Mardi Gras Murder

Written by Ellen Byron

Narrated by Amy Melissa Bentley

Southern charm meets the dark mystery of the bayou as a hundred-year flood, a malicious murder, and a most unusual Mardi Gras converge at the Crozat Plantation BB.

It's Mardi Gras season on the bayou, which means parades, pageantry, and gumbo galore. But when a flood upends life in the tiny town of Pelican, Louisiana-and deposits a body of a stranger behind the Crozat Plantation BB-the celebration takes a decidedly dark turn. The citizens of Pelican are ready to Laissez les bon temps rouler-but there's beaucoup bad blood on hand this Mardi Gras.

Maggie Crozat is determined to give the stranger a name and find out why he was murdered. The post-flood recovery has delayed the opening of a controversial exhibit about the little-known Louisiana Orphan Train. And when a judge for the Miss Pelican Mardi Gras Gumbo Queen pageant is shot, Maggie's convinced the murder is connected to the body on the bayou. Does someone covet the pageant queen crown enough to kill for it? Could the deaths be related to the Orphan Train, which delivered its last charges to Louisiana in 1929? The leads are thin on this Fat Tuesday-and until the killer is unmasked, no one in Pelican is safe.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: Sep 24, 2019
• ISBN: 9781630157586

Reviews for Mardi Gras Murder

[kmartin802_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It is Mardi Gras time in Pelican, Louisiana, but they are also dealing with the aftereffects of a major flood. Maggie's family's B and B is closed to guests because it is housing a number of the locals who aren't able to live in their flood damaged homes. The police station was flooded out and is currently using an abandoned big box store. When a body is discovered while clearing storm debris and no one knows who the man is, finding his identity doesn't make the top of anyone's to-do list...until it is discovered the the man had been murdered.While a matter of curiosity for Maggie, the man's murder isn't at the top of her to-do list either. With her beloved grandmother under the weather, Maggie agrees to fill in for her judging the local Miss Pelican Mardi Gras Gumbo Queen contest. She doesn't approve of the contest and doesn't want anything to do with the girls of their pushy moms. The judges are quite a mix of people from Geratd Damboise who is in charge of the local historical society and his wife Constance to Robbie Metz who owns several Park 'n' Shop convenience stores to Mo Heedles who is a super saleswoman for her skin care line. There are all sorts of tensions among the committee. None of them like Gerard Damboise including his wife. So, when Gerard Damboise dies almost in Maggie's arms and also of a gunshot wound, Maggie has one more murder to try to solve.Meanwhile, she is also still working as a tour guide for her family's former plantation when she is asked by her supervisor to see if she can restore a painting damaged by a leaky roof which was also an aftereffect of the storms and floods. The picture is a mystery on its own. The mystery deepens when she learns that the painting has been painted over and apparent treasure map.Then there are the Mardi Gras activities including a gumbo cook-off that is consuming all of her dad's time and attention, the the Mardi Gras run which requires costumes and masks as runners go from house to house looking for gumbo ingredients.Maggie's romance with Detective Bo Durand seems to have hit a roadblock. Maggie thinks they are ready to have the Talk - kids or no kids, but with an autistic son, Bo is not eager to have more children. This could be a dealbreaker for Maggie and Bo's relationship but, while distracting, neither can let it get in the way of solving the murders.This was a fun cozy mystery complete with delicious sounding recipes. Fans of the series won't want to miss this newest episode.

[lcmcsr-812737 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Cute story but there are too many characters to keep track of. The reader spends more time trying to remember who everyone is instead of enjoying the mystery.

[murderbydeath · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Cozy mysteries are perfect when life feels hard and you want to escape somewhere that feels fairly uncomplicated, even if people are being murdered. This series, set in small town Louisiana, is one of the stronger ones to come out in recent years. It's not perfect by any stretch, but it's got good bones, so to speak. Mardi Gras Murder takes place very soon after a fairly catastrophic flood sweeps through, one that leaves behind the body of a John Doe. At first presumed to have been a victim of the flood waters, an autopsy reveals he was shot. As the town rebuilds and focuses on their Mardi Gras celebrations, a judge of the local beauty contest is also shot and killed, and in spite of any evidence, our MC Maggie has a gut feeling the two are related. Of course they are. After attempted murder is tried on another judge, Maggie starts looking for connections to the John Doe. The beauty contest is a total red herring; that's not a spoiler either, as it's pretty obvious from the get go that it's meant to be. The real ties that kill are much more investing that a vapid beauty contest, though the ultimate motivation behind them is just as shallow and meaningless. Still, the author writes a solid setting with strong characters - all of them, men and women, good and bad. If the plotting and murder motivations aren't as strong as they could be, they're surrounded by a lot that is. The backdrop and characters are why I probably rated this higher than I should, objectively speaking. But I got happily lost in backwater Louisiana for a day or two, and I'll happily get lost in it again, should the author write another.

