, the bad guys are looking for him, the muscle behind the bad guys are looking for him, and so on and so on.
Now, I’ve never been accosted by a police officer when they were inquiring about a crime, but could someone please tell me why when this happens in the movies or books that the guy being solicited for information always has to act so smart-mouthed and belligerent? I can’t help but thinking that if our friend John Pellam would have maybe just cooperated with the authorities a bit better, he could have avoided an awful lot of drama. Maybe he might not like cops, but does it hurt to be as helpful as possible when an attempt is made to solve a murder? So, yes, in a way, the police in this story almost become just as bad as the murderous thugs. Well, I guess you need to tell a decent story.
Then, there’s this mysterious, great looking blonde who happens to show up out of the blue and starts getting very chummy with Pellam. You have to ask (and Pellam should as well), why would such a hotty be even remotely interested in a washed up free lance movie location scout? Alarm bells go off. For the reader, anyway. So through the complex labyrinth, things eventually sort themselves out, and everybody is free to live another day and make another movie.
I found this book to be “o.k.”, but definitely not much more than that. A lot of it, sadly, seems to be in the abysmal town where our story takes place. At one point near the beginning, the author devotes quite a lengthy part of a chapter describing just how bad off this place is and, well, let’s just say it doesn’t even make you want to visit it as a reader. Plus, it really doesn’t help when the majority of the characters aren’t even from this place, so there’s not much of an attachment from the key parties involved. It made a decent story with some good plot twists, and most of the characters were somewhat interesting. Hind sight being twenty-twenty, it’s comforting to know that this author does get a lot better with time.
NOTE: After completing this book, I found out that the author has, in fact, written a “series” of books around this character as well. They’re referred to as “The Location Scout” mysteries. Not sure if that’s good or bad yet....
So, with a new collection of books by a new author, it was time to do some reading. As I’ve mentioned in earlier blogs on the subject, I’m always compelled, if possible, to read multiple offerings of an author in order of release. Although that might come across to some as a bit obsessive-compulsive (it is), it’s also rewarding because, in many cases, authors will end up telling a linear group of stories from one book to the next, and although not necessary, it can be beneficial to start from the start.
Written around the late 1980’s (under a pseudonym William Jefferies), the story takes place in a hard-hit (fictional?) town called Maddox, Missouri. The only thing looking up for this town, is when a Hollywood company shows up to use the town as a backdrop for its story. Our protagonist is John Pellam, who is the location scout for this particular film. Although the film is already in production, the film’s director is one of those eccentric types who keeps changing his script as he is filming, so Pellam needs to stick around the sleepy town for awhile. Not that this should bother him. He works free lance, after all, so as long as the money keeps coming in....
Well, in this particular dreary municipality, a second rate murder is about to go down. Pellam just happens to be walking through downtown buying a case of beer, and although he doesn’t really see anything happen, he’s the closest thing the cops have to a witness. So now, the cops are looking for him, the FBI is looking for him, the bad guys are looking for him, the muscle behind the bad guys are looking for him, and so on and so on.
Now, I’ve never been accosted by a police officer when they were inquiring about a crime, but could someone please tell me why when this happens in the movies or books that the guy being solicited for information always has to act so smart-mouthed and belligerent? I can’t help but thinking that if our friend John Pellam would have maybe just cooperated with the authorities a bit better, he could have avoided an awful lot of drama. Maybe he might not like cops, but does it hurt to be as helpful as possible when an attempt is made to solve a murder? So, yes, in a way, the police in this story almost become just as bad as the murderous thugs. Well, I guess you need to tell a decent story.
Then, there’s this mysterious, great looking blonde who happens to show up out of the blue and starts getting very chummy with Pellam. You have to ask (and Pellam should as well), why would such a hotty be even remotely interested in a washed up free lance movie location scout? Alarm bells go off. For the reader, anyway. So through the complex labyrinth, things eventually sort themselves out, and everybody is free to live another day and make another movie.
