Review for the audiobook edition, read by Robin Miles. This book was a bit of a slow starter for me, as I had some difficulty connecting with the main character. But I'm glad I stuck with it, because once the supernatural elements started appearing, it took off with a bang. The story of the confused and angry teenaged son who realizes his mistakes too late caught my sympathy and interest. The author does a fine job of bringing the characters' feelings and surroundings to life. I was glued to my ipod during the "reclaimation" scene in the house. I liked the way the book ends on a note of hope, but without wrapping up all the storylines in a trite happily-ever-after package. The narrator, Robin Miles, is fantastic. She has a warm, rich voice that is a pleasure to listen to, her pacing is perfect, and every character has a distinct voice. I will look for books read by her in future. ( )

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Horror ( )

Wow wow wow!

I’m so happy to have been recommended this backlist book to read, as it was like no other I have read before.

Angela, lost her 16yo son Corey, two years ago in her Grandmeres house where she grew up. She is now summoned back to return to make the decision if she should sell the house.

She and her famous client/friend return and strange things begin to happen. Her friend loses her dog and is now convinced the house is not a good house at all.

The story is mostly told from the present pov, but it’s intertwined with what happened in the few weeks of Corey’s death also. Plus Grand Marie’s voice is heard also as she speaks of vodou and evil and good spirits.


I would have given this book 5 stars, however the first part was so long and it dragged. It could have been at least 200 pages shorter.

Read this if you love paranormal stories, voodoo, magic, suspense, death and spirits.


*Note: they did have a reference to a “red sauce” and they called it Gumbo. Please know that is NOT an authentic Gumbo! If you want to know what an authentic Cajun/Creole Gumbo is…please ask me (my family was one of the first French Acadians to settle in south Louisiana) or someone else who is Acadian* ( )

An entertaining story focusing on Creole magic and the power of connections with ancestors. ( )

Not being a horror reader (confession: only two Stephen Kings), I reluctantly chose this book, based on it also being chosen by the main character in a new dystopian YA horror book written by a friend. WHOA. This is some scary stuff. I was vaguely familiar with the legendary Marie Laveau of New Orleans, herbalist, midwife, and voudou practitioner, and this tale finds the progeny of her line living in a gothic pile in the tiny town of Sacajawea, Washington. It opens with the horrific suicide of Corey (named for Diahann Carroll's son in the tv series Julia) and other strange occurrences and deaths surrounding Angela, Corey’s mom and the granddaughter of Gramma Marie, the settler freewoman who was also a voudou practitioner. The town, also the haunted final home of a long gone Native American tribe, is under some kind of spell/curse and Angela cannot escape the consequences. It's got layers and layers of history and back story and even two endings. Creepy enough to keep me up reading until daylight. ( )