Maggie, artist, entrepreneur and amateur sleuth is back in Murder in the Bayou Boneyard, along with her crew of family and townsfolk, trying to solve yet another murder in the small town of Pelican Bay. Only this time, Maggie and her parents are the prime suspects in the murder of her cousin, Suzanne, because they were in a property line dispute at the time of her death. Can Maggie and her fiancé, Bo, solve this crime in time or will Maggie miss their wedding because she’s locked up in jail?

This installment of the Cajun Country Mystery series is Halloween themed and just as fun and hilarious as always. The lovable characters are enjoyable and memorable, and up to some new shenanigans. My favorite character has to be Maggie’s grandma for her sass and energy! I can’t wait to see her and Maggie walk down the aisle in the next book!

“But I’ve got a bread pudding in the oven. I’m hoping the scent will finds its way outdoors and make those officers hungry. Then I’d get to tell them, ‘Too bad, you’re not getting any.’”
Ellen Byron, Murder in The Bayou Boneyard, Kindle Loc. 2115

Maggie Crozat, proprietor of a historic Cajun Country B&B, prefers to let the good times roll. But hard times rock her hostelry when a new cell phone app makes it easy for locals to rent their spare rooms to tourists. With October--and Halloween--approaching, she conjures up a witch-crafty marketing scheme to draw visitors to Pelican, Louisiana.

Five local plantation B&Bs host "Pelican's Spooky Past" packages, featuring regional crafts, unique menus, and a pet costume parade. Topping it off, the derelict Dupois cemetery is the suitably sepulchral setting for the spine-chilling play Resurrection of a Spirit. But all the witchcraft has inevitably conjured something: her B&B guests are being terrified out of town by sightings of the legendary rougarou, a cross between a werewolf and vampire.

When, in the Dupois cemetery, someone costumed as a rougarou stumbles onstage during the play--and promptly gives up the ghost, the rougarou mask having been poisoned with strychnine, Maggie is on the case. But as more murders stack up, Maggie fears that Pelican's spooky past has nothing on its bloodcurdling present.
Amazon.com

Ellen Byron’s Cajun Country mysteries are always fun to read. Kick back with a shot or two of whiskey and eat a Halloween sugar cookie in the Crozat Planation kitchen. The Cajun culture and cuisine bring to mind a myriad of questions, but also of comforts. Murder In the Bayou Boneyard is the sixth book in the series and was released yesterday.

Maggie Crozat, Ellen’s artist main character, has brought trouble to her family and the B&B with her marketing plan to bring in tourists to their town of Pelican, LA during October. The promotion ends at Halloween, a holiday Maggie has hated since childhood.

With the opening of the B&B’s new spa, Maggie hired a new masseuse, a distant Canadian relation. Trouble soon follows as does Maggie’s vision of the spa. If not for her friend Mo, the spa would close before it barely began. When a murder occurs on the B&B grounds, Maggie feels responsible. But when a tattletale parrot spouts off to the police, Maggie finds herself on the suspect list.

Please welcome Ellen Byron back to WWK. E. B. Davis

How did Father Prit come to Pelican? Is there an Indian contingent in Pelican? There is not. Father Prit was totally inspired by the priest who conducted my late cousin’s funeral. He had a very thick accent, which drove my relatives nuts. I felt bad for him, so I made sure the citizens of Pelican warmly embraced and appreciated him.

Please define the following:

Rougarou- a legendary creature who is the Cajun equivalent of a werewolf.

Crawtatoes- an appetizer I invented!

Sazerac- a popular New Orleans’ take on a whisky or cognac cocktail. In 2008, it was declared the official cocktail of New Orleans by the Louisiana legislature.

Immortelle- 19th century handmade arrangements, usually made from dried flowers, used to decorate graves.

Café brulot- a coffee drink flavored with a spiral of orange zest and spiked with whiskey.

Corn maque choux- a popular Cajun side dish.

Doberge cake- a traditional New Orleans cake where generally thin layers of cake (usually six) alternate with a pudding filling and then the cake is covered with a buttercream or ganache frosting. There are many variations on this.

Calas- deep-fried rice dumplings, usually served as a breakfast dish.

Pimm’s Cups- my favorite Louisiana cocktail! There are many different recipes for it, but all include Pimm’s Cup #1, a gin-based spirit.

