On Christmas Day, New York Police Department officer Sergeant Carlyle Biggs helplessly watches his fourteen year old son Carlyle Jr. kill his mother and two brothers (one an infant). His son murders him next.

Seven years later, a nurse finds a newborn baby, whose throat is slit and filled with herbs, left on the shoulder of a road. At the same time, Desmond St. John, an important member of the black community and a powerful practitioner of voodoo, is murdered in a way similar to the death of Biggs.

The case of THE HOODOO MAN falls to Brockport police officer Lieutenant Star Duvall. She quickly learns that Carlyle Jr. was recently released from prison and is a local resident. Carlyle is StarĘs prime suspect, but New York police officer Lisel Werner, StarĘs juvenile officer, feels that Carlyle could never have killed Desmond or the subsequent victims even though he has links to them all.

Judith Smith-Levin is a powerful writer whose hypnotic prose will mesmerize readers into believing in the power of voodoo. THE HOODOO MAN stars a fascinating female protagonist, who happens to be a black woman in a position of authority in a predominately white town. Though her race adds a subtle backdrop, the story line is propelled forward by the tantalizing but frightening mystery, thereby proving that a point can be made without being preachy or pounding it to death. To accomplish that requires real talent by an author and Ms. Smith-Levin has an abundant quality of that.