The foreign exchange A novel

Henry returns to the Mambo Reina series, an urban fantasy that explores voodoo magic in New Orleans. Mambo Reina Dumond, owner of Le Petit Temple Vodoun, is a priestess and, completely by accident, an amateur detective whose cases tie into misuse of voodoo powers. Guided by the spirits, Reina belatedly reaches back out to her client Ms. Vangie Stiles to research her concerns about her scam-artist husband's mysterious income. When the errant husband almost gets Reina and her best friend, Tyka, arrested for murder, Reina doubles down on her investigation while hiding it from her boyfriend, police detective Roman Frost. What initially appears to be a plan to flip houses turns into a immigration scheme with foreign student athletes involving the misguided magic user. The story wraps at a Halloween gathering of the city's Voodoo Council, leaving open the question of the city's leadership and the mysterious disappearance of Reina's mother a decade earlier. This engaging exploration of New Orleans and voodoo traditions is a delightful read.

Vodou priestess Reina Dumond returns for another investigation in Henry's entertaining sequel to The Quarter Storm. After solving a murder in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Reina is happily back to focusing on fine-tuning her spells and performing rituals for goddess Erzulie, her spiritual patron. Then her friend Evangeline "Vangie" Stiles comes to her for guidance: $5,000 has mysteriously appeared in her joint bank account with con-artist husband, Arthur, leading Vangie to believe that Arthur may be in over his head. Reina reluctantly takes up the mantle of private investigator once more, and her sleuthing leads her to stumble on a corpse. Immediately spotting signs of a ritualistic killing, Reina worries that Vangie's case and the murder are connected--and that something magical is at play. The real fun here is in revisiting Reina--whose vodou practices and Haitian heritage make her an especially memorable heroine--and her loving, well-shaded community. The mystery itself is a bit of a slow burn, occasionally fading to the background between the discovery of clues. Still, urban fantasy fans will be drawn in by the vibrant NOLA setting and the charming cast. Agent: Mary C. Moore, Kimberly Cameron & Assoc. (Feb.)