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Wilds of the Bayou #1
Wild Man's Curse
The bones said death was comin’, and the bones never lied.
While on an early morning patrol in the swamps of Whiskey Bayou, Louisiana wildlife agent Gentry Broussard spots a man leaving the home of voodoo priestess Eva Savoie—a man who bears a startling resemblance to his brother, whom Gentry thought he had killed during a drug raid three years earlier. Shaken, the agent enters Eva’s cabin and makes a bloody discovery: the old woman has been brutally murdered.
With no jurisdiction over the case, he’s forced to leave the investigation to the local sheriff, until Eva’s beautiful heir, Celestine, receives a series of gruesome threats. As Gentry’s involvement deepens and more victims turn up, can he untangle the secrets behind Eva’s murder and protect Celestine from the same fate? Or will an old family curse finally have its way?
From award-winning author Susannah Sandlin comes the first book in the Wilds of the Bayou series.
While on an early morning patrol in the swamps of Whiskey Bayou, Louisiana wildlife agent Gentry Broussard spots a man leaving the home of voodoo priestess Eva Savoie—a man who bears a startling resemblance to his brother, whom Gentry thought he had killed during a drug raid three years earlier. Shaken, the agent enters Eva’s cabin and makes a bloody discovery: the old woman has been brutally murdered.
With no jurisdiction over the case, he’s forced to leave the investigation to the local sheriff, until Eva’s beautiful heir, Celestine, receives a series of gruesome threats. As Gentry’s involvement deepens and more victims turn up, can he untangle the secrets behind Eva’s murder and protect Celestine from the same fate? Or will an old family curse finally have its way?
From award-winning author Susannah Sandlin comes the first book in the Wilds of the Bayou series.
Audio CD
First published April 5, 2016
253 people are currently reading
609 people want to read
About the author
Susannah Sandlin
14 books667 followersPseudonym of Suzanne Johnson
Suzanne Johnson writing as Susannah Sandlin is the author of romantic suspense and paranormal romance, often set in the Deep South, where there are always things that go bump in the night! She is the author of the Penton Legacy series (REDEMPTION, ABSOLUTION, OMEGA, ALLEGIANCE and STORM FORCE (spinoff), The Collectors series (LOVELY, DARK, AND DEEP and DEADLY, CALM, AND COLD) and the upcoming romantic suspense series Wilds of the Bayou, which began with book one, WILD MAN'S CURSE (April 5, 2016) and continues with the release of BLACK DIAMOND on Oct. 18, 2016.
Awards include the 2015 Holt Medallion for Romantic Suspense (Lovely, Dark, and Deep), the 2015 Booksellers Best Award for Romantic Suspense (Lovely, Dark, and Deep), the 2013 Holt Medallion award for ABSOLUTION; a 2014 RT Book Reviews Reviewers Choice Award Nomination for ALLEGIANCE; a 2013 RT Book Reviews Reviewers Choice Award Nomination for OMEGA; and the 2014 Linda Howard Award of Excellence for ELYSIAN FIELDS (written as Suzanne Johnson).
Suzanne Johnson, writes the Sentinels of New Orleans urban fantasy series: ROYAL STREET; RIVER ROAD; ELYSIAN FIELDS; PIRATE'S ALLEY, and BELLE CHASSE (coming November 8, 2016). A novella and story collection from the Sentinels world, PIRATESHIP DOWN, was released in 2015.
Suzanne Johnson writing as Susannah Sandlin is the author of romantic suspense and paranormal romance, often set in the Deep South, where there are always things that go bump in the night! She is the author of the Penton Legacy series (REDEMPTION, ABSOLUTION, OMEGA, ALLEGIANCE and STORM FORCE (spinoff), The Collectors series (LOVELY, DARK, AND DEEP and DEADLY, CALM, AND COLD) and the upcoming romantic suspense series Wilds of the Bayou, which began with book one, WILD MAN'S CURSE (April 5, 2016) and continues with the release of BLACK DIAMOND on Oct. 18, 2016.
Awards include the 2015 Holt Medallion for Romantic Suspense (Lovely, Dark, and Deep), the 2015 Booksellers Best Award for Romantic Suspense (Lovely, Dark, and Deep), the 2013 Holt Medallion award for ABSOLUTION; a 2014 RT Book Reviews Reviewers Choice Award Nomination for ALLEGIANCE; a 2013 RT Book Reviews Reviewers Choice Award Nomination for OMEGA; and the 2014 Linda Howard Award of Excellence for ELYSIAN FIELDS (written as Suzanne Johnson).
Suzanne Johnson, writes the Sentinels of New Orleans urban fantasy series: ROYAL STREET; RIVER ROAD; ELYSIAN FIELDS; PIRATE'S ALLEY, and BELLE CHASSE (coming November 8, 2016). A novella and story collection from the Sentinels world, PIRATESHIP DOWN, was released in 2015.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 75 reviews
April 6, 2016
Five reasons to grab Wild Man’s Curse
If you have a thing for books set in Louisiana, Sandlin’s familiarity with the region is evident from her characters to the incredible scenes she describes. I love books set in the area, and loved the authentic feel from the language to the voodoo.
The murder-mystery was multi-faceted and tightly woven. I loved how Sandlin threaded the pieces together ensnaring the characters and reader within her tale. She has respect for law enforcement procedure and it's evident she does her research. Unlike many books set in the south, she does not go for stereotypes. Secondary characters were developed and local law intelligent and through.
Sandlin's characters are fully developed and original. Gentry Broussard a local wildlife agent looking for poachers when he spots a man leaving Eva Savoie’s cabin. The man shares a striking resemblance to his dead brother. A brother, Gentry shot and killed during a drug raid in NOLA three years earlier. Celestine returns home and has questions regarding her Aunt’s murder. As these two talk, a spark ignites that we watch slowly develop into more. The danger is far from over as the killer will stop at nothing to get what he wants. Secondary characters were unique and developed breathing life into this rural community. I am anxious to learn more about them from Paul, a local officer to Gentry’s partner.
The romance was slow burning, with some punches of heat. Typically, in the romantic suspense genre, you get instalove driven by the suspense angle, but Sandlin likes to develop her romances, slowly fanning the flames. It felt genuine and sweet making me hope for happily ever after.
Voodoo, old curses, mysterious facts and danger for our hero and heroine had me flipping the pages of Wild Man’s Curse. The story is well-balanced, with interesting tidbits about the past that bring us closer to solving the current case and capturing a desperate killer. The murders were dark, revealing a disturbed mind. Sandlin gives us just enough detail to provide chills without inducing nightmares. Sandlin delivered a realistic tale while weaving in the uniqueness of Louisiana.
Copy provided by publisher, This review was originally posted on Caffeinated Book Reviewer
If you have a thing for books set in Louisiana, Sandlin’s familiarity with the region is evident from her characters to the incredible scenes she describes. I love books set in the area, and loved the authentic feel from the language to the voodoo.
The murder-mystery was multi-faceted and tightly woven. I loved how Sandlin threaded the pieces together ensnaring the characters and reader within her tale. She has respect for law enforcement procedure and it's evident she does her research. Unlike many books set in the south, she does not go for stereotypes. Secondary characters were developed and local law intelligent and through.
Sandlin's characters are fully developed and original. Gentry Broussard a local wildlife agent looking for poachers when he spots a man leaving Eva Savoie’s cabin. The man shares a striking resemblance to his dead brother. A brother, Gentry shot and killed during a drug raid in NOLA three years earlier. Celestine returns home and has questions regarding her Aunt’s murder. As these two talk, a spark ignites that we watch slowly develop into more. The danger is far from over as the killer will stop at nothing to get what he wants. Secondary characters were unique and developed breathing life into this rural community. I am anxious to learn more about them from Paul, a local officer to Gentry’s partner.
The romance was slow burning, with some punches of heat. Typically, in the romantic suspense genre, you get instalove driven by the suspense angle, but Sandlin likes to develop her romances, slowly fanning the flames. It felt genuine and sweet making me hope for happily ever after.
Voodoo, old curses, mysterious facts and danger for our hero and heroine had me flipping the pages of Wild Man’s Curse. The story is well-balanced, with interesting tidbits about the past that bring us closer to solving the current case and capturing a desperate killer. The murders were dark, revealing a disturbed mind. Sandlin gives us just enough detail to provide chills without inducing nightmares. Sandlin delivered a realistic tale while weaving in the uniqueness of Louisiana.
Copy provided by publisher, This review was originally posted on Caffeinated Book Reviewer
April 5, 2016
The bayou, an ancient curse, and hoodoo priestesses, truly, what is there not to love about any of those things in a good story?
I don't know about you but, all of those things combined on top of being from a favorite author, are hand downs, something I don't even have to think about, I'm just in. I know I'm not just in for a good time, a good read, but in for a ride like no other.
It has been awhile since I've read a book in this genre, probably longer than it should be because I had forgotten how much fun and how exciting and suspenseful this genre can be and how much I love it.
I admit, it took me a little while to warm up to this read but once I did I was all in. Sandlin has never let me down and her foray into a new genre was a smashing success.
With to chemistry, a mystery that will keep you on edge and just enough paranormal woo hoo to satisfy the craving and you really do have a fun read that is sure to please everyone.
*ARC copy provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*
I don't know about you but, all of those things combined on top of being from a favorite author, are hand downs, something I don't even have to think about, I'm just in. I know I'm not just in for a good time, a good read, but in for a ride like no other.
It has been awhile since I've read a book in this genre, probably longer than it should be because I had forgotten how much fun and how exciting and suspenseful this genre can be and how much I love it.
I admit, it took me a little while to warm up to this read but once I did I was all in. Sandlin has never let me down and her foray into a new genre was a smashing success.
With to chemistry, a mystery that will keep you on edge and just enough paranormal woo hoo to satisfy the craving and you really do have a fun read that is sure to please everyone.
*ARC copy provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*
April 29, 2016
Calling a spade a spade I'm not a huge fan of Romantic Suspense. Whether it's Karen Rose or Linda Howard, the villains are so over the top evil that they almost become a caricature and the level of depravity committed by the villain is just a dram more than I'm prepared to call entertainment.
So it's not a book I'll ever call a favorite but comparing Wild Man's Curse with other popular Romantic Suspense authors like the aforementioned Karen Rose, Linda Howard and perhaps even Karen Slaughter, I'd say it's a better. A lot better.
But it isn't a patch on Lisa Gardner, who IMO is one of the very few shining lights in the genre.
So it's not a book I'll ever call a favorite but comparing Wild Man's Curse with other popular Romantic Suspense authors like the aforementioned Karen Rose, Linda Howard and perhaps even Karen Slaughter, I'd say it's a better. A lot better.
But it isn't a patch on Lisa Gardner, who IMO is one of the very few shining lights in the genre.
October 31, 2019
I read Book 2, Black Diamond and liked it so well I decided to read the first book in the series. I liked it as well, although I think I like Black Diamond better.
