Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

The Marauders

Rate this book
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.

320 pages, Hardcover

First published February 3, 2015

Loading interface...
Loading interface...

About the author

Tom Cooper

2 books95 followers
Tom Cooper was born in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, and now lives in New Orleans. His short stories have appeared in Oxford American, Mid-American Review, and Gulf Coast, among many others. Random House/Crown published his first novel, The Marauders, in 2015. He is at work on several new projects, including television scripts and novels.

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
532 (20%)
4 stars
1,154 (44%)
3 stars
738 (28%)
2 stars
146 (5%)
1 star
52 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 466 reviews
Profile Image for Shelby *trains flying monkeys*.
1,651 reviews6,358 followers
January 24, 2015
I love when a first time author blows it out of the ballpark. I'm going with a strong 3.5 stars rounded up on this one.
This small town in Louisiana has seen Katrina come and go and now they are facing BP's oil spillage. That has ruined the people there's way of life.

Set in the swamp and small town of Jeannette the author brings this story to life.
A petro-stink hung thickly in the air, a smell like hot tar in summer. Cosgrove saw spangles of crude in the water, the flotillas of diarrheic froth. He worried about the fumes he was breathing, all those ominous-toxins he heard about in the news. Benzene, arsenic, Corexit. Dolphins, he'd heard, were coughing and bleeding out their assholes. Not good.

Most of the people here trawl every day for shrimp but now the rest of the country doesn't want shrimp from the gulf coast.

The people in this book come to life under this writer's hand.
You have Lindquist, who has had his prosthetic arm stolen, his wife has left him and he is addicted to pills that he carries around in his Donald Duck Pez dispenser.

The Toup brothers-psycho pot-growing brothers who don't want anyone to stand in their way.

Two pothead friends who rattle on about how life needs to change from them...and then they hear about the island in the swamp full of pure weed.

Wes and his father-who can't find their way after Wes's mom dies during hurricane Katrina..The oil man in a town that he grew up in trying to wipe the mess clean and move on with his life.

Louisiana comes alive in this book, and it's a damn fine ride.
When Cosgrove got out of the truck he was ready to kneel and kiss the ground. He might have if it weren't so filthy: dirty Mardi Gras beads and petrified dog turds and cigarette ends.
A warm breeze carried the smells of garbage and piss, of seafood and chicory-spiced coffee, of horseshit and rotten fruit.
The fetid spice box of New Orleans


I received an arc copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Profile Image for Kelly (and the Book Boar).
2,582 reviews8,795 followers
September 12, 2016
Find all of my reviews at: http://52bookminimum.blogspot.com/

The Marauders became a part of my TBR due to a recommendation by one of my husband co-workers. It turns out he’s becoming quite the fan of hick lit and thought of me after reading/agreeing with my assessment of Bull Mountain. When I took a peak at the synopsis for this one I was all in and immediately snatched it up from the library. Then my non-book-reading husband decided to join in for a buddy read . . . . .

commercial photography locations

It’s now been four days since I finished and he’s still on page 80-something so I’m calling this another failed buddy-up and posting a review before my old lady brain forgets WTF this was even about.

So what was it about?

The basics are it’s about the goings on of a hodgepodge ensemble cast of characters living in the Louisiana bayou after the BP oil spill. Y’all remember when that happened?????



Good thing big oil learned its lesson and would never cut any corners today that might allow a horrific accident like that to happen say . . . . with the Dakota Pipeline, right? Yeah right.

Anyway, off soapbox. Where was I???? Oh yeah, an ensemble cast of characters who all live in the same small town of Jeanette and whose lives eventually intertwine as the story progresses.

There’s a little bit of something for everyone here. From the son of a shrimp boat captain who dreams of running a boat of his own, to the smarmy insurance agent who has been assigned to make the people affected sign their rights away for a paltry settlement before they get wise and file a class action suit, to the local nutter who dreams of discovering the lost treasure of Pirate Jean Lafitte with his trusty metal detector . . . .



To a set of psycho twins who are willing to protect a secret crop . . . .



Via any means necessary.

This was a damn good read. I’ll be honest and tell you I was an easy sell as soon I heard “if she liked Bull Mountain” because yeah she really liked Bull Mountain. While this one wasn’t quite as riveting to me as that one was, I still found it to be a solid novel and it got a lot grittier than I thought it was going to be at the jumpstart. I am a huge fan of a mixed bag of narratives and recognize how hard it is to do successfully. Cooper proved to be a master and each individual had a completely unique personality and voice that I won’t be forgetting any time soon. And really, let’s be honest, once I saw “Pirate Jean Lafitte” I was in . . . . .

commercial photography locations

Recommended to people who enjoy their literature to be a lil’ bit of chickenfried.

