San Marcos Public Library

Murder in the Bayou Boneyard

by Ellen Byron

Publishers Weekly In Agatha winner Byron’s captivating sixth Cajun Country mystery (after 2019’s Fatal Cajun Festival), Magnolia “Maggie” Crozat, the proprietor of the Crozat Plantation Bed and Breakfast in Pelican, La., struggles to compete with the Rent My Digs app, which is siphoning off the B and B’s bookings. When Maggie hires her distant Canadian cousin, Susannah Crozat MacDowell, to help out over the hectic October tourist season, Susannah betrays their working agreement and claims part of Maggie’s land actually belongs to her side of the family. On top of all this, a rougarou, a “kind of werewolf-meets-vampire creature,” appears to be scaring off many of Maggie’s guests. When someone wearing a rougarou costume drops dead during a play performed in the local cemetery, it turns out to be a case of poisoning. With Maggie’s family’s livelihood at stake, she once again turns sleuth. Cajun history and delectable food descriptions supplement the crime solving. Cozy fans are in for a Halloween treat. Agent: Doug Grad, Doug Grad Literary (Sept.)

Library Journal The B&Bs in Pelican, LA, are having difficulties competing with a company buying up property, so Maggie Crozat comes up with a scheme that each B&B will host special events to celebrate Pelican's spooky past. She has the bright idea that Crozat Plantation B&B will host a spa, and invites a Canadian cousin she's never met, Susannah MacDowell, to be the massage therapist. Susannah shows up with her obnoxious, demanding family. Guests report seeing a scary rougarou, a legendary werewolf combined with a vampire, and people cancel their reservations. When a costumed rougarou dies at the mystery play in a cemetery, Maggie becomes the primary suspect. Her event plans are a disaster. She and her grandmother had planned a double wedding on New Year's Eve, but grandma has turned into a bridezilla. Then the local police chief collapses in their family kitchen. With all of her family as murder suspects, Maggie has to solve the case, or she'll be wearing an orange jumpsuit for her wedding instead of a traditional gown. VERDICT Halloween, humor, and Louisiana legends are the key to the award-winning author's follow-up to Fatal Cajun Festival. Byron's readers and fans of Jenn McKinlay's humorous mysteries will appreciate this latest story that incorporates family and food.—Lesa Holstine, Evansville Vanderburgh P.L., IN

Kirkus Halloween festivities turn deadly for a rural Louisiana family. Like most owners of large properties in and around picturesque Pelican, the Crozats are feeling the pinch. Young entrepreneurs like Gavin Grody, CEO of Rent My Digs, are cutting into their short-term rental business by buying up older homes and leasing them online under the guise of “home-sharing.” To boost business at their B & B, Tug and Ninette Crozat team up with the owners of the Belle Vista Plantation Resort to offer a Pelican’s Spooky Past package. Belle Vista’s offerings include a mystery play directed by local attorney Quentin MacIlhoney; in addition, the Crozats open a spa, complete with massage, skin care, and a clairvoyant. To mix business with pleasure, the Crozats invite Susannah and Doug MacDowell, distant relatives from Canada, to join them for the length of the promotion. Susie, a trained masseuse, agrees to work in the spa to subsidize their stay. Tug and Ninette’s daughter, Maggie, gives up her art studio for the duration so that the cousins and Doug’s adult children can have plenty of room during their stay but quickly realizes that the Canadians have their eyes on more than one building on the Crozats’ property. Soon the bodies start to pile up, and Maggie, who’s engaged to Pelican Police Department detective Bo Durand, decides that she’d better start another round of sleuthing if she doesn’t want to celebrate her wedding day behind bars. Kooky characters, Southern charm, recipes. Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Kirkus Halloween festivities turn deadly for a rural Louisiana family.Like most owners of large properties in and around picturesque Pelican, the Crozats are feeling the pinch. Young entrepreneurs like Gavin Grody, CEO of Rent My Digs, are cutting into their short-term rental business by buying up older homes and leasing them online under the guise of home-sharing. To boost business at their BB, Tug and Ninette Crozat team up with the owners of the Belle Vista Plantation Resort to offer a Pelicans Spooky Past package. Belle Vistas offerings include a mystery play directed by local attorney Quentin MacIlhoney; in addition, the Crozats open a spa, complete with massage, skin care, and a clairvoyant. To mix business with pleasure, the Crozats invite Susannah and Doug MacDowell, distant relatives from Canada, to join them for the length of the promotion. Susie, a trained masseuse, agrees to work in the spa to subsidize their stay. Tug and Ninettes daughter, Maggie, gives up her art studio for the duration so that the cousins and Dougs adult children can have plenty of room during their stay but quickly realizes that the Canadians have their eyes on more than one building on the Crozats property. Soon the bodies start to pile up, and Maggie, whos engaged to Pelican Police Department detective Bo Durand, decides that shed better start another round of sleuthing if she doesnt want to celebrate her wedding day behind bars. Kooky characters, Southern charm, recipes. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

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