I like the setting and the characters that Ms. Sandlin is developing in this series and I really really like her plots. This feels like a very fresh series and doesn't feel as cookie cutter as some novels in this genre can get.
I wish there were more books in this series; I even went back and read these a second time.
I like the setting and the characters that Ms. Sandlin is developing in this series and I really really like her plots. This feels like a very fresh series and doesn't feel as cookie cutter as some novels in this genre can get.
I wish there were more books in this series; I even went back and read these a second time.
March 29, 2016
Mon avis en Français
My English review
This series seemed to offer everything I can appreciate: Bayou, Louisiana, voodoo and murder investigation. Yes a lot of things that make you want to discover more and while the author is none other than Susannah Sandlin here clears all other doubts that we might have. Indeed, I always have a great time with her stories and this is still the case this time and I’m curious to see how far this new series will make us go.
Eva Savoie is known by all to be a Voodoo Queen, although she does not really considers herself as such. But when the bones teach her that death is coming, she hopes that the curse that followed her family until then will disappear with her. Murdered, her niece Ceelie, inherits the small cabin she called home but upon arriving, she found herself at the heart of a story completely beyond her. It appears that the murderer wants something he did not get by Eva and he is determined that the young woman provides him what he wants. Launched in a hunt, all will try to understand who the culprit is. And if he was the dead brother of the charming agent who remains present for her?
I really had a good time with this story. I was curious to see how the investigation was going to be solved, who would be eventually convicted and especially his motives as we do not really understand them. Ceelie is a strong young woman and yet she will have to pass through many trials here and finally also to learn a bit more regarding her family. I loved to see her trying to find her “home” and see if it could finally be here. Her romance with Gentry was pretty cute and it was nice to see the man opening to her, despite his early preconceptions. It was also touching to see the man understanding that the person he thought he had killed, was possibly alive and could be capable of such actions… a rather difficult time. It was a truly fascinating history with this kind of background, with this place and all these references. And how not to be overwhelmed to see a bit of French in the text! It’s still very funny even if we see some differences with ours.
In any case you will understand that I had a great time with this first volume and I’m really curious to see what Susannah will present to the rest of the series!
My English review
This series seemed to offer everything I can appreciate: Bayou, Louisiana, voodoo and murder investigation. Yes a lot of things that make you want to discover more and while the author is none other than Susannah Sandlin here clears all other doubts that we might have. Indeed, I always have a great time with her stories and this is still the case this time and I’m curious to see how far this new series will make us go.
Eva Savoie is known by all to be a Voodoo Queen, although she does not really considers herself as such. But when the bones teach her that death is coming, she hopes that the curse that followed her family until then will disappear with her. Murdered, her niece Ceelie, inherits the small cabin she called home but upon arriving, she found herself at the heart of a story completely beyond her. It appears that the murderer wants something he did not get by Eva and he is determined that the young woman provides him what he wants. Launched in a hunt, all will try to understand who the culprit is. And if he was the dead brother of the charming agent who remains present for her?
I really had a good time with this story. I was curious to see how the investigation was going to be solved, who would be eventually convicted and especially his motives as we do not really understand them. Ceelie is a strong young woman and yet she will have to pass through many trials here and finally also to learn a bit more regarding her family. I loved to see her trying to find her “home” and see if it could finally be here. Her romance with Gentry was pretty cute and it was nice to see the man opening to her, despite his early preconceptions. It was also touching to see the man understanding that the person he thought he had killed, was possibly alive and could be capable of such actions… a rather difficult time. It was a truly fascinating history with this kind of background, with this place and all these references. And how not to be overwhelmed to see a bit of French in the text! It’s still very funny even if we see some differences with ours.
In any case you will understand that I had a great time with this first volume and I’m really curious to see what Susannah will present to the rest of the series!
June 20, 2022
No tengo palabras para decir lo mucho que me ha gustado esta historia. Ha sido casi perfecta, y aquí el casi es lo que la hace especial.
Celestine (Ceelie) ha llegado a un callejón sin salida en su vida. Con sus sueños a punto de hacerse trizas y sin dinero ni un sitio donde caerse muerta, llega el momento de replantearse el futuro, por muy desolador que éste sea. Y para colmo de males y en sus horas más bajas, recibe una llamada de teléfono que le informa de que su único pariente con vida (su tía-abuela Eva) ha fallecido en circunstancias más que extrañas. Así que no le queda otra que coger las pocas cosas que puede llamar suyas y volver al sitio donde dijo que jamás volvería: su hogar.
Gentry Broussard, lo que nosotros llamaríamos un agente del Seprona, está vigilando para detener furtivos, cuando ve como un hombre abandona la cabaña donde vive la “reina del vudú” local Eva Savoie. Al darle el alto descubre que el sospechoso tiene un parecido más que inquietante con su hermano, cosa imposible ya que él mismo le puso una bala en el pecho durante una redada hace tres años, y si por si esto no fuese poco, imagina su shock cuando entra en la cabaña y descubre la escena más gore de toda su carrera.
A partir de ahí nos encontramos con un romance que se cuece a fuego lento, con un suspense que es de lo mejor que he leído últimamente y con un elenco de secundarios que piden a gritos su propia historia.
Los protagonistas son encantadores y cercanos, personas con las que te puedes identificar fácilmente. Los dos son independientes y fuertes pero no caen en ninguno de los clichés de los que este género abusa.
Y aquí está la prueba fehaciente de que no hay que ser un cavernícola para ser un macho alfa. Me encanta!
Creo que nunca he leído un suspense tan realista. De verdad creo que así es como trabaja la policía y no toda esas historias que nos venden de machos alfa haciendo lo que les viene en ganas sin dar explicaciones y sin consecuencias. Ha sido refrescante. Nada de tonterías. No ha sido perfecto todo, ha habido algunos momentos de “pero que estás haciendo, alma de cántaro?” y eso la ha hecho aún más real. Y a pesar de que desde el principio sabemos quién es el malo eso no ha impedido que la trama me haya enganchado de una manera brutal.
Pues lo dicho. Realista, sin tonterías y con una trama que se apoya en los personajes, en todos, y con un malo para la “galería de los malos bien hechos”.
Me quedo con media estrella porque realmente quería más de Ceelie y Gentry…un poquito más…después de todos los nervios que había pasado.
Muchas gracias Jill por tu recomendación.
;)
I have no words to express how much I liked this story. It has been almost perfect, and here, the almost is what makes it special.
Celestine (Ceelie) has reached the end of her rope. With her dreams about to shatter and with neither money nor a place where to crash down, it comes the moment to rethink her future, a gloomy one. And to make matters worse and at her hard times, she receives a phone call informing her that her only relative alive (her great-aunt Eva) has died in circumstances more than strange. So she has no choice but to pack the few things she can call hers and return to the place where she said that she would never come back again: her home.
Gentry Broussard, a wildlife agent, is watching to detain poachers, when he sees how a man leaves the cabin where lives the local "Voodoo Queen" Eva Savoie. While trying to stop the man from escape, Gentry discovers that the suspect has a more than disturbing resemblance with his brother, something impossible since he himself put a bullet in his chest during a raid three years ago, and if that were not enough, imagine his shock when he enters the cabin and see the more goriest scene of his career.
From here on, we find a slow-built romance, a suspense that is the best I've read lately and a cast of secondary characters that are begging to have their own story.
The MC´s are great. You really can relate to them. Both are strong and independent people without falling into the trite cliches so typical in this genre.
And here it is the irrefutable proof that you don´t have to be a caveman to be an alpha male:
I think that I have never read a suspense so realistic. I really think that this is how police works and not all those stories about alpha males doing what they want without explanations and without consequences. It has been refreshing. No nonsense. It has not been perfect, there have been some moments of "what are you doing, airhead?" but that has made the story even more real. And while we know from the beginning who is the bad guy is, that has not prevented the plot to hook me from beginning to end.
With that said, it has been a realistic, no nonsense story with a plot that relies on its characters, and with a bad guy that is the poster child of the “best-done baddies".
I'll take half-star back because I really wanted more of Ceelie and Gentry... a little more... After all the nerves and angst...
Thank you Jill for the recommendation.
;)
Celestine (Ceelie) ha llegado a un callejón sin salida en su vida. Con sus sueños a punto de hacerse trizas y sin dinero ni un sitio donde caerse muerta, llega el momento de replantearse el futuro, por muy desolador que éste sea. Y para colmo de males y en sus horas más bajas, recibe una llamada de teléfono que le informa de que su único pariente con vida (su tía-abuela Eva) ha fallecido en circunstancias más que extrañas. Así que no le queda otra que coger las pocas cosas que puede llamar suyas y volver al sitio donde dijo que jamás volvería: su hogar.
Gentry Broussard, lo que nosotros llamaríamos un agente del Seprona, está vigilando para detener furtivos, cuando ve como un hombre abandona la cabaña donde vive la “reina del vudú” local Eva Savoie. Al darle el alto descubre que el sospechoso tiene un parecido más que inquietante con su hermano, cosa imposible ya que él mismo le puso una bala en el pecho durante una redada hace tres años, y si por si esto no fuese poco, imagina su shock cuando entra en la cabaña y descubre la escena más gore de toda su carrera.
A partir de ahí nos encontramos con un romance que se cuece a fuego lento, con un suspense que es de lo mejor que he leído últimamente y con un elenco de secundarios que piden a gritos su propia historia.
Los protagonistas son encantadores y cercanos, personas con las que te puedes identificar fácilmente. Los dos son independientes y fuertes pero no caen en ninguno de los clichés de los que este género abusa.
”Told ém you´d be there by eight. And Broussard?” Warren paused. “I also told the sheriff you´d be polite no matter how big a pain this woman (Ceelie) might be. She´s apparently got a temper, and you´ve apparently got a reputation for being a smart-ass.”
Y aquí está la prueba fehaciente de que no hay que ser un cavernícola para ser un macho alfa. Me encanta!
”He was all macho talk covering a soft-hearted, good man who wanted to save the world and all the puppies in it. She wouldn´t be voicing that opinion, however. She (Ceelie) wasn´t sure he was even aware of it, and might find it insulting.”
Creo que nunca he leído un suspense tan realista. De verdad creo que así es como trabaja la policía y no toda esas historias que nos venden de machos alfa haciendo lo que les viene en ganas sin dar explicaciones y sin consecuencias. Ha sido refrescante. Nada de tonterías. No ha sido perfecto todo, ha habido algunos momentos de “pero que estás haciendo, alma de cántaro?” y eso la ha hecho aún más real. Y a pesar de que desde el principio sabemos quién es el malo eso no ha impedido que la trama me haya enganchado de una manera brutal.
Pues lo dicho. Realista, sin tonterías y con una trama que se apoya en los personajes, en todos, y con un malo para la “galería de los malos bien hechos”.
Me quedo con media estrella porque realmente quería más de Ceelie y Gentry…un poquito más…después de todos los nervios que había pasado.
Muchas gracias Jill por tu recomendación.
