Hoodoo House (Declan Hunt book 2) by Peter E. Fenton

[Ulysses]

Hoodoo House (Declan Hunt book 2)
By Peter E. Fenton
Pride Publishing, 2024
Five stars

I’d let this book slide by me, but bought it when I ordered book 3. Peter Fenton’s Declan Hunt series is set in Calgary, Alberta, and has some of the best characters. Of course Declan Hunt, proud and wounded and honorable, is working alongside his new assistant, Charlie Watts, who is adorable and smart and trying very hard not to let Declan know what a crush he has on him. But Henry Quill, the twelve-year-old who knows Hoodoo House better than anyone, is possibly my favorite character of all.

Is it a murder? Is it a suicide? Is it really a bad thing? An arrogant author is found dead at his desk in Hoodoo House, a writer’s retreat set up under the foundation of an eccentric and reclusive romance novelist. The suspicious death of Malcolm Tull is being handled by the local police, but Declan and Charlie are called in by the late author’s editor. That’s when things begin to go sideways.

Meanwhile Charlie wants to be professional, and so does Declan. But hey, folks, it’s a romance AND a mystery. We know what has to happen. That doesn’t make it easy or without plenty of angst. Fenton knows how to handle all of it, while giving us vivid settings and appealing, interesting, relatable players in this complicated drama. So far, he’s batting a thousand, and I don’t doubt book three will be just as much fun.