P.S. If you haven’t ever watched Drunk History you’re really missing out. Especially the Lafitte episode. Friggin’ HI-LAR-I-OUS. And if my word alone doesn’t sell you on tuning in, maybe knowing you’re missing this kind of awesomeness will . . . .

commercial photography locations
Profile Image for James Thane.
Author 9 books6,974 followers
March 26, 2015
The denizens of Jeanette, a dying community in the Louisiana bayou, have never really recovered from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. And then, as they are struggling to get back on their feet, they are walloped again by the disaster that flows to their shores in the wake of the BP oil spill. Many of the citizens of the tiny community barely eek out a hard scrabble living as shrimpers and as the oil fouls the waters for miles around, the already beleaguered shrimping industry is dealt a devastating blow.

But these are not the sort of people who will bow to the fates and give up easily. Fiercely proud and independent, they struggle on in a variety of ways, both legal and illegal, to preserve the way of life they've known for generations. The cast of characters includes a teenage boy named Wes Trench who has been estranged from his father since his mother was lost in Katrina. Wes and his father barely communicate any more, but tradition and the circumstances of fate decree that the two must continue to work side-by-side on the father's shrimp boat, falling further and further behind both emotionally and financially.

Meanwhile, a one-armed, pill-popping treasure hunter named Lindquist, when not working his own shrimp boat, pores over maps and spends countless hours roaming the bayous with his metal detector, searching for the long-lost pirate treasure that he's certain will allow him to finally fulfill his dreams. The cast also includes a pair of seriously twisted twins who are farming high grade marijuana on an island that they guard against all comers and a couple of small-time crooks on the lookout for an easy dollar.

Throw in a smarmy oil company representative who's trying to buy off for a pittance those who were harmed by the oil spill, including even his own mother, mix thoroughly, and the result is a great read that is at times hilariously funny and at others heart-breakingly sad.

Tom Cooper has gathered together a great cast of characters and set them loose in a perfectly rendered setting. He obviously knows the people and the landscape of this region very well; he writes beautifully and the story moves along at exactly the right pace. This is a wonderful debut novel that evokes echoes of writers like Carl Hiassen, Elmore Leonard and Daniel Woodrell, and I'm already looking forward to Cooper's next book.
Profile Image for Melki.
6,375 reviews2,438 followers
April 22, 2016
After midnight and the black-green swamp was swollen and dripping moonstruck jewels of dew trembling on the leaves. The Toup twins came across a fallen oak, its trunk worm-bored and teeming with larvae. The log was too large to leap so they climbed on top, boots crackling in the rotten wood, and then they hopped down to the other side,

Now they came upon a spiderweb as big as a shrimping trawl, stretched between the tumorous trunks of two alders. A hand-sized spider like a blown-glass objet d'art lazed in the middle, motionless in the beams of their flashlights.


Really? A hand-sized spider?

Gulp!

The ne'er-do-well Toup brothers have a nice pot crop well hidden in a Louisiana swamp. Two small time crooks now know about said patch, and are actively looking for it. One-armed Gus Lindquist is NOT looking for pot, though he IS convinced there's a pirate treasure buried inconveniently close to where the weed is located. We also get to meet the father and son shrimpers whose livelihood has been ruined by BP and their damned oil spill. Now it's time to throw Brady Grimes into the mix. He's a native of the area who left swearing he'd never be back. Well, he's back...and unfortunately, he's working for the oil company. He's going door-to-door trying to convince his former neighbors to accept a paltry sum in exchange for signing away their right to sue BP.

Oh, yeah! You've got a recipe for fireworks and almost certain disaster.

The dust jacket boasts both Nic Pizzolatto and Stephen King comparing Cooper to Charles Portis, and yes, there is a definite Portis vibe, sprinkled with just a pinch of Joe R. Lansdale. I was reminded most of Johnny Shaw (Big Maria), owing to the herd of quirky characters, some innocent, some downright unsavory, looking for better lives and getting caught up in situations that balloon way out of their control.

This comes out in February, the bleakest month. By then, you'll be so sick of snow that a muggy slog through a fetid swamp filled with snakes and 'gators might be just the ticket to cure those winter blues.

Just don't forget the Raid.

I hear those spiders can get mighty big...
Profile Image for Shaun.
Author 4 books193 followers
November 26, 2014
Oh man, this is one hell of a first novel. Very rarely do I read a book where I feel as if every word, every phrase, every idea was labored over and carefully chosen, and it shows. There is really not one thing I didn't like about this book.

Great atmosphere and incredible sense of place and time...check.

Memorable and well-developed characters...check.

Superior rhythm and flow...check.

Luscious and poetic use of language to create strong and lasting impressions/imagery...check.

Strong plot with seamless weaving of interesting subplots...check.

Just plain good storytelling...check.

Meaningful and relevant themes...check.

An all-around entertaining page turner...check.

The only downside?...seeing as this is Cooper's first novel, I can't now go back and systematically read everything else he's written. I see success in Mr. Cooper's future, and much deserved success at that. Highly recommend to those who enjoy well-written fiction with sumptuous language, and particularly fans of Southern Gothic Fiction, as there are many elements here that are found in the genre, like a strong sense of time and place, a cast of deeply flawed and often eccentric characters, social issues unique to the South that combined with poverty propel characters toward sinister acts. The biggest difference is that Cooper somehow manages a happy ending (sort-of), or at least considerably happier than one generally finds in SGF.

