Ellen Byron makes me want to go to Louisiana. I am not a hot weather person so this is a feat. Every time I read one of her books, I’m ready to go. She does an amazing job bringing Pelican Louisiana to life between the covers of her books. It’s not just the scenery that Ms Byron brings to life either. You can smell the Cajun cooking delights waft up from the pages. She makes me drool!
This book is set at one of my most favorite times of the year...Halloween! Louisiana is in my top five places to spend Halloween in. I loved they way Halloween was included but didn’t obscure the mystery. The mystery was intriguing. Far away family comes to visit and brings with them a few issues. Don’t you just love when you open your home to family and they have a plot against you already going? There is a lot going on with the holiday, the B&B, a play and the double wedding preparations. Which I can’t even say how much I love the grandma/granddaughter wedding plan! That just warms my heart and Grandma is a hoot, making it so fun to read about. If all this doesn’t have you turning pages how about a rougarou and death? I was delighted to see a rougarou in the mix! If you are new to the term, it is a werewolf/vampire like creature. They make my horror loving heart beat faster. There is no graphic horror in this book though. It is most definitely a cozy mystery. The mystery part kept me guessing. When you read this book you will understand why. I definitely recommend you read this book.
I am grateful to having won a copy of this book in a Goodreads Giveaway. Reviews are not required but I chose to voluntarily review this book. I want all cozy lovers to read it! I had a good time with it. It is a book I read slowly because I didn’t want it to end but all good things do have an end. I’m looking forward to the next book! ( )

Halloween has come to Cajun Country and to increase the tourists bookings at the Crozat Bed and Breakfast and other area B&Bs Maggie Crozat has developed Spooky Past packages so that visitor can get a scary holiday and vacation all in one. Maggie has also increased the amenities at the Crozat B&B by finding and hiring a distant relative for the spa. But was this a smart idea?

The mystery is full of a frightful cemetery, a wrathful Rougarou, a detective that is not exactly friendly, a talking parrot that always seems to say the wrong thing at the wrong time, multiple murders, and property line that could create major issues for the future.

All in all, a really fun read! ( )

I thought Murder in the Bayou Boneyard was well-written with developed characters. I always enjoy visiting Pelican, Louisiana. There is nothing better than to be there at Halloween. I enjoyed the spooky happening and learning about the Rougarou. I just loved that this was a double mystery. There are spooky sightings, a pesky police detective, a chatty parrot, and various suspects. This was a fun mystery to solve. Murder in the Bayou Boneyard had plenty going on in it which made the story zip by so quickly. There were some quirky characters including bird who lands Maggie in hot water. Maggie and Gran are both engaged. They are going to have a double wedding. Gran has taken over the wedding planning for the extravaganza. She is particularly enjoying the cake tastings. I just loved the screaming doorbell at the Crozat Bed and Breakfast (I want one for my house). Murder in the Bayou Boneyard can be read as a standalone. I recommend reading this entertaining series in order. It will allow you to know the characters, their relationships, and the town. The ending was delightful. There is a bounty of food in this story (had my stomach growling). There are recipes at the end for some of the items featured in the book including Ninette’s Holy Trinity Chicken and Cajun Pecan Cookie Fingers. Murder in the Bayou Boneyard is an entertaining cozy mystery with a creepy cemetery, a wrathful Rougarou, a determined detective, a prolix parrot, multiple murders, a bold bridezilla, and problematic property line polemic. ( )

This sixth Cajun Country mystery takes place during Halloween. Maggie and her family along with other local B & Bs are hosting a "Pelican's Spooky Past" package to try to lure customers away from the new guy Gavin Grody who is buying up all sorts of affordable property and using them as rentals using his new app Rent My Digs.

Halloween is not Maggie's favorite holiday and this one looks like it will confirm her feelings about the holiday. She has asked a long-lost cousin from Canada to visit and run the new spa that they created to try to generate some more income. But the cousin, her husband, and his two grown children prove to be a disappointment. She is running a side business as a psychic and taking business from other local psychics. She also has determined that she is the owner of some land adjacent to Maggie's family land. The land she says is hers includes most of Maggie's art studio which they are using as guest housing.

Someone is also running around scaring the tourists by pretending to be a rougarou which is proving bad for business. Well, except for the paranormal aficionados who rent rooms at Maggie's parents' B&B after those more easily scared cancel their reservations.

When the cousin is found dead while wearing a rougarou costume, Maggie becomes the number one suspect in the eyes of the Ville Blanc police who have jurisdiction instead of the local Pelican Police Department where her fiance works. Maggie needs to clear her name or she'll find herself in jail instead of walking down the aisle in a double wedding with her grandmother.

But that doesn't end Maggie's problems. The widower decides to sell his newly inherited land to a chemical company who want to build a plant right next door to their B&B. But then he is found dead and even more suspicion falls on Maggie.

This was a fun mystery made even better by the recipes included in the book. After all, Maggie's mother Ninette is an excellent Cajun cook who delights in feeding her guests (and anyone else who happens to stop by the B&B). ( )

Louisiana, small-business, small-town, law-enforcement, murder-investigation, amateur-sleuth, family-dynamics, friendship, bed-and-breakfast, greed, rivalry, theft*****

If you've never read any of the other books about the folks in Pelican, Louisiana you won't get lost in this one, but you'll probably want to read the others anyway just for fun. If you've read the others, like me, you'll love this one, too! The Crozats and all of Pelican are fun and engaging people who make you feel like you just want to go there for a visit to the B&B, the town, and the historical plantations.
This fast paced and engaging mystery begins with some awful people who are supposed to be relatives, an apparent supernatural sighting, and the first murder. There is sleuthing, rivalry between police departments, disputed properties, a Halloween festival, thefts, a pesky visiting parrot, anguish, a nasty entrepreneur, plot twists, red herrings, misdirection, and humor.
I loved it!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley. Thank you! ( )