Does Pelican’s lack of zoning laws allow rental operators like Gavin Grody to operate, which precipitated the need to the month-long B&B promotion Maggie invented? I didn’t write this into the book, but I would say most likely, yes. I think the AirBnB and VRBO movements caught a lot of local governments by surprise and left them scrambling to create laws that protect local housing. I know it’s been a real problem in New Orleans.

Were the Canadians who settled in Louisiana from Acadia? Is that how the Cajun got their name? Did some find the area unsatisfactory and went back to Canada? What was the era? The British expulsion of Acadians from Canada took place in the 1760s. Many chose to go to Louisiana, which was under Spanish rule at the time, because of the good relationship between the French and Spanish, and their shared Catholic faith. (There were already many French in New Orleans, too.) I fictionalized the return of some to Canada, which would have occurred much later. But I’m sure some Acadians preferred their homeland to the Louisiana swamps. And yes – if you say “Acadian” fast, it eventually becomes the word “Cajun!”

Maggie, a first-time bride, isn’t as into planning the wedding as Grandmere. Why? Maggie doesn’t love being the center of attention. She’s always been a bit of a rebel against her storied local genealogy as a descendant of one of the town’s founding families, so she’s not comfortable with the idea of a big, grandiose wedding. Grandmere, on the other hand, married her first husband, Maggie’s grandfather, on a train platform before he shipped out to the Korean War, so she never got a big wedding. Now, at eighty-three, she’s making up for that with her second wedding, and with no apologies to anyone!

Susannah Crozat MacDowell is a distant relation from Canada. What possessed Maggie to hire her as a masseuse? Maggie is an only child with few relatives, and none nearby. She longs for an extended family and thought hiring Susannah would be a great way of bringing more family members into the fold while helping one of them – Susannah - out financially.

I loved Mo Heedles. Please tell our readers about her. I love Mo too! She’s a warm, entertaining, successful Black businesswoman who’s taken a career that began with multi-tier marketing of a skincare line and run with it. In the future, she may even franchise her brand. BTW, the name Mo Heedles is an homage to real-life reader Maureen Heedles, who cast the winning bid at a Malice auction to have a character named after her. Little did she know Mo Heedles would become a beloved recurring character!

Walter Breem, the Dupois caretaker, isn’t what he seems. Why does Maggie like him? She senses the pain that underlies his gruff, off-putting exterior and feels great empathy for him without even knowing his personal story.

Johnnie, Susannah’s stepson, is in drug recovery. Why does he team up with stage manager Emma Fine, who assists on the promotional play being held at the Dupois cemetery every weekend? Emma also struggled with addiction, so they’re kindred spirits. They’re also both lost souls on a level, which offers them another bond.

Did you want to play a joke on author Julie Mulhern by naming a character after her? Ha! Julie used my name in a book, so of course I had to reciprocate. (At least I think she did? I read so much it’s hard to keep everything straight. Oh, well. I adore Julie’s writing and general personage, so it was a pleasure to give her a shout-out, even if it takes readers who know her out of the book for a moment.)

After Susannah dies, Maggie claims that Susannah wasn’t the prankster kind. And yet, Maggie didn’t know Suzannah for very long and learns that Susannah gave her phone number to telemarketers, inflicting spam calls on Maggie. That sounds like a nasty prank to me. What prompted Maggie to come to that conclusion? The telemarketer move wasn’t a prank, it was revenge. There’s a difference. Maggie immediately gets that Susannah doesn’t have any sense of humor, even the distorted kind it take to pull pranks on people. (I am not a fan of them.)

Since Susannah died in the cemetery, part of which is located in a different jurisdiction, the Ville Blanc police department is involved. Why do they suspect Maggie? Maggie had a falling-out with Susannah that makes her a prime suspect in the woman’s mysterious death.

Late, Lamented Pets, part of the B&B promotion, enables guests to bring their pets, who are mostly costumed in Halloween finery. Who is Lovie? Did Lovie have a costume? How did Lovie incriminate Maggie? Lovie is a parrot who does not have a costume but does have a big mouth and blabbed a piece of conversation she overheard that casts Maggie in a bad light to a Ville Blanc detective. His pet parent DruCilla is an homage to dear pal and beloved mystery blogger Dru Ann Love.

