A Holland Reads: Mumbo Gumbo Murder by Laura Childs with Terrie Farley Moran

Book Details

Mumbo Gumbo Murder (A Scrapbooking Mystery)

Cozy Mystery 16th in Series

Berkley (October 1, 2019)

Hardcover: 320 pages

ISBN-10: 0451489578

ISBN-13: 978-0451489579

Digital ASIN: B07M75KVSB

Book Description

A shocking murder strikes a sour note during Jazz Fest in the latest New Orleans Scrapbooking Mystery from New York Times bestselling author Laura Childs.

It's Jazz Fest in New Orleans, and the giant puppets from the Beastmaster Puppet Theatre are parading through the French Quarter. Some are very spooky and veiled, others are tall and gangly, like strange aliens.

As the parade proceeds, Carmela Bertrand and her best friend, Ava, follow behind, down Royal Street and past the food booths. Suddenly, they hear a terrible crash from Devon Dowling's antiques shop. They rush inside to find Devon collapsed with blood streaming down the side of his face. Has he been shot? Stabbed? 911 is hastily called, and the police and EMTs show up. After the police examine Devon's body, they tell Carmela and Ava that their friend was murdered with an icepick. They're shocked beyond belief—and now Mimi, Devon's little pug, is left homeless.

Carmela and Ava are determined to catch the murderer, but the list of suspects is long. How long do they have before they find themselves on the killer's list?
About The Authors

Meet the authors - Laura Childs and Terrie Farley Moran

Laura Childs is the New York Times bestselling author of the Tea Shop Mysteries

, Scrapbook Mysteries

, and Cackleberry Club Mysteries

. In her previous life she was CEO/Creative Director of her own marketing firm and authored several screenplays. She is married to a professor of Chinese art history, loves to travel, rides horses, enjoys fundraising for various non-profits, and has two Chinese Shar-Pei dogs.

Laura specializes in cozy mysteries that have the pace of a thriller (a thrillzy!) Her three series are:

The Tea Shop Mysteries

- set in the historic district of Charleston and featuring Theodosia Browning, owner of the Indigo Tea Shop. Theodosia is a savvy entrepreneur, and pet mom to service dog Earl Grey. She’s also an intelligent, focused amateur sleuth who doesn’t rely on coincidences or inept police work to solve crimes. This charming series is highly atmospheric and rife with the history and mystery that is Charleston.

The Scrapbooking Mysteries

– a slightly edgier series that take place in New Orleans. The main character, Carmela, owns Memory Mine scrapbooking shop in the French Quarter and is forever getting into trouble with her friend, Ava, who owns the Juju Voodoo shop. New Orleans’ spooky above-ground cemeteries, jazz clubs, bayous, and Mardi Gras madness make their presence known here!

The Cackleberry Club Mysteries

- set in Kindred, a fictional town in the Midwest. In a rehabbed Spur station, Suzanne, Toni, and Petra, three semi-desperate, forty-plus women have launched the Cackleberry Club. Eggs are the morning specialty here and this cozy cafe even offers a book nook and yarn shop. Business is good but murder could lead to the cafe’s undoing! This series offers recipes, knitting, cake decorating, and a dash of spirituality.

Laura’s Links: Webpage - http://www.laurachilds.com/ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/laura.childs.31 Recipient of both the Agatha and the Derringer awards,

Terrie Farley Moran is the author of the beachside Read 'Em and Eat cozy mystery series; co-author of Laura Childs’ New Orleans scrapbooking mystery series; and has published numerous short stories in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, Mystery Weekly Magazine and numerous anthologies. The only thing Terrie enjoys more than wrangling mystery plots into submission is hanging out with any or all of her seven grandchildren who reside in New York and Florida.

Terrie’s Links: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/terrie.moran.9 Blog: www.womenofmystery.net Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/23186092-terrie-moran
Purchase Links: Amazon B&N Kobo Google Play IndieBound

My thoughts:

I enjoyed this newest installment to this series. Although I have to say that Ava really annoyed me this time. I just wanted to tell her to grow up and be quiet for a minute. To me she acted like a snot at times. Of course I still love Carmela and her dogs. I hope that Carmela and Edgar get the wedding things figured out sooner rather than later. I just want them to have a happy ending. I thought Quigg was a little pushy but when is he not. I was very surprised at who committed the murder in this book. I would have never guessed this person. I had my eye on a couple of others but that did not pan out. This has been a long time favorite series of mine and I have enjoyed watching these characters grow. I also like hearing about the crafts that Carmela has lined up. I love the stores ideas. It would be fun to shop there.

Character Guest Post by Carmela Bertrand,

protagonist in Mumbo Gumbo Murder by

Laura Childs and Terrie Farley Moran

Welcome to New Orleans, my friends. To a city brimming with history, mystery, and rabble-rousing celebrations that seem to get bigger, badder, and more glorious every year.

I ought to know, because I live right in the middle of the Big Easy in a quaint little apartment in the French Quarter. My best friend, Ava Grieux, lives just across the courtyard from me. Her place (painted Pepto pink with lots of leopard accents) is on the second floor above her shop, Juju Voodoo.

My shop, Memory Mine, is down a few blocks on Governor Nicholls Street. It’s an adorable little place with yellow brick walls, sagging floors, and baskets filled with colorful scrapbook paper. We also carry a huge array of rubber stamps, cardstock, tempera paints, ribbons, tassels, beads, brads Paperclay, and colored pens.

Crafting is big here in New Orleans. You never know when someone will pop in and want to create invitations, make a paper theatre, stamp a velvet pillow, decoupage a frame, make a pair of earrings, create table decorations, or make a mask.

There’s another thing the Big Easy is known for – spooky goings-on. For some reason I’m always nearby when there’s a murder, hijacking, ghost sighting, exploding car, or strange above-ground cemetery occurrence. And because I’ve been blessed with the curiosity gene (yes, I know curiosity killed the cat!) I seem to get involved. Which bugs Detective Edgar Babcock, my sweetie du jour, to no end.

Take for instance the murder at Devon Dowling’s antiques shop that happened during Jazz Fest. His front window was stove in, priceless antiques trashed, and his adorable little pug Mimi left standing over his dead body.

Babcock warned me to not get involved. He said, “Carmela . . . don’t you dare!” I thought about that for about two seconds, then scooped up Mimi and decided to run my own shadow investigation. After all, Mimi saw the killer so she ought to be able to sniff him out, right?

Well, I don’t dare get into what happened next. Suffice it to say that there are more suspects than I can shake a stick at. I mean, there’s a penny-pinching landlord, a questionable young assistant, a fat cat art collector, a burglar named Sonny Boy, and the mysterious (but strangely attractive) president of the Vampire Society.

If you’re at all intrigued, why don’t you come along with me on my journey? Hear that mournful toot of a tugboat over on the Mississippi? Now gaze at the quarter moon hanging in a blue-black sky. Admire the old-fashioned gaslights glowing in the French Quarter. Then step this way and follow me down the dark but enchanting Pirate’s Alley. And help me spy on one more suspect!

All my best,

Carmela

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