5bat! Review: Black Dust Mambo by Adrian Phoenix

Title: Black Dust Mambo Author: Adrian Phoenix Series: Hoodoo #1 Cover Art: Steve Stone  Genre: Urban Fantasy Excerpt: Yes Source: Purchased Reviewed by: Julia Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages Publisher: Pocket, June 29, 2010 ISBN-10: 1439167877 ISBN-13: 978-1439167878 Sexual Content: Kissing, explicit fantasies, and discussions of sex. Rating: Near Perfect - Buy two copies: one for you and one for a friend.

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Description

"There will be times, girl, when all your magic ain't going to be enough, times when it will seem to dry up like mud under the noonday sun, or even make matters worse . . ."

Kallie Riviere, a fiery Cajun hoodoo apprentice with a talent for trouble, finds herself smack-dab in the middle of one of those times her mentor warned her about when she visits New Orleans to attend the Hecatean Alliance's annual carnival: her hard-bodied conjurer hookup ends up dead in her blood-drenched bed. And he was killed by something that Kallie would never dream of touching -- the darkest of dark juju, soul-eating juju -- a black dust hex that may have been meant to kill her.

Now Kallie has to use every bit of hoodoo knowledge and bayou-bred mojo she possesses to clear her own name and find the killer -- even as that dark sorcerer hunts Kallie and her friends. But Kallie's search for the truth soon leads her in a direction she never anticipated -- back home to Bayou Cypres Noir, and to Gabrielle LaRue, Kallie's aunt, protector, and hoodoo mentor . . . who is looking more and more like she just might be the one who wants Kallie dead.

Review

Hexes and poppets and bayou magic abound in BLACK DUST MAMBO, creating a vivid, detailed world that unfolds as naturally as breathing.  It's been a long time since I've read an Urban Fantasy novel that swept me away quite like this one (The Guild Hunters series comes to mind), and though BLACK DUST MAMBO is just the first of it’s series, it has already raised my expectations very, very high.

The action moves lightening fast from page one.  Kallie puts on a bathrobe, opens her door to a knock, and doesn’t have time to pull on a pair of pants until almost halfway through the book.  This rapid fire plot doesn’t skimp on character development, however, and even with the quick introductions I felt emotionally involved in the characters.  I was particularly impressed with how Phoenix handled Kallie and Layne.  From the moment they meet over the body of Layne’s best friend and Kallie’s one night stand, Phoenix creates a powerfully charged blend of guilt, obligation, and sexual chemistry between them.

Phoenix is not afraid to keep relationships complex, messy, and hot in this book, and Kallie and Layne are by no means the only relationship that has my attention.  All of the characters planted many false trails and tantalizing sexual possibilities, which has me salivating to see which fantasies will become reality in book 2. BLACK DUST MAMBO was great, this series has the potential to be amazing, and I can’t wait to pick up BLACK HEART LOA in June.

Previous Books in Series	Also Reviewed By:
N/A	Patricia at Patricia’s Vampire Notes Elixirelevent at Cabinet of Curiosities Rebecca at Dirty Sexy Books