Casting Bones

This is a new series featuring Detective Quentin Archer and Solange Cordray, a psychic and practitioner of the darker arts of voodoo. Archer is a former Homicide Detective in Detroit. Someone murdered his beloved wife there. He suspects it was either his brothers ..who are highly involved in drugs and drug dealing... or a crooked cop. He felt a need to get away ..so here he is in New Orleans. He has been asked to lead the investigation into the murder of a very well-known judge. He finds crooked police ..even his own partner .... a homeless pickpocket, Samuel Jackson, a bartender who knows much more than he should and the very beautiful Solange. Solange comes from a long line of voodoo practitioners. She volunteers at a home for dementia patients, where her mother resides. Reading the minds of those under her care, she learns there is a secret organization known as Krewe Charbonerrie is behind the murder of the judge. Krewe Charbonerrie is made up of the wealthiest, most powerful men in New Orleans .. and not even the cops want to know anything about them. Seemingly appearing out of nowhere, Solange approaches Archer with the information she has. Being from Detroit, he originally dismisses her claims .. until a second judge is murdered ...and then a third. Voodoo .. to me... brings visions of chants and curses and wild dancing in the middle of the night. Thoughts of zombies, magical religious practices. Dolls with pins stuck in them. Boy! was I wrong! This book drew me in from the very beginning. I like Archer's backstory, giving me insight to the kind of man he is. He's honest, one of the good guys. He's suffered losses and even though he doesn't see it, it has made him a stronger person. Solange is a young practitioner, still learning the ropes since her mother is not healthy enough to help her sort her feelings. She is drawn to Archer, because she senses the goodness in him. Parts of this book are very suspenseful, and I found myself caught off guard when certain things happened ... and since I am not a psychic ... I never saw it coming. It's an involved mystery that is well written and which flows seamlessly from character to character. I look forward to seeing this series continued. Many thanks to the author / Severn House / Netgalley for the digital copy of this most compelling book. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.