Bad Juju

by Dina Rae

A Haitian bokor mentors two teens in the dark arts. Their spells backfire.

Lucien Nazaire flees his Haitian homeland and meanders around the United States for decades. He settles in a Wisconsin trailer park filled with elderly tenants. He meets Jake and hires him for odd household jobs. As their relationship progresses, Lucien invites the boy into the world of Voodoo.
Jake LaRue lives in foster care with his abusive uncle. The Voodoo lessons give him a sense of power within an otherwise helpless situation. Despite his loner status, he instantly connects with Henry, his only friend in high school.
Henry Novak has Asperger’s Syndrome. He fixates on historical events, most recently the 2010 Haitian earthquake. Like Jake, he becomes passionate about the dark side of Voodoo. They learn how to cast spells on those they hate and lust, leading up to dire consequences.
Months after the Haitian earthquake, Henry convinces his family to volunteer for the island's reconstruction. Their mission turns into a nightmare when he mysteriously walks off of the campsite.
Bad Juju is a balance of horror, romance, and literary fiction intended for adults and mature teens. The plot uses research involving the Voodoo religion.

Genres: Horror, Paranormal

269 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 7, 2012

About the author

Dina Rae has written eight books. Crowns and Cabals is her newest conspiracy thriller. The e-book and paperback are sold on Amazon.
Dina lives with her husband, two daughters, and three dogs outside of Dallas. She is a Christian, avid tennis player, movie buff, teacher, and self-proclaimed expert on several conspiracy theories. She has been interviewed numerous times in e-zines, websites, blogs, newspapers, and syndicated radio programs. When she is not writing she is reading novels and nonfiction works about religion, aliens, politics, conspiracies, and other cultures.

@PeacockPedestal
Blog: https://conspiracycrackpot.home.blog
Blog: www.dinaraeswritestuff.blogspot.com

Trailers:
Peacocks, Pedestals, and Prayers:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HE45N...

The Best Seller: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQER8...
The Last Degree: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkbg6Y...
Halo of the Damned: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4p89LX...

FB: https://www.facebook.com/DinaRaeBooks...

Reviews

[Ronda Tutt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chilling & Memorizing!

What a fantastic read!  Dina Rae has created a world where the unimaginable has taken place. A world where everything you thought you knew about faith, religion, science, culture, and the unknown paranormal is tested beyond its limits and glorified in a truth you do not want to believe. In this so so real like world described on the pages I felt as if I was watching a movie, the action and thrill of excitement had me glued to the pages and I didn't want to put the book down.  The characters were believable and convincing as my emotions grew sympathy and in an all in awe shocking gasp at every nightmare stowed upon each character.

The writing is truly brilliant not with just the plot of the story but with the different elements the author has combined into this amazing story.  Get ready for your high school teenage lustful experiments (acts of sex), their jealousy, and their social status turning into revengeful craziness (language, fighting, and death to include suicide) .  Where a parent's reality of clinging to their religion (prayers) or scientific reasoning (psychic help) of thinking god and doctors are the only cure for evilness but beware, a bad case of Voodoo (Bad JuJu) has a power of its own as it throws a society into a mix of a paranormal you never would of ever knew existed.  So get ready for the rise of the dead (zombies), shapeshifting, and the powers of a dark magic that only a Bokor can deliver in a mixture of love spells, voodoo dolls, and possessions of ones body and mind.

I'm am still in awe thinking about the ending as it has left me with a wealth of knowledge to investigate on my own.  The author's research has me intrigued about the Haitian Culture and their practice of Voodoo.  I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a great mystified, horrifying, paranormal, and crazy messed up romance that will keep you spell bound for months on end.  I truly look forward to reading more works by this awesome author.  She is one of my favorites.

Excellent Read!

[Join the Penguin Resistance! · Rating 5 out of 5]

Blog Tour Stop Oct. 1-review shortly

Review of Bad Juju by Dina Rae
Reviewed for Full Moon Bites Blog Tours for Oct. 1 2012

