The Voodoo Killings (Kincaid Strange, #1)

by Kristi Charish

[kimbacaffeinate]

Fans of Georgia Kincaid, Kim Harrison and Ilona Andrews will feel right at home slipping into Kincaid Strange’s world. The setting and world had aspects that I am familiar with making it easy to lose myself in the story. Charish added a nice spin to it with the voodoo, world building, and summoning rituals.

Kincaid is twenty-seven, broke, single and living in Seattle with a ghost. She is a Voodoo Practitioner who aids police by raising the dead to find out who murdered them. She also does odd jobs like resolving family will disputes and more. I immediately liked Kincaid. She is quirky, does her own thing and on occasionally loses her cool. I loved Nate, her ghostly roommate and Charish did a fantastic job of sharing their friendship. They worked wonderfully on the case together. Think Rachel Morgan and Jenks. It quickly becomes clear that Kincaid is more comfortable around the deceased than the living.

The world building is solid, and something I have begun to expect from this author. I was surprised this was not set in NOLA, but that also tells you I agreed to review this by the author's name alone. If you have not read her series, Adventures of Owl I totally recommend them. Back to the review- we are in Seattle, in a world where the paranormal, zombies, ghouls and ghosts exist. Laws are in place regarding the raising of zombies and holding séances but the new Chief of Police wants to ban Voodoo and denies the paranormal exist.

It looks like each novel will surround a case, and in Voodoo Killings a stray zombie turns up in Kincaid’s neighborhood. Cameron Wight has no idea how he died and why he is a zombie. Finding her number at a local bar he calls Kincaid for help. This puts Kincaid in a bit of pickle because being caught with an unauthorized zombie could land her in jail. Kincaid’s problems only escalate as a rash of murders targeting zombies and voodoo practitioners puts her and the entire Underground City (a paranormal hub located under Seattle) in danger. The story was fast paced, filled with snark, danger and relationship tension. I thought the mystery was well done, and even the villains were creepy, bitchy and fleshed out. Charish had me engaged with the characters and even managed to tug at my heartstrings. I am curious about Kincaid’s relationship with a certain detective.

Susannah Jones narrates The Voodoo Killings and I think she is a perfect match for this series. Her voice for Kincaid rocked and reminded me a little of Georgina Kincaid. She had just the right mix of snark and sweet. I liked her pacing, and listened to this at 1.2X. She provided different voices for the characters, even some of the scary paranormal ones, which only enhanced my enjoyment. The story unraveled in vivid 3D for me as I listened. My only issue and it is a small one, was that I kept hearing a noise. At first, I thought it was paper or pages turning. About 50% in I realized it was Jones swallowing. I have heard narrators catch their breath or exhale, but most of the time it is edited out. It is silly, but it distracted me a little and I found myself waiting for her to swallow again.

Audio provided by author. This review was originally posted on Caffeinated Book Reviewer