;)
I have no words to express how much I liked this story. It has been almost perfect, and here, the almost is what makes it special.
Celestine (Ceelie) has reached the end of her rope. With her dreams about to shatter and with neither money nor a place where to crash down, it comes the moment to rethink her future, a gloomy one. And to make matters worse and at her hard times, she receives a phone call informing her that her only relative alive (her great-aunt Eva) has died in circumstances more than strange. So she has no choice but to pack the few things she can call hers and return to the place where she said that she would never come back again: her home.
Gentry Broussard, a wildlife agent, is watching to detain poachers, when he sees how a man leaves the cabin where lives the local "Voodoo Queen" Eva Savoie. While trying to stop the man from escape, Gentry discovers that the suspect has a more than disturbing resemblance with his brother, something impossible since he himself put a bullet in his chest during a raid three years ago, and if that were not enough, imagine his shock when he enters the cabin and see the more goriest scene of his career.
From here on, we find a slow-built romance, a suspense that is the best I've read lately and a cast of secondary characters that are begging to have their own story.
The MC´s are great. You really can relate to them. Both are strong and independent people without falling into the trite cliches so typical in this genre.
”Told ém you´d be there by eight. And Broussard?” Warren paused. “I also told the sheriff you´d be polite no matter how big a pain this woman (Ceelie) might be. She´s apparently got a temper, and you´ve apparently got a reputation for being a smart-ass.”
And here it is the irrefutable proof that you don´t have to be a caveman to be an alpha male:
”He was all macho talk covering a soft-hearted, good man who wanted to save the world and all the puppies in it. She (Ceelie)wouldn´t be voicing that opinion, however. She wasn´t sure he was even aware of it, and might find it insulting.”
I think that I have never read a suspense so realistic. I really think that this is how police works and not all those stories about alpha males doing what they want without explanations and without consequences. It has been refreshing. No nonsense. It has not been perfect, there have been some moments of "what are you doing, airhead?" but that has made the story even more real. And while we know from the beginning who is the bad guy is, that has not prevented the plot to hook me from beginning to end.
With that said, it has been a realistic, no nonsense story with a plot that relies on its characters, and with a bad guy that is the poster child of the “best-done baddies".
I'll take half-star back because I really wanted more of Ceelie and Gentry... a little more... After all the nerves and angst...
Thank you Jill for the recommendation.
;)
May 17, 2016
A powerful, intense, well-paced, well-orchestrated Southern romantic suspense!!!!
“The bones said death was comin', and the bones never lied.
Eva Savoie leaned back in the rocking chair and pushed it into motion on the uneven wide-plank floor of the one-room cabin. Her grand pere Julien had built the place more than a century ago, pulling heavy cypress logs from the bayou and sawing them, one by one, into the thick planks she still walked across ever day.
She had never known Julien Savoie, but she knew of him. The curse that had stalked her family for three generations had started with her grandfather and what he'd done all those years ago.
What he'd brought with him to Whiskey Bayou with blood on his hands.
What had driven her daddy to shoot her mama, and then himself, before either turned forty-five.
What had led Eva's brother, Antoine, to drown in the bayou only a half mile from this cabin, leaving a wife and infant son behind.
What stalked Eva now.”
WILD MAN'S CURSE is a dramatically stunning roller coaster ride imbued with a slew of dark twists and turns by the fantastic Susannah Sandlin. Under the alternate pen name of Suzanne Johnson, she writes one of my favorite paranormal urban fantasy series, the Sentinels of New Orleans. I finished inhaling this southern romantic thriller in yesterday morning's early hours and it was nothing short of fabulous! Teeming with voodoo and Indian mythology overtones and a murderous family curse that won't go away, the mystery element within is unquestionably strong. There was also plenty of danger, history, culture and steamy romance. I couldn't put the book down even though I was terrified of what would happen next. I especially feared for the characters I'd grown fond of including our hero's cute stubby bat-eared dog and "Red," his agency partner. Taking place in Whisky Bayou, this is the story of Celestine, the sole heir of murdered voodoo priestess Eva Savoie, and Louisiana wildlife agent Gentry Broussard.
While on a poacher take-down in the swamps of the bayou, Gentry spots a man leaving the cabin of Eva Savoie. He gets a short startling glimpse of a man who closely resembles his own brother - the same brother who died in a gunfight two years ago with Gentry firing the bullets that took him down.
Celine's Nashville music career is on no-where street when she's summoned back to Whisky Bayou where her aunt has been cruelly slain butcher-style. Celine never expected to return to this place she escaped from years ago. Now, she just wants answers as to why her aunt was murdered and a way out. But, she wasn't taking into account a sexy wildlife agent or that the killer would target her!
Susannah's writing never fails to favorably impress - no matter which name she's writing under. Her storytelling ensnared me from the very beginning and never let go until I'd read the last page. Her Cajun-speak was nothing short of enthralling and her vivid descriptions made me feel I was there: in the heat, humidity and the swamp teeming with creatures I didn't want to meet!
GREAT NEWS! The author has just announced that the second book in this series has a name! It will be titled BLACK DIAMOND and it's tentatively scheduled to be released mid-October 2016! I can't wait!
This is one of those books that makes you say WOW... over and over. I would not hesitate to read this thriller again - but, only once my heart slows down to a regular rhythm by thinking about it. I highly recommend WILD MAN'S CURSE to anyone who enjoys powerful, intense, well-paced, well-orchestrated Southern romantic suspense!
My full review is posted at Reading Between The Wines Book Club. Please check it out there: http://www.readingbetweenthewinesbook...
“The bones said death was comin', and the bones never lied.
Eva Savoie leaned back in the rocking chair and pushed it into motion on the uneven wide-plank floor of the one-room cabin. Her grand pere Julien had built the place more than a century ago, pulling heavy cypress logs from the bayou and sawing them, one by one, into the thick planks she still walked across ever day.
She had never known Julien Savoie, but she knew of him. The curse that had stalked her family for three generations had started with her grandfather and what he'd done all those years ago.
What he'd brought with him to Whiskey Bayou with blood on his hands.
What had driven her daddy to shoot her mama, and then himself, before either turned forty-five.
What had led Eva's brother, Antoine, to drown in the bayou only a half mile from this cabin, leaving a wife and infant son behind.
What stalked Eva now.”
WILD MAN'S CURSE is a dramatically stunning roller coaster ride imbued with a slew of dark twists and turns by the fantastic Susannah Sandlin. Under the alternate pen name of Suzanne Johnson, she writes one of my favorite paranormal urban fantasy series, the Sentinels of New Orleans. I finished inhaling this southern romantic thriller in yesterday morning's early hours and it was nothing short of fabulous! Teeming with voodoo and Indian mythology overtones and a murderous family curse that won't go away, the mystery element within is unquestionably strong. There was also plenty of danger, history, culture and steamy romance. I couldn't put the book down even though I was terrified of what would happen next. I especially feared for the characters I'd grown fond of including our hero's cute stubby bat-eared dog and "Red," his agency partner. Taking place in Whisky Bayou, this is the story of Celestine, the sole heir of murdered voodoo priestess Eva Savoie, and Louisiana wildlife agent Gentry Broussard.
While on a poacher take-down in the swamps of the bayou, Gentry spots a man leaving the cabin of Eva Savoie. He gets a short startling glimpse of a man who closely resembles his own brother - the same brother who died in a gunfight two years ago with Gentry firing the bullets that took him down.
Celine's Nashville music career is on no-where street when she's summoned back to Whisky Bayou where her aunt has been cruelly slain butcher-style. Celine never expected to return to this place she escaped from years ago. Now, she just wants answers as to why her aunt was murdered and a way out. But, she wasn't taking into account a sexy wildlife agent or that the killer would target her!
Susannah's writing never fails to favorably impress - no matter which name she's writing under. Her storytelling ensnared me from the very beginning and never let go until I'd read the last page. Her Cajun-speak was nothing short of enthralling and her vivid descriptions made me feel I was there: in the heat, humidity and the swamp teeming with creatures I didn't want to meet!
GREAT NEWS! The author has just announced that the second book in this series has a name! It will be titled BLACK DIAMOND and it's tentatively scheduled to be released mid-October 2016! I can't wait!
This is one of those books that makes you say WOW... over and over. I would not hesitate to read this thriller again - but, only once my heart slows down to a regular rhythm by thinking about it. I highly recommend WILD MAN'S CURSE to anyone who enjoys powerful, intense, well-paced, well-orchestrated Southern romantic suspense!
My full review is posted at Reading Between The Wines Book Club. Please check it out there: http://www.readingbetweenthewinesbook...
March 25, 2016
Disclaimer: I received a ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion on it!No compensation was received
I really wanted to share with you an early review of this book because i really think that you should preorder/ buy it if you are a romance suspense book lover or simply if you love a good book but let me tell you a little more about this book now
I'm honoured to have gotten the opportunity to read an advance copy and i really don't regret it, it's FABULOUS!!
This story once it has caught your full attention won't let you stop until you turn the last page, the tension is simply constant and the intrigue is distilled gradually with a master hand. You want to know the culprit and even when you know who, you want the why , how and simply you want to follow the characters on their journey. I loved every moment of this book really if you love romance suspense this is one you can't miss.
The atmosphere of Louisiana is depicted with justness with the weather but also , the customs, people's way of thinking ; you want to visit to get or live that experience. With a light touch of mysticism, paranormal because really what would be New Orleans and Louisiana without that particular past and blend of beliefs, the author transport us in the swamp to follow Gentry and Celestine, Ceelie, as their learn more about themselves and the investigation.
I loved how they got attracted to each other but let the time ( and events) built it in something more steps by steps. Ceelie is a lovely woman, determined for sure but also not realising all her potential. To keep a promise she put her life on a path that wasn't necessarily the one she would have chosen . Now she is confronted to the truth.
Retired from the special force, after an event that quite traumatized him, but not giving up on his want of Justice, Gentry applied into the LDWF enforcement....which sound even more complicated and demanding than the police is.
The secondary characters are also very well built and you can get attached to them easily like Paul or Jena but the whole bunch of characters is worth discovering. I can’t recommend this book enough really you have it all: the setting, ambiance, suspense, action and romance all perfectly dosed...a perfect romance suspense!
Really it's the MUST have of April! so don't hesitate and grab it when you can!
I really wanted to share with you an early review of this book because i really think that you should preorder/ buy it if you are a romance suspense book lover or simply if you love a good book but let me tell you a little more about this book now
I'm honoured to have gotten the opportunity to read an advance copy and i really don't regret it, it's FABULOUS!!
This story once it has caught your full attention won't let you stop until you turn the last page, the tension is simply constant and the intrigue is distilled gradually with a master hand. You want to know the culprit and even when you know who, you want the why , how and simply you want to follow the characters on their journey. I loved every moment of this book really if you love romance suspense this is one you can't miss.