So pleased to have had an opportunity to read this before its official release date in February of 2015 thanks to NetGalley.
Profile Image for Tori (InToriLex).
475 reviews412 followers
January 4, 2016
Find this and other Reviews at InToriLex
Book Review, InToriLex
I started this book not knowing what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised with this snapshot in time through the Barataria.  The characters were flawed and relateable, all of them coping with hard times and using what they have to make it through. The atmosphere described and the dialogue driven prose, made me feel more like someone was telling me a long story. I enjoyed every word. There's so much said in between words when you talk to your parent or someone you love. Mr. Cooper did a great job describing real, troubled relationships through what was left unsaid. 

"Nobody's dreams are interesting, except to themselves."

The pacing was great, and I never felt like I was reading filler, This was a well though out and executed novel. There was suspense surrounding what would happen, but not an actual mystery that reaches a conclusion, The plot was a device used to tease out what made these characters push through not so great lives. I wanted the plot to be more developed and some details to be nicely wrapped up, but the characters were the bright-spot throughout. 

There is a bit of magical realism described, and I really wanted to learn more about how that worked in the small town. Although maybe the mystery behind it and surrounding it was apart of the story, I found myself immersed in the trawlers life and Linquist's journey to find something to hope for. I did wish there was more female character development and emotional impact, which my rating reflects. I recommend this to anyone who wants to read a unique novel that will enlighten you about the people of Louisiana, after the oil spill painfully rebuilding. 

I received this book from BloggingforBooks in exchange for a honest review.
Profile Image for sappho_reader.
408 reviews2 followers
October 11, 2015
The Marauders is categorized as a mystery but I don’t think that is most suitable. Sure there are a couple mysteries such as the locations of the buried pirate’s gold and marijuana harvest but they really take on a secondary role. This is a more character driven story. And what a bunch of characters!!

I loved this book! What cast of misfit outcasts up to no good deep in the Louisiana bayou, with an occasional foray into New Orleans. The humor was terrific and provided a good balance to the dire circumstances of this region after the devastating Hurricane Katrina and BP oil spill. There were a couple of scenes that made me laugh out loud, especially between Hanson and the pawnbroker.

Tom Cooper really excelled in his descriptions of the physical landscape. The hot muggy swamps came alive while reading. I felt like I was right there in the bayou fishing for shrimp and trying to make a living while there was a national boycott of Gulf shrimp. The chase through the swamp at the end put me on edge with all the bugs, spiders, quicksand, alligators, and other unmentionables.

Excellent debut novel. Recommended for fans of gritty Southern literature.
Profile Image for Josh.
134 reviews25 followers
March 29, 2015
When I finished in the wee hours of this morning, it was a 5 star. As I have wrestled a little more with it, it drifted down slightly. I'm going with 3.5 rounded up to a 4 because the elements I liked......I REALLY liked. I won this in a Goodreads Giveaway in exchange for an honest review so here goes:

Stubborn.......in one word, that's what sums this book up. Stubborn people, living in a stubborn hamlet of a stubborn state, set against the stubborn environment following the BP oil spill of 2010. We all remember experiencing the devastation through our high def TVs and perhaps we even cancelled a family trip to the Gulf because of reports showing oil slicks hovering off shore or tar balls rolling in on the waves. This isn't that story.

It's more an examination of the impacts that same event caused on a deeper level........deeper inshore, in the swamps and inland communities which never made it to your CNN feed. The economic, social, mental, life altering, family altering impacts are on display here. All that said, the book is not an exposé geared at making a social statement- the spill simply sets the stage for what causes the plot to get really fired up. It would have likely still played out without the event, but it would have lacked the fuel (pardon the pun) to get into high gear quite as quickly.

I thought the author worked in GREAT details which were just unbelievable enough to be authentic. Details like a one armed treasure bandit who through a wild series of events loses his high dollar prosthetic and only finds what he seeks after he is forced to revert to the old metal hook he thought he hated (cue the Captain Hook jokes). Much similar to how Donald Ray Pollock use his rural hillside Ozark communities to paint vivid stokes, but in a generally more humorous manner. Same drug induced characters- but Cooper finds a way to lighten them up some (the Pez dispenser was a nice touch). I think most anyone would enjoy the journey.

My only criticisms were that the ending seemed a bit rushed. And I loved the final few pages as much as any in the book. There were a few spots I thought could have been fleshed out a little differently (primarily Grimes). Don't let that sway you though- this one is a great first novel. I will be buying his future works as he uses humor, suspense, setting, and character in the ways I enjoy. Dude has skills- go buy it if funny, quirky, slightly gritty stories that don't have to mean anything are your flavor.
Profile Image for Beverly.
1,647 reviews380 followers
December 27, 2014
The Marauders is a superb story that dazzles with heart-pounding suspense in a tale grabbed from the headlines and made intimate by the vibrant characters and their hard-scrabble lives. The reader is introduced to a cadre of characters in the Louisiana Gulf Coast area in the post-Katrina, post-BP oil spill era, each introduces his story and their current trials and tribulations. But the joy of this book is the how the author handles the characters’ voices with confidence, wit and empathy, weaving together multiple stories to produce an exhilarating adventure. Life will never be the same for this area as government and big corporations impose their goals on a resilient culture as it figures out what changes to make and what traditions to hold on to.

