Book Review: Murder in the Bayou Boneyard by Ellen Byron
- Kristen Lewendon
- Sep 9, 2020
- 2 min read
Cajun Country Mystery Book 6
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.
My Review:
I love this series so very much! It’s funny and entertaining in a way that’s quintessentially southern, taking us deep into the heart of Cajun country and making us feel like we’re right there with the characters. The mystery is a compelling, twisty thing that kept me guessing for the entirety of the book. There are so many devious red herrings I couldn’t settle on a suspect until the big reveal showed us the true villain. (FYI, I was wrong on just about all counts.) I adore books and series with big, nosy, involved families. When they’re in a small-town setting with other equally nosy, quirky residents, I love them even more. I think that’s one of the things this series excels at: it’s cast of unique characters and how they all interact. Even the most passing of the supporting cast has depth and personality. They may resemble the stock images, but there’s always a flair that sets them apart. I never want to see this series come to an end, because I want to continue reading it for as long as possible.
I received a complimentary advanced copy of this book through NetGalley.
Other books in the series:
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