The atmosphere of Louisiana is depicted with justness with the weather but also , the customs, people's way of thinking ; you want to visit to get or live that experience. With a light touch of mysticism, paranormal because really what would be New Orleans and Louisiana without that particular past and blend of beliefs, the author transport us in the swamp to follow Gentry and Celestine, Ceelie, as their learn more about themselves and the investigation.
I loved how they got attracted to each other but let the time ( and events) built it in something more steps by steps. Ceelie is a lovely woman, determined for sure but also not realising all her potential. To keep a promise she put her life on a path that wasn't necessarily the one she would have chosen . Now she is confronted to the truth.
Retired from the special force, after an event that quite traumatized him, but not giving up on his want of Justice, Gentry applied into the LDWF enforcement....which sound even more complicated and demanding than the police is.
The secondary characters are also very well built and you can get attached to them easily like Paul or Jena but the whole bunch of characters is worth discovering. I can’t recommend this book enough really you have it all: the setting, ambiance, suspense, action and romance all perfectly dosed...a perfect romance suspense!
Really it's the MUST have of April! so don't hesitate and grab it when you can!
September 14, 2022
I had 'Wild Man's Curse' on my reading list for the longest time and since Susannah Sandlin was one of the authors whose writing I sort of do remember quite well, I settled in for the ride.
It became a long, long ride somehow, in between weeks, where I had to put it down because of its rather slow pacing (and life's interruptions) even if I never quite forgot the plot and how it progressed in that time. Sandlin however, does an admirable job of building the suspense, mixing it up a little with bits of esoteric beliefs that run through Ceelie Savoie's ancestry. Her growing relationship with Gentry Broussard feels like a natural one, though the latter is tortured by his own family history and his own involvement in the unsolved crime that he's gotten too deep into.
Both Gentry and Ceelie are great characters really, their relationship characterised by a maturity of writing that I really love to see in the RS authors who do sometimes tend to favour action over character development.
Yet 'Wild Man's Curse' turned out to be a bit of a misnomer; in fact, like most crime-stories, the motivation is money and that's eventually what's revealed in the entire roundabout chase at the climax. In all, Sandlin's first book isn't a bad read but a somewhat nondescript one amongst the many Romantic Suspense titles that have stood out a little more.
It became a long, long ride somehow, in between weeks, where I had to put it down because of its rather slow pacing (and life's interruptions) even if I never quite forgot the plot and how it progressed in that time. Sandlin however, does an admirable job of building the suspense, mixing it up a little with bits of esoteric beliefs that run through Ceelie Savoie's ancestry. Her growing relationship with Gentry Broussard feels like a natural one, though the latter is tortured by his own family history and his own involvement in the unsolved crime that he's gotten too deep into.
Both Gentry and Ceelie are great characters really, their relationship characterised by a maturity of writing that I really love to see in the RS authors who do sometimes tend to favour action over character development.
Yet 'Wild Man's Curse' turned out to be a bit of a misnomer; in fact, like most crime-stories, the motivation is money and that's eventually what's revealed in the entire roundabout chase at the climax. In all, Sandlin's first book isn't a bad read but a somewhat nondescript one amongst the many Romantic Suspense titles that have stood out a little more.
July 30, 2017
Gentry Broussard is a wildlife agent. During patrol, he catches a poacher and notices a boat outside one of the remote cabins. That cabin belongs to Eva Savoie. The boat being unusual, he decided to investigate. He then sees someone leaving. Shocked and surprised because the person leaving looks a lot like his older brother. Who is/was supposed to be dead. Gentry then finds Eva murdered.
Ceelie left Louisiana after she promised her father she would. Barely eking out a living in Nashville, she gets the call that her Aunt Eva was murdered. She does back to Louisiana to settle her aunt's affairs. While there, she meets Gentry and his partner, Jena. (I hope Jena's is the next book).
I enjoyed this book. Both characters are likable, well-fleshed out. I liked the depth of Ceelie's family and her realization to do something she wanted to do vs trying to live up to a promise she made her dad. I thought the secondary characters were also well done. Here's hoping Jena gets a book. (And yes she does- it's the next one, just looked!).
Ceelie left Louisiana after she promised her father she would. Barely eking out a living in Nashville, she gets the call that her Aunt Eva was murdered. She does back to Louisiana to settle her aunt's affairs. While there, she meets Gentry and his partner, Jena. (I hope Jena's is the next book).
I enjoyed this book. Both characters are likable, well-fleshed out. I liked the depth of Ceelie's family and her realization to do something she wanted to do vs trying to live up to a promise she made her dad. I thought the secondary characters were also well done. Here's hoping Jena gets a book. (And yes she does- it's the next one, just looked!).
October 4, 2016
“The bones said death was comin’,
and the bones never lied.” – Susannah Sandlin
“Morning, ma’am. I’m looking for Tommy Mason. Is he around?” Polite and professional, that was Senior Agent Broussard.
“Lord, what’s that no-good sonofabitch done now? Wait, you ain’t a cop; you’re a game warden. “What’d he do, run over a fish?” ― Susannah Sandlin, Wild Man’s Curse
The songs, the songs, of Bayou Country. Gator’s roar and painter’s scream. Moans of the wind through the cypress trees, the sibilant slide of a body into the water. Whether gator or fishin’ boat, or the sound of a body being slid over the side. Songs and scents – and always, life goes on. Until it doesn’t.
The bayou lives on, as it has always lived, private, dark and secretive. A mystical land where the boundaries between life and death are small. Where Catholicism resides side-by-side with hoodoo, Santaria nestles down with Southern Baptist, and one is just as likely to visit a traiteur as an M.D. She is ancient, unbending, the cycle of life personified. Don’t piss-off the Hoodoo Woman, the veves, or the houngan, for magic is real in the Bayou, and the bones, they never lie.
Eva Savoie knows all about the bone, about life and death . . . and she know, in her own bones, that old man Death is coming. So she cleans her house, scrubs her floors, and sits down to die. But the Savoies have never known the pleasure of a quiet death. And Eva’s is more painful, and bloodier, than any Sovoie before. The curse will have its due, just as it has for the last three generations of Savoies, for what her grandfather did all those years ago.
Gentry Broussard, un bon garde-chasse, a Senior Enforcement Officer for the Louisiana Depart of Wildlife and Fisheries, is the one who finds Eva’s body. He even catches a glimpse of her murderer – a murderer who is, or should be, a ghost. Now, he is on the hunt for a man dead four years, and what he finds may destroy not only his life, but that of Ceelie Savoie, Eva’s niece and heir. Heir not only to Eva’s property on Whisky Bayou, but to Eva’s ability with the bones.
“Its dying call is weak but clear
Yet it’s a plaintive voice I don’t want to hear.
I won’t go back,
I won’t go home,
‘Cause next time, Whiskey Bayou won’t let me go.”
Ceelie promised her daddy on his deathbed that she would escape, and never return. But ain’t life funny that way? Now Ceelie is back in the swamp. And it may be her blood Gentry wades through this time.
Admittedly, I am a HUGE Louisiana novel lover. My favorite author of all time for the stories of the bayous, swamps and small towns has always been James Lee Burke. His soulful renditions of the voice of the land touch the soul, drawing you into the land that time forgot, the land where the curtains of civilization fade away, leaving only the truth behind. Susannah Sandlin doesn’t quite have that soul-deep ability to draw you in, to allow you to close your eyes and smell the funk of brackish water, the sweet waft of water orchid. You don’t quite see the cypress in your mind, or hear the egret’s call. But she is close. The suspense is there, the respect for the peoples and culture of the South. I look forward eagerly to Black Diamond, the next in the Wilds of the Bayou series.
and the bones never lied.” – Susannah Sandlin
“Morning, ma’am. I’m looking for Tommy Mason. Is he around?” Polite and professional, that was Senior Agent Broussard.
“Lord, what’s that no-good sonofabitch done now? Wait, you ain’t a cop; you’re a game warden. “What’d he do, run over a fish?” ― Susannah Sandlin, Wild Man’s Curse
The songs, the songs, of Bayou Country. Gator’s roar and painter’s scream. Moans of the wind through the cypress trees, the sibilant slide of a body into the water. Whether gator or fishin’ boat, or the sound of a body being slid over the side. Songs and scents – and always, life goes on. Until it doesn’t.
The bayou lives on, as it has always lived, private, dark and secretive. A mystical land where the boundaries between life and death are small. Where Catholicism resides side-by-side with hoodoo, Santaria nestles down with Southern Baptist, and one is just as likely to visit a traiteur as an M.D. She is ancient, unbending, the cycle of life personified. Don’t piss-off the Hoodoo Woman, the veves, or the houngan, for magic is real in the Bayou, and the bones, they never lie.
Eva Savoie knows all about the bone, about life and death . . . and she know, in her own bones, that old man Death is coming. So she cleans her house, scrubs her floors, and sits down to die. But the Savoies have never known the pleasure of a quiet death. And Eva’s is more painful, and bloodier, than any Sovoie before. The curse will have its due, just as it has for the last three generations of Savoies, for what her grandfather did all those years ago.
Gentry Broussard, un bon garde-chasse, a Senior Enforcement Officer for the Louisiana Depart of Wildlife and Fisheries, is the one who finds Eva’s body. He even catches a glimpse of her murderer – a murderer who is, or should be, a ghost. Now, he is on the hunt for a man dead four years, and what he finds may destroy not only his life, but that of Ceelie Savoie, Eva’s niece and heir. Heir not only to Eva’s property on Whisky Bayou, but to Eva’s ability with the bones.
“Its dying call is weak but clear
Yet it’s a plaintive voice I don’t want to hear.
I won’t go back,
I won’t go home,
‘Cause next time, Whiskey Bayou won’t let me go.”
Ceelie promised her daddy on his deathbed that she would escape, and never return. But ain’t life funny that way? Now Ceelie is back in the swamp. And it may be her blood Gentry wades through this time.
Admittedly, I am a HUGE Louisiana novel lover. My favorite author of all time for the stories of the bayous, swamps and small towns has always been James Lee Burke. His soulful renditions of the voice of the land touch the soul, drawing you into the land that time forgot, the land where the curtains of civilization fade away, leaving only the truth behind. Susannah Sandlin doesn’t quite have that soul-deep ability to draw you in, to allow you to close your eyes and smell the funk of brackish water, the sweet waft of water orchid. You don’t quite see the cypress in your mind, or hear the egret’s call. But she is close. The suspense is there, the respect for the peoples and culture of the South. I look forward eagerly to Black Diamond, the next in the Wilds of the Bayou series.
April 5, 2016
Susannah Sandlin sets the pace and the plot of Wild Man's Curse with a prologue hinting at mystery, danger, curses and death in Whiskey Bayou. She pulled me right in and I kept reading!
With great descriptions the setting was vivid, and I could feel the heat and humidity, and see the swamp. This was a great draw for me, I was able to easily feel like I was right there!
