Dr. Daniel LeDeux and Samantha Starr had met several
times over the past two years, since Daniel had moved to
Louisiana. Daniel had left Juneau, Alaska after the death
of his mother, and losing another young patient to
cancer; he couldn't take being a doctor anymore, and
since he's been drifting along. His identical twin
brother Aaron is faring better; easy-going and
flirtatious, the polar opposite of now gloomy Daniel.
Daniel had been rather dazzled by Sam, who cannot stand
the idea of doctors because of her ongoing divorce battle
with her truly despicable ex-husband; if Daniel weren't a
doctor on the other hand...
Sandra Hill is a favourite author of mine, and although I
have read her vampires, Vikings, historicals, I had never
read any of her Cajun
Novels, although I knew of
Tante Lulu, a most unforgettable character. THE CAJUN
DOCTOR started out really well for me. I felt for Daniel,
and Ms. Hill made me care for him, then he became
somewhat depressed, which I understood, but he also
became rather boring, flat. Sam, I loved! She has serious
ex-husband problems, and her life becomes hell when her
stepbrother comes to her for help; this was actually my
favourite part of the story. While I understand Ms. Hill
hadn't meant THE CAJUN DOCTOR to be a romantic suspense,
I think it could have been expanded a bit, because I felt
some things were rushed, but then again that was not the
real purpose of the exercise. Daniel is very judgmental
of the South and Cajuns, and also of Sam, whom he deemed
a spoiled, rich girl, which was far from the truth;
Daniel, to be honest, wasn't precisely a charmer, but
thank goodness, it got better.
THE CAJUN DOCTOR is an over-the-top extravaganza the
likes of which I don't believe I have ever seen. Sam
takes in rescue animals of all sorts, and while it was
entertaining, the antics of the menagerie got to be a bit
much after a while. There is a bevy of exceedingly
eccentric characters, which are wildly entertaining, but
at times I felt they filled the empty space around Sam
and Daniel's labyrinthine road to romance. Said romance
which started with shared erotic dreams (!) -- I was never
quite sure if that came from Tante Lulu or not -- and the
love happened because, well I guess, Daniel got his head
out from where the sun don't shine.
Sandra Hill is a wizard at describing the world her
characters inhabit, and THE CAJUN DOCTOR isn't any
different: the bayou and the swamp country appear as
vivid as a colour photograph, I loved the Cajun accent
and all the flavours of the South. The prose felt very
spontaneous, almost in a stream of consciousness style.
Ms. Hill is not especially known for her subtlety, which
I usually find uproarious and I love her demented sense
of humour, but here I sometimes felt overwhelmed by the
zaniness. Maybe my subconscious had been trying to tell
me all these years that this series was not for me, or
most likely I was probably not in the right frame of mind
for THE CAJUN DOCTOR, but it will not change the way I
feel about dear Sandra Hill.
New York Times Bestselling Author Sandra Hill
delivers another Tante Lulu Adventure as twin brothers leave
Alaska to discover their Cajun roots
Dr. Daniel LeDeux and pilot Aaron LeDeux travel to the
swampy bayous of Louisiana, where they discover a long-lost
family. The usually stoic Daniel, a burned-out pediatric
oncologist, is especially startled by the interfering LeDeux
matriarch, Tante Lulu, bless her crazy heart, who wastes no
time in setting him up with local rich girl Samantha Starr.
Scarred by a nasty divorce from a philandering New Orleans
physician, Samantha has sworn off men, especially doctors.
When Samantha’s step-brother gets into serious trouble, she
must ask Daniel for help. But Samantha faces even more
trouble when the handsome doctor casts his smoldering Cajun
eyes her way.
The steamy heat of the bayou, along with the wacky
matchmaking efforts of Tante Lulu, a herd of animal rescue
rejects, including a depressed pot belly pig, and some
world-class sexual fantasies create enough heat and humor to
make both Daniel and Samantha realize that love and laughter
can mend even the most broken heart.