While walking their dogs, Brandy and Jiff stumble upon an alligator who might be an accomplice to murder! There’s no limit to the number of suspects with all the festivals and events going on in the area where the body was found. Their wedding is only four weeks away when surprise issues cause problems for the happy couple. Will Brandy accept help from Frank and Julia, or her great aunt who has … has Voodooeinne for a housekeeper? Can she manage to solve the murder for the victim and handle all the problems with her upcoming wedding?
There’s no place like New Orleans to have a good crime!
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This review is for the audio book.
I loved this book but then again I have loved everyone of the books in this series so far so it wasn’t a surprise. New Orleans is such a fun and wacky location to set the series, that I think the stories just writes themselves. Not that the author isn’t talented and plays a big part in it because she certainly does and she weaves a clever plot that will keep you entertained and smiling. The reason I loved it so much is the great cast of characters, they are nearly as colourful as the location and with the descriptions and story, so easy to picture it could almost be a tv programme you are watching. The mystery although not really the main focus of the story, was interesting and kept changing directions on you leaving you guessing what was going to happen next. The main focus of the story was on the up coming wedding and normally I wish a story would just stick to the mystery and not get bogged down with drama but that was not the case with this story. It added to the amusement and made it a fun cozy that I will listen to again when I need something to make me smile.
Was an alligator framed for murder? Brandy thinks he might have been set up. When she and her boyfriend Jiff walk there dogs at the park they stumble over an alligator with a body. The police think it was just an accident but Brandy pushes the case and brings to there attention that the woman might have already been dead before the alligator got her. Was there witnesses to what happened? At the same time Brandy gets a warning that change is on the way and soon finds herself rushing to find a new venue for her wedding. Can she keep her family from find out she is getting married until she is ready to tell them? find an acceptable location for her dream wedding? Find out why the witnesses won’t talk and catch a killer?
I liked the narrator. She does such a good job of bringing the story to life by using some great accents and voices that the story was fun to listen.I
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
Voodoo, Victims and Vows is the eighth book in the New Orleans Go Cup Chronicles. It’s the first in the series that I’ve read, and I confess that I have no idea what a Go Cup is or what it has to do with anything, but that doesn’t matter. What matters is that this is a witty, well written, well done mystery. It starts with the heroine Brandy Alexander, and her fiancé, Jiff, walking along in a fog, and stumbling on a dead body being eaten by an alligator.
It turns out that the victim was murdered, and then thrown into the bayou, and the rest of the book revolves around the efforts of Brandy and the police to identify the killers. Brandy works for a company specializing in fraud identification and prevention. She has a talent for seeing inconsistencies in data and has helped the police in a number of previous investigations. This mystery revolves around a bunch of young women who have been induced to work for little money under inhuman conditions. “Labor trafficking,” as it is called, is a situation I had previously known nothing about.
One problem in a book of this sort is plausibility, and the author handles it well. Unless your protagonist is either a cop or a PI, the author has to figure out a plausible reason for the hero to be involved in the investigation. It’s not easy, but in this case it works, partly because of Brandy’s actual job and partly because her former boyfriend, with whom she has remained on good terms, is a New Orleans police chief.
I love the Go Cup series by New Orleans author Colleen Mooney. Voodoo, Victims and Vows was another winner. The authors descriptions of life in New Orleans, along with its idiosyncrasies and foibles and the unexpected, are on point. I lived in New Orleans for quite a few years and I can vouch these people really do exist. In this book, Brandy and Jiff meet a strange guy and a bit later come upon a body at the Bayou guarded by an alligator. Needless to say lots of stuff happens. I love the way this author intersperses humor throughout her series and twists storylines to keep the book highly energetic. The characters are well developed, colorful and memorable in the description narrative is excellent for New Orleans. What’s not to love? The series is excellent. Highly recommended.
I always love a book when an unexpected “character” captures my imagination. In the case of V, V and V, that turned out to be city of New Orleans. Not that Brandy Alexander, who has made a second career of sniffing out crimes and inserting herself into police investigations to solve them, isn’t enough. Colleen Mooney weaves a suspenseful tale of young women attacked by alligators, criminal forced labor, and unresolved romantic frustrations without the added bonus. But her vivid portrayal of the Big Easy and the city’s fascinating festivals was an unexpected and delightful extra. I’m looking forward to my next visit to the French Quarter, with a hope that I’ll be invited with Brandy’s collection of quirky friends and relatives to the Napoleon House for the big wedding. Or will it be at Aunt Beasy’s Mansion? Anyway, I will at least be able to join her as she guides her police buddies through another baffling crime in a fascinating city. Very enjoyable!
Colleen Mooney is a new to me author and I absolutely loved Voodoo, Victims, and Vows. The story drew me in despite being book eight in her series, New Orleans Go Cup Chronicles. Though I might have gotten more out of the books had a read them in sequence, but Voodoo, Victims, and Vows easily stands on its own. I had no trouble sinking my teeth into the mystery.
