“Showdown in Mudbug” Puts Raissa in Trouble with a Child’s Kidnapping

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Showdown in MudbugRaissa Bordeaux, the psychic who has mentored Sabine whom we got to know in Mischief in Mudbug, has a past she has been hiding from when events suddenly bring it into the present in Showdown in Mudbug by Jana DeLeon. Hearing that the granddaughter of the mayor, a little girl who has visited Raissa’s shop every month after visiting the local doctor, has been kidnapped, Raissa pays a call on the New Orleans Police Department. There she tells the detective in charge, Zach Blanchard, that this is not the first kidnapping of a young girl like Melissa, naming locations of several similar cases in the past. Zach questions Raissa’s psychic abilities and tries to investigate her, but in the meantime, he learns from the FBI database that Raissa was correct. Raissa also learns she is in danger when Hank, her friend Maryse‘s ex-husband, approaches her to warn her that a member of a major crime syndicate to which he owes money, has ordered him to kill Raissa. However, he has no intention of doing so and wants to alert Raissa to the danger.

Eventually Raissa gives Zach her fingerprint, which she had carefully avoided doing earlier, knowing that it would bring the FBI into the picture. Why? Well, you will just have to read the book to find out! We also get to enjoy watching as Zach and Raissa develop a romance, though their romance doesn’t come across as convincingly as the romances in the first two books.

I enjoyed this book, but not quite as much as the first two books in the series. The plot was somewhat confusing, and the solution pretty strange. I really liked the nature of Raissa, who comes across as a strong, powerful woman who does not need a man to save her but rather uses teamwork with Zach to solve the case, which also includes the murder of Helena, the ghost in the series and mother of Hank. The series contains plenty of bad language, much more than is acceptance for a cozy mystery, but this book used worse language than the first two books. Cozy mysteries also do not have graphic sex scenes, which this series does contain. Yet DeLeon is associated with cozy mysteries, and the covers of the books give the appearance of cozy mysteries as well.

Johanna Parker does an excellent performance in this book. I love the sound of her voice, with her gentle Southern accent, and she uses great voices for each character. She really enhances the experience of reading this already fun series,immersing me more fully in the book.

Despite the previously-stated reservations, I really loved Showdown in Mudbug. The plot contained some clever, fun details that made me laugh. I give the book four stars.

To purchase this book for yourself, click here on Amazon.

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