An intricate novel of contemporary dysfunction, evangelical Christianity, and Vodoun, “Bad Juju” riveted my attention from the very beginning, as I quickly discovered the apt nature of the title. A conglomeration of interwoven lives, histories, present events, psychology, possession, and divergent viewpoints melds together to form a cohesive and engrossing entirety.
Jake is a half-wanted, half-unwanted, foster child, orphaned and growing up in a trailer park primarily occupied by quiet elderly tenants. Unfortunately for Jake, his uncle, with whom he lives, is neither quiet nor elderly, but instead is a drunken abuser who takes out his inferiorities on his wife Leah and on Jake, so far sparing toddler Rhianna. Jake begins studying Vodoun with his aged neighbor Lucien, a Haitian bokor emigrant, and soon brings along Henry, a high school classmate with Asperger’s Syndrome, whom Jake meets during In-School Suspension.
Henry’s parents are evangelical Christians, committed to a mission trip to Haiti to help in rebuilding following the 2010 devastating earthquakes. Lucien immediately spots Henry as a useful tool to carry a message to his long-lost family, all of whom remained in Haiti when Lucien escaped to the States. Unfortunately, Lucien is not the only bokor involved, and soon events begin to unfold that neatly remove the process from Lucien’s control.
Filled with deep and deftly drawn characterizations, an adventurous plot, lots of sensual action, and and an adept overview of Haitian history and contemporary background, “Bad Juju” is a winning choice. I rate it 18+ for sensuality, language, and violence.

I received an ebook copy from the tour site, Full Moon Bites Blog Tours, in return for my fair and impartial review.

[Tee loves Kyle Jacobson · Rating 5 out of 5]

First I have to say I have read several books from Dina and each one I love! She has a gift for writing and she knows how to bring a world together and keep you there riveted to your seat until the very end. Thank you Full Moon Bites Blog Tours for allowing me to be a part of this EPIC tour.

Bad Juju is a combination of suspense, history, and life lessons.In this story we meet Lucien who is a Haitian Bokor which is a voodoo sorcerer. He is fleeing his country Haiti and winds up in Wisconsin in a trailer park. Not the best or ideal place but a great place for someone who wants to hide. While there at the trailer park he meets a teen named Jake who is in foster care with his abusive uncle.

Jake really takes to Lucien and Lucien decides he is going to teach Jake Voodoo. Jake is an easy candidate for voodoo because he is angry and hurt which leaves his mind open to the arts. The only thing is Jake is using the arts to hurt people who have hurt him. He doesn't realize that voodoo if done wrong can bounce off that person and come back on you. At school Jake is a loner and while in in-house suspension Jake meets Henry who has Asperger's Syndrome. Together they use voodoo to punish the ones who have wronged them. Then Henry gets a chance to go to Haiti to help rebuild it after the earth quake.

Lucien sees his opportunity to reach out to his family but when Henry goes to Haiti he disappears. There are forces that are working against Lucien and they will stop at nothing to get revenge. What will happen to Henry in Haiti? What will happen to Lucien? Will Jake be punished as well. Because remember when you play with fire you get burnt! Voodoo is something that should be taken serious and not a s a game and the three of them will find out exactly what happens when you decide to mess with voodoo.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kindle Version free via author for honest review

Can you say amazingly scary good?!? That, my fellow readers, is what this book is! I took a particular interest in this book at first, not only because it sounded like an interesting and different read for me, but also because I have a personal interest in Haiti and it's customs, such as Voodoo. I have relatives that live in Haiti and have taught me Haitian background on Voodoo and how people there view this as their religion. Anyway, I thought it would be interesting to see how the author portrayed this in this book.

From the first few pages I fell into this book head first. I was hooked and couldn't wait to read on in it. The characters of Lucien, Jake, and Henry are fantastic and very well developed and likable. Lucien, having come from Haiti, has a special interest in Jake and Henry from the time he meets them. He wants someone to carry on his Voodoo ways and set something right that he did very wrong long ago. When Henry and his family set their sights on Haiti for a few weeks in the summer after an earthquake has left the people there in dire need of help, Lucien sets out to have Henry do an errand of sorts for him while he is there. Henry is not like other boys his age, he has Asperger's Syndrome, which makes it hard for him to stray outside of normal routines or go places, but he also tends to fixate on historical things and information. This is all what leads Henry into talking his family into going to help through a mission trip through their church. The family goes thinking it may be good for Henry. They will never be more wrong. While in Haiti Henry is found unresponsive and unable to even eat/drink on his own or communicate. The family hurries home, only to be led to a psychologist for help. Lucien comes with Jake to visit and knows exactly what is wrong, Henry has some other being inside him. To a religious family like Henry's though, Voodoo is not an option or something that is real, much less part of the reason Henry has become the way he has. What really happened to Henry in Haiti? What can Lucien and Jake do about it now? Can Henry battle the being that is inside him to come back to be his "normal" self again? How can you fight something you don't see or even think is real? What will become of Henry if he is not helped correctly? Lucien is an old man, will he live long enough to help Henry if he can?

