The Book of Obeah

Crossroads, Book 1

By: Sandra Carrington-Smith

Narrated by: Dave Fennoy

Audie Award Finalist, Thriller/Suspense, 2014

Upon the passing of her beloved grandmother, Melody Bennet receives startling instructions that she is to take the ashes of Grandmama Giselle to southern Louisiana. Melody must step far outside her comfort zone in the suburbs of North Carolina to fulfill this dying wish. She finds herself blindly navigating the exotic, sometimes hostile environs of New Orleans and Bear Bayou, and immersed in a subculture based on an ancient West African religion. At this unexpected crossroad, she discovers new cultures and beliefs - and new dangers - and awakens to a new way of seeing the world and her role in it. Melody learns that a different perspective can indeed change your perception of reality.

©2010 Sandra Carrington-Smith (P)2013 Cherry Hill Publishing

Critic reviews

• 2014 Audie Award Finalist

Clever story of voodoo and hoodoo

I enjoyed this enough to buy the sequel but I won't buy anymore with Dave Fennoy narrating. Although Mr. Fennoy is a well-known voice actor, he failed to place the right accents on many characters. Most characters, regardless of background, had a deep southern African American accent. But the worst was the Hispanic detective that sounded like Count Dracula. It was ridiculous.

Narrator adds the perfect amount of spookiness

Even though our heroine is female it didn’t bother me at all that this one was narrated by a man because he was amazing and added to the spookiness of this book. Dave Fennoy has this voice it’s the voice of every scary Voodoo witch doctor that’s ever been heard or read he was perfect for this book. His voice is a cross between Barry White & Dion Graham and I really liked it and was very surprised to find out this was his only audiobook on audible so did some digging and found out he is a voice over actor and has some impressive credits to his name in commercials, animations, games and documentaries. I for one hope he narrates the second book in this series because it won’t be the same without him! I also hope he will narrate more books because I could listen to him all day! There were times the music between chapters was annoying and times it felt like it fit in so just a warning to those of you who don’t like music in your audiobooks.

I really liked this book; however I am not sure I would have liked it as much if I had read it in print. But since I did listen I really enjoyed it, it was suspenseful and kept me on the edge of my seat. This is paranormal suspense about Voodoo and Hoodoo.

Melody’s grandmother dies and asks that Melody take her ashes back to the Louisiana Bayou, but what her grandmother doesn’t tell her is the inheritance of “The Sight” that she also passed on and that there is an old book that she needs to take care of as there are many willing to kill for. Melody didn’t know anything about Voodoo or Hoodoo but soon finds out her grandmother did which comes as a shock to Melody. When she gets to Louisiana things get even weirder plus she is threatened by a man who says the book her grandmother stole is his and he will get it back no matter what. So we have a mystery a family story with some ghosts and hoodoo going on!

This isn’t a story I would have been drawn to but since it is up for an Audie Award I listened to it and am glad I did, it had just the right amount of suspense and the paranormal add a little Catholic Church baddies to the mix and this made for a good story. I was glad a certain someone didn’t end up being a bad guy (you’ll know if you read it) and I am curious if that relationship will go on to the next book (which there is not an audio and that needs to be remedied!). I am curious if certain characters will carry over and which ones that will be. I liked Melody I thought she took everything in stride and it was a lot to take in and I’d love to see how she goes forward and what becomes of ‘the Sight’. This book grabbed me enough to want to continue on with the series.

4 Stars
5 Star narration

Easy listen

I really enjoyed this book. It was easy to listen to; entertaining and kept my attention.

Interesting

Love. Love. Love history and mystery. Anything to do Voodun peaks my interest. This book has a steady pace. It doesn't give an opportunity for the reader to get bored.

Voodoo Suspense

This book contains a lot of historical information about the Voodoo religion, as well as some of its beliefs and practices. It is also a suspenseful tale as it follows Melody Bennett in her quest to fulfill her grandmother's dying wishes.

When Grandmama Giselle dies, she leaves instructions for Melody to take her ashes to a remote bayou in Southern Louisiana. First, Melody has to find her Grandmama's childhood friend and have the ashes blessed. Melody soon finds herself in possession of an ancient text called the Book of Obeah, which Giselle has said that Melody must protect.

Melody soon finds herself in the middle of a battle between various factions who want the Book. Along the way, she learns a lot about herself and the practice of Voodoo, while at the same time meeting a sexy homicide detective named Mario.

The author does a great job in describing the bayou region and the atmosphere surrounding it and New Orleans. She has obviously done a lot of research into the Voodoo religion as well. She weaves a very intricate web of characters and backgrounds to a open-ended conclusion that could possibly lead to more books.

The narrator, Dave Fennoy, does a great job with the various voices for the characters. My only complaint would be that the sound was very low and I had a hard time hearing it even with my Kindle volume set at maximum.

An Intriguing Reminder

If you are seeking a deeper understanding of Universal Knowledge, then this book is for you.

Diversity in Voodoo, Who Knew?

It is safe to say that my thoughts of voodoo were limited prior to last year. When I thought of voodoo I thought of black people, animal blood sacrifices, dark spooky nights, and death. I mean who knew, it is actually a religion, and people use it's teachings for good and bad like any other religion. Now thanks to Sandra Carrington-Smith I now know that voodoo has diversity among its practitioners. Oh, the ignorance!!!!

Giselle said something that really got me to thinking about how important it is to not leave things unsettled.

"Is there anyone in this world without regret when death is near. "

~Giselle

Overall this is a great read. Dave Fennoy was an amazing narrator. He gave this book the spookiness it needed. The characters were well developed and I didn't get them confused. There are mysteries within mysteries and discoveries within discoveries. I do recommend this read if you enjoy mysteries and thrillers. Now, I'm off to read book two.

A Fantastic Story with a Phenomenal Narration

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Excellent Story!! Would recommend to anyone looking for a good story, rich subject!

What about Dave Fennoy’s performance did you like?

Oh! You can not believe how well Dave Fennoy is in this performance. Easily the best performance by a narrator I have heard.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When the main character returns to New Orleans and begins to learn about the practice of Voodoo.

Any additional comments?

You simply can not go wrong getting this audio book! I can't imagine anyone being dissapointed.

OBEAH ASE ASE ASE ASE ASE ASE ASE ASE ASE ASE ASE

LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE OBEAH ASE ASE ASE ASE ASE ASE ASE OBEAH
Love Obeah LuKumi Obatala

open your mind

this book is informative and awesome. o feel it makes is confront our commonalities across religion race and ritual