Is a parrot’s testimony admissible in court? Parrots cannot be put on the stand but what they’ve been heard to say can be allowed as evidence in some cases.

Why does Maggie think Halloween brings out the paranoia in people? This is inspired by the fact that I personally always found Halloween creepy as a kid. I felt like it gave bullies permission to give in to their worst instincts, like harassing kids and throwing eggs or TPing houses. Even as a kid, I noticed a general tension in the air around Halloween time. I have memories of trick or treating in the dark and being absolutely terrified.

Do funeral homes load the casket feet first so the mourners won’t be cursed by the spirit of the dead seeing them? Is this just an old Cajun custom? I don’t know if that’s the case now, but it was definitely true of Cajun and Creole families. I think many other 19th century cultures believed this as well.

Why is sugarcane grown in the town center? Do they harvest it? It’s actually not grown in the town center but in the surrounding plantations, where it is indeed harvested to this day.


https://www.stjosephplantation.com/

Helene Brevelle, a voodoo priestess, wants Maggie to have protection from evil. What does she give Maggie? Does Maggie believe in voodoo? Helene gives Maggie a gris gris bag, which is a small bag filled with things specific to what the wearer needs help with – in this case, protection. Helene also gives Maggie protection oil. I think Maggie is on the fence about whether or not she believes in voodoo but ascribes to the philosophy, “better safe than sorry.”

Is Abita Light beer local or Cajun? Local.

Maggie gets so upset and stressed out, she starts talking to a squirrel. Why doesn’t she talk to her dogs, Gopher and Jolie? Because I didn’t think of it at the time and now I wish I had!

I didn’t know that strychnine comes from the strychnine tree. Is in only grown in warmer climates like Pelican? Or can the tree be grown anywhere in the US? My research showed that the tree, native to India and Southeast Asia, is generally found in warmer climates.

The Dupois plantation was based on a real place. What’s it like now? Dupois was inspired by “Le Petite Versailles,” the most famous Louisiana plantation home and gardens in the 19th century. Nothing is left of it today except garden ruins, overgrown, privately owned, and closed to the public. Mary Ann Sternberg, author of several of my favorite books about the Louisiana River Road, is one of the few people allowed to access the ruins in recent years and write about them. The fascinating chapter detailing her exploration can be found in her book, River Road Rambler. I would love to be allowed to explore what’s left of the grounds myself someday.

What’s next for Maggie and her family? I don’t want to give too much away but I’ll tell you this - A celebrity chef comes to Pelican to open an outpost of his famed Cajun chain of restaurants. Skullduggery – and murder! – ensue. 😉




https://www.stjosephplantation.com/

Maggie Crozat and the residents of Pelican Louisiana are back in this sixth installment in Ellen Byron’s Cajun Country Mystery series. The Halloween festivities in Pelican are disrupted by not one, but two murders! There’s a lot more than murder going on as usual though - wedding planning, shady real estate deals, antique theft, poisoning, attempted murder and multiple sightings of a rougarou are also needing to be dealt with. Some parts of the story could have used a little more depth to the investigation to make their resolutions a bit more satisfying, but it ultimately was a very good installment in this series. I’m looking forward to what happens next in Pelican!

It's Halloween in on the Crozat Family B&B in Pelican, Louisiana and everyone is excited to celebrate, except Maggie Crozat. She doesn't care for all the supernatural so when a fabled Cajun werewolf/vampire creature scares the guests watching a play set a local cemetery, she has all the more reason to detest the merrymaking. But the fright turns deadly when someone is poisoned on the property. She's also dealing with greedy relatives who came from Canada to visit under false pretenses and a massage therapist she hired who has a dangerous side hustle. It's no wonder she's finding it near impossible to plan for her upcoming nuptials with law enforcement officer Bo Durand.

This is one of my favorites series. I don't want to read it too quickly because then it will be that much longer until the next release. Not only is it very well-written, but the author goes to great lengths to provide an inviting setting, but also interesting local folklore and delicious sounding recipes. I always learn something new about the area, in addition to enjoying a well-plotted mystery with strong characters. I want a great seat for their wedding--am very much looking forward to the next book in the series.

Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for an ARC of this book. My review is voluntary.