I found this book to be “o.k.”, but definitely not much more than that. A lot of it, sadly, seems to be in the abysmal town where our story takes place. At one point near the beginning, the author devotes quite a lengthy part of a chapter describing just how bad off this place is and, well, let’s just say it doesn’t even make you want to visit it as a reader. Plus, it really doesn’t help when the majority of the characters aren’t even from this place, so there’s not much of an attachment from the key parties involved. It made a decent story with some good plot twists, and most of the characters were somewhat interesting. Hind sight being twenty-twenty, it’s comforting to know that this author does get a lot better with time.
NOTE: After completing this book, I found out that the author has, in fact, written a “series” of books around this character as well. They’re referred to as “The Location Scout” mysteries. Not sure if that’s good or bad yet....
January 27, 2020
Ieri sera ho terminato "Fiume di sangue" di Jeffery Deaver. Fa parte del filone John Pellam ed è il secondo volume, dopo "Sotto Terra".
In questo racconto John è ingaggiato da un regista per trovare le location adatte ad un nuovo film hollywoodiano, in un paesino sperduto. Suo malgrado si ritrova invischiato in una brutta situazione, solo per essere andato a prendere alcuni birre al supermarket.
Proprio in quel momento due killer e il loro mandante si trovano appostati fuori dal negozio, mentre seguono la loro vittima. John uscendo, viene centrato in pieno dal mandante, che gli fa cadere tutte le birre. Credendo così che anche gli altri occupanti dell'auto siano stati identificati, si mettono sulla tracce di John per far sparire ogni possibile testimone.
Peccato che non sia così semplice far fuori il duro John Pellam.
Devo dire che questa volta Deaver non mi ha stregato come in passato. La trama del libro scorre bene, ma è spesso priva di colpi di scena e tutto sembra svolgersi su un livello abbastanza piatto. Per esempio ho trovato strano che il protagonista, seppur braccato per tutto il libro da più sicari, non si faccia nemmeno un graffio, mentre a rimetterci è sempre chi gli sta intorno. Avrei preferito più coerenza, azione e meno ragionamenti. Direi che si merita una sufficiente stringata.
In questo racconto John è ingaggiato da un regista per trovare le location adatte ad un nuovo film hollywoodiano, in un paesino sperduto. Suo malgrado si ritrova invischiato in una brutta situazione, solo per essere andato a prendere alcuni birre al supermarket.
Proprio in quel momento due killer e il loro mandante si trovano appostati fuori dal negozio, mentre seguono la loro vittima. John uscendo, viene centrato in pieno dal mandante, che gli fa cadere tutte le birre. Credendo così che anche gli altri occupanti dell'auto siano stati identificati, si mettono sulla tracce di John per far sparire ogni possibile testimone.
Peccato che non sia così semplice far fuori il duro John Pellam.
Devo dire che questa volta Deaver non mi ha stregato come in passato. La trama del libro scorre bene, ma è spesso priva di colpi di scena e tutto sembra svolgersi su un livello abbastanza piatto. Per esempio ho trovato strano che il protagonista, seppur braccato per tutto il libro da più sicari, non si faccia nemmeno un graffio, mentre a rimetterci è sempre chi gli sta intorno. Avrei preferito più coerenza, azione e meno ragionamenti. Direi che si merita una sufficiente stringata.
December 21, 2020
This is the second of the Location Scout series I have read in as many weeks. If anything, the second, Bloody River Blues, is worse than the first, Shallow Graves. These books have many similarities:
- The titles of the books come from the titles of the motion pictures that are being filmed.
- There is an abundance of corrupt law enforcement officials
- The love interests are not who you are led to think they are. They only want one thing from Pellam – to work in the movie business.
In “Shallow Graves,” we are informed that location scout, John Pellam has a background as a stuntman and has hidden “skills” being a descendant of Wild Bill Hickok. In this second novel, Pellam is unbelievably nice and polite – almost a wuss. It makes for a very uninteresting and boring main character. No wonder Deaver had to hide behind the pseudonym, William Jeffires.
- The titles of the books come from the titles of the motion pictures that are being filmed.
- There is an abundance of corrupt law enforcement officials
- The love interests are not who you are led to think they are. They only want one thing from Pellam – to work in the movie business.
