This story has you laughing from page one. Romaine is living in Chicago as the medical examiner. When she loses her job and is forced from her apartment, she travels back to her hometown in Texas with her Aunt Zanne. Dead bodies are in their blood with her aunt owning a funeral parlor. Upon arrival things get rolling when her aunt's crazy friend tells them that there is an extra body at the home. Who would leave a dead body at the funeral home? Sheriff Pogue is Romaine's cousin. He is newly elected sheriff and a little green in the solving crime field. Can Romaine and Aunt Zanne help him find the answers.
I love Aunt Zanne. She is corny and fun. I laughed out loud at how she dragged Romaine all over town to solve this murder. The characters were well developed and the story line had you turning pages. I look forward to the next murder err.. story. I received a copy through Netgalley, This review was not required.

Secrets, Lies, and Crawfish Pies is the first story in Abby L. Vandiver’s new Romaine Wilder series. Romaine was a big city medical examiner who finds herself returning back to her childhood home in Roble, Texas with her beloved Aunt Zanne. Her Aunt owns and operates the Ball Funeral Home and Crematorium. This type of business is new to the cozy world and is interesting to read about with the Southern flavor of the book.
Their homecoming is met by Auntie’s best friend Josephine Gail awaiting the arrival of new sheriff,. Josephine Gail has discovered a dead body on the premises, one that was not accounted for in the funeral home. When the current medical examiner is ill Romaine steps in to do the autopsy and works with her Auntie’s to solve the crime. She proves to be a good sleuth and is able to piece together clues to the conclusion.
This is a fun charming Southern flavor. I loved the charcters, the small Texas town and the culture of Southern life. Even the addition to the cozy world of a medical examiner is written with respect and is a interesting new career to read about . I like the smart fun protagonist and how she steps up to help her town and her Aunt while starting her life over in her childhood hometown. All in all a strong cozy debut and I look forward to the next in series. Thank you for the ARC which did not influence my review. Well done to the author !
This is a fun read and I do recommend it

The first book in a new series and a new author to me. It is well written and the descriptions will take you to Louisiana and French Creole culture. The protagonist, Romaine Wilder is a medical examiner, she had been working in the Chicago area but lost her position. She has returned to her hometown Robel in East Texas. She is planning on leaving Robel as very soon and missing Her married boyfriend. Her Aunt Zanny owns a funeral home there. Aunt Zanny's antics had me laughing. After a storm, an extra body is found at the home all ready for burial. Romaine efforts to find out how the body was placed in the home, who he was, how he died will hold your interest. Aunt Zanny is chairman of the annual Tri-County Annual Crawfish Boil and Music Festival and her demands keep Romaine busy. Romaine cousin, Pogue Folsom has been elected Sheriff and Romaine works with him on the investigation.

Disclosure: Many thanks to Henery Press for a review copy. The opinions expressed are my own.

Secrets, Lies & Crawfish Pies is a fun cozy that is big on personality.  As a New Orleans native transplanted to Texas, I was intrigued by the description.  I’m glad I picked the book up. It is quirky, funny and full of charm that highlights the best of New Orleans and small town Texas.


Romaine Wilder left her small town roots to become a medical examiner in the big city.  But a combination of dwindling finances and lack of position drove her straight back to where she didn’t want to be - Robel, Texas.  Accompanied by her larger than life Auntie Zanne, she returns home to find that Auntie Zanne’s funeral home has acquired an extra body.  As her cousin, the sheriff, has absolutely no experience investigating a murder, Romaine reluctantly joins forces with Auntie Zanne in hopes of finding the killer - or more accurately keep Auntie Zanne out of trouble and out of her love life.   It’s easy to empathize with Romaine’s frustration - Auntie Zanne is a force of nature, and the residents of Robel are quirky, but clearly loved as family.


Secrets, Lies & Crawfish Pies is a cozy, so it is heavier on comedy and lighter on the mystery aspect.  It is a sweet, flavorful read which made me smile and occasionally laugh out loud. I absolutely adored Auntie Zanne.  I would love to have her as a relative, as exhausting as that would probably be. I definitely would recommend Secrets, Lies & Crawfish Pies to anyone who enjoys funny, culturally rich, quirky mysteries.


4 / 5


I received a copy of Secrets, Lies & Crawfish Pies from the publisher and Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.