The novel is fast-paced, suspenseful, and terror-driven and the use of humor only enhances the richness of the story. The masterful descriptions of the time and place are as well done as the characterizations. Many will find the ending may not have the bang or the redemption they wanted for the characters. But then again that is life, many are invisible to others as change and cover-up is the mantra of our times.

I recommend this book to fans of noirish mysteries with throbbing heart-wrenching themes. I enjoyed this well-written entertaining debut and look forward to reading future novels by the author.

The publisher provided this book to me via LibraryThing for exchange of an honest review.
Profile Image for Elyse Walters.
4,010 reviews11.2k followers
November 16, 2015
Great contemporary crime story that takes place after the devastation of Hurricane
Katrina in Louisiana with the remnants of the BP oil spill.

Testosterone energy was flying high with a cast of eight men in the pits of the swamps. As a female reader...those who enjoy 'women's fiction' are in for a treat...
This is not to be enjoyed by only the dudes!!!

The story is fiction ... but the gulf disasters feel real. The setting and shifting plots were totally engaging. I enjoyed the humor, the rich scenery, and idiosyncratic characters.
The Troup Twins, Reginald and Victor ran a successful marijuana business on one of the islands which they guarded as if their life depended on it. They were always paranoid and so over-protective of their pot --that they were always up to no good.

Gus Lindquist is addicted to pain pills after having lost an arm in an accident. ( he also
lost his prosthesis....but we know the Troup Twins stole it). Gus is burned out as a shrimper and becomes obsessed with finding a buried pirate treasure...using a metal detector. His wife has walked out...he drinks too much...he tells jokes. He made me laugh .. made me feel sad.. and I found him lovable!

Grimes grew was a local who had left years ago for New York...but came back to do the nasty deed of trying to get the local folks to settle for a pittance rather than sue the oil company for damage that had been done.

Hanson and Cosgrove were both petty criminals and junkies.

Wes Trench, older teen, let go of his thoughts about college early - but was bright enough to God-wanted nothing more than to be a Shrimper with integrity and expanded modern ideas...yet honor his heritage.

There is so much feeling in this novel which moves at a fast pace - interweaving these lives ...each with individual problems - family problems - and community problems.
It's action-packed with dark humor. A very pleasant surprise. I don't think I've read a book quite like "The Marauders".
I'm personally allergic to shellfish, but I wouldn't mind a a warm bowl of veggie
jambalaya about now...
No alligators please...( they were 'cute' in this story..haha), but I'm not eating one, thank you!
WONDERFUL BOOK.., I can't imagine anyone not enjoying it!

Thank You Crown Publishing, Netgalley, and Tom Cooper.




Profile Image for Debbie.
1,751 reviews101 followers
October 10, 2015
I really enjoyed reading this book. It was a different kind of book for me. It's about small town people who have suffered emotionally and physically through Katrina and are now suffering economically via their livelihoods through the BP oil spill. So, it's really about the people. The author has portrayed an in depth picture of several of the characters who were affected. You really get to know these people and feel for them. Some you like and some you don't. Some you just shake your head at and wonder how the heck they actually got so far in life. You kind of feel for them at the same time. I had no idea shrimping was such a hard job. So I learned a little something about that reading this book. Those guys driving down the highway with garbage bags full of marijuana in the back of their truck for everyone to see? I was pretty sure those two were headed for no good. They might as well had a banner "weed for sale".

The author has done such a good job with the descriptions that there were times I thought I could actually smell the stench of dead fish and all the smells associated with being in a marina.

I had heard a lot of good things about this book and I was glad that I was able to get a copy of it and read it. I would definitely recommend this to just about anyone. It's a story of humans and I think everyone would be interested in that.

Huge thanks to Crown Publishing and Net Galley for a free e-galley in exchange for an honest review.
Profile Image for Wendy.
557 reviews18 followers
March 4, 2015
I have always heard that if you are going to write anything to write what you know, and Tom Cooper certainly knows the Barataria Bay. Tom Cooper has written a winner. This book had me from the first sentence. It is so authentic that I could see and smell the swamp and bayou while reading this novel. I haven't been shrimping in years but this book makes me want to be out on the water right now. And the very best part of it all are the characters. Mr. Cooper hit the nail on the head. This is going to be a bestseller!
Profile Image for Kathryn in FL.
716 reviews
May 14, 2018
The Marauders: A Novel is an intriguing story woven with a rich blend of interesting characters, multiple plots rife with drama, with a dollop of humor. Tom Cooper's gift for descriptive prose is artful and his talent far exceeds what many respected writers aspire to produce. I thoroughly enjoyed the rich scenery, regular injections of humor and particularly embraced the idiosyncratic characters as they doggedly fight to survive life in abject shrimping village after the BP Oil Spill.

