Brown Girl in the Ring

Brown Girl in the Ring is a 1999 novel by Nalo Hopskinson. Ti-Jeanne, a young mother lives in what remains of Central Toronto after it was abandoned by the wealthy and powerful. Speaking of the wealhy and powerful, the premier of Canada needs a human heart to replace her own. She calls on Rudy, who is a powerful gangster who controls the flow of Buff to procure it for her. He deputizes Tony, Ti-Jeanne's baby father, to do the killing for the organ. Frightened, Tony calls on Ti-Jeanne and her grandmother Gros-Jeanne for help. And so Ti-Jeanne's journey begins.

This work contains examples of:
 * Chekhov's Gunman - Crazy Betty
 * Domestic Abuser - Rudy is depicted to have hit his wife
 * Raised By Grandparents - Ti-Jeanne has a Disappeared Dad and Missing Mom and so is raised by her grandmother.
 * Family Theme Naming - Gros-Jeanne, Mi-Jeanne and Ti-Jeanne - Big, Medium and Small Jeanne - Grandmother, mother and child.
 * Our Zombies Are Different - Type V Voodoo zombies.
 * Luke, I Am Your Father
 * No Name Given - Ti-Jeanne's child is named only 'Baby'
 * Voudoun - Ti-Jeanne's grandmother is a practitioner.