Do What Godmother Says

by L.S. Stratton

A modern-day writer and a Harlem Renaissance artist are connected by a painting with a deadly secret in this gripping dual-timeline gothic thriller.

Shanice Pierce knows better than to heed bad omens. But it’s hard to ignore the signs when she finds herself newly single and out of a job on the same seemingly cursed day.

Then, while cleaning out her grandmother’s house, Shanice comes across a painting. Drawn to the haunting portrait in a way she can't explain, Shanice accepts her grandmother’s offer to keep the family heirloom.

She soon uncovers the story of the artist, a Harlem Renaissance painter named Estelle Johnson. The young woman was taken under wing by the wealthy art patron Maude Bachmann—or “Godmother” as she insisted her artists called her—and vanished shortly after Bachmann’s brutal murder.

As Shanice digs deeper, the paranoia that’s haunted her for years returns. She becomes convinced she’s being stalked, and that the deaths happening around her are connected to the staggering offer she turned down for the painting.

But the truth hiding in plain sight is even more shocking—and deadly—than Shanice could possibly have imagined . . .

Genres: Horror, Thriller, Mystery, Fiction, Audiobook, Mystery Thriller, Historical Fiction

384 pages, Paperback

First published June 11, 2024

About the author

L.S. Stratton is an NAACP Image Award-nominated author and former crime newspaper reporter who has written more than a dozen books under different pen names in just about every genre from thrillers to romance to historical fiction. She currently lives in Maryland with her husband, their daughter, and their tuxedo cat.

Reviews

[Laura Lovesreading · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inhale…Exhale…Inhale…Exhale…INHALE…EXHALE

It wont be too soon till I see those words again!

After reading this authors debut book Not So Perfect Strangers and really enjoying it, I have been so buzzed to get my hands on her new release. Unfortunately this one didn’t give me the same giddy feeling.

In this book we are following Shanice Pierce who is GOING THROUGGHHHH IT! Her man has dumped her and she finds herself out of a job soon after. She can’t catch a break and her grandmother has her wanting to come and clean out her house. While cleaning she finds a haunting portrait of a woman and her grandmother tells her it’s a picture of a woman named Estelle Johnson who was a Harlem renaissance painter and was taken in by a wealthy woman named as the 'Godmother’ but shortly after Estelle disappeared without a trace.
Shanice is enthralled by the whole thing and decides to investigate further to find out what really happened to Estelle. But unknowingly she has invited in more trouble than she can handle.

Firstly this book was LOOOOOOONG! I really struggled in the beginning because it wasn’t grabbing my attention as much. But I’m glad I persevered as it did end up being an interesting read. The story is told in 5 parts (Part 3 and 4 were my favourites) with dual POVs of Shanice in the present and Essie in the past. Admittedly I enjoyed Essie’s POV the most. I really felt transported back into time in her chapters and felt all her emotions. Some of the twists were predictable except one that had me shouting ‘ARE YOU TAKING THE PISS?’

⋆｡°✩WHAT I LIKED⋆｡°✩
➽All of the characters were developed well and didn’t feel caricature-ish
➽Very well written with the historical and present-day chapters
➽Good gothic atmospheric vibes


⋆｡°✩WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE⋆｡°✩
➽Took a while to warm into it
➽The repetitiveness of ‘inhale…exhale’, Like OMG I get it Shanice you are stressed out!
➽Could have been reduced by 50 or so pages.
➽One of the twists was so obvious a novice thriller reader would even guess it

The blend of Harlem renaissance mixed with gothic and mystery vibes is not something I have read before and I really appreciated it. Although not a major favourite, I will happily continue to pick this authors work up!

3.5 ⭐






------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EXCUSE ME!? My two favourite genres mixed together!?
Thriller + Historical Fiction... Oh Yes Please!
Begging so hard that this delivers!!!!! 💙🖤

[Kaylah · Rating 5 out of 5]

early candidate for favorite thriller of the year! gothic vibes, perfect for spooky season, historical horror thriller is becoming one of my favorite genres!!! My mouth fell open and stayed there for a LONG time. SIX STARS

[Keila (speedreadstagram) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unofficial Synopsis:
Shanice inherits a painting from her grandma and is drawn to it in a way she can’t explain. As she digs deeper, she learns the artist was a young woman taken in by a wealthy art patron known as “Godmother”. Godmother vanished shortly after taking the artist in.