Our story introduces us into the lives of multiple characters but primarily, we follow: the Toup brothers, twin brothers who run a successful business, growing a unique variety of marijuana on a remote island within swamp land in the Gulf; Lindquist, a man who lusts for lost Pirate booty that may or may not be located on Toup land; Hanson and Cosgrove, two ne'er-do-well, stoners looking to make a quick buck; and Wes Trench, a young man, who loves his lifestyle and community but finds everything about the region constantly reminding him of his recently deceased Momma, who died in a hurricane. Mix these character's together add a slick BP oil Executive in the pot and you have a rollicking ride of chaos, mayhem and gun battles and occasionally death but not all in the same chapter, at least not usually.

If you are looking for a fast moving storyline, lyrically written with randomly humorous antidotes thrown at you, this book will satisfy. While some reviewers compare Tom Cooper to Carl Hiaasen, I may actually prefer Cooper's style. Though I know some reader's might find that statement inflammatory, I think Cooper demonstrates superior skill in his character development, and he delivers to the reader a deep understanding of each character's identity and a reason to rally's around those with whom they feel kinship. This is not to disparage Carl Hiaasen's talent or gift for humorous writing.

This book may be reread in the future, when a dose of fun is needed. I hope that Hollywood makes this into a movie, I would buy a ticket! Matthew McConaughey could play Lindquist.

Thank you to Amazon Vine for providing this book in exchange for an honest review. 3/15
Profile Image for Julie.
Author 6 books2,036 followers
February 28, 2015
“Louisiana in September was like an obscene phone call from nature. The air--moist, sultry, secretive, and far from fresh--felt as if it were being exhaled into one's face. Sometimes it even sounded like heavy breathing. Honeysuckle, swamp flowers, magnolia, and the mystery smell of the river scented the atmosphere, amplifying the intrusion of organic sleaze.”
― Tom Robbins, Jitterbug Perfume

A different Tom penned The Marauders of course, but it's the very same Louisiana. Tom Cooper takes the one-two punch of Hurricane Katrina and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and knocks out a noirish caper that is both sardonic and sad. Set in the back of beyond of Barataria Bay where it seeps into the Gulf of Mexico, The Marauders shows the fetid effects of corporate corruption on a population that had so little to begin with, and the sinister and sad ways people find to survive.

The plot loops around a large cast of characters: the Toup brothers, a set of identical twins straight out of Coen brothers central casting—evil, but very tidy; Lindquist, a one-armed shrimper searching the swamps and bayous with his metal detector for lost treasure; Wes Trench, a high school drop-out who saw his hope and future swirl away in Katrina's storm surge; Cosgrove and Hanson, petty criminals who stumble across a small fortune of swamp weed; and Brady Grimes, returning to Barataria in a parody of the prodigal son. As a representative of the oil company that destroyed his former home, Grimes has the slimy task of convincing his former neighbors to sign a cut-rate settlement.

A final character, and the most essential, is Louisiana herself—the Gulf Coast to be specific. Cooper has rich material to work with, and he reserves his most lyrical language for his setting:
After midnight and the black-green swamp was swollen and dripping moonstruck jewels of dew trembling on the leaves. The Toup brothers came across a fallen oak, its trunk worm-bored and teeming with larvae. ...Now they came across a spiderweb as big as a shrimping trawl, stretched between tumorous trunks of two alders. A hand-sized spider like a blown-glass object d'art lazed in the middle, motionless in the beams of their flashlights.


A HAND-SIZED SPIDER.


EEK.

The Stephen King cover blurb states that The Marauders is fall-on-the-floor funny. While there are some Three Stooges moments, courtesy of Messrs. Cosgrove and Hanson, and the end rollicks towards caperish conclusion, this is far too dark and sad to be funny ha-ha. Cooper deftly uses satire to draw a tragic portrait of the Gulf Coast after the knock-out blows in 2005 and 2010; but even before the twin tragedies of the hurricane and the oil spill, this region was a forgotten, troubled place. If the poverty doesn't kill you, the alligators will.
Profile Image for Cindy Heaton.
212 reviews
January 4, 2016
Solid 3.5

This book was entertaining enough. The writing was well done, the descriptive passages brought you into the bayou. There were many characters, but they weren't hard to keep straight and they were interesting and well done. I enjoyed reading it, but for some reason I can't quite figure out I found it hard to pick back up and continue reading. I felt the ending was wrapped up neatly, but not the big coming together of the characters I was expecting. Nothing bad, but nothing particularly memorable for me either.
Profile Image for Toni Osborne.
1,455 reviews46 followers
January 13, 2015
This stunning debut novel is a noirish crime mystery written with a touch of humour. The tale brings us deep into the murky water of the Louisiana bayous. The story is post Katrina and soon after the BP spill that devastated the livelihood of the citizens of Jeannette, a little town where shrimping is in the blood.