The story is much more in depth than even I have described or the blurb above from goodreads has described, which makes it all the more interesting and better. I don't want to share too much, for fear of spoiling it. How can a book be bad at all though that involves Voodoo, bringing people back from the dead, family drama, friendship, love spells, and mystery?? This book was wonderfully written too, never a dull moment or moment that makes the reader feel that they don't want to come back to read more. It left me up until all hours of the morning and on the edge of my seat until I could read it again. My favorite characters have to be Henry and Lucien. I loved Henry from the first minute I "met" him in the book. He is such a special boy, who just happens to have special needs. Some may think this book sounds a bit "taboo", but you really need to give it a chance and pick it up to read, you will not be sorry you did! I can't say enough how much I loved and enjoyed this book! Definitely a must read and I highly recommend it.

5/5 Stars!!!

[Laura Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tom and Jessica Novak are proud to be doing God’s work. They’ve traveled to Port au-Prince as part of a missionary group with others of their church. They’re going to help with rebuilding the island after the 7.0 earthquake that shook all of Haiti, causing massive destruction.

Their 15-year-old son Henry’s Asperger’s Syndrome had them questioning their decision. He’s intelligent and quite functional, but changes in routine, surroundings and new faces could cause problems. Henry doesn’t communicate well or understand social interaction.

But Henry’s the one that urged them to go. He’s been obsessed with Haiti. So here they are, the whole family, including Henry’s younger sister Natalie, who’d rather be back home. This is not her idea of a great summer vacation.

Since Henry’s been doing so well, they decide to extend their stay. If they had only left earlier, they wouldn’t be searching for their missing son. Henry has simply vanished and wandering away from the protection of the armed camp is dangerous. There are a lot of bad people out there and he wouldn’t stand a chance against them.

If they had only known the reason Henry wandered away, they never would have brought him there.

My favorite character is Jake. He befriends Henry when they meet in detention class. They aren’t really bad boys, just a couple of kids who got in a little trouble.

Jake is a kind-hearted boy, helping out the elderly residents in his trailer park. He does odd jobs, cleans house and run errands for the less able ones. You wonder how he turned out so well when you learn he suffers violent beatings from his uncle. After losing his parents he came to live with his aunt and uncle and his aunt suffers the same abuse.

Jake brings Henry home with him after school to introduce him to his favorite neighbor, Lucien.

Lucien is a powerful bokor, a voodoo priest, and with his black skin, unruly, long white hair and piercing eyes, he looks every bit the part.

It becomes a regular routine for the boys to visit with Lucien after school and after much pleading, he begins to teach them about Vodun, the voodoo religion, beginning with simple spells and hexes.

Lucien feels death coming for him and can’t bear the thought of all his vast knowledge and power going with him to the grave.

After Jake receives another very brutal and bloody beating, the three decide to create a voodoo doll to rid Jake of his uncle.

This is where it all starts to go weird.

Bad Juju was a surprise. I thought it was going to be all about voodoo, raising the dead, and voodoo dolls. Well, it was. I learned how to do voodoo, what the religion is about, good and dark arts of it, and how to raise someone from the dead. Some of it creeped me out, but a lot of it was really funny.

Having the characters as teen-age boys made this story. Boys will be boys and they had me rocking and rolling! I can’t wait for you to meet the dead guy.

Getting back to the surprise part, there were several deeper subjects tackled throughout this book and I could tell the author did a lot of research and included that knowledge in the story to make it believable and engaging.

If you’re looking for something different, look no further. Bad Juju has plenty of interesting characters, some tough topics, plenty of laughs, and lots of scary voodoo magic. Oh Yeah, I almost forgot the zombie!

I felt like I got a crash course in voodoo, like voodoo for dummies.

[Ophelia Julien · Rating 5 out of 5]

All Good Fun Until the Zombie Shows Up

Earlier this year, I read and reviewed Dina Rae’s Halo of the Damned. Given that the subject matter of that book involved fallen angels, demons, and a blood-thirsty ancient cult, it seemed to be about the darkest story Ms. Rae could have to offer. I was wrong.

Bad Juju is the tale of what happens when the world of a handful of high school students and their families collides with that of an elderly Haitian bokor, or Voodoo priest, who has been incongruously displaced to a trailer park in Hayward, Wisconsin. The bokor, named Lucien Nazaire, knows he is coming to the end of his unnaturally long life and is looking for an heir to the dark wisdom he has amassed, for Lucien is a practitioner of the darkest form of Voodoo: grave robbing, dismemberment, shape-shifting, soul-stealing, zombie-making, everything malevolent that can be imagined.

