Voodoo Laws-Jim Michael Hanson

Voodoo Laws
Jim Michael Hanson
Dark Sky, Mar 15 2009, $13.95
Golden, CO 80401
ISBN: 0976924374
Http://www.SarkSkyPublishing.com

Denver police homicide detective Bryson Coventry leads the official investigation into the murder of affluent lawyer Ryan Ripley in a sleazy part of town known for cheap street hookers; inside his home is found a voodoo doll with a needle through an eye. Soon afterward, someone fires a shot at either Coventry or his girlfriend Ta’Venza Oceana while they sit in his 1967 Corvette; outraged that the bullet destroyed his window, he curses the miscreant who would harm a car like his, vowing justice.

Meanwhile attorney Mackenzie Lee has a new client, Erin Asher, who claims the prime suspect in another homicide and the abduction of Lindsay Vail could not have committed either of those crimes as she is his alibi. She asserts she has seen the accused stalk her. Coventry assigns detective Coyote to conduct surveillance on Mackenzie while a second murder tied to voodoo occurs at Ripley’s law firm.

Soon the seemingly separate cases tie together with Coventry being cursed by a practitioner who employs VOODOO LAWS. The merged trails lead him to New Orleans and its voodoo shops.

The latest Coventry “Laws” police procedural is a terrific entry that has all the magic of the previous six and more. This time the hero is voodoo death cursed as he struggles to connect the dots that seem unrelated. Fans will enjoy this superb entry especially when the missing links are found in Denver and refreshingly New Orleans; as the hero is forced out of the Mile High City by the direction of the investigation. As always the audience needs to drink coffee with this fun tale in which a cursed Coventry curses those who could harm a classic car.

Harriet Klausner