Ceelie ends up back in Whiskey Bayous for all the wrong reasons...her career in Nashville is going no where, and her aunt has died. It's not where she wants to be, it's the place she escaped from. Gentry is a LDWF officer who has his own traumatic past, but as soon as he sees Cellie and hears her singing he wants to know her so much more. Ceelie is not looking for anything...except for answers for her aunt's death, and a way back out of a place she doesn't consider home. But things have a way of changing, and soon Ceelie not only finds herself in danger, she's starting to feel like she finally is home, and she's starting to feel a lot more for Gentry. The danger is daunting, and the fear is real. Who is after her and what do they want? Gentry has his suspicions...but his heart and devotion are with Ceelie, keeping her safe, and solving a murder. Will he have it all though? The danger heats up very quickly, and it's looking less likely.
Ceelie and Gentry both go through a lot in Wild Man's Curse. They are fighting for a future, but they both must also come to terms with the past. The suspense and mystery are powerful, and the romance and relationships play an important role in the plot. I liked that I felt like I could understand these characters. They really jumped off the page at me...Ceelie with her struggles, a family curse hanging over her, and a relationship she didn't see coming. She is strong and brave, and this is very evident in Wild Man's Curse. I liked Gentry too. He has his own demons from the past, but he is protective, honorable, and wants nothing more than to solve this crime and keep Celia safe. I liked how they were together, how they thought of each other, and most of all they trusted each other.
The mystery/suspense is strong, and I liked the character involvement in this. Sometimes I didn't know what would happen next, and sometimes I felt a bit scared at what might happen next!
With surprising revelations about the past, a sense of history and family relationships, and intensely thrilling, I'd recommend Wild Man's Curse to any romantic suspense reader.
With great descriptions the setting was vivid, and I could feel the heat and humidity, and see the swamp. This was a great draw for me, I was able to easily feel like I was right there!
Ceelie ends up back in Whiskey Bayous for all the wrong reasons...her career in Nashville is going no where, and her aunt has died. It's not where she wants to be, it's the place she escaped from. Gentry is a LDWF officer who has his own traumatic past, but as soon as he sees Cellie and hears her singing he wants to know her so much more. Ceelie is not looking for anything...except for answers for her aunt's death, and a way back out of a place she doesn't consider home. But things have a way of changing, and soon Ceelie not only finds herself in danger, she's starting to feel like she finally is home, and she's starting to feel a lot more for Gentry. The danger is daunting, and the fear is real. Who is after her and what do they want? Gentry has his suspicions...but his heart and devotion are with Ceelie, keeping her safe, and solving a murder. Will he have it all though? The danger heats up very quickly, and it's looking less likely.
Ceelie and Gentry both go through a lot in Wild Man's Curse. They are fighting for a future, but they both must also come to terms with the past. The suspense and mystery are powerful, and the romance and relationships play an important role in the plot. I liked that I felt like I could understand these characters. They really jumped off the page at me...Ceelie with her struggles, a family curse hanging over her, and a relationship she didn't see coming. She is strong and brave, and this is very evident in Wild Man's Curse. I liked Gentry too. He has his own demons from the past, but he is protective, honorable, and wants nothing more than to solve this crime and keep Celia safe. I liked how they were together, how they thought of each other, and most of all they trusted each other.
The mystery/suspense is strong, and I liked the character involvement in this. Sometimes I didn't know what would happen next, and sometimes I felt a bit scared at what might happen next!
With surprising revelations about the past, a sense of history and family relationships, and intensely thrilling, I'd recommend Wild Man's Curse to any romantic suspense reader.
April 2, 2016
Wild Man’s Curse is the first book in what promises being a thrilling paranormal series (Wilds of the Bayou). I must confess I am not particularly fond of mystery novels but Susannah Sandlin sure knows how to grab your attention from the very first paragraph. In the prologue, she talks about a curse that runs into the Savoie bloodline for generations, the death surrounding the cursed family, a mysterious box that was dug from the Bayou that pushes you toward sin, and so much more. What sane person could resist to such a mysterious and exciting adventure?
Eva Savoie is seen pretty much by everyone as the Voodoo Queen. Nevertheless, that won’t save her from the death’s call that she knew would come sooner or later. Death took her grandfather, it made her father kill himself and her mother, and it also took her brother. Of course, she knew that death would come for her either as a young lady or as the old woman she is today. However, what she didn’t expect is to involve her niece Celestine in the veil of sin, mystery, and danger that surrounds the Savoie family. On top of that the handsome wildlife agent Gentry Broussard will be added in to the mix. As the Savoie’s ‘dirty little secret’ becomes more and more complex and tangled and more victims appear, Gentry has no choice but to jump into the case with everything he’s got in hopes to stop the mass of victims and save the beautiful heir of the former Voodoo Queen.
Now, let’s talk about the characters! Ladies, I so promise you will love Gentry! He is protective, sweet, a true man of honor with a touch, well a little more than that, of a tormented soul. Celstine or Ceelie first impression was like a beautiful woman that promised to be kind and calm, but I am glad the author gave her some attitude. She knows what she wants and how to carry herself but without taking away her vulnerable side. Yes, our hero and heroine have one of those that you will get a chance to see. On the other hand there are some very interesting characters that you will get to meet. Among my favorites is Jena, who works with agent Gentry. There is something about her attitude that you will love.
I truly recommend this series to any romance-mystery-voodoo lovers that have a thing for the Bayou. I assure you, you will fall in love with this unique story!
4 hearts <3
Reviewer of Romance Authors That Rock
Eva Savoie is seen pretty much by everyone as the Voodoo Queen. Nevertheless, that won’t save her from the death’s call that she knew would come sooner or later. Death took her grandfather, it made her father kill himself and her mother, and it also took her brother. Of course, she knew that death would come for her either as a young lady or as the old woman she is today. However, what she didn’t expect is to involve her niece Celestine in the veil of sin, mystery, and danger that surrounds the Savoie family. On top of that the handsome wildlife agent Gentry Broussard will be added in to the mix. As the Savoie’s ‘dirty little secret’ becomes more and more complex and tangled and more victims appear, Gentry has no choice but to jump into the case with everything he’s got in hopes to stop the mass of victims and save the beautiful heir of the former Voodoo Queen.
Now, let’s talk about the characters! Ladies, I so promise you will love Gentry! He is protective, sweet, a true man of honor with a touch, well a little more than that, of a tormented soul. Celstine or Ceelie first impression was like a beautiful woman that promised to be kind and calm, but I am glad the author gave her some attitude. She knows what she wants and how to carry herself but without taking away her vulnerable side. Yes, our hero and heroine have one of those that you will get a chance to see. On the other hand there are some very interesting characters that you will get to meet. Among my favorites is Jena, who works with agent Gentry. There is something about her attitude that you will love.
I truly recommend this series to any romance-mystery-voodoo lovers that have a thing for the Bayou. I assure you, you will fall in love with this unique story!
4 hearts <3
Reviewer of Romance Authors That Rock
April 10, 2016
A 2 1/2 star read..
I’ve read 7 of Ms. Sandlin’s books, all of them except Chenoire, because it only had 48 pages and that’s not worth my time. I gave them all 5 stars, except Storm Force, which I gave 4 stars. I loved all her books, but this one was very slow. At 31% I was wondering if anything was ever going to happen to get me a little excited, or breathless, or give me an OMG moment. AND it went on and on and on without anyone saying a word then a slight conversation and then another long telling of a story again. Geez, I just hate when the characters aren’t part of the story. I’m afraid I’m going to find myself skimming through most of the story just to get to the players talking.
If the description of Ceelie was supposed to match the cover someone failed at that. The book said she was a blue-eyed part-Indian but the book cover shows a brown-eyed girl that doesn’t look at all Indian to me. You need to make the cover match the girl or don’t out a girl on the cover, it’s that simple.
So, at about 40% the book started getting much better, but still went on for pages without anyone speaking. If this is the way it’s going to be with this author’s books then I’m done with her.
I did like the other players: Jena, Warren, Meizel, Marie and Louis, Eve, though she was dead soon after the story started, Paul Billiot, and the bad guy, who was truly insane, you’ll find out who he is. Anyway, what the bad guy put Ceelie through would have killed a normal person. She was such a strong person. She was smart enough to get out of her house to stay safe but smart to plan and plot while she was dragged through the bayou.
The F-bomb was used 5 times and there was some sex in this book but it was really not described and it was fast and furious, then done, no more.
Overall, a good read but it could have been so much better if the characters had been in it more. Unfortunately, I did find myself skimming, looking for someone talking.
As to the narrator: Absolutely horrible. I gave the book back to audible after listening to it for about 15 minutes.
I’ve read 7 of Ms. Sandlin’s books, all of them except Chenoire, because it only had 48 pages and that’s not worth my time. I gave them all 5 stars, except Storm Force, which I gave 4 stars. I loved all her books, but this one was very slow. At 31% I was wondering if anything was ever going to happen to get me a little excited, or breathless, or give me an OMG moment. AND it went on and on and on without anyone saying a word then a slight conversation and then another long telling of a story again. Geez, I just hate when the characters aren’t part of the story. I’m afraid I’m going to find myself skimming through most of the story just to get to the players talking.
If the description of Ceelie was supposed to match the cover someone failed at that. The book said she was a blue-eyed part-Indian but the book cover shows a brown-eyed girl that doesn’t look at all Indian to me. You need to make the cover match the girl or don’t out a girl on the cover, it’s that simple.
So, at about 40% the book started getting much better, but still went on for pages without anyone speaking. If this is the way it’s going to be with this author’s books then I’m done with her.
I did like the other players: Jena, Warren, Meizel, Marie and Louis, Eve, though she was dead soon after the story started, Paul Billiot, and the bad guy, who was truly insane, you’ll find out who he is. Anyway, what the bad guy put Ceelie through would have killed a normal person. She was such a strong person. She was smart enough to get out of her house to stay safe but smart to plan and plot while she was dragged through the bayou.
The F-bomb was used 5 times and there was some sex in this book but it was really not described and it was fast and furious, then done, no more.
Overall, a good read but it could have been so much better if the characters had been in it more. Unfortunately, I did find myself skimming, looking for someone talking.
As to the narrator: Absolutely horrible. I gave the book back to audible after listening to it for about 15 minutes.
November 30, 2017
(RabidReads,com)Louisiana, especially New Orleans, is the setting of so many good paranormal stories. This book goes beyond New Orleans and sets the story among the Cajun and Creole people of the bayou instead. Savannah Sandlin, also known as Suzanne Johnson, has written a romantic suspense tale that has just enough paranormal elements to qualify this as a paranormal mystery-but not necessarily a paranormal romance. It definitely qualifies as a romance though-if that makes sense.
Celestine, also known as Ceelie, becomes heir to her aunt’s small cabin located on the bayou. She’s a singer in Nashville and down on her luck, so she goes back home to Terrebonne Parrish to bury her aunt and live in the cabin until she can figure out what to do with her life. Her aunt had been brutally murdered in the cabin and her body had been found by state wildlife agent Gentry Broussard during a routine safety check on the old lady, also known as a voodoo practitioner. To make things even more interesting, Gentry had spotted the murderer leaving the woman’s cabin, and he was the spitting image of his brother, the one he killed in the line of duty years before. When Ceelie and Gentry meet, it’s not long before both realize that they are interested in each other romantically. But first they have to deal with a sadistic murderer that keeps coming back to Ceelie’s cabin to try and intimidate(scare) her to leave.
