Ellen Byron hits the nail on the head when it comes to capturing small town Louisiana and Cajun whimsy. This mystery is set at a plantation bed and breakfast and revolves around Tammy Barker, who made it big on a television show music competition and has returned to perform at her hometown cultural festival. Tammy was also the bully among the girls in her class and her return with her Hollywood manager and band brings drama and the death of her manager.
Having grown up in Louisiana I was surprised to see the author is from out of state. Her work at capturing the character and little details of rural Louisiana and the locals' interaction with the Hollywood crew was humorous and entertaining.
Overall, I found the book a fun read and the characters interesting. A large cast of possible suspects kept me reading and engaged and from start to finish and questioning who would be implicated in the crime. I am new to cozy novels and have read good ones and bad and my impression is that this one had more depth and variety to the storyline than others. This book is one in a series of Louisiana cozy mysteries and makes a fine stand alone read. I don't have anything negative to report and look forward to reading more by this author.
My rating is 4 Stars: I really liked it! For reference my version of a 5 star review is “I absolutely loved it! It will stay with me for a long time and/or I would read it again in the future. Highly recommended.”
As a reviewer for NetGalley, I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
