Title: Voodoo Dues (Lian & Figg #1)
Author: Stephany Simmons
Format: Ebook provided by author for review
From Goodreads:
From the beginning of Figg’s employment, there is something not quite right about the bar. There are few customers, a parade of neighborhood psychics and pentacle adorned visitors, all coming to hold court with her enigmatic boss. Figg is not sure what is going on, but she is determined to find out!
When the local voodoo queen shows up, and the next morning her grandson ends up dead outside the bar things get interesting.
Figg pesters Lian into telling her the truth about his former life, and is thrust into a world where the things that go bump in the night are real. There’s a murder to solve, zombies to lay to rest and a villain that neither of them saw coming.
This was an entertaining story, although shorter than most. Centrally it is about Figg (Eleanor Figg, to be exact) and Lian, her boss. Figg is funky and has a love for the finer designer shoes. Lian is more the scholarly type, an anthropologist. It’s a wonder why he opened a bar when what he seems to want is solitude. Other than that there isn’t really much detail about either character. I did find it interesting how the point of view would switch each chapter between Lian and Figg. I had expected this to be a bit disconcerting, but it flowed rather easily.
For me, this story read a bit like it’s a scene or two from a larger book. The reader is thrown into a situation and there is no detail or reason why. It opens with the two of them at the bar, Lian asking to not be interrupted that day. Then there are several visits from people suddenly to see him, like psychics and such. And then there is a man watching them. Then the man is dead.
Next thing you know they are battling zombies, and working with necromancers and different people from within the Voodoo community. But to be honest, I’m not sure why. Yet somehow the story remains entertaining. Perhaps it is Figg’s smart-alecky replies, or Lian’s obvious attraction to Figg, or the fact that they band together with some other people to battle the enemy.
This book is definitely one I’d like to see more detail on. This story takes place over just a couple days, and I felt a bit displaced. Time moved very quickly. Perhaps that’s the point. If you like a bit of zombies, a dash of Voodoo, and a hint of sorcery and necromancy then you should like this quick read. I look forward to seeing more from this author.
Available for purchase on Amazon and Barnes & Noble
