Juju very bad juju and a black hex that was meant for murder, a soul eating hex that was meant for Kallie. Only Kallie wasn't in the bed, Gage was. Waking up from a night of drinking far too much and enjoying the talents of Gage, Kallie finds nothing but a dead body in the bed. Someone was murdered in her room, in her bed while she slept it out on the bathroom floor. This is not just any murder, but a murder unlike any other murder, where not only has the victim died, but his soul has been killed along with him. The body, just an empty shell, shouldn't be able to harm anybody, right? Much to the surprise of Kallie Riviere, she's just been proven wrong. But this is only the beginning of the chaos that has become Kallie's "vacation" at carnival.

Kallie Riviere, hoodoo apprentice, decided to attend this year's annual Hecatean Alliance carnival for magic users all over the world, just to simply get out of the bayou, experience some of the world, and have some fun. Little does she know that's all about to change. When three different attempts at murder, that all seem to be aimed around Kallie occur, it appears that someone is out for a little more than blood.

Recently saved from death, gorgeous nomad Layne Valin is out for revenge on whoever destroyed his clan brother. Caught between the living and the dead, Layne finds himself only half in the game and half hearing about it from his new 'buddy', Augustine Basil, the recently deceased Lord of the Hecatean Alliance. Being a walking vessel for the dead has never been easy, but this time it is strangely working out. Layne is determined to explore the strange connection he felt from Kallie, and find an answer as to why has she become so important to him? With spells as powerful as soul eaters and attempts as weak as guns, Kallie will need the help of all her friends to find out who is ultimately responsible and better yet why do they seem to be targeting Kallie? The clues keep pointing back home toward Bayou Cypres Noir and Gabrielle LaRue, aunt, protector, and mentor. Kallie is forced to question everything she knows, face some old pain, and use every scrap of hoodoo she possesses to clear her name, save herself and save those around her.

Black Dust Mambo provided everything it was meant to be and more! I really enjoyed this beginning for the new series it gave me a whole new depth of writing for Adrian Phoenix as an author expanding her horizons. I thought that Black Dust Mambo started with a bang and kept on going with intrigue, family secrets, double lives, mystery, murder, and a little bit of romance. This book was packed from cover to cover that kept me turning the pages and craving more, Phoenix really did her homework on this one. For a first book in a new series, writer Adrian Phoenix brings it to the reader with a punch!

Book Summary

Fresh from the bayou-soaked imagination of Adrian Phoenix, author of the critically acclaimed paranormal fantasy series, The Maker's Song, comes Black Dust Mambo, a fast paced and sexy story brimming with mystery, magic, conjurers and root doctors, nomads and loup garou, hoodoo -- and a wet boxers contest chockful of stripped down men. Mmmm. Oh. Was murder mentioned? And vengeful nomads? And soul-eating spells?

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.

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