In Deep Voodoo (Mojo, Louisiana humorous mystery series #1) [Kindle Edition]

Stephanie Bond (Author)

Book Description

IN DEEP VOODOO is a rollicking romantic mystery!

"IN DEEP VOODOO is funny and fresh. It combines a little bit of magic, romance, and mystery."  --Romance Readers Connection

 
    Start with bad mojo, add a pinprick of revenge, and watch things boil over...

A woman receives a voodoo doll of her lying cheating ex-husband as a gag gift at her divorce party, and vents her frustration by stabbing it with a pin. But later when he's found stabbed to death, she doesn't have to be told she's managed to land herself IN DEEP VOODOO!
 
Praise for IN DEEP VOODOO:

 "A satisfying tale of sex, love, and voodoo, I highly recommend this book as your guilty pleasure on the nightstand."  --FreshFiction 

 "The intertwining of voodoo is quite intriguing, and the two main characters are wonderfully drawn." --Romantic Times Book Reviews 

 "An engaging story and clever mystery, IN DEEP VOODOO is not to be missed." --Romance Reviews Today

 "Zany...a solid foundation for future books in the series." --Publishers Weekly


       If you like your mysteries brewed up with a lot of comedy and a little romance, IN DEEP VOODOO will hit the spot!


**Other laugh-out-loud romantic mysteries by best-selling author Stephanie Bond:

VOODOO OR DIE--No one believes in the quirky little doll...until people start dropping like flies.
OUR HUSBAND--Hell hath no fury as three women scorned!

GOT YOUR NUMBER--You can run, but eventually your problems will catch up with you.
WHOLE LOTTA TROUBLE--They didn't plan on getting caught....

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

When Deke Black is stabbed through the heart with a lawn stake, the secrets of Mojo, La., start bursting to the fore in this lively first of a new romantic mystery trilogy from Rita Award–winner Bond (Whole Lotta Trouble). Deke's ex, health-food store owner Penny Francisco, is the primary suspect. Not only was she found at the scene of the crime holding the murder weapon but, at her divorce celebration, she stabbed a voodoo doll bearing Deke's likeness. The police are keen to pin the crime on Penny, and only sexy, junk-food-loving PI B.J. Beaumont may be able to keep her out of jail. It's hard to sympathize with Penny, whose troubles often stem from her own stupidity, and harder still to believe that she could fall in love with B.J. while suspecting him of murder. Despite these flaws, Mojo and its zany, likable inhabitants—from a slutty, lawsuit-happy tanning-salon owner to a randy, 109-year-old woman into voodoo magic—form a solid foundation for future books in the series.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

See Stephanie's Amazon Author Page:  amazon.com/author/stephaniebond

Product Details

• File Size: 459 KB
• Print Length: 358 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0060820578
• Publisher: NeedtoRead Books (November 7, 2011)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B0065QV4DU
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,693 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
  • #21 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Romance > Mystery & Suspense > Mystery
  • #27 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Romance > Romantic Comedy
  • #61 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Mystery & Thrillers > Mystery > Women Sleuths

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 35 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Under Its Spell May 28, 2006

By Sonja Foust

Format:Mass Market Paperback

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!

28 of 31 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A GREAT READ! Kept me smiling and guessing to the end! December 21, 2011

By momofsam

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is a GREAT story with wonderful characters, fresh new story line/plot with awesome suspense, twists and turns the whole story. I will definitely be reading the next Voodoo book!

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Very Disappointed. October 31, 2012

By L.B.

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

As a fellow mystery writer, I hesitate to write this review, especially because I really enjoyed the first half of this book. But I was profoundly disappointed in the ending. Half way through, it became clear this was a romance novel dressed up as a mystery, complete with pretty explicit sex scenes that pulled me right out of the story. The proof was in the ending. The author breezes right past the resolution of the crime, and then glosses over an even more horrendous crime than the one which fueled the entire book. The villain(s) are just dumped into the ending and/or not identified at all, but sure enough, the romance is wrapped up with a neat little bow. I believe that when you spend more than two-thirds of a book building up to a big ending, you need to deliver. Too bad. I thought I was going to love this book.