We are introduced in short chapters to a cast of lively as much as eccentric characters. Each chapter bears the characters names and shifts perspectives as the story keeps its journey into waters infested with alligators, reptiles and creepy creatures. This is quite a mélange that meshes beautifully together. This gumbo’s main players are Wes Trench, a young man who wonders if there is any future in shrimping; Lindquist, a one-armed man who spends days with his metal detector and a Pez dispenser full of Oxycontin searching for pirate Jean Lafitte’s fabled treasure; the Toup brothers two sociopathic twins and drug lords; Cosgrove and Hanson petty criminals searching for the pot of gold and finally the inevitable slick talking BP representative swindling people of Barataria region by asking them to sign away their claims. All these funny, miscreants, romantics and scary people are thrown into compelling odysseys filled with rocking action and intense suspense till they come together in a shocking conclusion we can’t imagine. This is definitely a character driven book I enjoyed immensely.

This brilliantly written story is also a real blast filled with rich descriptions of the cypress swamps and waterways and this all said with an enthralling voice of the south and a dash of Cajun to spice our enjoyment ….well done, very good book.

“Laissez les bons temps rouler”
Profile Image for Neil Sarver.
119 reviews1 follower
March 7, 2015
Every time I go to look up this book, I'm embarrassed by my inability to spell "Marauders" on the first try. This is not just because I'm generally good at spelling, but it was also the name of my high school's teams. This is relevant to this book largely in that this was the first reason it caught my eye, although it certainly wasn't why I ended up reading it.

The book is fantastic. The characters are vivid and three-dimensional. They are at once funny and tragic, and the events build and move in ways that grow out of their decisions and thoughts wonderfully. It's filled with atmosphere and the tension that builds is genuine and captivating.
Profile Image for Still.
595 reviews97 followers
August 24, 2015

Exciting thriller/adventure novel which brought to mind the first few novels by Tom Franklin that I read.

This very gifted author is particularly adept at creating engaging characters with whom the reader can immediately sympathize.

Highly Recommended.

(for what it's worth: I read the advance reading copy of this novel as issued in trade paperback)
Profile Image for Steffi.
990 reviews241 followers
April 15, 2016
Die Hauptrolle in diesem Roman spielt eindeutig der Bayou, genauer gesagt die Baratay Bay (man muss diese Namen laut sagen – was für ein Klang!). Diese Landschaft, die aus Meer, Sumpf und unzähligen, tropisch anmutenden Inseln besteht, ist für die Figuren des Romans gleichermaßen Sehnsuchtsort, Schicksal und Fluch. Nach Hurrikan Katrina und etlichen Unfällen der Erdölindustrie gibt es hier kaum noch Hoffnung: Die Garnelenerträge werden immer geringer, bebaute Inseln wurden von Unwettern dem Erdboden gleich gemacht, die heimischen Vögel verenden in der Ölpest. Doch scheint es für die Garnelenfischer keine Alternative zu diesem Leben zu geben; und ebenso tummeln sich hier Schatzsucher, Hanfbauern, Taugenichtse. Und mit ihnen wird der Leser gefangengenommen von der Schönheit und Wildheit (gerade bei Nacht – vieles in diesem Roman passiert nachts) und gleichzeitig spürt man den Schweiß, nimmt den Gestank der Umweltverpestung und der Verwesung wahr und die Moskitos auf der Haut. Ich kann absolut nicht sagen, ob ich nach der Lektüre des Buchs unbedingt sofort dort hin will oder ob es mir bei dem Gedanken, dort einige Tage verbringen zu müssen, graut.

Während ich die Übersetzung insgesamt für gelungen halten, gilt dies für den Titel mal wieder weniger: Wes Trench ist nur einer von vielen Akteuren in dieser Geschichte und – wie gesagt – halte ich die Landschaft für den Hauptprotagonisten. Der Originaltitel „The Marauders“ (also Marodeure, Plünderer) gibt da viel mehr Anlass, einen Bezug zu den einzelnen Charakteren herzustellen.

Zu loben ist auf jeden Fall auch das Cover, das mich an alte Abenteuerromane ebenso erinnert wie an Doré-Illustrationen; gleichzeitig aber mit dieser leuchtend-grünen Schrift ein echter Eyecatcher ist.

Den nächsten Roman von Tom Cooper werde ich mit Sicherheit ebenfalls lesen!
Profile Image for Cindy.
76 reviews1 follower
February 22, 2015
I could almost taste the oysters with this book. Set in South Louisiana around time of BP oil spill, all the life available in this mysterious, fecund place was brought to life as you followed the lives of each character - some worth saving and others not worth the time of day. My own love for this area colors my review but it was as if I was there as I read the story. The impact of Katrina on the Coast and Louisiana followed by the BP oil spill was devastating and is still there today. But the book portrays the inner strength and the resourcefulness of the people - and some will do whatever it takes - and do they ever pay for it .
Profile Image for Cindy Landes.
162 reviews20 followers
January 9, 2024
Le côté « roman choral » est très réussit. J’aimais que tous ces personnages qui ne semblaient avoir aucun lien au départ, finissent pas tous se rejoindre.

