"Terrific amateur sleuth"

Penny Francisco came home early only to find her husband attorney Deke making love in their bed to Sheena "litigator" Linder; making it worse is that she had dirty feet. The divorce settlement left Penny with her health store, The Charm Farm, and some adjoining land that she plans to use to grow herbs; Deke got their house across the street that he paints an ugly pink, but he also hid valuable assets in the name of his now fiancée.

Penny's assistant Marie Gaston hosts a divorce celebration for her boss. One of the guests secretly gives Penny a voodoo doll of Deke; Penny stabs the doll in the heart. The next day she goes over to see Deke who had frantically called her several times, but was not answering his phone. She finds him dead with a weapon stabbed through his heart. Everyone else thinks Penny either killed Deke with voodoo or as crime of passion. Penny plans to prove otherwise by uncovering the truth with the help of a donut lusting private investigator as her only ally.

Stephanie Bond provides a terrific amateur sleuth investigative tale with a heated romantic subplot to enhance the bewildered but delightful lead female protagonist. Penny is the fabulous center to the strong story line as her antics will amuse the audience. Her efforts to prove she is innocent though everyone in Mojo, Louisiana believes otherwise while making side comments about pink houses, replacement females, mayoral ex mother- in-laws, hunks, and voodoo make for a fine time. Still the bottom line means diving IN DEEP VOODOO as she has a slight doubt that just maybe her jab with the pin killed her former spouse.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted September 15, 2005

Summary

Start With Bad Mojo ... There's something strange afoot in the small town of Mojo, Louisiana. Yet even as the annual voodoo festival gets underway, Penny Francisco, who runs a health food business, refuses to believe in black magic. Her mind is on celebrating her divorce from her lying, cheating husband Deke. Add a Pinprick of Revenge ... Fueled by run-ins with her ex-mother-in-law and Deke's busty mistress, Penny is eager for the "emancipation party" her friends plan. When she receives a Deke voodoo doll as a gag gift, she sticks it with a pin as a joke. But when Deke winds up fatally stabbed, the police aren't laughing. And Watch Things Boil Over ... A junk-food junkie P.I. offers his services, and although Penny is wary of the sexy Cajun's motives (and his diet), she's desperate. Dodging a media sideshow and a looming murder rap, Penny realizes that somehow she's landed herself In Deep Voodoo.