4.5 Hearts
SJ, Romance Junkies

MURDER IN THE BAYOU BONEYARD by Ellen Byron is the sixth book in her A Cajun Country Mystery series. It can totally be read on its own, as I hadn't read any of the author's previous books and had no problem getting into the story. The author does a great job of introducing you to the characters and the town of Pelican, Louisiana. Though the book takes a slow start to the mystery, the characters are engaging and keep the pages turning.

This mystery is set at Halloween, and the town delivers its cute, spooky scares with festive celebrations amidst the local bed and breakfast (B&B) crowd, as well as with the arrival of rougarou sightings! Since rougarous—Cajun werewolves—clearly aren't real, something is definitely amiss in town. And then come the murders...

Maggie Crozat is the lead sleuth in this charming mystery. Along with her mother, father, and grandmother, who all run their plantation B&B, Maggie does her best to figure out who killed her newly-arrived, newly-met cousin. Along with her police officer fiancé, Maggie does her best to clear her name when she's accused of killing her new cousin. And when more people get murdered, Maggie seems to be once again be the chief suspect.

The setting is a character itself, not overdone, but perfectly lending to the Cajun caper. Who has motive to kill the first victim other than Maggie? And who wants the second victim dead? Who is dressing up as a rougarou to scare away visitors? And just as the plot thickens, Maggie's antique wedding dress is stolen!

The plots are woven together nicely and the mysteries cleverly develop, with enough clues to point to the villains without being over the top or easy to guess. I had a feeling I knew who the murderer was, yet I wasn't altogether right. And I love that!

With a wonderful cast of characters, suspects, and an intriguing mystery on top of a mystery, MURDER IN THE BAYOU BONEYARD is a terrific book for those who love a great whodunit. Now I have to go back and read the first five books in this series!

Maggie Crozant has planned a series of “spooky specials” for guests staying at area bed and breakfasts in Pelican, Louisiana. Maggie is willing to get creative to come up with ways to compete with a businessman who is buying up local properties that visitors can rent using an app. Her family business has also just opened a spa and Maggie hires a newfound distant cousin as the massage therapist and hopes she won’t come to regret this decision. In spite of all the festivities, Maggie confesses to her fiance, police officer Bo Durand, that she actually hates Halloween! When a murder occurs and Maggie becomes the prime suspect, her opinion of the scary holiday doesn’t get any better. She and Bo do some sleuthing of their own to clear Maggie’s name and catch the real killer.

This is the sixth book in this series, but there is a list of characters at the beginning of the book to help readers meeting Maggie and her friends for the first time. Maggie is an efficient businesswoman and an artist and has solved more than her share of murders. This time, the murder hits close to home and she feels she needs to start her own investigation to stay out of prison. She follows up several possible leads, but the motives start piling up and things get more and more complicated. The bed and breakfast also experiences some thefts, some more troubling than others, and Maggie isn’t sure how that fits it with everything else currently going on in Pelican.

Both she and her beloved “Gran” are planning an upcoming double wedding. Unfortunately, business troubles and the murder investigation have to come first for Maggie. Gran is a gem and at least she is having fun making some of the decisions for the ceremony, but I wish we had been treated to more lighthearted scenes with her and Maggie planning the event. I enjoyed the nice scenes between Maggie, Bo, and Bo’s eight-year-old son Xander, who clearly doesn’t have Maggie’s aversion to Halloween. I really like how their relationship has grown and how Bo fits right in with Maggie’s close-knit family.

The mystery gets a little over-complicated, but as always, I enjoyed the main characters, the setting, and the details about life in the Bayou that are woven into the story. One of the twists at the end wasn’t even on my radar, so I was very surprised at that plot turn as well as by the solution to the murders when all was revealed. Overall, this is another solid installment in this enjoyable series, and I hope there are more of Maggie’s adventures to come.

I received this ebook from NetGalley through the courtesy of Crooked Lane. An advance copy was provided to me at no cost, but my review is voluntary and unbiased.

Murder in the Bayou Boneyard by Ellen Byron is the 6th book in the Cajun Country Mystery series, and another fun read. Not only is this book really funny, I often found myself laughing out loud, it has a great mystery too. There are twists and turns around every corner, which kept me reading page after page. I found this book to be a quick read, with a well developed plot and characters. I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series. If you love cozy mysteries with quirky characters, I highly recommend this book and series.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

In this 6th book in the 'Cajun Country' cozy mystery series, amateur sleuth Maggie Crozat is suspected of murder. The book can be read as a standalone.

