BLUE DOG by Karen Hulene Bartell
Fiction, Romantic Suspense
5*****

Blurb: Finalizing her dissertation while emerging from a destructive relationship, Deirdre ‘Dare’ Doyle finds a lifeline in Clay Landry, a rugged park ranger who introduces her to the mythical–yet menacing–lore of Louisiana’s bayous. As their hormone-fueled relationship intensifies, so does the threat from her past. Kirk, her toxic ex, sabotages her academic future, forcing a choice between her love and her dreams. But when Hurricane Kirk brings both a violent storm and a dangerous confrontation, an enigmatic creature intervenes, blurring the boundary between folklore and fact.

THOUGHTS: Karen Bartell knows how to make a person live the story. In this one, she puts us in the Louisiana bayous and all the folklore that lives in that area. Deidre (aka Dare) is visiting her aunt for the summer in order to help her after shoulder surgery and to work on her doctoral thesis. It’s obvious that the author either did a ton of research, or has lived in the area as the descriptions of the settings and the terror and effects of living through a hurricane are disturbingly real. What is also real are the feelings of fear when confronting a rougarou – a “mythical”? being that inhabits the bayous. Think swampy Big Foot – with claws. Her guide to the bayous and all things mysterious in the area is her aunt’s friend, Clay, a local who is in charge of the state park – and is a hunk. In addition, her ex threatens to derail her thesis unless she does him “favors”.

Dare has to help her aunt, work on her thesis, survive a hurricane, and prove that a cursed rougarou exists while also saving a young man who has a congenital hirsute problem. Not much, right? The author does an amazing job of explaining the issues with the southern bayous and the ecological damage being done there. She also describes things so vividly that I felt the storm and the terror of the peeping tom rougarou. I also loved the ending – very satisfying. Oh, and she includes three recipes at the end: Gumbo, Jambalaya, and Cajun Eggs Benedict!!!

Definitely recommended, but be forewarned of scary situations and how much you can believe in folklore.