Black Dust Mambo
Product Type: Book
Product Price: $7.99
Manufacturer: Pocket
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Description
FIRST IN A NEW SERIES!
“There will be times, girl, when all your magic ain’t going to be enough, times when it will seem to dry up like mud under the noonday sun, or even make matters worse. . . .”
Kallie Rivière, a fiery Cajun hoodoo apprentice with a talent for trouble, finds herself smack-dab in the middle of one of those times her mentor warned her about when she visits New Orleans to attend the Hecatean Alliance’s annual carnival: her hard-bodied conjurer hookup ends up dead in her blood-drenched bed. And he was killed by something that Kallie would never dream of touching—the darkest of dark juju, soul-eating juju—a black dust hex that may have been meant to kill her.
Now Kallie has to use every bit of hoodoo knowledge and bayou-bred mojo she possesses to clear her own name and find the killer—even as that dark sorcerer hunts Kallie and her friends. But Kallie’s search for the truth soon leads her in a direction she never anticipated—back home to Bayou Cyprés Noir, and to Gabrielle LaRue, Kallie’s aunt, protector, and hoodoo mentor . . . who is looking more and more like she just might be the one who wants Kallie dead.
Reviews
Rating: 3 / 5
Date: 2010-08-25
Summary: "This story has a lot going on from the beginning. And I unfortunately, could not like the heroine."
Black Dust Mambo by Adrian Phoenix
Urban Fantasy-June 29th, 2010
3 ½ stars
Kallie Riveri, a hoodoo apprentice from Bayou Cypres Noir. She wakes up to find her lover dead in her hotel room, killed by a soul eating hex. Bewildered and angry, she searches for the killer who continues to dog her steps, plotting to harm her friends one by one. Can Kallie stop the hoodoo killer? As the clues lead her to her own aunt, Gabrielle LaRue, will Kallie trust the woman who raised her as her own daughter and taught her hoodoo? Can Kallie even save her friends in time?
This story has a lot going on from the beginning. There's not much set up or back ground info. From very the first page, you are on the move, trying to find out who's the killer and why. Like Kallie, the main character, you are confused and bewildered as you try to find out who's lying and who's trustworthy. Phoenix is a skilled writer; she's able to sustain the thrill for over 300 pages, building up the suspense up till the end as you slowly uncover the plot page by page. However, because there's so much going on, the first few pages can be very daunting.
The main problem is that Phoenix keeps introducing new characters in the first 65 pages. I understand that this is a necessity since this is the first book in a new series, but I feel like there are too many them characters to keep track of. At times the plot feels uneven and awkward because Phoenix is busy introducing new people. Also, when you have such a large cast, it's hard to get to know your main guy/girl. I can't say that I feel attached to Kallie or Belladonna (her best friend), or Valin (her love interest). In fact, I unfortunately, thoroughly disliked Kallie. I know the popular trend nowadays are for sassy female leads, but she's rude and mean to her friends. Who goes around punching other people without hearing them out? Because of this I found her really obnoxious and unreasonable. Her actions make it hard to like her.
On the other hand, the setting is beautiful. The bayous, the rippling waters, even the hotel where most of the action happens. Phoenix is a beautiful writer who knows how to invoke the mysterious and eerie world of Lousiana. Her writing is really good - instead of dumping info on you, she breaks it into tantalizing chunks and insert it carefully in between passages, giving us hints and clues of the character's background. I really liked how she sets up the book, and I really like her writing style. I just wish that I enjoyed Kallie's character more. Hopefully, the next book in the series will be much smoother and engrossing.
Reviewd by Pauline from the Bookaholics Romance Book Club
Rating: 4 / 5
Date: 2010-08-10
Summary: "Very good book! Adrian Rocks it agian!!"
There will be times, girl, when all your magic ain't going to be enough, times when it will seem to dry up like mud under the noonday sun, or even make matters worse. . . ."
Kallie Rivière, a fiery Cajun hoodoo apprentice with a talent for trouble, finds herself smack-dab in the middle of one of those times her mentor warned her about when she visits New Orleans to attend the Hecatean Alliance's annual carnival: her hard-bodied conjurer hookup ends up dead in her blood-drenched bed. And he was killed by something that Kallie would never dream of touching--the darkest of dark juju, soul-eating juju--a black dust hex that may have been meant to kill her.
Now Kallie has to use every bit of hoodoo knowledge and bayou-bred mojo she possesses to clear her own name and find the killer--even as that dark sorcerer hunts Kallie and her friends. But Kallie's search for the truth soon leads her in a direction she never anticipated--back home to Bayou Cyprés Noir, and to Gabrielle LaRue, Kallie's aunt, protector, and hoodoo mentor . . . who is looking more and more like she just might be the one who wants Kallie dead.
....................................................................................