Shanice is convinced she’s being stalked, and the deaths happening all around her are somehow connected to the painting.

The truth is hiding in plain sight, and I’ts even more shocking, and deadly, than she ever imagined.

Review
This was a really well written historical fiction and thriller mashup. I loved the dual points of view told from past and present timeframes. Both past and present were impeccably written, and I loved the characters. In the present, Shanice is just trying to get by. I found her character to be extremely relatable and likeable though annoying at times. In the past, it was easy to feel for Essie and my heart went out to her at every turn. As the story progressed, the twists started coming. And they didn’t stop coming! There were some amazing twists as the story progressed. Some of them were fairly easy to guess, but some of them were really amazing and well done, didn’t see them coming at all! I think the author did a great job writing a story that was inspired by true events.

Thank you to the publisher for the review copy.

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75⭐️

Overall this was a really good story with some historical elements added. However there were some spots that fell flat to me.. particularly in the beginning with the pacing. However the second half of the book really drove it all the way home for me. I almost threw the book at the plot twist lol.

[Krystal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Narrated by Aure Nash, York Whitaker
Presented by Dreamscape Media

A slow start, but otherwise this was rather entertaining.

I enjoyed the dual timelines (not the narration of dual timelines, but I'll get to that later) and our two protagonists. I really loved Estelle - she seemed so switched on and I was quite sad for how things went down for her. Shanice bothered me a little, but I think a bit of that was to do with the narration. She's a strong character but I thought she was a little dense at times.

The narration was a real pain for me. I loved Estelle's narration - the voice was easy to listen to, it was expressive, and it was easy to tell characters apart. However, the narrator for Shanice was awful. She paused in weird places, added emphasis in strange spots, and often the way she expressed the words didn't match up with what the words were actually saying. She read slowly, with many pauses, and unfortunately had a slight speech impediment that became quite irritating to me by the end. I feel like a d*ck for mentioning it because it's not something I'd normally care about, but along with everything else from this narrator it just ended up pulling me out of the story.

I listened to Estelle's parts at 1.5x speed, but had to bump Shanice's parts up to x2. That was incredibly annoying, especially when my hands were busy with other tasks.

The story itself, though, was really fun. There's 'Godmother', who is the quietly menacing patron that is supposed to be looking after Estelle but is quite clearly swindling everyone. Both girls became acquainted with new fellas and I didn't really like either of them, but I also tuned out the relationship bits a little so that's probably on me. I was sucked into the mystery of what had happened to Estelle and how the painting came to be in Shanice's family.

The atmosphere is sufficiently creepy, and this progresses along with the story, leading to some decent chills towards the end. The historical parts shed some decent light on treatment of black women at this time.

I found the pacing a bit off, and my mind did wander at times. But I did enjoy the mystery and atmosphere.

An interesting, quietly creepy story that kept me entertained throughout.

With thanks to NetGalley for an audio ARC

[Bethany (Beautifully Bookish Bethany) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Do What Godmother Says is a dual-timeline mystery with gothic elements and a potentially unreliable narrator. I liked it quite a lot, though it felt unbalanced at times.

Shanice's life is falling apart and her mental health isn't great either. But when she finds a mysterious painting of a woman at her grandmother's house, it leads her down a dangerous path as she uncovers the story of Estelle Johnson- the Harlem Renaissance artist who created the painting. And Estelle's connection with Maud- a wealthy white woman with interest in the occult who took advantage of young Black artists.

I picked this up because I love a gothic novel and I was really interested in the story of the Harlem Renaissance artist. Unfortunately, we spend the bulk of the novel in the modern perspective and wish the past timeline had been a little more fleshed out and evenly integrated into the story. That said, while some of the reveals didn't surprise me, I had a good time and would read more from the author. She effectively weaves some gothic elements in and gives great atmosphere. I would recommend it! The audio narration is well done. I received an audio copy of this book for review, all opinions are my own.

