Five Dog Voodoo

Mae December #5

by Lia Farrell

As Halloween approaches, engaged couple Mae December and Sheriff Ben Bradley have devoted all their energy to Ben’s campaign for reelection as sheriff of Rose County, Tennessee. The race is already too close to call when the sheriff’s office is hit with yet another maddeningly tricky murder case. In recent years the town of Rosedale has had more than its fair share of murders, a fact Ben’s smarmy opponent is all too eager to exploit. Investigator Dory Clarkson and her friend, Counselor Evangeline Bon Temps, are visiting the mysterious Voodoo village when a resident tells them her granddaughter, Zoé Canja, is missing. Her dog, a Weimaraner nursing four pups, escapes the house and finds the young woman’s body in a shallow grave. Evangeline becomes Sheriff Ben Bradley’s unofficial consultant because her grandmother in Haiti and later her mother in New Orleans practiced Voodoo. A threatening symbol is left on the pavement by Dory’s front door, effectively banning her from the case. Evangeline and the sheriff’s office ask too many questions, and Evangeline soon wears out her welcome. Voodoo curses aside, Ben’s job is at stake, and no one associated with the case is safe until the killer is found. Book 5 in the Mae December Mystery series, which began with One Dog Too Many.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction

268 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2016

About the author

Lia Farrell was born in January of 2009, the brain-child/pen-name of a mother/daughter writing team. Lia’s first book, cozy mystery ‘One Dog too Many’, was released by Camel Press on November 15th of 2013. It was, of course, instigated by a dog. Lyn Farquhar, the mom in this duo, lives in Michigan. One icy morning when she was going out to walk her dogs, her younger Corgi, Millie, pulled hard on the leash. Lyn slipped and broke her right arm for the second time in a year. She needed surgery and her daughter Lisa Fitzsimmons came up from Tennessee to stay with her after her surgery. Having lived in the South for many years, Lisa quickly tired of the winter weather. She persuaded her mom to come stay with her in Tennessee while her arm was healing. They flew together to Tennessee where Lisa and her husband, Jim, took Lyn out for brunch. Whilst awaiting Mimosas, they read the newspaper. An article detailing a legal battle captured their attention; emotions and lawsuits ran high over the widening of a road that was very close to Lisa and Jim’s house. After listening to the article, Lyn said “that sound like the beginning of a book I’d like to read.” Their protagonist, Mae December, was born in that instant. After Lyn went back to Michigan, the two women took turns writing chapters and emailing them back and forth. Two years into the process, they thought the book was done. They came up with their pen-name and got an agent, Dawn Dowdle, who made them rewrite almost everything, which took another year. Dawn marketed the book for a year before finding them a publisher and getting them a three book deal with Camel Press. Then came more rewrites and edits, as well as writing the second book in the Mae December Mystery series. ‘Two Dogs lie Sleeping’ was turned in to the publisher on November 14th, the day before ‘One Dog too Many’ was released. Lia Farrell needs a few days off, but she’ll begin work on the third book in the series soon, so stay tuned!

Reviews

[Laura Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had all kinds of fun with this story. Voodoo. Just the word sounds mysterious and creepy. Imagine a place called Voodoo Village. Sounds almost like a song.

And the title, Five Dog Voodoo. Now that sounds too good to pass up.

It’s a lovely mess of reelection campaigns, murder, and voodoo in Tennessee.

Not having read the other books in this series, I was happy to have no problem jumping in here. I really like Mae December. That girl does it all. She helps with her fiances reelection campaign, is caregiver to a pack of dogs, is a successful painter, and is the soon to be stepmom to Ben’s five-year-old son. She also runs her own boarding kennel, which also includes some training and the breeding of designer dogs.

Ever heard of a porgie, a cross between a corgi and a pug? How about a cortese, a cross between a corgi and a maltese? And then there’s the strawberry blond porgies.

Murder takes precedent over Ben’s reelection campaign when a dog leads authorities to her master’s body, buried in a shallow grave in Voodoo village. It may not just be his job he loses if Ben doesn’t solve this case fast.

Are you curious about where this dog and her four new pups will end up?

I have several requirements I expect from a cozy mystery. It needs a small town setting. Check. A quirky title and fun cover art. Check. Unusual character names and a bit of romance. Check. A mystery not too easily solved. Check. And some kind of theme. Check. And it’s always a pleasant bonus to have some furry companions too.

I had a really fun read and plan to go back and start at the beginning. I need to see what I’ve missed. But, if you start the series here, you’ll have no problem enjoying this all by itself.

I received a complimentary copy. My review is freely given.

[Margaret Stewart · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to enjoy a book that combines a police procedural, cozy mystery, voodoo, and Dogs! I will be looking for other titles in this series.

[Carole Jarvis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reviewed at http://bit.ly/2f0EEy8

Five Dog Voodoo is an excellent story, one of my favorites in the cozy mystery genre. While the title initially gave me pause, the description caught my interest – and I’ve discovered what looks to be a great series. It’s extremely well written, with no unnecessary descriptions or repetition of thoughts as filler, and moves at a quick pace. Setting is atmospheric, plot is multilayered, and an appealing ensemble cast adds much depth. This book can stand alone, but I’m eager to read the four previous stories and hope for more to come.