[veronica.sparrow · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Ellen Byron is a new author for me but I found the book to work well as a standalone mystery.A torrential rain hits the small town of Pelican, Louisana. After the waters finally recede, a stranger's dead body is found. It is up to Maggie Crozat to find out the identity of the stranger and solve a mystery that seems to get bigger and bigger the more she investigates.This was so much fun to read especially learning about Mardi Gras, Gumbo pageants, orphan trains, and much more. The characters and story are well fleshed out and the book is well worth a read for those who love cozy mysteries.

[cyderry · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Pelican Louisiana is preparing for Mardi Gras with all its festivities - parade, gumbo cooking contest, and of course, the Miss Pelican Mardi Gras Gumbo Queen pageant. Maggie Crozat's grandmother is normally one of the judges, but since she's under the weather, Maggie is drafted to take her place. The area is trying to recover from massive flooding and the discovery of an unknown body washed up in the flood has Maggie working triple time. When one of the judges turns up dead, another is almost poisoned, Maggie decides she needs to figure out what's going on before its her turn.The descriptions of the festivities as well as the characters and their motivations are entertaining and brought the flavor of the region to the reader. Great story!

[ginduperre · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It’s Mardi Gras season on the bayou, which means parades, pageantry, and gumbo galore. When a flood upends life in the tiny town of Pelican, Louisiana, and deposits a body of a stranger behind the Crozat Plantation B&B, the celebration takes a decidedly dark turn.

The post-flood recovery has delayed the opening of a controversial exhibit about the little-known Louisiana Orphan Train. And when a judge for the Miss Pelican Mardi Gras Gumbo Queen pageant is shot, Maggie’s convinced the murder is connected to the body on the bayou. Does someone covet the pageant queen crown enough to kill for it? Could the deaths be related to the Orphan Train which delivered its last charges to Louisiana in 1929? The leads are thin on this Fat Tuesday, and until the killer is unmasked, no one in Pelican is safe.

--

Series: A Cajun Country Mystery - Book 4
Author: Ellen Byron
Genre: Cozy/B&B Mystery
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books

Elle Byron is a fantastic writer, with the Cajun Country Mystery series a favorite of readers everywhere. The fourth book in the series, Mardi Gras Murder is a wonderful addition and will add more fans for an author that already has a large following. The characters are well rounded
and quirky. The Louisiana celebration of Mardi Gras is world famous and is written about with the flavor of the holiday in mind. Readers can sense the authors love for her characters and setting within the pages of this series.

Maggie Crozat always seems to find herself bogged down in a murder investigation. She is hoping that the death of a stranger who washed up onto their property during a flood died from something other than murder. Unfortunately, she knows almost instantly that she is wrong and is once again faced with finding a killer.

The characters in this series are warm, inviting, loving and family oriented. Maggie’s grandmother is a fan favorite, and she should be, she is feisty, intelligent and kind. Maggie’s parents are everything we would want our parents to be. They have a great sense of humor, argue about silly stuff, and yell occasionally. In the end, they love each other and their family, and it shows throughout this book as well as the others in the series.

Maggie’s boyfriend, Bo warms the reader's heart once again. However, there is a chance that things will not work out between Maggie and Bo. The reader will wait with nervous anticipation until they find out if the couple will remain a together.

There are plenty of suspects and clues to make this book fast-paced and a page-turner. The killer is unmasked only after Maggie finds herself once again in danger of being killed. readers can empathize with one or more of the characters and feel the excitement, and at times raw emotion of Maggie. No one will be disappointed with the outcome of this book, or go away with more questions than answers.

Mardi Gras Murder can easily stand on its own. There is no need for a lengthy background on the characters or the town. Readers will relish this book and want to read the others in the series. I highly recommend this book and this series.