*****

Artist Maggie Crozat helps her parents, Ninette and Tug, run Crozat Plantation Bed and Breakfast in Pelican, Louisiana.The Crozats are concerned because their inn - like other local hotels - has been losing business to a new app called 'Rent My Digs.' To increase business, Maggie and four other B&B owners create a package called 'Pelican's Spooky Past', to run every weekend in October. The inns are appropriately decorated for the month, which adds to the fun.

Each Pelican B&B offers a Halloween themed entertainment, such as serving meals that mourners ate in antebellum days; holding a workshop that teaches guests to make cemetery decorations called immortelles; staging a a play called Resurrection of a Spirit, performed in a spooky cemetery; and so on. Guests at the Pelican B&B hotels rotate through the activities, providing more business for everyone.

To make Crozat Plantation B&B even more appealing, Maggie opens a spa on the property, which offers massages and facials. In the spirit of helping family members, Maggie invites a distant Canadian relative called Susannah Crozat MacDowell to be the masseuse for October. Susannah brings her husband and grown stepson and stepdaughter, all of whom stay in a renovated schoolhouse Maggie is fixing up as a combination art studio/apartment for herself and her fiancé, Crozat police detective Bo Durand.

Unfortunately, no good deed goes unpunished, and Susannah soon announces that she's taking over the property of her ancestral relatives, right beside the Crozat Plantation B&B. Moreover, Susannah says the schoolhouse is on her property, and she's keeping it.

To sour Maggie's mood even more, legendary werewolf-like creatures called rougarous start jumping out of the woods scaring weekend B&B guests - some of whom leave early. Worse yet, a rougarou stumbles into the cemetery during a production of Resurrection of a Spirit and promptly drops dead. As it turns out the rougarou is a murder victim wearing a werewolf costume.

Detectives from the nearby Ville Blanc Police Department get the murder case, and promptly finger Maggie as the prime suspect. More murders follow, and Maggie is in the crosshairs for those as well. Being an accomplished amateur sleuth with excellent connections in the Pelican Police Department, Maggie sets out to uncover the killer herself.

The accusations against Maggie and the ingratitude of the Canadian relatives is hard on the whole Crozat family. So Maggies's mom Ninette - who cooks to calm her nerves - fills the B&B with Cajun savories and desserts. In fact, when the house is burgled, the Pelican cops vie for the chance to investigate....knowing they'll get tasty bowls of gumbo or some other treat. (Note: recipes are included at the end of the book.)

While all this is going on Maggie and her Grand-mère are preparing for their joint wedding on New Year's Eve. Gran is doing most of the planning, and she's having a fabulous time - collecting swag from bridal expos and doing cake tastings at every bakery in town.

The book has a large array of additional characters, including townspeople of Pelican and B&B guests. My favorite visitors are a woman called DruCilla and her talking parrot Lovie - a clever bird who repeats whatever he hears and belts out tunes on command.

The story's southern Louisiana ambiance is authentic and charming, as is the affectionate appellation 'cher' (dear), which Cajuns use all the time (right back at ya, cher; thanks, cher; you look exhausted, cher; it's not about that, cher; etc.)

I enjoyed this delightful cozy mystery, and recommend it to fans of the genre.

Recipes in the book include:
Crawtatoes
Cajun Pecan Cookie Fingers
Ghoulish Cajun Goulash
Sugar High Pie
Holy Trinity Chicken

Thanks to Netgalley, the author (Ellen Byron) and the publisher (Crooked Lane Books) for a copy of the book.

This is the Cajun Country Mystery #6. I have read most of this series and always enjoy returning to this fun Southern based series with fun charcters. Thank you to the publisher and to Net Galley for the ARC. My review opinions are my own.

