Shanice Pierce has been guided by bad omens and superstitions since childhood. After losing her job and breaking up with her boyfriend, Shanice thinks that her life is cursed. Shanice’s grandmother gifts her this haunting painting which she is drawn to. The artist is a Harlem Renaissance painter named Estelle (Essie) Johnson. Essie was taken in by a wealthy art patron Maude Bachmann aka Godmother as she liked to be called. Essie suddenly vanished into thin air after Maude was murdered. As Shanice begins to investigate this murder, someone is trying to stop her for good.
Do What Godmother Says is a perfect mystery that mixes the Harlem Renaissance and present times. L.S. Stratton gives us all of the glitz and glamour of the starving artists of the Harlem Renaissance while telling Essie’s story. Stratton does an excellent job of showing the reader why and how important that painting is to Shanice and others. Stratton also shows readers how delicate it can be to deal with mental illness that is passed down to generations of families . The final outcome of this story is going to shock readers. Do What Godmother Says is good for readers who are looking for a different kind of suspense novel.
Reviewed by Radiah Hubbert
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