Enter Jake La Rue and Henry Novak, two high school students who have formed an unlikely bond over Jake’s loner status and Henry’s Asperger Syndrome. Jake lives at the same trailer park as Lucien and has befriended a man he sees as a stately and gracious old gent from Haiti. Lucien is all that, but once Jake brings Henry to meet the bokor, the truth starts to be revealed.

The first thing Lucien teaches his eager students is how to make a voodoo doll, and it’s all downhill from there. Even the basic, hopeful love spells the boys perform bend to the dark side with unforeseen and fatal consequences that affect the boys and some of their classmates. By the time Henry travels to Haiti with his family for a post-earthquake mission trip, the road to hell is not only paved and plastered with the best of intentions, it has morphed into the steepest of slippery slopes.

Ms. Rae clearly relishes gifting her readers with horrific scenarios, each successive image somehow just a wee bit worse than the previous one. But all is not gloom and doom. The light in this book comes from Jake’s sweet, earnest, somehow untainted spirit, and the love he holds for the woman who is married to his abusive uncle. Through all the dark and shadow in this story, Ms. Rae manages to interlace a bright thread of love and romance.

Fans of the dark-and-roses type of fiction will enjoy curling up with Bad JuJu, from the opening crisis to the redemptive resolution as the story winds down. Or almost winds down. At the end, Ms. Rae abandons the roses to hand the reader one last slice of darkness to savor when the story has ended, which nicely illustrates the point of this genre: one final nightmare to take away when all is said and done. Enjoy!

[Nancy (The Avid Reader) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The following review is my opinion and not a paid review. I received a copy of Bad Juju from the author via Full Moon Bites Book Tours for review.

Lucien Nazaire left his home and his family in Haiti and came to America to escape death. He practices the Voodoo religion and had gotten himself in danger with some of the things that he did with the religion. Lucien is an old man and has been cheating death. He knows his time is almost up and he needs someone that he can trust to leave all of his secrets too.

He meets Jake who is an orphan living with his uncle Pete and his uncle's wife Leah with their three year old daughter Rhianna. Jake and Leah are abused by his uncle Pete. So when he meets Lucien and he shows Jake what it is to have someone love you and be good to you they become good friends. Lucien trust Jake and teaches him all about Voodoo and his secrets.

Jake and Henry go to the same school and when Henry beats up the school bully and poplar guy in school. Henry and Jake become fast friends. The only friend that either one of them have. Henry has Asperger’s Syndrome and he fixates on historical events. After the Haitian earthquake in 2010, Henry remembers all about it and tells everyone.

Henry's church decides to go on a mission to Haiti to help the people there to rebuild their homeland. Henry and his family sign up to go with them. When Lucien and Henry meet and Lucien finds out that Henry is going to his homeland he gives Henry a journal to give to his family. The journal contains all of his Voodoo secrets that will make his family rich.

I wasn't sure that Bad Juju would be something that I would really want to read. But I actually really enjoyed reading it. It was a book that was really hard to put down. With all the twist and turns that it contained you just wanted to keep turning the pages to find out what was going to happen next. I have read a couple of Dina Rae's books and they are very well written. Dina Rae is one author to keep an eye on.

[Brandy Corona · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW! Talk about a complex story line!! If I could get inside Dina Rae's head, I'm sure I would be completely blown away! This was an INCREDIBLE story from start to finish. There were so many twists and turns that I stopped trying to guess what was going on

This is my second story to read from Dina Rae (the first one is HERE,) and I was not disappointed at all (obviously huh? LOL) I loved the characters, you feel like Jake and Henry are just good boys who unfortunately met the wrong person, you know? They just want to right the wrongs that have been dealt to them, which to me, that's understandable. So while their actions aren't favorable, I found the boys themselves very likable. Lucien however, is too creepy!!

I also got the sense that Dina really did her homework with the whole Voodoo subject. It didn't seem far-fetched like some stuff I've read or watched about Voodoo. Dina Rae did a great job with this story and if you are looking for a quick paced, interesting read then get this today!!!

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Bad Juju" is a fantastic read where religion and science come together. Within a well developed plot, Dina Rae brings her characters to life in this paranormal tale filled with mystic and a bit of horror. I truly had a hard time putting this book down and highly recommend it everyone who loves the mystical paranormal world.

This review is based on a complimentary copy which was provided for an honest review.

[Vykki · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great book I really enjoy read about Voo Doo and Autism. This book pecked my interest from the beginning to then end. This was a wonderful book.