[Rae | My Cousin’s Book Club · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up

I enjoyed this audiobook even though I guessed the twist early on

[Eilonwy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe 2-1/2 stars

In 1928, a young Black woman flees from a New York mansion, clutching a painting.

In the present, another young Black woman in Washington, DC is helping her grandmother de-clutter so she can sell her home. Gram gives Shanice a painting that's been in the family for three generations. Shanice isn't that taken with the painting -- she finds it a little disturbing. But when strange things begin happening after she takes it home, she gets a lot more interested, and determined to learn about the woman who painted it.

This poor book, y'all. This poor, poor book.

It has a perfectly solid 3, 3-1/2 star plot -- nothing amazing, but interesting, cleverly put together, and surprising enough that while one twist was glaringly obvious, I didn't figure out the others. It could have been a fast-paced, creepy suspense novel that would have made me sorry to get to my train station. Even better, it was inspired by a real-life creepy art patron in the 1920's. I wish that note had been at the front rather than the back of the book!

But there's a huge problem. Nobody loved this book. Nobody loved it enough to read it through and give it the line edit it needs. This thing reads like:
1. Author is on tight deadline and needs to start next book, so sends second draft straight to agent.
2. Agent is leaving for Big Book Fair and hopes a minion will go through the book instead.
3. No minions are available, so book goes straight to editor.
4. Editor goes into labor, or develops appendicitis, or has some other issue that prevents editing.
Book goes to publisher as is.

So I spent the whole time I was reading basically crying over every page, because LS Stratton isn't one of those clearly unfixable bad writers I've occasionally come across. This isn't terrible. But it's so sloppy, and full of weird constructions ("she climbed to the balls of her feet" shows up more than once; I defy anyone to actually do this) that it slows the story to a clunking pace, or at least it did for me. And yet all it needs is one solid rewrite! How did that not happen?

Worst, the author is represented by a superstar agent. Well, maybe that agent gets her clients great deals. But she sure doesn't read the books they send her. Or at least I hope she doesn't, because I can't see how anyone could have resisted editing this book.

So honestly, if you don't notice writing, you'll probably enjoy this book. It was well plotted, Shanice grew on me as the story went on, and the other characters were decently developed and kept me interested in and guessing about their motives.

But if you have any editing experience at all, it's probably best not to try. I hate to be mean, but this poor book. Maybe one day it will be re-released with a proper edit, and I can read it without crying.

[Magdalena aka A Bookaholic Swede · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was intrigued by the premise of the book, a dual-timeline story about a Harlem Renaissance painter and a modern-day writer and the painting that connects them both.

The book was so-so, the characters and the story never really grabbed me. I wanted to like it more than I did. But I found the twists easy to figure out, and I would have loved the story to lean more in the occult direction than it did. That's just me; I love reading books with sects and secrets, and I found it too light for my taste. If it had been darker and with more unexplained elements, I would probably have liked the story more.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This took me a minute to get into but once I did I couldn't get enough! This is a historical fiction thriller mash up. There's a lot of twists and some are predictable and others not!

I was very interested in the plot because it was different from anything I've ever read. Shanice inherits a painting from her grandmother and it seems her bad luck before magnifies when those around her start to die. Shanice starts to dig deeper to find out more about Estelle and her paranoia increases. I found I would get freaked out a bit while reading this because it does get a little creepy.

We get a dual timeline which was done very well. I felt like both characters had equal time in the book and neither outshined each other. A unique read!

Thank you NetGalley and Union Square & Co for the e-arc.

[Zana]

DNF @ 27%

I thought this was horror, but it's more of a slow burn mystery/thriller, which isn't really my thing.

