A Cold Day in Hell (Bayou Books)

Very satisfied with the book - came in a timely manner and was in condition I expected.

Once again, Stella Cameron has produced a page-turner. In this story of Bayou romance, drama and yes... a little voodoo, Ms. Cameron has once again created unforgettable settings and characters. The steamy romance scenes will leave you feeling the heat for sure and her incredible attention to detail will have you looking over your shoulder for the swamp things that go "bump" in the dark. Make sure you set aside plenty of time to read this one straight through. Dinner will just have to wait!

Stella Cameron returns to Pointe Judah in her latest venture into the Louisiana Bayou. From the first page when we see two teenage boys lost in the swamps until its satisfying Christmas Eve conclusion, _A Cold Day in Hell_ is worth the sleepless night you'll spend reading it. Eileen Moggeridge and Angel DeAngelo have warily approached a relationship with one another since they met. Eileen is scarred from an abusive marriage, while Angel is trying to forget his past as a CIA field operative and ATF agent. But both want more than the friendship they now share. Eileen's son, Aaron, and Angel's nephew, Sonny, are fast friends who lead each other into temptation. The boys are lost in the swamps in their search for the root doctor Chuzah when Aaron is shot by an unseen gunman. Chuzah rescues the boys and he heals Aaron's wound. Angel doesn't know if the shot was intended for Aaron or Sonny, the lone witness to a gruesome mob hit. But he knows there's more to Chuzah than the other man's unique lifestyle. Things become more complicated when Eileen's pregnant sister-in-law is attacked, a construction worker is murdered, and yet another attempt is made on Aaron's life. How are these crimes connected? When Eileen's ex-husband returns seeking reconciliation, Angel has the perfect suspect. But where is the evidence? Angel tries to keep a very independent Eileen safe, while also working to protect Sonny and Aaron. None of them make it easy for him, and he discovers the premonitions and visions he used so effectively in the CIA have returned, warning him of growing danger to the woman he loves. For her part, Eileen must learn that Angel is a man she can lean on, a man she can trust, before she can admit her love for him. Its colorful characters make Pointe Judah a town you want to return to, and the unfinished stories of a few of its characters make you hope for more of Cameron's Bayou books. The romance between Angel and Eileen is satisfying and believable and it's easy to imagine them creating a family with their two boys. This is definitely a Christmas Eileen and Angel, and the people of Point Judah, will remember.

When her son Aaron is shot on the bayou just outside Point Judah, Louisiana, Eileen Moggeridge rushes to the hospital. Accompanying her is her friend Christian "Angel" DeAngelo, whose nephew Sonny was with Aaron. Angel, a former CIA and ATF agent, wonders if Sonny was the intended target as the teen has been hidden by the Feds under the witness protection program. Back in Point Judah to Eileen's disgust is her abusive former husband, Chuck, who insists he wants to make amends with his wife and former a father-son relationship with his child. Eileen does not trust Chuck as he was always a bully towards her and uncaring about having a son who he had nothing to with before. She even wonders if he was the sniper who shot Aaron; besides which she prefers Angel even as more incidents happen to her. This is a strange entertaining romantic suspense thriller starring a horde of eccentric characters; none more odd than the "root doctor". The mystery is cleverly designed, but Stella Cameron used voodoo so that the villain is in plain sight yet not easy to identify. Although too many sidebars add unneeded mumbo jumbo, sub-genre readers will enjoy spending A COLD DAY IN HELL out on the bayou. Harriet Klausner