Fever Moon [Hardcover]

Carolyn Haines (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 6, 2007

With the acclaimed novel Penumbra, Carolyn Haines branched out from the cozy Southern mysteries that made her name and moved into more ominous, more literary territory. She continues that exploration of the darker side of the South with Fever Moon.

 

Set in New Iberia, Louisiana, during World War II, Fever Moon begins when Deputy Raymond Thibodeaux discovers Adele Hebert covered in blood and hovering over the brutally eviscerated body of Henri Bastion, a wealthy plantation owner. In the aftermath of the murder, Adele claims to be the loup-garou, a legendary Cajun shape-shifter that traditionally takes the shape of a wolf, and panic ensues in this small town that already has been living under the pressures of wartime rationing and poverty. Raymond is determined to restore order, but to do so he'll have to prove that Adele isn't a murderer or a monster.

 

In this dark and swirling literary thriller, Carolyn Haines tells the story of a town that is caught up in the frenzy of a murder and a killer who feeds its terror to suit his own purposes. 

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Haines acknowledges her debt to James Lee Burke in this atmospheric historical (after 2005's Penumbra), set in New Iberia Parish, La., at the close of WWII. Deputy Raymond Thibodeaux (sounds like Robicheaux) battles his own wartime demons as he tries to find the person responsible for the gruesome killing of wealthy landowner Henri Bastion. Fragile Adele Hebert confesses to the crime, but because she believes herself possessed, Thibodeaux assumes she's not the culprit. Superstitions lie as thick and menacing as the morning fog over the bayou, and word quickly spreads that a werewolf has overtaken Adele's body. Haines's greatest strength is her powerful sense of place: here the miasmic swamp is as alive and as threatening as any villain. Despite a predictably happy ending and an irritating tendency to repetition, Haines has created an engaging, memorable story. (Feb.)
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From Booklist

Following up her moody Penumbra (2005), Haines tells a story of murder and mysticism in post-World War II Louisiana. Henri Bastion, the wealthiest man in New Iberia, has been killed in an especially gruesome way. Deputy Raymond Thibodeaux finds a young woman standing over Bastion's body who claims to be possessed by a legendary Cajun shape-shifter, the loup garou (otherwise known as a werewolf). Determined to prove the woman has been framed for Bastion's death, Thibodeaux puts his own life on the line. The book depends heavily on its spooky atmosphere, and Haines delivers it with style. Readers of Haines' cozy mysteries starring Sarah Booth Delaney are in for quite a surprise here, but it's a good surprise. Haines may be better at doing dark and spooky than cozy and warm. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; First Edition edition (February 6, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312351615
• ISBN-13: 978-0312351618
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,647,532 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Carolyn Haines is the author of eighteen novels, including the acclaimed Sarah Booth Delaney mystery series. She was honored with the prestigious 2009 Richard Wright Award for Literary Excellence. Haines was also 2010 recipient of the Harper Lee Award. Born and raised in Mississippi, she now lives in Alabama on a farm with more dogs, cats, and horses than she can possibly keep track of!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Straight into the Bayou, February 14, 2007

By 

M. Ellis "magnoliamansions" (Gulf Coast, Alabama) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Fever Moon (Hardcover)

Carolyn Haines has done it again. With her prose that flows as smoothly as the dark waters of the swamps of Louisiana, she plunges the reader into this land of superstition, spirits and mystery. Haines has always been a story teller of the first degree, but she gets better and better. Don't be misled. This is not one of Haines' golden happy girl tales (see the Delta Mystery Series) though they are wonderful in their own right. Fever Moon keeps the reader on the edge of the page, but don't read it without turning on all the lights.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superstition and fear, December 19, 2007

By 

Fred Camfield (Vicksburg, MS USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fever Moon (Hardcover)

Society has always had an ingrained fear of strangers. In more primitive or rural societies, where attitudes might be governed by legends and/or superstition, people who were ill might be regarded as possessed. False claims and public hysteria could lead to people being executed as in the Salem witch trials.

The present story is set in the rural bayous of Louisiana during the early 1940s. This is Cajun country, with attitudes passed down from the Acadians with origins in France. The wealthiest man in the parish has been brutally killed and a young woman was found near the body. She appears ill and delirious. Rumors arise that she is a werewolf. While being treated by a local herbal specialist, Madam Louiselle, she disappears into the night.

Deputy Sheriff Raymond Thibodeaux is investigating, but must deal with a variety of problems. This was a time when prisoners from the state prison at Angola were leased out to plantation owners to be used as what amounted to slave labor (the ancient practice of selling criminals into slavery). The unsavory victim of the crime, a man not well liked, had been using such laborers, one of whom is believed to have escaped. There are a large number of people who had reasons for wanting the man dead.

Various characters come into play. There is a Catholic priest assigned to the parish (he would have preferred to be in Ireland). There is a local doctor dealing with various illnesses and injuries. There is the Sheriff, who seems more concerned with politicing than police work. There is the sadistic boss of the work crew on the plantation. There is the brother of the missing woman, who lives in the marshes with his dogs. There is the postmistress, a woman who has managed to break into a government job normally reserved for men. And there is a local prostitute who would really rather be a teacher if events in the past had not taken a bad turn.

Raymond, who was discharged from the Army with a disability, must deal with the ghosts from his own past as he tries to head off mob hysteria, find the missing woman, and try to solve the case. It is a dark tale worth reading.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Loved the Book!, May 21, 2009

By 

Addison Guest "Love to Read" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fever Moon (Hardcover)

This book was great! It takes place in the 40's with a WWII veteran as the main character. However, this is not a war book. This book emcompasses romance, the supernatural, and really terrific suspense. I have not read anything like it before and I wish the author would write more in this genre.