[kris_anderson-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Mardi Gras Murder by Ellen Byron is the fourth book in A Cajun Country Mystery series. The town of Pelican, Louisiana suffered from heavy rains and flooding. Behind the Crozat Plantation B&B, under piles of debris the family finds a dead man without identification. Three weeks later, the town is recovering from the flooding and they are ready for the Mardi Gras celebrations to begin—Laissez les bon temps rouler. The celebrations include a gumbo cook-off, a parade and the Miss Pelican Mardi Gras Gumbo Queen pageant. Maggie’s grandmother normally is one of the pageant judges, but walking pneumonia has her confined to bed which means Maggie must step up to the plate (despite her opinion of pageants). At the first meeting of the judges, Maggie learns about the controversial Louisiana Orphan Train exhibit. The highlight of the meeting is when a fight breaks out between two of the pageant contestant mothers. On the way home, Maggie is rear ended by Gerard Damboise, head judge and president of the historical society. Maggie finds him bleeding from a gunshot wound. Gerard whispers two last words before he perishes. Maggie wonders if his death is related to the pageant or the orphan train exhibit. Maggie begins scouting for clues in the hopes of resolving Gerard’s murder. Can Maggie unmask the killer before Fat Tuesday? Mardi Gras Murder can be read alone if you have not read the other novels in A Cajun Country Mystery series. There is a lot going on in Mardi Gras Murder. I only covered the basics in my summary. There is the unidentified dead man, Mardi Gras, the pageant, problems with Tug’s gumbo pot, Gran’s illness, guests at the B&B, Maggie’s relationship with Bo, a mystery at Doucet, a secret room at Grove Hall, the flooding, and the orphan train exhibit controversy. The book is well-written with a steady pace and humor scattered throughout. There are numerous characters, but the author does provide a handy cheat sheet at the beginning of the book (I wish I could have printed it out). Pelican is a small town where everyone knows your business and is happy to pass it along to others. The town goes all out for Mardi Gras. I learned some interesting facts about the holiday along with interesting traditions. The murder mystery has some intriguing points (I do not want to spoil it for you). There is misdirection along with direct clues. Avid cozy mystery readers will have no problem solving the whodunit. All the storylines are wrapped up at the end. There is a sweet ending that will have the romantics smiling, and I love who won the gumbo cook-off. Ellen Byron combines Southern charm, Mardi Gras, humor, a cast of quirky characters and a beguiling mystery into one rousing cozy mystery.

[jetangen4571 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

cozy-mystery, mystery, friendship, law-enforcement, amateur-sleuth, women-sleuths, family-dynamics, recipes Which is worse; flooding in the bayou, finding a murdered stranger, the demise of the family gumbo pot, or getting stuck being a judge in a beauty pageant? Humor, suspense, plot twists, red herrings, teenage angst, and just plain craziness abound in this delight of a cozy mystery! Don't miss the Crozet family antics on the plantation/B&B in Pelican! Disclaimers: I love Southern Louisiana, I love Cajun food, I'm addicted to this author's stories, and I requested and received a free review copy from Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley.

[joannefm2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Maggie Crozat spends her days working at her family's Crozat B&B and Doucet Plantation, which once belonged to her mother's family but has now been deeded to the state and opened to the public for tours, of which she is one of the guides.But her life is changing once again: there's been recent floods that has left some homes inhabitable, and others who are cleaning up after the floods, of which Maggie and her family are doing. It's not a good sight when the body of an elderly man floats beneath all the debris, and an even worse sight when it's discovered that he wasn't the victim of the flood. But without any identification found on him, it's anyone's guess as to who he is or the motive for his death.Then also she's been temporarily relieved of tour duty to restore a painting at Doucet that was also damaged by the flood; and when she begins she notices another painting underneath, one that could tell a tale on its own.She's also been dragooned into standing in for her grandmother as a judge for the Miss Pelican Mardi Gras Gumbo Queen contestants, and she's doing her best to get out of that - and not succeeding - while discovering that being a contestant isn't what it's proclaimed to be.At the last, her relationship with police detective Bo Durand may be in jeopardy since learning that he might not want any more children (due to the fact that his son has Asperger's Syndrome) and Maggie definitely wants at least two, and now they're barely speaking, and probably wouldn't be if it weren't for the murder.But then another murder soon occurs, and it's one of the pageant committee members who may also have known something about the man who washed up after the flood. Maggie feels the need to give justice, but what is the connection with these two men, and will it get her killed before she can find the answers?...Once again we are visiting the small Louisiana parish that Maggie Crozat calls home, this time during Mardi Gras season. And once again, the locals have their own unique way of celebrating the event. With her father tirelessly preparing his gumbo day after day in order to perfect it, Maggie thinks she's had enough of the concoction while her mother is unhappy that he's invaded her kitchen; and her friend Gaynell is making Maggie a costume for the Mardi Gras Run, which she has said she'll participate in.Even Bo's son is getting in on the action, helping make the masks which are so adept at hiding peoples' faces that even their own relatives can't recognize them. It seems one and all are having fun during the time-honored event.But when murder strikes one of the judges and the others are threatened, Maggie begins to wonder if it's not the pageant that's the issue, but the Orphan Train exhibit that was to go up at the historical society. And it makes for a very good mystery indeed as we watch her sift through clues and find the evidence to unmask a killer.Ms. Byron takes us on another lovely journey into Cajun Country and all its quirky inhabitants, pulling us into the story from the first chapter and keeping us entertained throughout. It's a tale of, as the deceased judge said, secrets and lies; but oh, more secrets and lies than we could have imagined, and seeing how far someone would go to keep them is a nice taut tale indeed. When the ending comes and the murderer is finally revealed, it reveals that even those among us that appear the most sane may also have the most to hide.I truly enjoyed reading this and hope that this series will continue on for a good long time. Maggie and her family and friends grow on you, and it's wonderful to visit with them whenever I can. I look forward to the next in the series. Highly recommended.