Maggie Crozat is the owner of a historic Cajun Country B&B in Pelican Louisiana. Her business is in trouble from people using a phone app to rent out locals rooms. She is worried about her business and comes up with a fun way to gain more customers joining with other local B&B's to create a festive Halloween theme night with a pet parade, a cemetery crawl and a play. When a murder occurs at the play Maggie is once again on the case to solve the murder. When other murders occur including her lying long lost cousin Maggie is convinced that the murders are related to a common suspect. She has help from her her police detective boyfriend and her quirky friends and family to find the clues through the mired of suspects and red herrings.

I love the atmosphere of this series. The author perfectly captures the Southern charm with location and the charcters. it is always fun to return to this series..

It is Halloween time in "Murder in the Bayou Boneyard", book 6 in the Cajun Country murder mystery series by Ellen Byron. Nothing is going to get you in the Halloween spirit better than reading this book! Packed with a compelling series of murders, southern Halloween and funeral traditions, voodoo dolls, werewolf (rougarou) shenanigans, theatre troupes, poison, and paranormal groups - this book spans the whole month of October as the character's celebrate "Pelican's Spooky Past" each weekend.

I haven't yet read any of the previous books in this series, but because there was a good recap and introduction to the characters I didn't feel lost. I was able to jump into this book with no issues. And this book made me feel a lot of emotions. I felt really upset for the family when the "bad guys" were threatening their business and home, and I felt hungry every time a Cajun food dish was mentioned, and I even felt appreciative when the author took the time to represent different groups of people - for example, the young boy Xander who has Asperger's. I thought "wow, that's awesome that she included a character with this attribute". You don't see that enough.

I learned about Creole culture and traditions while reading, and it certainly makes me want to visit New Orleans some day. I'm a lifelong East Coast, USA resident myself and my only exposure to Louisiana is what I've gleaned from True Blood, Anne Rice novels, and various movies like The Princess & The Frog. But I cobbled together my 30+ years of pop culture depictions and read the characters with accents, and was able to picture the town and countryside with what I believe is relative accuracy, all things considered.

So many cozies are depicted up here in the North in places like Maine and Massachusetts that it's great to be transported somewhere else for a while. Now, I just need to go back and read the first five books in the series!

** I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.**

More Facts for Readers about our Sleuth:
Main Sleuth: Magnolia (Maggie) Marie Crozat
Best friend/ Sidekick: None
Physical Description: White female, Creole descent
Location: Pelican Parish, Louisiana (1 hour from New Orleans)
Time of Year: October - Halloween
Business: Helping to run the family's Crozat Plantation Bed & Breakfast
Pet: Gopher, a rescue basset beagle hound, and Jolie a rescue Chihuahua mix
Love Interest: Bo Durand, Maggie's fiance and a Pelican Police Detective
Family: Mom, Dad, Grandmother, Xander (her 8 year old stepson)
Cussing? No
Diversity? Yes! There is so much diversity especially in terms of ethnicity that there's no need to list out the characters. But there is color diversity, as well as religious diversity, mental diversity, and sexual preference diversity. It's a good representation of normal life and the many different types of folks that build a community and I for one found it very refreshing.

Of course we LOVE this series, as it is set in Louisiana! But more than that, Ellen makes sure to add our local flavor into every cozy mystery in this fun series, and this time it's the Rougarou (please note, we capitalize it, cause you KNOW, Boogie Man and all...LOL)In this fun Halloween story, the local B&B's are trying to help each other out as they face undue competition from a AirBNB type magnate. For Maggie's family it comes at a bad time, as distant relatives come to visit. But little do they know this isn't just reunion time. As it gets closer to Halloween, the bodies start stacking up, and of course Maggie is right there in the middle, and it's down to her, and her family, to figure out what is really happening! A fun, quick read, it will make you pine for the chill days of fall (especially if like us, you're in 100 degree heat!)

I felt immersed in all things Louisiana while reading this story. The setting does an excellent job of putting the reader in small town Louisiana complete with mansions, food and even rougarous. The setting also proved to be an excellent backdrop for the Halloween theme of this story. Add some murders for the mystery and Gran exploring every aspect of the perfect wedding for humor and it becomes a well balanced plot.

Thanks to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for an ARC. The opinions expressed are my own.

Byron delivered a good mystery with plenty of red herring that kept me guessing until the end. Halloween was the perfect time for this mystery where a character dropped dead in a cemetery and rougarous (a Cajun version of a werewolf) made an appearance. Also, she created an interesting town rich in Cajun atmosphere and flavor--recipes included--with quirky characters.