-- Crittermom

I am sorry to say that I couldn't finish this book .
The storyline I found especially Sheriff Pogue didn't seam to ring true and was a bit far fetched.
That you for given me the opportunity to read and review this book .

A nice beginning to a new cozy series. Romaine Wilder is a Chicago medical examiner who has been "downsized" and is heading home to tiny Robel, Texas to figure out how she can get back to the big city. Her Aunt Zanne, who raised her, is the proprietor of Ball Funeral Home and a force of nature in the small town, and boy, does she have different plans for Romaine. Before Romaine even gets her foot in the front door, crisis erupts when an "extra" body is found in the funeral home with signs of murder. Lots of wild antics, eclectic characters (Aunt Zanne's mentally fragile best friend is a very nice addition), Creole flavor, Texas attitude and a plausible mystery make for an enjoyable read. The first book in a series is always the most difficult, taking extra time to introduce the characters and the setting. At first, Romaine's mild character seemed completely overwhelmed by her overbearing and extremely bossy aunt. But by the end of the story, Romaine was growing a spine, and Aunt Zanne's motives and methods turned out to be more thoughtful and compassionate than they at first seemed, and the two begin to form a stronger partnership in both life and sleuthing. Only temporary, of course, until Romaine gets back to the city.... Yeah, right.

Auntie Zanne, owner of the Ball Funeral Home & Crematorium, and her niece, Dr. Romaine Wilder, an unemployed coroner living in Chicago, are on their way to Roble, Texas. Auntie Zanne insists Romaine is coming home to stay while Romaine contends it’s just a visit.

Arriving at the funeral home, the two women find an unidentified murder victim to deal with and the 25th Annual Sabine County Crawfish Boil & Music Festival just a few days away.

While this is a good mystery story, the development of strong and empathic characters falls short. The two primary characters seem at odds, even when they try working together, leaving the reader feeling a little unsettled. Auntie Zanne is relentless as she chases clues and keeps stumbling across more folks with motives. She must also deal with her responsibility as organizer of the upcoming festival.
An interesting introduction to a new cozy series, the next adventure may provide a more promising direction.

This was a perfectly fine cozy mystery. It had all the elements that I usually look for in a cozy but it just didn’t really click for me. I found most of the characters to be a little annoying and although Auntie Zanne should have been funny, most of the time she just seemed ridiculous. I liked Romaine and her storyline of why she had returned to her home town was a good one. The writing was good, the plot moved along well and although the murderer seemed a little odd to me it was a pretty good mystery. It was just missing that spark that makes me love the characters. I will probably give book two a chance and see if that changes my mind though. Overall I gave the book 3 stars.

This has everything that a good cozy mystery should have: Interesting characters covering a range of ages and lives, a good sideline story of food and music and most importantly a dead body. At least the murderer was nice enough to put the body in a casket at the funeral home. However it was just that, a good story. I liked it but did not love it. There are a lot of great cozy mysteries out there and this one was just not my cup of tea. It was a little too cookie cutter for me (meaning it came right from the how to write a cozy template).

Secrets, Lies, & Crawfish Pies is the debut of Abby L. Vandiver’s Romaine Wilder Mystery series. This is the first book I’ve read by this author and I enjoyed her humorous writing style. The characters are well developed and there’s an intriguing mystery to solve. The storyline flows smoothly at a steady pace and there were enough twists and turns in the mystery to keep me engaged and guessing. I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a good, clean mystery.

