Customer Reviews

In Deep Voodoo

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have to agree with a previous reviewer's assessment of Penny (the heroine in this book) - she's just too stupid to live. The characters seem rather one dimensional (more charicatures than characters). The story flowed easily but some of the plot required too great a suspension of belief (as another reviewer pointed out - the fact that Penny used her divorce lawyer as a defense attorney was a bit much).

Then ending was unexpected and mildly interesting but I never got any real sense of what motivated the characters or why I should care.

I'm glad I got this book from the library rather than purchasing it.

I was under the spell of IN DEEP VOODOO by about page 5. The setting immediately drew me in, and the characters and storyline soon after. At first, I was afraid that there were too many characters to keep them all straight, but everything added up in the end in a satisfying, if darker-than-expected conclusion. The most confusing part of the book, for me, was the tone. Lots of light humor inter-mixed with some pretty dark stuff, like a murder and a grisley conclusion. Still, I enjoyed reading it very much and will probably read the next in the series too!

Penny Francisco came home early only to find her husband attorney Deke making love in their bed to Sheena "litigator" Linder; making it worse is that she had dirty feet. The divorce settlement left Penny with her health store, The Charm Farm, and some adjoining land that she plans to use to grow herbs; Deke got their house across the street that he paints an ugly pink, but he also hid valuable assets in the name of his now fiancée.

Penny's assistant Marie Gaston hosts a divorce celebration for her boss. One of the guests secretly gives Penny a voodoo doll of Deke; Penny stabs the doll in the heart. The next day she goes over to see Deke who had frantically called her several times, but was not answering his phone. She finds him dead with a weapon stabbed through his heart. Everyone else thinks Penny either killed Deke with voodoo or as crime of passion. Penny plans to prove otherwise by uncovering the truth with the help of a donut lusting private investigator as her only ally.

Stephanie Bond provides a terrific amateur sleuth investigative tale with a heated romantic subplot to enhance the bewildered but delightful lead female protagonist. Penny is the fabulous center to the strong story line as her antics will amuse the audience. Her efforts to prove she is innocent though everyone in Mojo, Louisiana believes otherwise while making side comments about pink houses, replacement females, mayoral ex mother-in-laws, hunks, and voodoo make for a fine time. Still the bottom line means diving IN DEEP VOODOO as she has a slight doubt that just maybe her jab with the pin killed her former spouse.

Harriet Klausner

The book was well-written and fast-paced, so it got points for that, but the heroine, Penny Francisco, belongs to the TSTL (Too Stupid To Live) school of fiction characters. When the book opens, she seems to spend most of her time peering across the street (with binoculars, no less) at her former home where her ex-husband lives with the bimbo he left Penny for. During a conversation with said bimbo, Penny pushes her into oncoming traffic and almost kills her. She also wanders freely through her ex-husband's home, smashing a picture of his new girlfriend in his bedroom, and stealing a Christmas ornament from the attic because it has deep sentimental value to her - he gave it to her years ago. In addition, once it becomes clear that she is the primary suspect in his murder, does she hire a criminal attorney? No, she keeps calling on her divorce lawyer. All this from a character who is supposed to be a college-educated, successful business woman.

The implausible bits just kept adding up. Her husband was the son of the mayor (who seems to have despised Penny since she married her son), the police chief who was apparently chosen by the mayor basically has Penny tried and convicted on only circumstantial evidence, yet no one tries to get the chief to recuse herself from the case as a conflict of interest. Very little actual investigating seems to be done by either the police or the private investigator Penny "hires". And as for the PI, who becomes the love interest in the story, we are never told anything from his viewpoint, which makes his interest in Penny unfathomable to begin with.

It was just one of those stories where the most of the heroine's actions in retrospect just hurt her, where her friends' activities do nothing to help her, where certain situations are totally unbelievable (does anyone actually believe that laying a hand on a casket in goodbye will tip it over?) and where great suspension of disbelief is required. This book is an obvious setup for a continuing series set in the town of Mojo, Louisiana. I don't know that I care enough to continue reading about it. It's not really a bad book; it's just not my cup of tea.

I bought this novel thinking of it as just another girly read, but as the plot started to thicken with Penny getting deeper and deeper into Voodoo,I was amazed. The novel is fast paced and you almost start to feel pity for Penny. I am looking forward to the sequel.

I thought the several of the ideas in the book were fresh. Loved it when Penny said that at least she didn't live in a house the color of a vagina after her ex-husband's mistress paints her old house pink. The humor and fun parts of the book kept me going. I think the second book is better but you need this one to get there.

I did think that the murders in the museum were treated a bit lightly in both books. Tortured and killed, they only rated a few lines which is a bit of a shame.

Stephanie Bond is an author who from the get-go holds your attention. Usually I'm a slow reader but I could not put this book down and had it read in 2 days. I'm now reading the second book in the series and lovin' it.

I am very pleased with my order. It arrived four days after my order was placed and it is in excellent condition. I will gladly order from Fat Dog Book Emporium again .