Book Review: Wined and Died in New Orleans by Ellen Byron
- Kristen Lewendon
- Mar 22, 2023
- 2 min read
Vintage Cookbook Mystery Book 2
The second in a fantastic new cozy mystery series with a vintage flair from USA Today bestselling and Agatha Award–winning author Ellen Byron.
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.
In the second Vintage Cookbook Mystery, Ricki has to help solve a murder, untangle family secrets, and grow her business, all while living under the threat of a hurricane that could wipe out everything from her home to Bon Vee.
My Review:
Well. That answered one of the questions I had left hanging out after the previous book, but I feel like I have a dozen more now. Ricki is at her super-sleuth best. And even with red herrings galore and Charbonnets coming out of the woodwork, she’s not about to let anything stand in the way of proving her friends innocent. I’m a wee tiny bit frustrated with how willing she is to put herself in danger, but there’s just something so charming about the way she throws herself into it all that makes me forgive her no matter how crazy-making I find it. I love that we’re discovering tidbits about Ricki’s past and I can’t wait until we can learn the whole story.
Other books in the series.
Comments