[♡︎ · Rating 4 out of 5]

i was drawn in by the premise and it was executed very well. took me a while to finish this one because i haven’t had time to read much but once i got the time i was locked in. great mystery thriller that should be way more popular. one of my favorite parts about this was how essie’s povs from the past were tied into the harlem renaissance and built into the plot in the present effortlessly. the twists were a bit predictable for me but it was overall still enjoyable!

[Alexis Bias · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hate when you can see all the plot twists coming from a mile away :/ I like that Essie and Shanice got their happy endings though lol

[Books Amongst Friends · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5. Was there a moment this book pissed me off? Yes. Could I put this book down? No.

Finding out that "Do What Godmother Says" was based on a real patron during the Harlem Renaissance made it even more fascinating and a true page-turner for me. The historical fiction aspect of this book was thoroughly enjoyable. As someone who loves the arts, I appreciated how the author shone a light on the fact that Black artists were often sought after but silenced. This is an important message, not just during the Harlem Renaissance, but also in considering the generational ramifications of such actions down the line.

On a deeper level, there’s so much being said in this book that made me really enjoy it as a read. But even on the surface, there's plenty to enjoy. One could read this and simply enjoy the mix of the fanciful, the occult, the twists, and the turns. Yes, there was a level of predictability, but the author handled this in such a masterful way that, even if you saw one thing coming, there were ten other things you didn’t see.

The story starts off slow, introducing us to a young woman who loses her job, suffers a bad breakup, inherits a painting she doesn’t even want from her grandmother, and deals with terrible anxiety while still reeling from her mother's death years ago. Simultaneously, we follow the journey of a young artist during the Harlem Renaissance, and these two journeys eventually collide. I loved the duality of the stories and this slow build because, once the engine starts burning, choo-choo baby, the train takes off.

The characters all had very strong voices. The minute her grandmother said, “Don’t put your purse on the ground,” I looked over at my bag to make sure it was right next to me. I could feel Shanice’s hesitancy to approach Noah, her dad gives immediate dad vibes, and you could feel the allure of Maude's world while also being disgusted by it. The characters were well-written, and every character had this moral gray area that kept you guessing. Just when you thought you could trust one person, another would lie.

I found Shanice’s relationship with her grandmother was particularly compelling. Her grandmother was authentically herself, and this authenticity made her stand out. There was a complexity in the relationships between Shanice, her grandmother, and her father that felt so raw. Both her grandmother and father loved Shanice and her mother in ways they saw fit—one spiritual and one analytical. Both held secrets and past traumas, and all three were still grieving in their own ways, each with different approaches to what was happening to Shanice. It seemed they were all withering in some ways with the mothers pain and ultimately her choices. Especially the father who presents this as Shanice’s inherited struggle and inability to find strength within herself.

On the broader themes, this book explores mental health, the importance of passing down knowledge, and the challenges of generational wealth and ownership, especially in Black communities. The book also critiques the erasure of Black bodies and the exploitation of Black talent. This was particularly evident in the depiction of white saviorism and how it often comes at the expense of Black lives, art, and safety.

"Do What Godmother Says" was a compelling read that offered a mix of historical fiction, mystery, and a deep exploration of significant themes that more than held my attention. Highly recommend it!

Thanks to Netgalley & Union Square & Co. for the opportunity to read this ARC.

[bee 🍉 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a wild ride.

I think the best way to describe this book is a roller coaster because of how many ups, downs and loops it took me through.

While I was able to predict some of where the plot was going, I genuinely enjoyed this and thought that the pacing of the book was fantastic. I loved how the different timelines were weaved together and how the book ultimately came to an end with all the loose ends and questions finally answered.

This was such a fun book and I’m excited to read more by this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Union Square & Co. for providing me with this ARC. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Lit_Vibrations · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stratton is such an amazing storyteller. After reading her first book Not So Perfect Strangers I knew we were in for another amazing book. Although it didn’t top her 1st book for me I still loved the dark suspense she created with this one. I know I’m not the only one who was hoping the painting was haunted. Told from a dual POV between alternating timelines we got a lot of backstory on the artist who originally created the painting which I enjoyed.

