Murder In The Bayou Boneyard

Maggie Crozat, the 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 the Halloween holiday 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.

Series: A Cajun Country Mystery – Book #6
Author: Ellen Byron
Genre: Cozy Mystery/B&B/Holiday
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Page Count: 304

Rating:

Maggie always seems to find a body or be around when someone is murdered. In the new Halloween themed addition to the “A Cajun Country Mystery” series, Murder In The Bayou Boneyard, Maggie and crew are at it again.

Even with her wedding on the horizon, and her grandmother going all out and needs Maggie to keep her from going to far overboard, Maggie finds a way to get involved in another murder investigation. To make matters worse, she also has her squatter cousins to get rid of. The cast of characters in this series are well known to anyone who enjoys cozies that make you laugh, cry and long for good Cajun food. The added twist this time is trying to convince Maggie that Halloween is a holiday she can enjoy, even with bodies dropping like flies. This holiday won’t go off without a hitch, or two, or three…

The suspect pool is limited to the local townsfolk and a few new additions. The victim(s) aren’t all innocent in one way or another, but no matter what type of person they were, Maggie must find the killer. Her search isn’t easy as the Halloween themed holiday has everyone running around in rougarou costumes and playing what appears to be silly pranks. Maggie solves the murders while putting herself in danger and almost upsetting her and her grandmother’s wedding plans. Readers may be surprised by the unveiling of the killer. The recipes are delectable.

Murder In The Bayou Boneyard is a fun, engaging read that will keep readers happy. The descriptions of locations and food make you want to visit Cajun country to enjoy all it has to offer; food, music, history, and folklore, everything needed for a wonderful adventure. I wouldn’t mind spending a holiday or two with the Crozat’s, especially Halloween. I was thrilled with this latest addition to the series and look forward to the next installment.

Other Halloween themed holiday books readers will enjoy include Alexis Morgan’s adorable series “An Abby McCree Mystery” or G.A. McKevett’s heartwarming “A Granny Reid Mystery”.

About the Author:

Ellen Byron was born in Queens, New York, and raised in Queens and Westchester County. She is a first-generation Italian-American on her mother’s side. On her father’s side, her grandfather was a low-level Jewish mobster who disappeared in 1933 under mysterious circumstances.

While growing up in Queens, Maria/Ellen’s cousin’s uncles ran the Astoria Manor and Grand Bay Marina catering halls. Ellen’s TV credits include Wings, Just Shoot Me, and Fairly OddParents. She’s written over 200 national magazine articles, and her published plays include the award-winning Graceland. She also worked as a cater-waiter for the legendary Martha Stewart, a credit she never tires of sharing. A native New Yorker who attended Tulane University, Ellen lives in Los Angeles with her husband, daughter, and two rescue dogs. She still misses her hometown – and still drives like a New York cabbie.

Represent by the Doug Grad Literary Agency, Inc.

Contact Ellen/Maria: https://www.ellenbyron.com/contact

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