[Lizzy Lessard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overview: Dina Rae has a very unique writing style. The book feels more like a screenplay than a novel in parts. The dialogue is over-the-top dramatic at parts, but with the dark nature of stories such as Bad Juju, there’s a lot of reasons for the characters to be upset enough to validate the ample use of exclamation points. The way the author switched from over-the-top psychological horror to back story and new character point of view was frustrating for the hardcore horror lover in me. I wanted the gore and horror to never stop. However, for readers who don’t read primarily horror novels, you will appreciate a change of scenery after reading some of the most disturbing parts of this novel.

The descriptions and scene setups are so well done that I forgot I was reading a book. It felt like I was watching reality TV, although I doubt anyone would want to star in this novel. Don’t get too attached to the characters as not all of them make it to the end. Overall, I think Bad Juju will appeal to readers who like both psychological horror novels and dark stories without the gore (although I would still rate this book R for sex, nasty dead people, and violence).

Characters: I liked how complex and colorful Jake’s family was. There’s a couple of white trash stereotypes in the beginning but as the story progresses each character is really fleshed out and the stereotypes forgotten. Although Henry’s family got nearly as much screen time, they weren’t as interesting and some of them fell flat. I was surprised how much attention Britney and Rio had in the story – and even though they were minor characters, they felt unique and as far from the head cheerleader/jock personalities and stereotypes as you can get.

Plot: The story hops around quite a bit, which didn’t bug me when I read Halo of the Damned by Dina Rae. Since this book was more of a hardcore horror book, I felt like the scenes ended prematurely sometimes. I wanted the creepiness and the gore to keep going and for the scare/creepy factor to be more consistent. The twists in this book kept me guessing until the last few chapters. Despite my disappointment in the horror, the story was so compelling and addictive to read. Dina Rae definitely comes up with some creative dark tales. I can say with certainty that I’ve never read a novel like this one.

Ending: I have some mixed feelings about the ending. I liked what Jake and Lucien were doing with the Voodoo, but I was really tired of Henry and his mother Jess. I wished for many bad things to happen to the latter pair and not all those bad things came to pass. I did like how Rio’s story ended. That was a nice twist.

[Rhonda Kachur · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dina Rae's Bad Juju is an interesting mix of religion, the supernatural, and terror with a writing style all her own. The story revolves around a Haitian Voodoo Bokor named Lucien, whom fled to America, and his practice of Voodoo. He meets Jake, a young impressionable boy with a troubled family life, and begins to teach him about the arts. Jake bring his friend Henry, who has Asperger's Syndrome, along. The two boys begin to use the Voodoo they have learned irresponsibly to get revenge on others who have wronged them somehow. When Lucien learns of Henry's upcoming trip to Haiti, thanks to his VERY Christian parents going there on a mission, he tries to send a message to his family still in Haiti through Henry...only to have him disappear somewhere in the country. Dark forces are at work against them as they learn Voodoo it not to be toyed with (a main point of the book that I very much liked). Dina has done some good research on the Voodoo culture, although she does stretch it a little bit for the purposes of the story (or at least it seems to. I have read quite a bit about New Orleans Voodoo but not so much on Haitian Voodoo, so I cannot be sure how far it has been stretched...but I know it has been a least a little bit for the purposes of enhancing the tale and it works out well). The tale has a lot of twists and turns with periods of "quiet" reading in between to rest the reader up for the next big event, and I like that. And those events are very well done. They were filled with lot's of great action that kept me turning the page. The character development is a mixed bag though, with some being fleshed out with great care and others not being paid enough attention (Henry's family being the main characters I wished there was more work on. They got plenty of "book time", but they didn't feel as real as the others). One more note is that this is definitely an adult book. While not over done, there is some sex and violence that younger eyes should not be reading. All in all, Bad Juju is a very good read and deserves a little love.

This review was done by myself for Dollar Bin Horror. A free copy was given for this purpose

[Terrill L. Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A tale of good and evil. Two loner high school students, one with special needs learn Voodoo from a neighbor of Haitian decent. He is a Voodoo bokor that has escaped his troubled past in Haiti. As the boys dig deeper into the arts, they become selfish casting love spells for their own gains. While people around school and the neighborhood wonder about their new love lives, a high school teacher finds one of their Voodoo spell books.

Their Voodoo instructor, Lucien, has motives of his own as well. As one of his students goes on a relief mission to help rebuild Haiti after the earthquake, he is given a package to give to Lucien's family. But bad things happen to him on this trip and Lucien's demon returns to the United States to haunt them all.

[Mike Tosto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most Awesome book!