Essie’s timeline was very eerie I knew nothing good would come from her dealing with godmother and her son Elias. Seemed like both Essie and Shanice had a problem with being to trusting with people. As the plot unfolds the pacing was up and down but you could feel the tension and paranoia building within each chapter.

What made the novel stand out most were the unexpected twists and the acts of betrayal. Blurring the lines between who’s actually good versus who’s really evil and playing the characters against each other was perfectly executed. Weaving historical, thriller, and gothic fiction together the author created an unforgettable read.

[Joanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I havent had the best luck with gothic fiction, but leave it to LS Stratton to make me enjoy one. Do What Godmother Says is a gothic thriller with dual timelines set in the present and during the Harlem Renaissance. I love that art and murder mystery are at the center of this story. I was fascinated and intrigued from the beginning, and there were a few points that shocked me. Can we also take a moment for this beautiful cover?!

[WellReadAndRatchet · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read Stratton’s last book “Not So Perfect Strangers” and loved it. I knew I had to read this one just because of that. I love hearing stories about the Harlem Renaissance so I naturally loved Essie’s story more than Shanice’s. I felt bad for Shanice because everything in her life was going to hell but at the same time she was annoying me. Like ma’am I’m gonna need for you to at least try to put these pieces back together. I enjoyed a lot of elements of the story I just felt it could have been more concise. This was a solid thriller from Stratton but the whole time I was thinking “You cannot trick me! Yuh cannot trick me!” I had the plot all figured out in this one. Let’s see what you think of for the next book.

Rounded up from 3.5 ⭐️

[Erricka Hager · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was pretty predictable but a decent read. It took me a little to get into it but I enjoyed this ride.

[Yamini · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am so glad I picked this up!

This is a dual timeline plot that entangles the readers into a mystery of the life of an Artist and the current owner of her legendary painting. Ever since the painting came into the possession of Shanice, an ominous shadow has fallen upon her life. As she digs deeper into the life of this artist from the Harlem Renaissance period, she discovers dangerous truths that may terrorize her life.

The thrilling aspects of this book are aptly produced to make the reader question everything about the painting. It looks dangerous, but the more you observe, the more your perspective changes around the art. The way the story leveraged the Harlem Renaissance, strengthened its plot a notch higher. There were high-stakes, sideline love story, goofy stalker, exuberant lifestyles of the 1% club and a haunting past connecting the dots which made it a perfect reading companion on my travels.

This was such a great mystery thriller and an almost perfect rendering of the world of painting. Highly recommended!

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Adult
Rating: 4.5/5 ⭐️

[Lisa Lynch · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Greyson]

I can’t make myself muscle through the rest of this. I like the plot of the book. I like the back and forth between story and timelines. I loved the premise. I found the main character unlikeable as much as I found certain parts of her personality relatable. I find her anxiety disorder representation relatable. But I find her victim mentality super annoying. She pretends like her coworkers, grandma’s neighbor, and random other people throughout the book was being bigoted and racist towards her when it wasn’t racist at all. Someone accused her of letting people in the building to steal something and she assumed it was because she was black and not because she was the last person in the building and it was left unlocked. This book felt long-winded as hell. There was some parts that had me on the edge of my seat, some that had me interested, some that were even a bit spooky but alot of the time it dragged.

[mo • lesmotsdemo · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought the plot was so original but it ended up being a rather predictable book. The plot is divided in two parts (with two points of view), and I did enjoy one point of view more than the other… until I didn’t. Until both points of view were unexciting to read. I did not like the heavy emphasis on romance, and men, and women seen and considered by these men as « crazy », or « hysterical ». I’m done with this sort of plot, I’ve read too much of it. It would have been way better as a story with women, and only women. There was potential here. I still recommend it, because I still enjoyed some parts of it and its writing; it was just not my preferred sort of mystery-thriller.

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for a honest review.

[Monica B · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a ride!!! This book was good. All the moving pieces coming together made for a great read! The historical fiction mixed with the present day generational trauma was more than enough for the makings of an awesome thriller! Definitely recommend

[Sheena · Rating 2 out of 5]

Check out my review on https://www.mysteryandsuspense.com/do...