Ceelie was an interesting character. She was taught the old ways by her aunt when she was younger and even back then, her aunt knew that the “sight” was strong in Ceelie. She learned to throw the chicken bones and although some of the rituals are hazy in her mind now, she still can interpret the bones. And these bones were not lying when they said that both her and Gentry were in extreme danger. She’s a talented singer/songwriter and is beautiful as well. Gentry is an alpha male type, one with a heart, and one that owns a French bulldog that he rescued. He becomes first very protective of Ceelie and then enamored by her the further into the mystery they go. The feeling is mutual on Ceelie’s part as well. Gentry’s partner, Jena, is also integral to the story and becomes a friend to Ceelie.
The story has a bit more police procedure going on with Gentry and Jena than romance with Ceelie. And that’s how it should be in a realistic murder mystery. There is plenty of time spent with Ceelie as well though, as she is, of course, the heroine. When the story starts to get a bit steamy, most of it happens behind closed doors, but I still found it a sweet romance between the two. The book is full of quite a bit of action, but with a fair balance of downtime away from the action as well. Interestingly, there is also a family curse that Ceelie has inherited as well.
This was my second listen of a book by this narrator, Elizabeth Godley. Both books take place in Louisiana and she does try the accents. In the prior book, her men’s voices weren’t a favorite for me. This time she didn’t try to do as much with the men’s voices so it was a better experience for me. Narration 3.5 stars
This is part of a series, but from what I can tell from the sequel’s synopsis, this one can standalone. Recommended to adult readers, 16 plus. Good story!
Celestine, also known as Ceelie, becomes heir to her aunt’s small cabin located on the bayou. She’s a singer in Nashville and down on her luck, so she goes back home to Terrebonne Parrish to bury her aunt and live in the cabin until she can figure out what to do with her life. Her aunt had been brutally murdered in the cabin and her body had been found by state wildlife agent Gentry Broussard during a routine safety check on the old lady, also known as a voodoo practitioner. To make things even more interesting, Gentry had spotted the murderer leaving the woman’s cabin, and he was the spitting image of his brother, the one he killed in the line of duty years before. When Ceelie and Gentry meet, it’s not long before both realize that they are interested in each other romantically. But first they have to deal with a sadistic murderer that keeps coming back to Ceelie’s cabin to try and intimidate(scare) her to leave.
Ceelie was an interesting character. She was taught the old ways by her aunt when she was younger and even back then, her aunt knew that the “sight” was strong in Ceelie. She learned to throw the chicken bones and although some of the rituals are hazy in her mind now, she still can interpret the bones. And these bones were not lying when they said that both her and Gentry were in extreme danger. She’s a talented singer/songwriter and is beautiful as well. Gentry is an alpha male type, one with a heart, and one that owns a French bulldog that he rescued. He becomes first very protective of Ceelie and then enamored by her the further into the mystery they go. The feeling is mutual on Ceelie’s part as well. Gentry’s partner, Jena, is also integral to the story and becomes a friend to Ceelie.
The story has a bit more police procedure going on with Gentry and Jena than romance with Ceelie. And that’s how it should be in a realistic murder mystery. There is plenty of time spent with Ceelie as well though, as she is, of course, the heroine. When the story starts to get a bit steamy, most of it happens behind closed doors, but I still found it a sweet romance between the two. The book is full of quite a bit of action, but with a fair balance of downtime away from the action as well. Interestingly, there is also a family curse that Ceelie has inherited as well.
This was my second listen of a book by this narrator, Elizabeth Godley. Both books take place in Louisiana and she does try the accents. In the prior book, her men’s voices weren’t a favorite for me. This time she didn’t try to do as much with the men’s voices so it was a better experience for me. Narration 3.5 stars
This is part of a series, but from what I can tell from the sequel’s synopsis, this one can standalone. Recommended to adult readers, 16 plus. Good story!
June 19, 2018
Excellent read
Suzanne has done it again! With Gentry Broussard she has given us a dependable, loveable, albeit pure alpha male hero who saves and I saved by Celestine Savoie, a strong willed yet tender heroine. The plot of Wild Man’s Curse finds us on the edge of our seats at all the appropriate points in the story as well as falling in love with Gentry and Celestine. This is definitely one I recommend for all who read Romantic Suspense.
Suzanne has done it again! With Gentry Broussard she has given us a dependable, loveable, albeit pure alpha male hero who saves and I saved by Celestine Savoie, a strong willed yet tender heroine. The plot of Wild Man’s Curse finds us on the edge of our seats at all the appropriate points in the story as well as falling in love with Gentry and Celestine. This is definitely one I recommend for all who read Romantic Suspense.
April 15, 2016
Originally published at Reading Reality
If you are looking for romantic suspense that is just a touch creepy but is still firmly planted in the real world, run, don’t walk to get a copy of this book. I’ll confess to loving all of Susannah Sandlin/Suzanne Johnson’s work, but Wild Man’s Curse was simply marvelous.
She always does an excellent job of painting the setting of her stories, and this one is no exception. Wild Man’s Curse mostly takes place in Terrebonne Parish, on the swampy southern coast of Louisiana. It is one of those places that is losing ground to the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, literally. It is also a place where the gumbo of Cajun culture is still alive and well, preserved in fish camps and tiny houses all up and down the bayous.
Both Gentry Broussard and Celestine Savoie are children of those swamps. But they are both all grown up now, and dealing with deadly legacies and cursed inheritances that have passed from mother to child, or from brother to brother.
Ceelie’s great aunt Eva is brutally murdered in her house on Wild Man’s Bayou. Gentry is the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) agent who discovers her slashed body and witnesses her murderer running away. But he doesn’t believe the man he saw leaving could possibly be real because Gentry knows he killed his brother Lang in a drug-bust shootout three years ago in New Orleans. But the killer looks much too much like Lang to be a coincidence.
Ceelie Savoie is old Eva’s great-niece, and her last living relative. Ceelie inherits Eva’s cabin, along with the ire of whoever killed the old woman. Ceelie has also inherited Eva’s talent for “reading the bones”, even if her skills are rusty. In that melange of French, Spanish, Cajun and Creole culture that makes up the Louisiana swampland, Eva was a practitioner of some of the arts we think of as voodoo. And so, much to her surprise, is Ceelie.
So Ceelie comes home to Wild Man’s Bayou from a floundering attempt at a singing career in Nashville. She has no place else to go. But she promised her late father that she wouldn’t stay in Terrebonne, so she’s planning to clean up Eva’s estate and take her inheritance elsewhere. No matter how much the swamp calls her back home.
And no matter how attracted she is to Gentry Broussard. And very definitely vice-versa.
But before she can even think of leaving, Ceelie and Gentry have to figure out who targeted the old woman, and what on earth they wanted from an old lady who didn’t seem to own anything beyond a well-tended shack in the back country. And for Gentry, he needs to know if the reports of his brother’s death are, as they say, greatly exaggerated. Because if Lang is still alive, it’s entirely possible that Gentry is going to have to kill him again.
If only to prevent Lang from taking away the woman that Gentry has come to love.
Escape Rating A: Wild Man’s Curse is pure romantic suspense, and it is absolutely marvelous. If you have been considering reading one of Sandlin/Johnson’s books but we’re turned off by the paranormal, this one will get you hooked for sure.
The voodoo practice in this story is of the tarot card/ crystal ball variety, not that either of those elements is used. The story works perfectly well whether the reader or the characters have any belief in the supernatural or not. Some of the key characters are superstitious, but then, lots of people are. Eva and Ceelie’s ability to “read the bones” only provides them with vague warnings, and it is clear in the story that those warnings aren’t enough to prevent events, only to help them prepare a little.
The suspense element in the story is what keeps it moving along at a pulse-pounding rate. Gentry isn’t sure that he’s seen Lang, and with good reason. So there’s a big element of the story of Gentry owning up to seeing his dead brother, and putting resources in place to take care of the threat. As well as Gentry eating a lot of professional crow because he doesn’t warn people soon enough.
A big part of the investigation is just trying to determine how everything ties together. There are a lot of questions, and at the beginning, very few answers. We get to watch as Gentry, Ceelie, the detectives from LDWF, the Parish police and everyone else work to find the missing link between old Eva Savoie and young Lang Broussard, as well as trying to discover what the secretive old woman might have owned that would be worth torturing and killing her for, as well as worth continuing to hunt Ceelie for.
The secondary characters are also well done. Gentry’s LDWF partner is terrific. It is marvelous to see male-female police partners who have no sexual chemistry. They are partners. They are almost siblings. But while they each appreciate the scenery, there is no sexual tension at all. And I like Jena and hope there’s a book and romance in her future.
The romance between Gentry and Ceelie burns hot from the very beginning. But they both rightly resist the impulse for as long as they can, ramping up the tension every step of the way. While Gentry’s dog Hoss steals his every scene along with Ceelie’s, and the reader’s, heart.
I loved this first entry in the Wilds of the Bayou series, and absolutely can’t wait for more.
If you are looking for romantic suspense that is just a touch creepy but is still firmly planted in the real world, run, don’t walk to get a copy of this book. I’ll confess to loving all of Susannah Sandlin/Suzanne Johnson’s work, but Wild Man’s Curse was simply marvelous.
She always does an excellent job of painting the setting of her stories, and this one is no exception. Wild Man’s Curse mostly takes place in Terrebonne Parish, on the swampy southern coast of Louisiana. It is one of those places that is losing ground to the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, literally. It is also a place where the gumbo of Cajun culture is still alive and well, preserved in fish camps and tiny houses all up and down the bayous.
Both Gentry Broussard and Celestine Savoie are children of those swamps. But they are both all grown up now, and dealing with deadly legacies and cursed inheritances that have passed from mother to child, or from brother to brother.
Ceelie’s great aunt Eva is brutally murdered in her house on Wild Man’s Bayou. Gentry is the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) agent who discovers her slashed body and witnesses her murderer running away. But he doesn’t believe the man he saw leaving could possibly be real because Gentry knows he killed his brother Lang in a drug-bust shootout three years ago in New Orleans. But the killer looks much too much like Lang to be a coincidence.
Ceelie Savoie is old Eva’s great-niece, and her last living relative. Ceelie inherits Eva’s cabin, along with the ire of whoever killed the old woman. Ceelie has also inherited Eva’s talent for “reading the bones”, even if her skills are rusty. In that melange of French, Spanish, Cajun and Creole culture that makes up the Louisiana swampland, Eva was a practitioner of some of the arts we think of as voodoo. And so, much to her surprise, is Ceelie.