C’était immersif, les conditions difficiles dans lesquelles vivent les personnages deviennent réelles.

Mais Mon Dieu qu’il y avait des longueurs!!!! Et il manquait cruellement d’un petit quelque chose de palpitant. Et j’ai été tellement déçue pas la fin…
Profile Image for Diana Band.
244 reviews9 followers
March 3, 2015
I wish I could give this book a sixth star, it was that good. Longer review to come, but if you're looking for the next great thing to read, this book is it. One hell of a debut novel!
Profile Image for Daniel.
75 reviews5 followers
February 28, 2015
Frontrunner for my favorite book of the year! 5er baby!
Profile Image for Barbara.
708 reviews22 followers
May 12, 2017
Solide drei Sterne für dieses Porträt einer Handvoll Männer, deren Wege sich in der Barataria Bucht (Louisiana) kreuzen. Sie sind ruppig und sprechen eine grobe Sprache, arbeiten hart als Shrimp-Fischer wie Wes Trench und sein Vater und kommen doch auf keinen grünen Zweig, so sehr sie sich auch abmühen. Die Ölpest (Deepwater Horizon) im Golf von Mexiko trifft sie so unmittelbar wie ein paar Jahre früher der Hurrikan Katrina. Dem alte Kauz Lindquist wird seine Armprothese geklaut (nein, nicht weil er dauernd lahme Witze erzählt), was ihn aber nicht daran hindert, weiter nach einem Piratenschatz zu suchen, an den nur er glaubt. Seine Pillen trägt er in einem PEZ-Spender mit sich herum. Gefährlicher sind die Toup-Brüder, Zwillinge, von denen einer besonders aufbrausend und gewaltbereit ist. Sie betreiben versteckt auf einer Insel im Bayou eine Hanfplantage, von der zwei wenig intelligente Kleinganoven von außerhalb hören. Und sich auf die Suche nach diesem Schlaraffenland machen. Ein Gesandter von BP, ebenfalls eine "Sumpfratte", der mit dem Ort seiner Herkunft eigentlich nichts mehr zu tun haben wollte, versucht nun im Auftrag von BP, den Leuten mit einer Einmalzahlung eine Unterschrift für den Verzicht jeglicher weiterer Ansprüche gegen die Ölgesellschaft abzulocken. Frauen tauchen nur am Rande auf in dieser rauen Geschichte, deren verschiedenen Handlungsstränge von der Dynamik eher den Sümpfen des Bayou gleichen als einem Wirbelsturm, wenngleich Alligatoren die Wasser ganz schön aufwirbeln können. (Den Originaltitel finde ich übrigens passender als den deutschen; für mich war Wes nur eine Figur unter anderen - auch wenn er der jüngste ist und er noch mehr Lebensoptionen hat als die älteren.)
Profile Image for Truman32.
359 reviews112 followers
September 24, 2014
First off—full disclosure—I won an advanced copy of this fun book through a Goodreads giveaway.

Review in one sentence: The Marauders by Tom Cooper is a little Carl Hiaasen mixed with HBO’s The Wire.

“Was this it: the end of his life? Would a stranger deem it even worthy of being called a life? He had no other life to compare it with, only lives shown in movies and television shows, lives recounted in bars by sentimental drunkards probably lying as much to themselves as to him.”

One character, Cosgrove, a petty criminal, uses these words while contemplating his life. But the entire novel is made up of these unfulfilled lives. These half-lived existences are crowded with loss, pain, bungled plans and pulverized dreams. We have one arm shrimpers high on pain pills, twin marijuana drug dealers, a young man who still morns the loss of his mother in Hurricane Katrina, a BP executive working hard to swindle the local people out of the oil spill damage compensation. Nobody in this book can call his life fortunate or even satisfactory.

And that includes the biggest character in the book of all-- the Louisiana Gulf Coast with it’s struggling residents, it’s damaged ecosystem, and it’s ravaged history of corruption.

Doesn’t sound very fun, and there are many moments that are so bleak—mainly because you know they are so awfully authentic and happen daily in this environment—you want to throw the book across the room.

But don’t do that. You’ll scare the dog.

And more, you will miss out on some beautiful writing. Cooper’s descriptions of the bayou are close to those of James Lee Burke. You experience the oppressive and sticky swamps, you can feel the mud and brambles and bugs. You can see the snakes, and shrimp, and alligators. He is really talented.

Equally as impressive is Cooper’s insight into his characters. Yes, they are losers and washouts, but Cooper never minimizes them for a cheap punch line. Their actions are honest (though heartbreaking) and they ring true as interesting yet defective individuals. Like the gulf coast where they live, these guys get thumped over again and again but somehow find the ability to pull themselves up and get back out there once more. In doing so they perhaps discover a little grace.

And there is grace here. Also humanity. And compassion.

Finally, I should note that this book is truly, honestly hysterical. Smart, witty word choices, understanding of his goofball characters and the absurdity of the situations make for a rollicking tale. Tom Cooper is very talented and his wares are on full display here.

