Wined and Died in New Orleans
It’s hurricane season in New Orleans, and vintage cookbook fan Ricki James-Diaz is trying to shelve her weather-related fears and focus on her business, Miss Vee’s Vintage Cookbook and Kitchenware Shop, housed in the magnificent Bon Vee Culinary House Museum.
Repairs on the property unearth crates of very old, very valuable French wine buried by the home’s builder, Jean-Louis Charbonnet. Ricki, who’s been struggling to attract more customers to Miss Vee’s, is thrilled when her post about the discovery of this long-buried treasure goes viral. She’s less thrilled when the post brings distant Charbonnet family members out of the woodwork, all clamoring for a cut of the wine’s sale.
When a dead body turns up in Bon Vee’s cheery fall decorations, the NOPD zeroes in on Eugenia Charbonnet Felice as the prime suspect, figuring that as head of the Charbonnet family, she has the most to gain. Ricki is determined to uncover the real culprit, but she can’t help noticing that Eugenia is acting strangely. Ricki wonders what kind of secret her mentor has bottled up and fears what might happen if she uncorks it.
The Details
Series: A Vintage Cookbook Mystery – Book #2
Author: Ellen Byron https://www.ellenbyron.com/
Genre/Category: Cozy – Bookshop/Business
Publisher: Berkley https://tinyurl.com/mrkxah4v
ISBN: 0593437632
Page Count: 288
Rating: 
The Review
The newest addition to the “A Vintage Cookbook Mystery” series, Wined and Died in New Orleans, has added a fun and intriguing aspect to this series. Only the second book, yet the characters feel like old friends. The setting is beautiful, and no matter what type of cozy you enjoy, the combination of Ricki, murder, and bad weather will keep you on the edge of your seat.
When crates of old wine are discovered on the ground of Bon Vee that could be worth a small fortune, greed comes out of the woodwork. It isn’t long before murder follows suit. Just when the investigation gets underway, Ricki, Bon Vee, and everyone in the city is in the path of the worse possible weather. Ricki’s fears are coming to fruition, and she doesn’t have long to figure out who the killer is before it may be too late for all of them.
The suspects are friends and family, but Ricki wonders if there is more to the story than meets the eye. Regardless of the weather, evidence could be washed away in more ways than one, but when she starts asking questions, it isn’t a hurricane Ricki needs to fear. Plenty of twists and turns throughout the story keep readers on their toes. The pace is good without being too fast or slow. The characters make you smile and worry at the same time. Even the killer holds fascination. The unveiling is easy to imagine and makes Ricki and the reader doubt much of what they thought they knew.
Wined and Died in New Orleans is a crowd-pleaser. Everything about this story keeps the reader invested, from the weather and Ricki’s constant fear of a hurricane to the murder and killer, you won’t be disappointed. This book will keep fans excited and looking forward to the next installment.
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. 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. Contact Ellen on social media or her website.
Other books from Ellen readers may want to pick up include Long Island Iced Tina from the “A Catering Hall Mystery” series or perhaps Murder In The Bayou Boneyard from the “A Cajun Country Mystery” series.
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