The setting moves between the small Tennessee town of Rosedale and the Voodoo Village located close by, which literally becomes a major character. My knowledge of voodoo is minimal, and the authors did a masterful job at bringing this group of people and their beliefs to life. Sheriff Ben Bradley’s murder investigation is complicated by the people’s secretiveness and belief that they are outside the law. I found the secondary plot involving Chief Detective Wayne Nichols emotional and poignant. And Erzuline, a Weimaraner that Mae takes in while she is nursing her pups, simply stole my heart.

The mystery itself is well plotted – and I loved how, rather than being overly suspenseful, it involved the logical, step-by-step gathering of facts. It was easy to follow and held my attention throughout.

I was especially drawn to Evangeline, whose Voodoo background was invaluable in helping to solve the case. Her words to Wayne also made these people feel so real: “Although the Voodoo Village is a curiosity to most of us, to the people who live there it’s a paradise, a sacred space of safety and community.” The scenes involving the fête mori, a festival honoring the dead, were vivid and haunting. It was at this festival that Evangeline strongly felt the pull of the Voodoo culture, and I loved the way that struggle played out at the end.

Five Dog Voodoo is all that a cozy mystery should be and I enjoyed it greatly. It is basically a clean read, with only a few instances of mild profanity and some of the characters living together being the only negatives for me.

Highly recommended. (5-star rating within the cozy mystery genre)

I was provided a free copy of this book through Great Escapes Tours. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

[Bonnie Dale Keck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not available on kindle unlimited, won this copy in some giveaway, came across it today and realized had not read it/done review. Overall liked it and would have given it 5 instead of 4 but the last part was icky as in didn't make sense, not the voodoo stuff, all that was interesting, just the 'reasoning' given for one of the characters and the result. Don't want to say more because never give away the main plot points or the ending.

[CoffeeTimeRomance andMore · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting mystery. The Voodoo aspects of the story are fascinating and the plot is intricate. I enjoyed meeting the various people living in Rose County and the Voodoo Village and trying to find out what happened to Zoe. The author’s grasp of the workings and positions within a Sheriff’s Office is a bit tenuous. An Investigator in a Sheriff’s Office is the equivalent of a Detective in a police department. They are Deputy Sheriffs first, so Dory would have had to meet all the physical requirements of a Deputy before becoming an Investigator, not right to that position because she did not want to meet the physical portion of the job. Aside from that, the combination of a good mystery, interesting setting, and well written characters made this an enjoyable story.
Maura
Reviewer for Coffee Time Romance & More
Official Review @ Coffee Time Romance & More

[Harlequin Books]

Categories
Mystery & Detective

Miniseries
A Mae December Mystery

[Deana Dick · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is a delight to read and I loved reading about the customs in the small villiage where the setting for the book is. I'm not familiar with voodoo except it always made me uncomfortable. There are certain beliefs they go by and seem a bit secretive . The author does an amazing job of giving readers details of what Voodoo is. It is a very old religion that is a way of life for some and their customs may make some people uncomfortable. They do honor their dead in a beautiful ceremony and the details were very intriguing. The book is well written and starts off with the mysterious death of a young woman. The decision to take in the mother dog and pups were heartwarming.I did sense that perhaps the dog knew her master was gone and felt a little down. The description of the dogs were so vivid I could picture them with their beautiful color and regal appearance.

Who is the young woman that has been found dead? The story is very intense and I loved the characters in the book. There are several suspects and lots of unanswered questions that keeps the story moving at a good pace. With an election getting close, Sheriff Ben Bradley needs to solve the case. Is the election somehow connected to the death that is being investigated? Strange signs pop up at Dory's home that warn her to stop investigating. Will Dory heed the warning, or continue to snoop around for answers?

Mae December is the sheriff's fiancé and I thought the authuor really made her a strong character. She sure does like to "help" with investigations. There are several characters in the book that are connected to the murder in some way and I really liked how the author made each one a strong possible suspect. There are many secrets throughout the book and the Voodoo Village is becoming quite a mysterious little place. The story weaves through several mysterious deaths and comes to an exciting end. I will be checking out the other books in this series, because the author really knows how to keep a story moving with very interesting characters .

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Great Escapes Book Tour. The review is my own opinion and I was not compensated for it.

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has a bit of everything. There is love, friendship, small town quaintness, politics, murder both past and present, and voodoo. I love small towns and I love reading about them. I love how everyone knows everyone, and every ones business. Unless you live in a Voodoo Village, the residents of the village may know your business but to the townies it's a whole different planet. Even to the law. The Voodoo community has their own laws and ways of dealing with things. They are a very quiet and private community until one of their women come up missing. They do not call the law in the law just sort of wanders into the village. While there they find out about the missing woman and bring the law in against the wishes of the residents of the village. And things get sketchy from there.

I really enjoyed this book. I enjoyed actually learning a bit about voodoo and their ways. The story did not drag. It was almost like a high speed chase. There were twists and turns and lots of suspects. I had to wait till the end of the book to find out who the murder was. There were lots of suspects, but no one actually stood out further then the rest, or the suspicion was lessened through out the investigation. I love how well defined each character is. They each have their own way of thinking and personality. Will be on the look out fr more books by Lia Ferrell.

[InD'tale Magazine · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5.0

There’s a lot going on in this entertaining and adventure-filled fifth book of the Mae December Mystery series.

Read full review in the 2016 December issue of InD'tale Magazine.