The Unknown Woman (Hotel Marchand)

Courtesy of CK2S Kwips and Kritiques The third book in the Hotel Marchand continuity series, The Unknown Woman, is full of mystery and romance. Kerry Johnston is in New Orleans for Twelfth night as a birthday gift from her friends in hopes to cheer her up after a bad year. Her week long stay starts out rather uneventful, but a death in the hotel she's staying at changes things significantly. Matt Anderson, a wine connoisseur and reporter, is in New Orleans doing an article on the wine industry in the area. When he comes back to his hotel room one night and finds an unknown dead woman in his bed, he knows things are about to get complicated. Especially when Kerry comes to his aid. Kerry identifies the mystery woman as a local waitress and voodoo queen she had just met. She had been drawn to the young woman at first meeting, so she finds herself trying to find out what really happened. Matt and Kerry both have some hurdles to overcome in their lives and somehow the dead woman had sensed that when she met each of them before her death. As Matt and Kerry join forces to uncover the truth about the dead woman, they uncover a few surprises about her... and themselves. How did the voodoo queen know they were the answer to each other's unspoken needs? After being somewhat disappointed in the previous book in the Hotel Marchand series, I found myself enjoying The Unknown Woman. I found myself drawn to the story of Kerry and Matt, and the mysterious dead woman. It doesn't hurt that I'm a sucker for a story where voodoo comes into the equation. As Kerry and Matt uncover more about the young woman Kerry bonded with on their first meeting, the readers also learn a little more about her recent life and the beliefs and rituals of voodoo practitioners in New Orleans. This helps to paint a fuller picture explaining who exactly The Unknown Woman really was. One thing I like about the series so far is the crossover of events between the books. All three occur simultaneously so we catch glimpses of what's happening from various points of view, even if they are only a passing mention. This adds a little more depth to the tale and provides a stronger link to the underlying plot line that connects everything. Kerry and Matt's relationship grows at a steady pace over a short amount of time. As they spend more time together solving the mystery and putting the dead woman's affairs to rights, they learn quite a bit about themselves and each other. As such, our knowledge of their personality is shown to us, rather than told. I was left with the feeling at the end of the story, that even though Kerry and Matt's love affair began under very tense and unusual circumstances, what they feel for each other is real and true, and will break the boundaries keeping them apart until they find exactly what they need in each other's love. © Kelley A. Hartsell, July 2007. All rights reserved.

White Bear Lake, Minnesotan native Kerry Johnston came to New Orleans to get away from the heartbreak of her fiancé of four years suddenly marrying someone else. However, the Big Easy though still recovering from Katrina is upbeat especially the French Quarter but even the voodoo fortune teller fails to move Kerry out of her doldrums. Adding to her woes is a power failure that impacts the Hotel Marchand that she is staying at. She even hears the cursing and stumbling of the guy in the next room, who finds a corpse in his bed. Kerry goes over to help writer Matt Anderson, who is clueless as to how Patti the voodoo museum docent and waitress that both met earlier today ended in his bed. As Pattie showed kindness towards both of them, they mutually agree to investigate though neither knows how to conduct a homicide inquiry. One thing they do know is that Patti's healing spell works as Kerry and Matt fall in love. The third Hotel Marchand contemporary romance is a fine atmospheric New Orleans amateur sleuth tale. Readers will agree with Patti's assessment when she met the lead couple (separately) that the sad duo would find love and happiness together. The story line is fast-paced as Matt and Kerry fumble their investigation while fostering their attraction and admiration for one another. Readers will appreciate the latest visit to the Hotel Marchand. Harriet Klausner