Kallie Wakes up to find her date for the night dead by evil JuJu, wail still trying to get a grip on the situation she is confronted by the handsome demanding nomad Layne . Even with the tragedy of the events that have just happened in her hotel room she cant help but feel drawn to this strange nomad who is blaming her for his clan members' death. Finding out that the nomad is also a vessel for the dead . He decides to speak to the dead nomad and fond out who caused his untimely death only to find out his soul was taken by dark evil JuJu and that the spell still has enough juice to attack Layne . So Kallie brings up as much power as she can muster to cleanse him and save him . She can not let another person today die she won't. Then to make matters worse the hot nomads pixy like ( in body only ) ex-wife joins them only to see what has happened she also blames Kallie for the nomads death.
But as the events unfold more attempts on Kallies friends lives happen it seems evident that the actual target is Kallie her self.
It looks like the only to clear her name and find this evil conjurer is to go back home to Bayou Cyprés Noir. So with a little help from the hot nomad Layne , she sets out find who did this and stop them before they hurt someone else.
I thought this was a good book. I loved the Hoodoo aspect i have never read about that before, Ive done witches and stuff but hoodoo is different . I loved the nomad aspect to . Layne is yummy! His ex-wife is a pip she is a bit much at first , but you see that is just her personality and you except it. All the side characters in this book are very strong also . I don't want to say to much and give away the whole book. I recommend you to buy and read it your self . It is a quick and light read. you can can get sucked into from the very beginning. I can not wait until the next book comes out . I want to know about all the characters in this book.
Rating: 4 / 5
Date: 2010-08-04
Summary: "Fantastic New Hoodoo Series"
I'm a sucker for a good voodoo/hoodoo mystery. I love Adrian's The Maker's Song series and this new series has intrigued me just as much. Set in Louisiana's dark and dangerous world of hoodoo practitioners. Adrain successfully created a world that felt like Death lurked around every corner, the character's felt completely authentic and Adrian seamlessly blended the American-African-Cajun cultures.
This book hooked my attention from beginning to end. The story was dark, fast paced, with lots of action, magic and humor.
I highly recommend this book to fellow dark urban fantasy and look forward to the next book in this new hoodoo series, BLACK HEART LOA due out 2011 and I can't wait for the next book in the Marker's Song series, Etched in Blood due out 2/22/2011.
I also recommend:
Beneath the Skin: Book Three of The Maker's Song
Web of Lies (Elemental Assassin, Book 2)
Mark of the Demon (Kara Gillian, Book 1)
Fatal Circle (Persephone Alcmedi, Book 3)
Master of None
Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2010-08-01
Summary: "Awesome new series!!"
Black Dust Mambo is the first novel by Adrian Phoenix that I read and I have liked it so much that I have begun reading her previous series The Maker's Song. It is very well written and full of action, twists, mistery and paranormal phenomena as well as humour. The same must be said about the characters: Kelly, the protagonist and heroine, is just amazing as well as the rest of them. A must read without any doubt! I hope that the sequel in this new series is written as soon as possible, PLEASE!!
Rating: 4 / 5
Date: 2010-07-28
Summary: ""There's sneezing in the afterlife?""
Kallie Riviere, a hoodoo rootworker, attends an annual witches' carnival looking for some fun. She thinks she's found it in the form of sexy nomad Gage, but before they can do the deed, Kallie passes out in the bathroom while Gage goes to bed alone. In the morning, Kallie finds Gage murdered, the victim of a hex that was laid on Kallie's bed.
Before long, she has Gage's disturbingly attractive clan brother knocking on her door looking for answers, the Hecatean Alliance (the witch organization behind the carnival) wanting to take her into protective custody, and a sneaking suspicion that she, not Gage, was the intended victim. This leads her to a mystery centering on her powerful aunt, Gabrielle LaRue.
Unusually for an urban fantasy, Adrian Phoenix switches the point of view among a number of characters. This includes the murderer, so that character's identity is not the real mystery here; the big questions are whether the good guys will find the culprit before someone else gets killed and how it all ties in with Gabrielle.
The characters are kind of over-the-top, "larger than life" figures. Everyone is gorgeous and some (such as "Bond babe" Felicity Fields) are homages to action-movie archetypes. And boy, are they ever amorous. Thinking about sex, bantering about sex... there's very little actual sexual activity in Black Dust Mambo, but there's a whole lot of fantasizing. The constant horniness gets a little obnoxious in places, but it's made up for by the fact that the characters are also funny. Everybody wisecracks all the time and it's a great deal of fun for the reader.
The plot is exciting and makes use of well-researched voodoo and hoodoo lore. Especially clever is what Phoenix does with Kallie and her true nature. It's implied that she's something more than human, but we're not told what until much later. There's a really subtle little clue planted early in the book. Blink and you'll miss it. (I did. I spent most of the book thinking her supernatural secret was something completely different. The significance of the clue dawned on me in retrospect, several hours after finishing the book, and suddenly I was feverishly scrambling back through the pages to see if I'd remembered it correctly.)
Black Dust Mambo doesn't make as much use of the New Orleans setting as one might expect. In fact, most of the book takes place in a hotel. Yet the atmosphere of New Orleans is still pervasive, and the ending implies that we'll be seeing much more of the setting in future installments. I'll definitely be "tuning in" for these. I really enjoyed Black Dust Mambo and I look forward to seeing what Adrian Phoenix, and Kallie Riviere, do next.