After losing her medical examiner position, Dr. Romaine Wilder is forced to leave Chicago and return to the small town of Roble in East Texas where she grew up after her parents died. Her Aunt Zanne (a/k/a Babet) who owns Ball Funeral Home & Crematorium is very focused on making sure that Romaine permanently stays in Roble. After a long train ride, they arrived in a rainy downpour and upon arrival at the funeral home, they find Josephine Gail Cox, Babet’s oldest friend and a frequent resident in a mental health facility, soaking wet in the driveway. Shortly after, Romaine’s cousin, Pogue Folsom, the newly sheriff, pulled into the drive and told them that Josephine Gail had reported an extra dead body in the funeral home. Turns out that Josephine Gail was right; there’s an unauthorized and unidentified corpse, a possible murder victim, inside one of Babet’s coffins. Tri-County’s medical examiner, Doc Westin, isn’t feeling well and gives his permission for Romaine to perform the autopsy since she’s kept her Texas license current. This is Pogue’s first murder case and he’s quite insecure and uncertain how to proceed, but he thinks Josephine Gail might be guilty. The fact that Romaine is a medical examiner allows her to work closely with Pogue on the investigation and be privy to details an amateur sleuth wouldn’t have access to. Romaine and Auntie Zanne are both determined to help Pogue capture the murderer, but Babet is focused on one suspect, Pogue’s mother, Julep, even though the facts don’t support her theory. In her determination to solve the case and absolve her friend, Josephine Gail, Babet goes around pushing and probing people for details and bending the law to suit her purposes. Pogue is scheduled to attend an out-of-town law enforcement conference and asks for Romaine’s help, so she and her aunt investigate on their own.

I received an Advance Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and voluntarily reviewed it.

Secrets, Lies, and Crawfish Pies is the first story in Abby L. Vandiver’s new Romaine Wilder series. Recently downsized from her medical examiner position in Chicago, Romaine finds herself accompanying her Auntie Zanne by train back to her childhood home in Roble, Texas.

Romaine’s people are from Creole background, but when their home of New Orleans was ramrodded by racist bureaucracy in the mid twentieth century their was a mass migration to East Texas, first to the Houston area, later after tragedy struck, Auntie Zanne moved on to Roble with her new husband. There they opened the Ball Funeral Home and Crematorium. Some years later tragedy struck once more with the loss of both of Romaine’s parents. At this time a young Romaine came to live with her aunt. Now, after all of her years’ of study and hard work, returning to Roble seems like defeat.

Auntie Zanne’s right hand man Rhett Remmiere gets them at the station with the last leg of the journey in pouring down rain. Their homecoming is met by Auntie’s best friend Josephine Gail dancing in the rain awaiting the arrival of new sheriff, and Romaine’s first cousin on her father’s side, Pogue Folsom. It seems that Josephine Gail has discovered a dead body on the premises, one that was not accounted for.

New to the job in an area with minimal crime, Pogue is clueless as to how to investigate. That was part of what he was to learn at the conference he was to attend the following day. With Romaine’s encouragement, Pogue does go to the mandated conference. To further complicate matters, however, the tri-County medical examiner is ill. With her national and local certifications in order, Romaine steps in to do the autopsy, but then is swept along in Auntie’s ideas of how to solve the crime.

In a fast paced, often funny, story of life in a small East Texas town and the interesting characters who dwell there, we are treated to a winding mystery that will be solved, even if serendipitously so. This is a fun read and I do recommend it

Abby Vandiver introduces Romaine Wilder in this Mystery. Romaine is forced to leave Chicago and return to the source of her roots. A small town in East Texas called Rebel. Aunt Zanne is focused on making sure that Romaine stays in Rebel permanently! Ball Funeral Home owned by her Aunt makes perfect place for Romaine to practice her medical examiner training. When a dead body is discovered complete with his own coffin in the funeral home Sherlock skills have to be employed to find out who it is. Easy moving plot with a group of laid back southern folk. Nice cover art but the edge of the seat drama was just not there for me. "A copy of this book was provided by Henery Press via Netgalley with no requirements for a review. Comments here are my honest opinion."

I had a slow start in my attachment to Romaine due to her justification of her relationship with a married man. She started off as whiney and immature, so much so that I was surprised when her profession was revealed. As I settled into the East Texas environs and saw her interactions with family and friends I warmed up to her. Her epiphany about her past made me anxious for more. I look forward to the next in the series.

The cozy mystery genre is my favorite at the moment and I find myself constantly searching for new stories where the protagonist is not in one of the frequently used occupations. So it was nice to come across Romaine Wilder who is a medical examiner as opposed to a baker, restaurant owner, or homemaker. It added an interesting element that allowed her to be working closely with the sheriff on the case and receive key details to the case. She performs the autopsy and helps determine the victim's cause of death. Often in these stories our lead just happens to conveniently overhear details or people around town are so charmed by her they easily spill details.