In “Shallow Graves,” we are informed that location scout, John Pellam has a background as a stuntman and has hidden “skills” being a descendant of Wild Bill Hickok. In this second novel, Pellam is unbelievably nice and polite – almost a wuss. It makes for a very uninteresting and boring main character. No wonder Deaver had to hide behind the pseudonym, William Jeffires.
January 3, 2024
A random charity shop purchase. It does no harm to have a lucky dip now and again. I doubt if I'd generally choose a crime thriller set in America's Midwest but this was ok. I did like the location of a small, rundown, post-industrial town with its empty factories and non-working public telephones (written in 2000 before the widespread ownership of cell phones.) Our hero accidently witnesses a contract killing and he is thereafter both being pressured into giving information to the feds or local cops, and being hunted down by the killer's associates to avoid such a thing. Some good interactions, a few more bodies, a paralysed cop. Probably worth more than 3* but really not my cup of tea.
December 30, 2024
Some parts kept me interested while most of the book did not. That was the only reason I really kept reading this one. I found it difficult to differentiate between who was who and the twists were interesting at points but at others just made no sense in my opinion.
By the end of the book, I honestly feel like it lost all its purpose other than the main witness just being harassed to make a confession for something that he may have not even done and the ending I believe is lackluster in that we just get a sped up explanation of why the main victim in the book was gotten rid of at all, a point that I had honestly forgotten about throughout the book as I had already mentioned that it mainly focused on the witness just being harrased and blackmailed into making a confession
By the end of the book, I honestly feel like it lost all its purpose other than the main witness just being harassed to make a confession for something that he may have not even done and the ending I believe is lackluster in that we just get a sped up explanation of why the main victim in the book was gotten rid of at all, a point that I had honestly forgotten about throughout the book as I had already mentioned that it mainly focused on the witness just being harrased and blackmailed into making a confession
February 23, 2025
‘Bloody River Blues’ is the sequel of Shallow Graves, a thriller revolving around a location scout, Pellam. This time he is in the town of Maddox. Both the police and the criminals are after him as they think he is a key witness to the murder of two people and the shooting of a cop.
It was average and kind of felt repetitive. While ‘Shallow Graves’ was quite sexist, this one is quite racist. It was hard to read certain things, like casual racism just thrown in the middle of a paragraph. One example would be the female MC was getting attacked, but on noticing that her attacker was white, she felt a bit relaxed. Like wtf? There were worse than this. I’d rather not say.
I still have the last book of this series to read. I’m literally hoping it turns out to be better.
It was average and kind of felt repetitive. While ‘Shallow Graves’ was quite sexist, this one is quite racist. It was hard to read certain things, like casual racism just thrown in the middle of a paragraph. One example would be the female MC was getting attacked, but on noticing that her attacker was white, she felt a bit relaxed. Like wtf? There were worse than this. I’d rather not say.
I still have the last book of this series to read. I’m literally hoping it turns out to be better.
April 28, 2023
Bloody River Blues by Jeffery Deaver
Deaver never disappoints and this book certainly maintains his standards. John Pellam finds himself embroiled in a gangster hit in the small town of Maddox, Missouri. A Hollywood location scout working on a movie, he becomes a target for law enforcement agencies, savory and unsavory as well as citizens of Maddox of dubious reputation.
Deaver has a devious turn of mind as he creates cul-da-sacs, detours, and random clues as to the direction of the story.
I enjoyed the detailed characterizations.
An excellent book that I recommend.
Deaver never disappoints and this book certainly maintains his standards. John Pellam finds himself embroiled in a gangster hit in the small town of Maddox, Missouri. A Hollywood location scout working on a movie, he becomes a target for law enforcement agencies, savory and unsavory as well as citizens of Maddox of dubious reputation.
Deaver has a devious turn of mind as he creates cul-da-sacs, detours, and random clues as to the direction of the story.
I enjoyed the detailed characterizations.
An excellent book that I recommend.