A fun and interesting read that opens your eyes and stays around a while in your mind.
Profile Image for Eric.
927 reviews83 followers
July 2, 2015
This novel alternates between a number of point-of-view characters -- one-armed treasure hunter Gus Lindquist, father and son shrimpers Bobby and Wes Trench, halfwit low-level criminals Cosgrove and Hanson, bayou pot farmers Reginald and Victor Toup, and BP oil representative Brady Grimes -- in the Louisiana bayou in the aftermath of the recent BP oil spill. Seeing the impact of Katrina and the oil spill from the points-of-view of these unique personalities, each more depressing than the last, gave the book a certain gravitas.

It also grounded the novel it a somber reality I was not expecting considering the cover art featured a pirate treasure and an X-marks-the-spot map. The pacing was a lot slower than the treasure hunting adventure I expected, more a character study of Barataria Bay, a land long ago forgotten by time, and its depressed occupants, unable to escape. Additionally, the ending really tailed off, with some characters, particularly Lindquist, getting an unsatisfying send off, while others, like Grimes, just have their narrative tail off without a proper ending at all.

This novel wasn't what I expected, but in some ways it was better. The southeastern Louisiana bayou setting was vivid and realistic, the characters were three dimensional, with believable desires and motives, and the writing was nothing short of excellent -- especially knowing it was the author's first book.
If you are aware of what you are getting into, it is a really interesting, if bleak, read. But don't expect a light, treasure hunting adventure.
Profile Image for Charles Finch.
Author 25 books2,349 followers
February 16, 2015
3.5 Stars - my review from USA Today.

The Marauders

By Tom Cooper

Crown, 320 pp.

***

One of the ongoing frustrations of the BP oil spill is that its perpetrators have been insulated from any consequence comparable to those that their recklessness caused. That makes it the ideal opening for a novelist, whose job is to parse life more finely than the law can. In this engaging tale, set along the Gulf Coast after the spill, Tom Cooper brings the region to life: the corporate emissary negotiating knockdown settlements, the shrimpers trawling depleted waters. A one-armed treasure hunter named Lindquist and his assistant, Wes, are the book's heroes, trying to navigate through the ruined territory toward something brighter. At times there's a bit too much gothic humidity in all this, and it's missing the vitality a female lead could bring, but for the most part The Marauders is excellent, finely written and funny – an admirable novel from a very promising writer.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/bo...
Profile Image for Neil McCrea.
Author 1 book42 followers
March 5, 2015
I've just returned from a lengthy Goodreads hiatus. The reviews for books I've read during that time are likely to be even shorter than usual.

The marketing materials led me to believe The Marauders would be a grim bit of "grit lit" along the lines of Donald Ray Pollack or even Cormack McCarthy. There is a little bit of that here, but quite a bit more Carl Hiassen than either of those. This is no bad thing. It's important to recognize that humor, even good natured humor, exists in even the grimmest of circumstances. There is crime here, but The Marauders is no crime novel. It is a novel of place and time, the Louisiana Gulf Coast after Katrina and the BP oil spill, and the quotidian needs of the day have just as much importance as all of the treasure hunting, drug dealing, and general skullduggery.

This is an excellent debut novel, and I have but one niggle. The character of Grimes, the prodigal son returned as a BP flack, has thematic resonance and is a well rounded character, but his story arc seems to simply get lost in the swamp.
Profile Image for Alecia.
Author 3 books38 followers
May 7, 2015
I enjoyed reading The Marauders very much. Cooper's writing is like his own personal hybrid style with bits of Carl Hiaasen, Elmore Leonard, with a touch of Donald Westlake thrown in. The story is engaging, while being a bit frightening and darkly funny at the same time. Not easy to achieve.

After the BP oil spill causes devastation to the waters of the Louisiana Gulf Coast, the citizens struggle to make a living the way they used to. This book has a cast of characters whose struggles fill the chapters. They include a one-armed, oxycontin-addicted shrimper, Lindquist, who spends all his spare time treasure hunting with his beloved metal detector in the marshes and swamps. Also in this group are Wes Trench and his father, who persist in their shrimp boat against all odds, a set of twin sociopaths, two petty criminals, and Grimes, a homeboy-turned BP middleman sent back to this small town by his company to swindle the people, including his own mother.

It was fun reading, and I look forward to Tom Cooper's next book. It's hard to believe it was his debut novel.
Profile Image for Larry Olson.
123 reviews3 followers
April 27, 2015
If you are a fan of Southern Gothic literature and writers like William Gay or Larry Brown, then pick up a copy of Tom Cooper’s The Marauders, step into your skiff and let this masterful new writer take you on a journey you’ll not soon forget. You’ll float through the Louisiana bayou, first devastated by Katrina and then the BP Oil spill and meet the oddest collection of screw-ups, saints, sinners and murders. But to call this a crime novel does it an injustice. Cooper brings his narrative, characters and themes close to life and touches upon pity, sympathy, sorrow and humor while brilliantly developing a strong emotional connection with the reader. I highly recommend it and look forward to reading his next book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 466 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.