The story is set in New Orleans, Louisiana, and the flavor of the city comes through on every page. I love mysteries, and the festive atmosphere of New Orleans provides so many possibilities for the author.
When Mooney delivers an alligator murder accomplice, I laughed out loud and was totally hooked. I think every story regardless of genre should include a bit of humor and Voodoo, Victims, and Vows did not disappoint, even though the storyline brought in a very serious human traffic element.
The characters were cute and quirky and Brandy, the heroine and her fiancé Jiff kept me reading to the end. I look forward to reading more of their capers in the other books of the series…
Hmm, maybe I’ll start with book one this time…well done, Ms Mooney.
Voodoo, Victims, and Vows is my second encounter with the wonderful author Colleen Mooney. This time I learned what a New Orleans Go Cup is. Being from a state north of Louisiana, I did not have a clue. Now I know.
Our heroine, Brandy, and her fiancée, Jiff encounter a strange little man typing on a mysterious manual typewriter on a foggy night in the New Orleans French Quarter. When the typist hands Brandy a foreboding note warning about three events to occur over the next four weeks, Jiff dismisses it while Brandy broods.
An encounter with a dead body guarded by a gator, a less than enthusiastic police response, a home inspection discovering serious electrical issues with a house they are planning to buy, and a postponement of their wedding. All lead Brandy to believe the man on the typewriter could foresee the future.
What we receive next is a good old fashion murder mystery that tackles a really serious societal problem, human trafficking. I really like Ms. Mooney’s writing style. The prose is not pretentious and she gives just enough description to let your imagination fill in the blanks.
All in all, a five-star offering in this, so-far, eight-book series.
Voodoo, Victims & Vows immersed me in the life and culture of New Orleans, complete with local cuisine, Voodoo Fest, and a foggy day when Brandy Alexander spots a body. She resists calling it murder-by-alligator. Her sixth sense is validated when the cause of death is declared as a blunt force trauma to the back of the head.
Brandy works at the Fraud detection Unit in the city, and her skills to detect discrepancies in patterns would prove crucial to solve this case. On the personal front, planning her wedding to her fiancé, Jiff, is met with obstacles. She attempts to squash the most extravagant suggestions, such as. “I know just where I can get twenty white doves to release when the trumpet blasts as soon as you finish your vows.”
At the beginning of the book, Brandy sees an old man typing a message for her on an old typewriter in the entrance of a Voodoo shop. “Three things will happen to you in the next four weeks and they will change your life. Beware of the third. You can’t stop it.” All she discovers about him later is the fact that an old editor who was murdered in that spot, which gives his message the eerie feel of an omen.
When her ex-boyfriend, NOPD Captain Dante Deedler is wounded by the suspects, she wonders, “Was this destiny taking me back to where my path led me in another direction… Was this the third thing in the typed note meant to happen to me?” She blames herself for his coma. “if I hadn’t insisted this was a murder instead of an accident, Dante would not be in the ER fighting for his life.” Is this the third event she was warned about? Will it change her life?
As a special treat, a Champagne Chicken recipe is included at the end.
Five stars.
Brandy and Jiff are only weeks away from their wedding with only half that time before the sale of their dream home is set to close .
Have termites and scamming killers come together to keep them from wedding?
Former beau Dante and Brandy are finally in a place where they both seem ready to move on as friends to their next phases of life.
Or are they?
She loved the boy. Is she ready to marry a different man – or to find another disaster to prevent the wedding?
Drama, humor and action galore!
I love this and the whole series! With Voodoo, Victims and Vows, Colleen Mooney has established her place as the leading crime author from New Orleans. Her descriptions of locations and events are wonderful, as are the characters Brandy, Jiff, and their Schnauzers. Expect mystery, romance and humor too, and I can’t wait for the forthcoming book 9. It looks like there will be a wedding in it – hooray! Btw there are Cajun recipes at the end of the book, which is a delightful touch. Highly recommended – five stars!
What a hoot!
I have read one other of Ms. Mooney’s books in the Go Cup series, and it was such fun, that when I wanted to lighten my mood, I picked up another. This one is not in order, I’ll admit it, I liked this cover. Ms. Mooney sets the scene and gets the reader right on board, so I don’t think it’s necessary to strictly read them in order.
Having traveled to New Orleans several times, I have been intrigued by the uniqueness of the area. In her novels, Ms. Mooney paints a vivid picture of what “real” New Orleans is like. I find it wholly fascinating.
And this being the Halloween season, what could be better than some hauntingly good fun? Off I went down the road with Brandy and Jiff as they plan their future together. And then, I got snagged by one of the biggest plot hooks. The kind that tells you that you won’t be satisfied until you know it all.
This novel was populated with great characters like Woozie, creative twists, and some bad juju. It’s a fabulous trip down south with this mystery to be solved, filled with wit and the spice of gumbo. Grab yourself a copy and have some fun.