Customer Reviews

Yellow Moon: A Novel

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Yellow Moon is the second in a trilogy inspired by New Orleans's infamous Voodoo Priestess, Marie Laveau; a woman still revered (and feared in some circles) centuries after her death. The first novel, Voodoo Season, is a suspenseful tale centering on a young woman's apprehensive discovery of her kinship to Marie and the unwanted "gifts"; she inherits from her grandmother; powers such as the ability to heal nearly everyone, an uncanny sense of foresight, and the ability to see spirits. These powers seem to have grown stronger upon her relocation to New Orleans for a medical internship.

Years pass and Yellow Moon picks up where VooDoo Season ends. The newly licensed Dr. Marie Laveau (appropriately named following the tradition of her foremothers), has seemingly accepted her fate, embraced New Orleans as home, and with the help of believers is aptly honing her otherwordly crafts. She happily practices both traditional medicine at the legendary Charity Hospital and the more controversial voodoo religion during off-hours. Her blissful life is interrupted when a string of blood-drained corpses start littering the city: the first being a hardened dock worker, then a boozing jazz musician, the third a prostitute - they are reminiscent of the underprivileged and downtrodden that seem to flock to Marie both in life and death. It is not long before the ghosts of the murdered appeal to her for justice. Her reluctance is culled by the handsome lead detective assigned to the case. Vampiric markings on the corpses baffle police but supernatural indicators and warnings from beyond eventually propel Marie into action. As the case progresses and the body count increases, the reader is taken on a tour of New Orleans revealing interesting tidbits of its rich history steeped in the unique blending of culture, music, religion laced with equal doses of exorbitance, decadence and debauchery. They finally discover that something ancient and evil is gaining strength in their midst and it is out for vengeance against Marie. Marie is soon in a fight for her life; she realizes she must conjure the gods and push her powers beyond her limits to save herself and her loved ones - both old and new.

Yellow Moon is seemingly written as a mystery/suspense that focuses on Dr. Marie Laveau's quest to find a vampiric murderer. However, the author also includes Marie's inner-struggles with her destiny, previous relationship baggage which affects her love life, and vacillating confidence in her powers as a Voodienne priestess. It is here that the novel slows to allow for character development or perhaps character empathy/sympathy; all of which I found a bit repetitive (from VooDoo Season) and distracting from the search for the killer. There were a few tangental episodes that caused me to wonder where the author was going with the subplots. When the climatic ending finally plays out, I instantly thought, "That's it? This could have happened 50-60 pages ago;" so I was a bit disappointed with the pacing and conclusion. However being a fan of literary and historical fiction, I absolutely loved the reflections on old New Orleans and the infusion of African folklore - these elements kept me turning pages and it is in these aspects where the author's research shows and talent shines.

Reviewed by Phyllis
APOOO BookClub
June 9, 2008

This was a can't put down book.

The heroine, Marie Laveu, a descendent of a famous Voodoo queen, does battle with a spirit vampire -- a Wazimamoto. Following a trail of killings she must come to grips with the spirit's past and her own. Set in steamy New Orleans, this sultry novel combines sex, ritual, and mystery in a potent stew.

With fresh characters, this compelling read puts a new spin on the vampire story - different than those of Anne Rice -- but with similar passion.

Worth the price of hardcover.

Parker-Rhodes bridges two worlds in Yellow Moon, the physical realities of Marie Laveau's great-great-granddaughter and the otherworldly realm of voodoo, where a malevolent spirit awakens after a long slumber, fueled by a blood lust that is only assuaged by the tumultuous emotions and memories of helpless victims, as, vampire-like, it drains the blood from their bodies. This is no Anne Rice vampire, no romanticized Lestat, but an energy that feeds on helpless people, fastening even on Doctor Laveau, who uses all the powers of her considerable voodooienne arsenal, calling her gods, Agwa, Dumballa, to fight this great destructive force. Meanwhile, this "spirit" vampire rampages through pre-Katrina New Orleans in search of fresh blood. Caught between heaven and earth, only Marie can confront this monster.

As in her previous novel, Voodoo Dreams: A Novel of Marie Laveau, the author inhabits this territory. Two centuries later, New Orleans is still the repository of such cultural anomalies, reality, religion and spirit infusing every aspect of daily life in a storied city of "slavery's sorrow, the wounds and pains of war, yellow jack epidemics and hurricane disasters." Like no other city, New Orleans embraces the old and the new, a diverse population in thrall to the throbbing beat of the French Quarter, music that connects the first three victims who fall like dominoes before Marie's confusion, a wharf rat, a jazzman and a priest. Shadowed by a skeptical detective, Dan Parks, himself drawn into a universe that flies in the face of hard evidence, Marie divides her time at Charity Hospital and the gruesome scenes of the crimes. Reluctant to admit these cases are beyond the skills of a seasoned detective, Parks readily accepts Marie's unusual talents, respecting her interpretation of the entity at work in these recent deaths.

