My ReviewMaggie Crozat manages her family's historic bed and breakfast in Pelican, Louisiana. Some distant relatives visit from Canada, coinciding with Halloween and a spooky local theater production. When there is a mysterious death in the midst of all this activity, Maggie finds herself a suspect ... and is determined to clear her name.
I wanted to read Murder in the Bayou Boneyard because I have enjoyed the other books in this series. I like the Cajun setting and Maggie's life at the B&B.
This book starts with a list of characters, which I bookmarked and referred to several times while reading. Because there are several storylines that run through this novel, there are a lot of characters! The cast of characters helped a lot. (I wish more cozy authors would do this!)
I found a lot to enjoy in this mystery. I like Maggie and her relationship with Bo, her family (especially Gran's wedding planning!), the B&B setting, and the Halloween activities. I also liked learning a bit of Louisana folkore about the rougarou, a cross between a werewolf and vampire.
There was a lot going on in Murder in the Bayou Boneyard, and the story was a more leisurely read than usual for me as a result. I enjoyed all the storylines and wanted to keep them all straight!
The mystery was well written with several strong suspects. I guessed part but not all of the denouement, and enjoyed solving the mystery along with Maggie.
Murder on the Bayou Boneyard is a fun cozy mystery read (perfect for Halloween and fall!). I recommend it for fans of cozy mysteries, southern settings, and atmospheric mysteries. Readers will do best to start with the first book in the series and read through, as the story builds from book to book.
Book Synopsis
Maggie Crozat has the
Halloween heebie-jeebies in USA Today bestselling and Agatha
Award-winning author Ellen Byron’s howlingly funny sixth Cajun Country
mystery.
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.
Author BioEllen Byron’s Cajun Country Mysteries have won
the Agatha award for Best Contemporary Novel and multiple Lefty awards
for Best Humorous Mystery. Her Catering Hall Mystery series, written as
Maria DiRico, launched with Here Comes the Body and was
inspired by her real life. She’s an award-winning playwright and
non-award-winning TV writer of comedies like WINGS, JUST SHOOT ME, and
FAIRLY ODD PARENTS, but she considers her most impressive credit working
as a cater-waiter for Martha Stewart. A native New Yorker who attended
New Orleans’ Tulane University, she lives in Los Angeles with her
husband, daughter, and rescue furbaby. Sign up for her newsletter at https://www.ellenbyron.com/
Author Links
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/ellenbyronauthor/
https://www.facebook.com/CateringHallMysteries/
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/ellenbyronmariadirico/
BookBub:
https://www.bookbub.com/profile/ellen-byron
https://www.bookbub.com/authors/maria-dirico
Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/23234.Ellen_Byron?from_search=true&from_srp=true
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19130966.Maria_DiRico?from_search=true&from_srp=true
Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Ellen-Byron/e/B00J7NW9IM?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1591801316&sr=8-1
https://www.amazon.com/Maria-DiRico/e/B07SF86ZM2?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1591801389&sr=1-1
Purchase Links – Penguin Random House – Amazon – B&N – Kobo – IndieBound
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