So Ceelie comes home to Wild Man’s Bayou from a floundering attempt at a singing career in Nashville. She has no place else to go. But she promised her late father that she wouldn’t stay in Terrebonne, so she’s planning to clean up Eva’s estate and take her inheritance elsewhere. No matter how much the swamp calls her back home.
And no matter how attracted she is to Gentry Broussard. And very definitely vice-versa.
But before she can even think of leaving, Ceelie and Gentry have to figure out who targeted the old woman, and what on earth they wanted from an old lady who didn’t seem to own anything beyond a well-tended shack in the back country. And for Gentry, he needs to know if the reports of his brother’s death are, as they say, greatly exaggerated. Because if Lang is still alive, it’s entirely possible that Gentry is going to have to kill him again.
If only to prevent Lang from taking away the woman that Gentry has come to love.
Escape Rating A: Wild Man’s Curse is pure romantic suspense, and it is absolutely marvelous. If you have been considering reading one of Sandlin/Johnson’s books but we’re turned off by the paranormal, this one will get you hooked for sure.
The voodoo practice in this story is of the tarot card/ crystal ball variety, not that either of those elements is used. The story works perfectly well whether the reader or the characters have any belief in the supernatural or not. Some of the key characters are superstitious, but then, lots of people are. Eva and Ceelie’s ability to “read the bones” only provides them with vague warnings, and it is clear in the story that those warnings aren’t enough to prevent events, only to help them prepare a little.
The suspense element in the story is what keeps it moving along at a pulse-pounding rate. Gentry isn’t sure that he’s seen Lang, and with good reason. So there’s a big element of the story of Gentry owning up to seeing his dead brother, and putting resources in place to take care of the threat. As well as Gentry eating a lot of professional crow because he doesn’t warn people soon enough.
A big part of the investigation is just trying to determine how everything ties together. There are a lot of questions, and at the beginning, very few answers. We get to watch as Gentry, Ceelie, the detectives from LDWF, the Parish police and everyone else work to find the missing link between old Eva Savoie and young Lang Broussard, as well as trying to discover what the secretive old woman might have owned that would be worth torturing and killing her for, as well as worth continuing to hunt Ceelie for.
The secondary characters are also well done. Gentry’s LDWF partner is terrific. It is marvelous to see male-female police partners who have no sexual chemistry. They are partners. They are almost siblings. But while they each appreciate the scenery, there is no sexual tension at all. And I like Jena and hope there’s a book and romance in her future.
The romance between Gentry and Ceelie burns hot from the very beginning. But they both rightly resist the impulse for as long as they can, ramping up the tension every step of the way. While Gentry’s dog Hoss steals his every scene along with Ceelie’s, and the reader’s, heart.
I loved this first entry in the Wilds of the Bayou series, and absolutely can’t wait for more.
April 4, 2016
WILD MAN’S CURSE by Susannah Sandlin: What You Don’t Know,… http://fangswandsandfairydust.com/201...
Susannah will be my guest on Wednesday, April 6 where she discusses choosing the narrator for this book, and she is offering a giveaway! So come by Wednesday through Sunday to enter!
Audiobook provided by author for review. No remuneration was exchanged and all opinions presented herein are my own except as noted.
I really enjoy the natural feeling of Susannah’s writing, both as Susannah and her alter ego, Suzanne Johnson. Her novels are well constructed with tight plots and great continuity. If Susannah leaves a loose end, it is meant to be there.
She also offers a real sense of place, time and community. Not so much like a small town; everyone one in each other’s kitchen all the time with the comfort of “like family status.” It’s more a traditional way of politesse, how one treats guests and and how a guest behaves; how an acquaintance becomes a friend or lover. That sense of belonging, of becoming family takes time, and there is still, at least in this particular bayou house, a sense of etiquette.
Susannah’s books are more thriller, suspense with a bit of horror than Suzanne’s. To some extent the truly horrific parts are off-stage. But, there are some scenes of violence that I didn’t feel would end well, for at least one person in the room.
This story goes beyond the sense of belonging and dives right into family history and ties a great big bow that only carefully constructed work can have. It dives into that sense of going home and finding it was not the same place you left, or maybe you are not the person you were. It’s knowing that you have a place and a history. Even if you didn’t know you had that.
Speaking of what you don’t know, the plot involves the passing down of a curse. It is not clear to me whether the curse is actually paranormal in nature or whether greed, by itself, is the curse. Of course no story in the bayou is without some paranormal aspect – hence the voodoo priestess throws the bones, and heeds their message. This part of bayou life is important as it speaks to the mixture of religions, races and ethnicities one probably only finds in Louisiana. Then there’s the question of whether Gentry’s brother is a ghost, a demon, or just someone who didn’t die when everyone thought he had.
Susannah’s understanding of and research into the world of fish and game law enforcement, is impressive and offered a glimpse of the difficulties of that job. It gave me a sense of new respect for the men and women in that field.
The narrator does a great job with the accents and gives Celestine exactly the right voice and accent; imbuing it with just-out-of bed, sexy languor, and a bit of sass. She doesn’t over do the men’s voices either. Her narration is a little choppy, but somehow it felt natural, as if her voice were the voice narrating the story in my head as I read it.
I really enjoyed this book; after the tense parts, I was left with good feelings about the characters and their paths. I am looking forward to the next book!
Susannah will be my guest on Wednesday, April 6 where she discusses choosing the narrator for this book, and she is offering a giveaway! So come by Wednesday through Sunday to enter!
Audiobook provided by author for review. No remuneration was exchanged and all opinions presented herein are my own except as noted.
I really enjoy the natural feeling of Susannah’s writing, both as Susannah and her alter ego, Suzanne Johnson. Her novels are well constructed with tight plots and great continuity. If Susannah leaves a loose end, it is meant to be there.
She also offers a real sense of place, time and community. Not so much like a small town; everyone one in each other’s kitchen all the time with the comfort of “like family status.” It’s more a traditional way of politesse, how one treats guests and and how a guest behaves; how an acquaintance becomes a friend or lover. That sense of belonging, of becoming family takes time, and there is still, at least in this particular bayou house, a sense of etiquette.
Susannah’s books are more thriller, suspense with a bit of horror than Suzanne’s. To some extent the truly horrific parts are off-stage. But, there are some scenes of violence that I didn’t feel would end well, for at least one person in the room.
This story goes beyond the sense of belonging and dives right into family history and ties a great big bow that only carefully constructed work can have. It dives into that sense of going home and finding it was not the same place you left, or maybe you are not the person you were. It’s knowing that you have a place and a history. Even if you didn’t know you had that.
Speaking of what you don’t know, the plot involves the passing down of a curse. It is not clear to me whether the curse is actually paranormal in nature or whether greed, by itself, is the curse. Of course no story in the bayou is without some paranormal aspect – hence the voodoo priestess throws the bones, and heeds their message. This part of bayou life is important as it speaks to the mixture of religions, races and ethnicities one probably only finds in Louisiana. Then there’s the question of whether Gentry’s brother is a ghost, a demon, or just someone who didn’t die when everyone thought he had.
Susannah’s understanding of and research into the world of fish and game law enforcement, is impressive and offered a glimpse of the difficulties of that job. It gave me a sense of new respect for the men and women in that field.
The narrator does a great job with the accents and gives Celestine exactly the right voice and accent; imbuing it with just-out-of bed, sexy languor, and a bit of sass. She doesn’t over do the men’s voices either. Her narration is a little choppy, but somehow it felt natural, as if her voice were the voice narrating the story in my head as I read it.
I really enjoyed this book; after the tense parts, I was left with good feelings about the characters and their paths. I am looking forward to the next book!
April 12, 2016
Susannah Sandlin is a master at world building. I can't think of another author that draws me into the setting of the story quite like she does. I was flying at 30,000 feet while reading but swore I could feel the swamp humidity and hear the mosquitos buzzing. I love that she weaves local culture and legends into her tales as well. This story set down in the swamps of Southern Louisiana combines Creole and Native American culture, and a little of the voodoo religion as well.
Gentry Broussard is a senior agent with Louisana Wildlife & Fisheries. He is a hero after my own heart... a broody alpha with a tortured past that looks good in a uniform.
When Eva's grand-niece, Ceelie Savoie, a sultry singer-songwriter, returns to the swamp after the murder, she quickly finds herself in danger and leaning on the local law enforcement agents for help. Luckily for Ceelie, one handsome agent with eyes like melted chocolate, takes a particular interest. The chemistry between these two was great, and I liked that Ceelie was not afraid to go after what she wanted, namely Gentry.
The suspense unfolded nicely at a steady pace. There wasn't a lot of fast-moving action, which only added to the slow sultry southern atmosphere of the story. I love this authors work written under the Suzanne Johnson pen name, but now that I have a taste of her romantic suspense, I will be reading a lot more Susannah Sandlin.
I received an advanced copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 4.5 stars / 2 flames
Gentry Broussard is a senior agent with Louisana Wildlife & Fisheries. He is a hero after my own heart... a broody alpha with a tortured past that looks good in a uniform.
There was something about a guy in uniform most women found irresistible... it had to be the belt and all the equipment that dangled from it when the guys walked, which not only was phallic but probably released extra sex pheromones into the air and turned women into nectar-seeking honeybees.Gentry is out patrolling the swamp for gator poachers when he comes across the murder of local voodoo queen legend, Eva Savoie. The murder investigation implicates Gentry's past and family, bringing all his demons out into the light. Gentry was a good hero, particularly if you view him and his weapon belt pheromones through the eyes of our heroine, Ceelie.
When Eva's grand-niece, Ceelie Savoie, a sultry singer-songwriter, returns to the swamp after the murder, she quickly finds herself in danger and leaning on the local law enforcement agents for help. Luckily for Ceelie, one handsome agent with eyes like melted chocolate, takes a particular interest. The chemistry between these two was great, and I liked that Ceelie was not afraid to go after what she wanted, namely Gentry.
The suspense unfolded nicely at a steady pace. There wasn't a lot of fast-moving action, which only added to the slow sultry southern atmosphere of the story. I love this authors work written under the Suzanne Johnson pen name, but now that I have a taste of her romantic suspense, I will be reading a lot more Susannah Sandlin.
I received an advanced copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 4.5 stars / 2 flames
April 14, 2016
From The Book Junkie Reads . . . Wild Man Curse (Wilds of the Bayou, #1) . . .
Murder. Mystery. Suspense. Oh, yeah. . . a little romance on the side. Voodoo, Louisiana, a priestess, a curse, bloody bodies, death threats, secrets, passion and damn no real jurisdiction in any of this action.
Whiskey Bayou, LA has a little something brewing in its pots. Gentry has something brewing in his brain. He thinks he sees what he knows that he could not have seen but want proof that he had see what he seen. Make sense? Good. You will find more in these pages than just your everyday romantic suspense. There was depth, vivid depictions, and intense characterization.
A family curse in the bayou was not uncommon the Louisianan region. There was no reason to take this one to be any different but there was something about it. Something that made it stand out.