It takes particular skills to deliver such a tale with authority, a suspension of belief in what we can see replaced by a grudging admission that more may be at work here, the darker recesses of an evil that coexists with good, an existential dilemma that seduces even non-believers into occasionally stepping beyond the known to that more frightening, intangible world where great forces battle. An old spirit reborn as an evil force, this wazimamoto knows Marie, vaguely recognizes her lineage, growing in power with each fresh kill, certain to demand a reckoning from Marie Laveau and her powerful ancestors.

Offering an historical perspective on the causes of generational racial repression and exploitation, the author reaches into the heart of the philosophical debate, colonial subjugation of Africa, slavery, the myths created by a people to combat their psychic destruction. Tied to the ancient struggles of the Dark Continent during the period of colonization and the emergence of music as the voice of the oppressed, this tale takes on unexpected relevance in a modern world, Marie Laveau confronting an ancient evil, calling for the power to defeat the monster that threatens all she holds dear. Parker-Rhodes makes this journey possible, calling forth the most frightening recesses of humanity, exploring its potential for transformation and the forces that would destroy a hopeful future. Luan Gaines/ 2008.

Marie is the great-great granddaughter of a Voodoo Queen. Marie works in a hospital and knows all to well the horrors that reek havoc on the people of New Orleans.

An African vampire wazimamoto is after Marie and wants her and her family dead. Dreams of blood, rain and a yellow moon plague her in her sleep. Her will is put to the test. Will love be enough to save them?

Books like this are the reason I read.

In New Orleans, Dr. Marie Laveau works the emergency room at Charity Hospital. The single mom tries to balance her medical charity work in ER with being a single mom raising a child Marie-Claire and a "Kind Dog" with time for herself. She especially enjoys jazz at the clubs. However, she also has a legacy that she would prefer to ignore but her heightened sense of responsibility never allows her to do so. As a blood relative of the legendary Voodoo Queen whose surname she shares, Marie watches out for supernatural evil to prevent tragedies.

Thus she cannot ignore the murders of three seemingly different people; each had their blood drained and their necks contained three teeth like puncture marks. She fears, a wazimamoto African vampire is stalking the city while the victims remain restless wandering the streets. With NOPD Detective Daniel Parks; her Creole boss Dr. Louis DuLac; her daughter and others, Marie knows she must stop the predator before the monster consumes enough blood to look human.

Yellow Moon is an exhilarating gritty urban fantasy that connects African vampirism with jazz and de facto racism. The story line is tense and gripping but especially fresh with a different perspective on the blood suckers, but definitely not a rehash of Blacula. Instead this deep New Orleans thriller is based on the premise of a deadly angry non-western African vampire who reacts to cultural racism, but must be stopped by Marie and her allies.

Harriet Klausner

YELLOW MOON a novel by Jewell Parker Rhodes takes the reader on a mystery ride about spirits of people killed by an African vampire spirit Wazimamoto. The story centers on who killed a jazzman, wharf worker and prostitute? Dr. Marie Laveau, a doctor and descendent who is named after the legendary Voodoo Queen of New Orleans is the only one who can solved these killings. Considering she is a modern voodoo practitioner who must use all her powers to stop the killing, she takes us along for a spiritual ride in destroying a blood thirsty vampire. Along the way, she falls for Detective Daniel Parks who will help her destroy the vampire.

Jewell Parker Rhodes returns with the sequel to Voodoo Season. YELLOW MOON is an interesting mystery that's chilling and dark about a vampire who is sucking the blood out of its victim to take human form. Although the vampire has killed a string of people, you feel that they are just a stepping stone to the real target. The story answers the question, who is the vampire really after and will it take vengeance on the doctor who has the ability to see spirits? An interesting twist is the spirits appear to Dr. Laveau to appeal for justice for their murders.

YELLOW MOON takes place in New Orleans and brings into focus the music, sights, sounds and historical past about spirits that describes this city. Although I did not read the first book in this series, I found I did not need too, as Yellow Moon easily stood on its own.

Although not a fan of historical fiction that shrouds itself in ghosts and the spirit world, I found the book to be interesting. The story was well-written and the plot and character development was strong. Though I do feel Parker Rhodes did her research and is a great story teller by coming up with the storyline, it isn't enough to make me a regular reader of this genre. However, for those readers who enjoy dabbling into the spiritual world of vampires and spirits this might be just the book for you.

Reviewed by RM Jackson
for The RAWSISTAZ (tm) Reviewers

This tale follows our modern day Marie Laveau--medical doctor and direct descendant of the infamous vodooienne--through her investigation of a series of murders....in which the victims are drained of blood. It soon becomes clear that the perpetrator is not of the flesh and blood variety...but that the killings are actually the work of a wazimamoto, or an African vampire. Not just any vampire, this one is stalking our beloved Marie...for he has an age old score to settle, beginning with her powerful ancestor, the original Marie. It will take the powers of both to stop the evil killings, and the wazimamoto itself...before he is able to assume a completely human form.
Chilling and engrossing, readers will be able to envision the dark alleys and cobblestoned streets of the French Quarter. Slow starting story that builds momentum and leaves the reader looking forward to the next Marie Laveau adventure.



DYB