This was the first book by Ellen Byron I have read but it won't be the last.

I received this ARC from Netgalley and the publisher in return for a fair review.

The sixth book in Ellen Byron’s Cajun Country Mystery series and it’s still going strong. The familiar cast of Crozat family and friends provide a welcome return to bayou country with its unique southern ways and family history. Once again Maggie, the Crozat daughter is confronted with a murder, this time of a long lost relative she found and brought to the area for the Halloween Spooky Past festival she’s dreamed up to try and increase business. As might be expected, things go wrong, the long lost relative turns out to be a thorn in Maggie's side, and then get murdered. The result is an ambitious detective in the adjacent town sets his sites on Maggie and begins working to prove her guilt. What’s a suspect to do? If you are Maggie Crozat, you try to solve the murder yourself.
Along the way there are additional murders Maggie has to deal with as well as sightings of a rougarou scaring off guests...that’s a werewolf type creature native to Louisiana folklore if you’re wondering. To add to the chaos there’s an internet entrepreneur who is buying up all the available housing in town which is making business difficult for Maggie and housing unaffordable for the residents, plans for the double wedding Maggie and her Gran-mere are planning, and the fear of her long-lost relative’s family selling the adjoining land they just learned they owned to a chemical company.
Lot’s to keep track of and lot’s to keep Maggie running from one area to another. Her fiance, Bo, can’t investigate the murder because of his association with Maggie, and things get really snarled before they finally unravel. The book is a well-paced mix of mystery and local flavor that makes reading the book feel like a trip to the Louisiana bayou country. Read it at your own pace, whether you want to read straight through or take it for a beach read; it’s an excellent escape.
My thanks to Crooked Lane Books for providing me with an advanced digital read copy of this novel. I voluntarily offer this unbiased review.

Sixth book in the series

The Crozat family run a cozy B & B in Pelican Louisiana.All the B&Bs in the area are hurting for business due to a company that is buying up properties for short term rentals. To boost business, the B&Bs are offering spooky weekend packages for the month of October.
In addition, Maggie Crozat has hired a long lost cousin to work as a masseuse in the newly opened spa. When the cousin ends up dead, the entire family is under suspicion for the murder.
Fast read with a surprise ending.

Love the local culture, food and history featured.

I enjoyed this book. I haven't read the other ones in this series but didn't have any problems figuring out what was going on. I loved the characters and their interactions. The setting of Cajun country and the tidbits about the culture were great. Especially enjoyed the food references. All in all, a YUMMY read!
I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher and voluntarily chose to review it.

I do like this series and how the author always incorporates some genuine Cajun Country details, this time besides the usual new local foods introduced there are funeral and creepy details like Rougarous which fit the Halloween time setting.

Maggie and her family get bit in the butts by some human gators and things look bleak until one of the gators gets killed and they're the prime suspects. This story was jam packed with action and details. Because of that I think it leans more towards a standard mystery. There's a lot here for a true cozy.

Looking forward to the next book especially to see how the ending of this one plays out.

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

It's fun to read about cultures and locations that are different from mine. This mystery takes place in the Louisiana Bayous where voodoo priestess and rougarous, and murder happen. Maggie and her family run the Crozet B&B. It is Halloween week and all the B&B's are hosting a scary weekend throughout October. In preparation Maggie offers a job to a distant relative. The relative isn't a nice person and there is tension between the families. The new relative turns up murdered and the police and the whole Crozet family in their sights. At least the Ville Blanc Police think the Crozets are quilty. Pelican police do not. What a romp. Nasty relatives, scary happenings, missing antiques, what's a girl to do? Maggie tries to stay out of the investigation, but it's hard when you are suspect number 1.

That characters are fun. I enjoyed all the twists and multitude of suspects and the history of the area. This book is easy-to-read and a nice escape.

A very well written and entertaining cozy mystery. Great Cajun setting. I received an advance ebook from the publisher and this is my unbiased review.

This was a great addition to a wonderful series. I loved the plot and characters, and couldn't figure out what happened until the end. The setting is so well described that it almost felt like another character, at times. I loved the romantic subplots and felt that it added a break in the tension where it was needed. I can't wait until the next one!
I received an advanced reader's copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.