[MiniMicroPup (X Liscombe) · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story stalled out until a blur of things happened at the end. I struggled to stay interested. Avoid the audiobook, it’s terribly produced and does the book a huge disservice 😒.

Energy: Guarded. Hesitant. Stately.

🐺 Growls
Repetitive, dull romantic ponderings. Current day romance felt forced. Too contradictory… Shanice is suspicious and prone to over-thinking, but at convenient times she’s a totally different person blindly trusting strangers and ignoring huge red flags. Spotlighting plot twists with character inaction.

Terribly edited audio was so jarring, what was that? There were huge differences in volume mid-sentence from muffled (standing in a different room?!) to WAY too loud (like standing too close to the mic) and parts were obviously re-recorded but not spliced in properly.

🐕 Howls
Gaps in the story that were hard to overlook. Switched tone and style in an erratic way at times (felt unfinished?). Didn’t get any gothic or horror vibes from this.

🐩 Tail Wags
The concept. Intriguing 1920s timeline. Estelle’s character arc.

Scene: Set in Washington DC (current timeline) and New York City (past timeline).
Perspectives (2): An unpaid intern trying to get into the magazine industry after giving up their well-paying job to follow their dreams. A talented artist confined by racism gets a chance to invest in their work with a too-good-to-be-true offer.
Timelines: Current (2020s). Harlem Renaissance (1920s).
🔥 Fuel: Emotional investment in characters. Foreshadowing. Crossing paths and layered mysteries. Past meets present. What’s the story of the painting? Would someone kill to get it? Why? Will Shanice get over her break-up and trust again? Is Estelle in danger as a commissioned artist?
📖 Cred: Blended historical suspended disbelief

Mood Reading Match-Up:
Metro card. Grandma’s bungalow. Art appraisals. Coast-side mansions. Parking garage.
• New romance while getting over the old
• Family heirloom with a past
• Deep in their minds character studies
• Dual timelines
• Snippets of Harlem renaissance
• Mentally yelling at characters
• Multiple suspects stalker suspense
• Horror Lite though horrific things happen
• Occult, omens, ghostie séance energy historical mystery romance
• Commentary around race, gender, what we inherit, and class inequality
• Ancestral connections cozy mystery

Content Heads-Up: Racism, classism (prejudice, bias, slurs, exploitation). Relationship Break-up. False accusation. Murder. Theft, burglary. Panic attacks, hyperventilation (on page). Unemployment, financial insecurity. Generalized anxiety disorder. Car accident (fatal). Loss of parent (as child). Loss of family. Confinement (in room). Abortion (discussion). Forced pregnancy. Stalking, home invasion, threats. Sexual content (consenting).

Rep: Black, White, Indian American. Nutmeg-hued, brown, peachy, pale, and freckled skin tones. Cisgender. Hetero. Generalized anxiety disorder.

📚 Format: Everand Audio

My musings 💖 powered by puppy snuggles 🐶

[MJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️ rounded up

I enjoyed this story. It was intriguing and kept me engaged throughout. Multiple plot twists. The ending was a little bit of an overload for me. A lot of moving parts/people. Overall it was a solid read and I will definitely be reading more by this author.

[Lee (Books With Lee) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars only because I predicted the ending but it was still fun!

[Eros Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one missed the mark for me.

Despite it not being what I thought it would be, I still continued through the story after wanting to DNF it.
I enjoyed certain elements like the dual timeline, anxiety representation and the “who did it?” trope.
But, this gave more suspense/mystery than thriller.
The storyline is very slow paced, some moments are repetitive (take a shot every time the FMC says “Inhale. Exhale), the plot is easily guessable & at least 50-75 pages could’ve been removed & the story would’ve still flowed the way it did.

I want to give another book from the author a try. I liked the concept but the execution wasn’t memorable.

[Symone · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the suspense this book had to offer. So many unsuspecting twists.. like what?! My goodness... I went into it blind and don't regret it.