Now if you want someone who goes around pushing and probing people for details her Auntie Zanne does that in her determination to solve the case and absolve her best friend. Auntie Zanne is that family member who you love one minute and grates your nerves the next. She narrows in on one suspect and convinces herself they are the murder while trying to twist the clues to fit them. She's a New Orleans Creole Queen with a touch of Texan Southern Belle. Auntie Zanne is well known around town for being involved in just about every committee and for her business the Ball Funeral Home & Crematorium. Her occupation and natural need to be involved put her right in the middle of the drama. My only complaint is that sometimes her big personality and pushiness outshines Romaine as she drags her from place to place determined to solve the mystery in between planning the county's big festival.

I'm not too familiar with Southern culture but this story had me craving crawfish pies and some ice cold sweet tea.

And yes I do want to make note that our lead Romaine is an unapologetic black women because there are so few black women in cozy mysteries. Now in the past year we have become acquainted with quite a few and I'm happy to see this number growing.

I received an ARC courtesy of Henery Press and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

I thoroughly enjoyed the plot, atmosphere, and characters. I would recommend the book to friends and family for their reading pleasure.

the story moves too slow and the characters are not believable.

This is the first in a series due out in paperback in June. It focuses on Romaine Wilder, a doctor, who has to come back to her childhood home in Texas due to some events in her romantic life. She ends up having to help solve a murder mystery that happens almost as soon as she arrives in the town. Along with her Aunty, a very larger than life character, and some of the other townsfolk, they start to piece together what has happened to a “John Doe” who has been found murdered.

I liked this book, it was an enjoyable read and it sets up events nicely for following books. There was a nice mix of characters and I felt myself getting quite exasperated along with Romaine with her quite annoying Aunty Zanne!

If you want a feel-good cosy read with some mystery thrown in, this is it. I will definitely be reading the rest of the series as and when the other books are published.

I felt right at home reading this story. I’m a native East Texan and could’ve stepped right out of the pages of Abby L. VanDiver’s story. Set around the awesome pineywoods area of Roble, TX, we find protagonist—Dr. Romaine Wilder—traveling home with her Aunt Zanne (Babet). Home being the Ball Funeral Home & Crematorium. They arrive to find Josephine Gail, Babet’s ditzy best friend, all in a tizzy saying there’s an extra dead body in the funeral home. Sure enough, there’s a suited corpse laying in a casket someone swiped from the showroom floor! The local law, Pogue, just happens to be Romaine’s first cousin, and he’s pretty green when it comes to solving crimes, especially murder.

Aunt Zanne’s not shy and she’s determined to find out who the unidentified dead man is as soon as Romaine performs the autopsy to determine cause of death and whatever other clues she can gleam from the body. Following Auntie as she drags Romaine from place to place looking for clues had me chuckling throughout the story. Babet is not one to stop when she’s on a mission!

Ms. VanDiver skillfully sets up a mighty fine southern mystery. Brimming with humor, it’s a great portrayal of small town families, friends, and rivalries. The cast have realistic personality quirks and all kinds of talent! I had fun reading this story and can hardly wait for the next one. 5 out of 5 Stars!

I provide an honest review of an ARC from NetGalley and Henery Press.

Secrets, Lies & Crawfish Pies by Abby L. Vandiver was a fun beginning to a new mystery series.

Romaine Wilder has returned to her roots in East Texas after losing her medical examiner position in Chicago. She has returned with her Aunt Zanne to the funeral home where she grew up after her parents died. Aunt Zanne is truly over the top throughout the book and caused many humorous moments throughout the story. The writing flows smoothly and there were enough twists and turns in the mystery to keep me turning the pages.

Romaine Wilder is a medical examiner living in Chicago who seems to have the perfect life until she is evicted and has to move back to her hometown in Texas. Romaine moves in with her Auntie Zanne "Babet" who owns and runs a funeral home. Death is no stranger to this medical examiner who comes from a line of morticians, but when a body is found at her family's funeral home, Romaine, cousin Sheriff Pogue, and Auntie Zanne join forces to try to solve the mystery in time for the Tri-County Annual Crawfish Boil and Music Festival.

This is book one of the Romaine Wilder Mystery series. Although Romaine is the main character, I have to say that Auntie Zanne is the star of this story. She is absolutely hilarious. This book has several out loud laughing moments, and I honestly enjoyed reading about French Creole traditions and Southern life. 

I loved this fun cozy mystery, and I look forward to reading more books in this series.