The Voodoo Killings

A Kincaid Strange Novel

De: Kristi Charish

Narrado por: Susannah Jones

Kristi Charish's The Voodoo Killings introduces Kincaid Strange, not your average voodoo practitioner.... For starters, she's only 27. Then there's the fact that she lives in rain-soaked Seattle, which is not exactly Haiti. And she's broke.

With raising zombies outlawed throughout the continental USA, Kincaid has to eke out a living running séances for university students with more money than brains who are desperate for guitar lessons with the ghost of a Seattle grunge rocker - who happens to be Kincaid's on-again, off-again roommate.

Then a stray zombie turns up outside her neighborhood bar: Cameron Wight, an up-and-coming visual artist with no recollection of how he died or who raised him. Not only is it dangerous for Kincaid to be caught with an unauthorized zombie, she soon realizes he's tied to a spate of murders: Someone is targeting the zombies and voodoo practitioners in Seattle's infamous Underground City, a paranormal hub. When the police refuse to investigate, the City's oldest and foremost zombie asks Kincaid to help. Raising ghosts and zombies is one thing, but finding a murderer? She's broke, but she's not stupid.

And then she becomes the target.... As the saying goes, when it rains it pours, especially in Seattle.

©2016 Kristi Charish (P)2016 Audible, Inc.

A Good Intro to Kincaid Strange

This was a very enjoyable book
Kincaid was an interesting new urban fantasy hero.
One of the things I like best about urban fantasy books are the secret subculture that the author introduces us to. The Underground City has a lot of promise for future books.

I devoured the audio of The Voodoo Killings

Any additional comments?

By devoured I mean I listened to all 11 hours and 43 minutes in a single day. Urban fantasy and audio mesh perfectly for me. Charish quickly pulled me into this world and I cannot wait for more.

The Voodoo Killings is the first novel in the Kincaid Strange series set in rain-soaked Seattle. featuring Zombies, ghosts and Voodoo practitioners. Hells yes!

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 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. It is silly, but it distracted me a little and I found myself waiting for her to swallow again.

Great first in a series

I really liked the characters in this book - they felt like real people - and were mostly pretty likeable. The descriptions of zombies and their reactions to light and smell was a slightly new take on the theme. The story was a good detective story with a bright, sassy female hero - what more could you want? A good performance - the artist was great, with a believable range of voices. I got into the book right away

Crime fighting meets Voodoo

Never judge a book by its cover they say but this one takes the cake! A true must read.

Unplugged in Seattle

Kristi Charish brings fresh blood to urban fantasy tropes. I loved her first series about an antiquities thief with a vampire-hating cat, and judging by this first novel, her Voodoo trilogy is going to be just as original. Set in Seattle, the worldbuilding and magic are unique. Kincaid runs headlong from one disaster to the next, never stopping to think about what she's doing. That her closest friend is the ghost of a Seattle grunge rocker who died in the 1990s says it all. She doesn't seem to realize she's as self-destructive as he was. And though the character's name is Nate, it was impossible for me not to see Kurt Cobain. There was something sad about that, but it added some melancholy to the story. I loved the idea that ghosts can manifest under the right conditions & the impromptu concert Nate puts on behind a frat house after Kincaid summons him was one of the best scenes in the novel. It's a different take on zombies, too, more iZombie than Night of the Living Dead. The idea that Cameron (a zombie with amnesia) never has full control of himself keeps the tension high. Given the plot twist at the novel's end, I can't wait to start the second book!