28 of 32 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars terrific amateur sleuth investigative tale September 28, 2005

By Harriet Klausner #1 HALL OF FAME

Format:Mass Market Paperback

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

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Wacky fun February 25, 2012

By Madison W Fairbanks

Format:Kindle Edition

Original publication date October 2005. Fun enjoyable read by Bond with some wacky situations and mystery. As usual. Bond's books are really enjoyable and a good escape.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Wrapped Up A Little Too Neat and Tidy August 5, 2012

By TVNerd95

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I have to admit I almost stopped reading this book after getting about half way through because the main character couldn't catch a break. It was just one bad thing after another and I was getting very frustrated. I pushed my way through the rest of the book and was left a finale that was a little too neat and tidy. I didn't get a sense of a build up to the finale and the finale to me had no link to the rest of the story. Yes the author wrapped up the loose ends but I didn't feel satisfied with the ending. The only reason why I'm giving it three stars is that the author did give me main characters that I really liked.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars In Deep Voodoo September 8, 2008

By Adonna P. Cook

Format:Mass Market Paperback

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.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars If you're looking for a good mystery, keep looking- it's not here April 15, 2013

By Patricia Dreher

Format:Mass Market Paperback

This is now the second book I've read by this author (the other one being Party Crashers (humorous romantic mystery)), both of which were billed as humorous mysteries and both of which have the same formulaic approach. It's a pretty typical light romance novel with some quirky characters (although the main character is rather irritating)- that portion of the book is an ok beach read and is the only reason i'm giving this more than one star.

The author really shouldn't have bothered trying to make this a mystery novel. A good mystery writer sprinkles clues throughout the book for the reader to try to piece together and work out whodunit. Not the case here- the mystery is wrapped up pretty tidily at the end with no real previous hints about who might have committed the murder. There are hints that something sinister is going on, but nothing as to the true identity of the bad guys or the reason for the murder. The unveiling of the culprit was totally out of the blue and not even remotely foreshadowed, though the author does make pretty much everyone else in town seem very suspicious. This was true of the other book I read by her as well. And in both books, the author attempts a "twist" ending where you think the mystery has been solved, but oh no, wait there's more, it was really someone else who committed the murder. But with no real hints about the identity of the murderer, the twist feels unsatisfying. Maybe some people find it enjoyable to just have the mystery laid out for them without putting any real thought into it, but i prefer a book that gives me a chance at guessing whodunit before it's laid out.... I also enjoy re-reading a mystery to pick up on clues i'd overlooked during the first read, but that would be pointless in this case.

There are also just some unbelievable character reactions. SPOILER ALERT: The main character learns that, during college, her best friend had a year-long affair with her then boyfriend (and future husband) and doesn't bat an eyelash or get even slightly angry at the cheating friend or the other best friend who kept it a secret for years. Seriously? I would be furious if my supposed friends failed to tell me the guy i was marrying was a lying scumbag- especially when his cheating is what ends the marriage. Also, one of the characters in the book confesses to the murder, but turns out all he did was bonk the guy over the head (and the guy had been stabbed). That he would believe he had stabbed the guy and just didn't remember is completely absurd. There are also a lot of unresolved minor storylines, possibly as a set up for future books but only one other book has been written so far with these characters. Overall, a rather unsatisfying read Read more ›

More About the Author

Stephanie Bond was several years into a corporate computer programming career when an instructor in her night school MBA program remarked that she had a flair for writing and encouraged her to submit one of her projects to academic journals. "But," Stephanie says, "all I could think was 'I wonder if I could write a romance novel?'" Bond grew up on a farm in eastern Kentucky where the entertainment choices were few. Luckily, she had a beloved aunt who shared her passion for reading. "When she visited once a year, she brought boxes and boxes of books by Victoria Holt and Phyllis Whitney and lush historicals--I was in heaven! I think I learned most of what I know about world history from historical romance novels. So suddenly thinking about writing in the genre of the books I loved so much was very exciting." After writing every spare moment for two years, Stephanie sold her first romantic comedy manuscript, IRRESISTIBLE? to Harlequin books. Two years later, she walked away from her corporate career to write commercial fiction full time. To date, she's published over 60 romance and mystery projects with Random House, St. Martin's Press, HarperCollins, and Mira Books, and is most well-known for her BODY MOVERS humorous mystery series. Look for Stephanie's new mystery series TWO GUYS DETECTIVE AGENCY coming May 2013. (TWO GUYS DETECTIVE AGENCY has been optioned for TV series development!) Stephanie lives in midtown Atlanta and is probably working on a story at this very moment.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#94 Overall (See top 100 authors)

#15 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Romance > Suspense

#16 in Books > Romance > Romantic Suspense

#22 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Mystery & Thrillers > Mystery

#23 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Mystery

#36 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Romance

#15 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Romance > Suspense

#16 in Books > Romance > Romantic Suspense

#22 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Mystery & Thrillers > Mystery

#23 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Mystery

#36 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Romance