January 12, 2024
Such a bad book. Pellam is a scene scout for movies, he is currently working in a small town in MO. when he witnesses a crime or at least the cops are sure he did. First of all cops dont work or talk the way they are protrayed in this book. Then the US Distract Attorney hires an ex FBI agent to work over Pellam to try and get him to cooperate with his investigation. Although the man he is pursuing had nothing to do with the crime. The whole thing is not believable at all. People get murdered at least 3 that the cops in this small town never even know about.
June 23, 2019
This is a good fast paced crime thriller that follows location scout John Pellam as he witness part of a murder and assault and then is caught in the middle of the investigating police and a couple of crime lords who may or may not be involved. At every turn he finds himself followed, watched and harassed as he tries to get on with his life and make a movie. Instead things just go from bad to worse until he decides to take matters into his own hands.
June 21, 2022
This was a slow burn that kept burning slowly. Difficult cast of characters to feel much for, one way or the other. Best character is the town, which once again Deaver paints vividly, so you can feel the dust on the back of your throat. It’s a one horse case spun out for 300 plus pages, but the movie set setting and small town melodrama fill the voids the usual twists and turns (which don’t start to hit until much later it feels) pack out.
January 3, 2023
Tedious
This one was mostly tedious to read. I was hoping for more. The actions of the local cops, Feds and US Attorney were deplorable. I’m not naive and do know for a fact that abuse of power is a real and tangible thing but It doesn’t make for good reading. I would go on just to be able to finish the series but 10$ for a kindle book that was written more that 25 years ago is kind of ridiculous.
This one was mostly tedious to read. I was hoping for more. The actions of the local cops, Feds and US Attorney were deplorable. I’m not naive and do know for a fact that abuse of power is a real and tangible thing but It doesn’t make for good reading. I would go on just to be able to finish the series but 10$ for a kindle book that was written more that 25 years ago is kind of ridiculous.
June 25, 2024
E niente, un libro carino ma niente di più. Forse l'autore non fa più per me dopo che in gioventù mi tenne spesso compagnia; forse il personaggio di John Pellam non è nelle mie corde o forse, essendo una delle opere dei suoi esordi, la scrittura non era ancora capace, elaborata e passionale come nelle storie con Lincoln Rhyme protagonista. Come il precedente 'Sotto terra', ad un certo punto ha iniziato a scorrere più velocemente, ma quanto c'è voluto...
December 8, 2024
When making a movie about bank robbers the creator includes a lot of action. When writing a book about aforementioned movie, action scenes are required. Bloody River Blues has action seeping from its pages. From a list of characters drowning in goodness or evil down to the finest details, the reader is immersed in action. If a book with action scenes, mystery, romance and friendship is what you crave, read Bloody River Blues.
May 21, 2025
Huge fan of JD and have read almost all of his works but this one slipped the net somehow. I found aspects a little confusing as I couldn't remember which "baddie" was which so the ending wasn't as satisfying as it might have been and the "twist" was obvious this time (a first for me to spot who wasn't who they said they were) but I gather this is an early story. Pretty decent but his later stuff is streets ahead.
January 30, 2023
This earlier Deaver book, written under a pseudonym, definitely feels less developed and polished. It's fine but lacking excitement and the unexpected twists of his later books, at times feeling disjointed. Very generic and not really worth reading, given the shear number of other (better) books he has written.
January 17, 2020
I read a good part of this book in one session....and I enjoyed it. That said, I felt it was a little strained to see some of the antics of law inforcement, but not so much more than some of the other authors that I read....take Baldacci and his Memory Man series.
November 11, 2024
Starts a Little Slow
This book started a little slow, but Deaver picked up the pace and finished strong. He left a few loose ends that could have easily been resolved. Not quite as good as his later work, but I will probably read other books in the series.
This book started a little slow, but Deaver picked up the pace and finished strong. He left a few loose ends that could have easily been resolved. Not quite as good as his later work, but I will probably read other books in the series.
November 9, 2025
This book is immensely boring and unnecessarily convoluted with terribly unimaginative writing. Even at ~80% read, I was considering abandoning it but sadly I decided to waste more time and stick with it.
June 24, 2017
It is not the book for me. I love his other writings but not this series.
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