There are rich characters. Detailed oriented procedures of law enforcement and investigation. There was no half-assing it here. There was apparent attention paid to how the scenarios played out. Our hero was a first for me a wildlife officer on the hunt for poachers. He had some skills. This was most certainly a read about the man. I found the woman to be developed but more of a secondary character to her male counterpart. Celestine had a more prominent role than that of a secondary character. I just felt more focused on Gentry.
**This ARC was provided via Bewitching Book Tours in exchange for an honest review.**
Murder. Mystery. Suspense. Oh, yeah. . . a little romance on the side. Voodoo, Louisiana, a priestess, a curse, bloody bodies, death threats, secrets, passion and damn no real jurisdiction in any of this action.
Whiskey Bayou, LA has a little something brewing in its pots. Gentry has something brewing in his brain. He thinks he sees what he knows that he could not have seen but want proof that he had see what he seen. Make sense? Good. You will find more in these pages than just your everyday romantic suspense. There was depth, vivid depictions, and intense characterization.
A family curse in the bayou was not uncommon the Louisianan region. There was no reason to take this one to be any different but there was something about it. Something that made it stand out.
There are rich characters. Detailed oriented procedures of law enforcement and investigation. There was no half-assing it here. There was apparent attention paid to how the scenarios played out. Our hero was a first for me a wildlife officer on the hunt for poachers. He had some skills. This was most certainly a read about the man. I found the woman to be developed but more of a secondary character to her male counterpart. Celestine had a more prominent role than that of a secondary character. I just felt more focused on Gentry.
**This ARC was provided via Bewitching Book Tours in exchange for an honest review.**
April 23, 2016
The location in this book is Houma is the only parish of Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana which is steeped in Cajun tradition and culture, a mixture of Native American, Acadian and African traditions. I have always been fascinated by the history and the current culture of Louisiana but on the flip side those cultures scare the bejeezus out of me but they do make for fascinating reading.
Wild Man's Curse kicks off a new series set in and around Houma and is rich with the voodoo culture but not enough to classify it as a paranormal (in my opinion). The death of a voodoo priestess kicks of the suspense when her great neice Celestine – her only heir – returns to Houma to claim the cabin and land her Tante Eva owned not knowing that the person that killed her Aunt is still around looking for what he didnt get from the old woman.
Gentry Broussard works for the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Game. He is a man with a haunted past of killing his brother 3 years ago on a drug bust. Problem is he is pretty sure it was his dead brother he saw leaving Eva's cabin the night she was killed.
Ancient family curses, a man returning from the dead on a mission provide a great suspense along with the romance that blooms between Gentry and Celestine. I enjoyed this and look forward to reading more in the series.
Wild Man's Curse kicks off a new series set in and around Houma and is rich with the voodoo culture but not enough to classify it as a paranormal (in my opinion). The death of a voodoo priestess kicks of the suspense when her great neice Celestine – her only heir – returns to Houma to claim the cabin and land her Tante Eva owned not knowing that the person that killed her Aunt is still around looking for what he didnt get from the old woman.
Gentry Broussard works for the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Game. He is a man with a haunted past of killing his brother 3 years ago on a drug bust. Problem is he is pretty sure it was his dead brother he saw leaving Eva's cabin the night she was killed.
Ancient family curses, a man returning from the dead on a mission provide a great suspense along with the romance that blooms between Gentry and Celestine. I enjoyed this and look forward to reading more in the series.
April 7, 2016
Susannah Sandlin has created an engaging tale of mystery, murder, voodoo and burgeoning love set in the wilds of the Louisiana bayou. Written with an attention to detail that makes you feel as though the beauty and danger of the swamp surrounds you, Wild Man's Curse follows the interaction of Louisiana Division of Wildlife agent Gentry Broussard and Celestine Savoie, an aspiring singer who leaves a foundering career in Nashville to settle the estate of her great aunt, who was found brutally murdered in her bayou cabin. When Celestine is kidnapped by her aunt's killer, Gentry must confront his growing feelings for her, and the possibility that the murderer is his own brother, the brother he shot and thought he killed in a drug raid three years earlier. Wild Man's Curse is a fascinating, suspense-filled story by the author of the Penton Legacy, the Collectors series, and my personal favorite, (writing as Suzanne Johnson) the Sentinels of New Orleans. Wild Man's Curse is a great read; I highly recommend it.
April 18, 2016
I love the Penton books by Sandlin and all her other books as well, so I had to get my trotters on this book.
And it is so good!
Sandlin has a very engaging writing style that draws you in from the start. I love how she sets the mood for this story in her descriptions, and I could almost feel the swampy heat. Whiskey Bayou sounds like a beautiful, but harsh place to live.
Both Gentry and Ceelie are easy to like and root for. I also fell in love with Jena and Paul, two of the other characters. I'm really hoping both will get their own book in this series.
The story is very suspenseful and full of mystery. What's the curse resting on Ceelie's family? Why was Eva killed? It didn't take me long to be totally engrossed in the story and to root for Gentry and Ceelie to figure out what was going on and why.
All in all this is a gripping read both because of the story and the setting. I will most certainly get my trotters on any other books in this series.
And it is so good!
Sandlin has a very engaging writing style that draws you in from the start. I love how she sets the mood for this story in her descriptions, and I could almost feel the swampy heat. Whiskey Bayou sounds like a beautiful, but harsh place to live.
Both Gentry and Ceelie are easy to like and root for. I also fell in love with Jena and Paul, two of the other characters. I'm really hoping both will get their own book in this series.
The story is very suspenseful and full of mystery. What's the curse resting on Ceelie's family? Why was Eva killed? It didn't take me long to be totally engrossed in the story and to root for Gentry and Ceelie to figure out what was going on and why.
All in all this is a gripping read both because of the story and the setting. I will most certainly get my trotters on any other books in this series.
April 16, 2016
A dark and suspenseful, Cajun country romance, thriller, with a dash of mystery, superbly written, that keeps you on the edge until the very end. Ms Sandlin has a way of writing that pulls you into the story and the minds of the characters, both good and evil. Her characters are multi-dimensional, with layers that are peeled away as the story unfolds.
It's hard not to fall hard for Gentry, the overly protective, alpha male Wildlife and Fisheries Officer, and cheer for Ceelie and her deep sense of family and home. As they come together, you'll feel your heart sighing reading about what they give to each other.
I look forward to reading more by this author as she writes in several different genres; if her other stories are nearly as well written as this one, I'm sure to enjoy more of her books.
This book was provided by the author for my honest review.
It's hard not to fall hard for Gentry, the overly protective, alpha male Wildlife and Fisheries Officer, and cheer for Ceelie and her deep sense of family and home. As they come together, you'll feel your heart sighing reading about what they give to each other.
I look forward to reading more by this author as she writes in several different genres; if her other stories are nearly as well written as this one, I'm sure to enjoy more of her books.
This book was provided by the author for my honest review.
June 24, 2022
Great romantic suspense tale set in rural Louisiana, with Celestine Savoie - a lovely young singer/songwriter and Gentry Broussard - a handsome and hunky wildlife agent and their involvement in the search for a junky murderer who also might be Gentry's brother. There was quite a bit of brutality on the part of the perpetrator, but the courage and perseverance shown by Ceelie and Gentry made the story one I couldn't put down until I got to the end. I enjoyed learning more of the history of the Cajuns and natives of the area, as well as just getting more of a feel for the bayou country. The descriptions of the bayou were so vivid, I felt like I would be sweating and swatting mosquitoes any minute. I really enjoy this author's writing, and recommend her stories written as Suzanne Johnson as well.
January 6, 2017
Wilds of the Bayou Book One
On patrol one night, Gentry Broussard believes he's seen a ghost, literally. He had shot his brother years ago in a drug bust and everyone thought Lang was dead. When Gentry sees Lang leaving the house of Eva Savoie just after her vicious murder, he thinks he must be mistaken. When he visits Tommy, Lang's best boyhood friend, he knows his sighting was truly Lang. Meanwhile, Eva's niece must come home to the bayou to claim her aunt's belongings. She isn't sure if she will stay, but she really has nowhere else to go. When she is targeted by her aunt's killer, though, Ceelie gets pulled into the investigation.
If you're looking for a good 'ole Southern mystery with betrayals, suspense and chemistry, this book is for you!
On patrol one night, Gentry Broussard believes he's seen a ghost, literally. He had shot his brother years ago in a drug bust and everyone thought Lang was dead. When Gentry sees Lang leaving the house of Eva Savoie just after her vicious murder, he thinks he must be mistaken. When he visits Tommy, Lang's best boyhood friend, he knows his sighting was truly Lang. Meanwhile, Eva's niece must come home to the bayou to claim her aunt's belongings. She isn't sure if she will stay, but she really has nowhere else to go. When she is targeted by her aunt's killer, though, Ceelie gets pulled into the investigation.
If you're looking for a good 'ole Southern mystery with betrayals, suspense and chemistry, this book is for you!
December 8, 2016
This is my introduction to Susannah Sandlin. And, damn, if she hasn't risen to the top of my favorite romantic suspense authors.
The cover is what first caught my attention. Celestine is smart and beautiful and Gentry and I fell in love with her.The suspense element is intense. I held my breath for half the book. Always waiting for the next boogie man to pop up.
The romance is more sexual tension than actual nookie, but it was deliciously done.
The narration was excellent. I love a Cajun accent.
Highly recommended.
The cover is what first caught my attention. Celestine is smart and beautiful and Gentry and I fell in love with her.The suspense element is intense. I held my breath for half the book. Always waiting for the next boogie man to pop up.
The romance is more sexual tension than actual nookie, but it was deliciously done.
The narration was excellent. I love a Cajun accent.
Highly recommended.
April 22, 2016
Smooth read
The author definitely did her homework because this book was not just thrown together. The environment is picturesque and convincing. The characters are realistic, endearing, smart and believable. The story is engaging and entertaining; romance mixed with mystery; loyalty mingling with duty. I did not want to put this down once I started. After reading this, I now want to visit Louisiana!!
The author definitely did her homework because this book was not just thrown together. The environment is picturesque and convincing. The characters are realistic, endearing, smart and believable. The story is engaging and entertaining; romance mixed with mystery; loyalty mingling with duty. I did not want to put this down once I started. After reading this, I now want to visit Louisiana!!
November 2, 2024
The bones said death was comin’, and the bones never lied. What a good opener! Absolutely loved this book. I received an ARC and was able to read this ahead of time...lucky me! Susannah Sandlin aka Suzanne Johnson is one of my favourite authors. This story set in the Louisiana Bayou brings murder, voodoo and stay-up late reading. Can't wait for the second book in this series!
May 1, 2016
I absolutely loved this book! I read it all in one day, because it was so fun and suspenseful that I just couldn't walk away from it (and really, it's not an overly long book). The settings and characters were so well described that I could picture them in my head. And there's a wee piece of the story that is a little open-ended when it's over... which makes me very excited for the sequel!
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