A Cajun Christmas Killing: A Cajun Country Mystery
Cozy Mystery
3rd in Series
Crooked Lane Books (October 10, 2017)
Hardcover: 304 pages
ISBN-13: 978-1683313052
E-Book ASIN: B06XW23LPG
Maggie Crozat is back home in bayou country during the most magical time of the year. In Pelican, Louisiana, Christmastime is a season of giant bonfires on the levee, zydeco carols, and pots of gumbo. Except, this year, the Grinch has come to stay at the family-run Crozat Plantation B&B. When he floods travel websites with vicious reviews, Maggie thinks she’s identified him as rival businessman Donald Baxter. That is, until he’s found stabbed to death at Maggie’s workplace. And Maggie and her loved ones become top suspects.
The Crozats quickly establish alibis, but Maggie’s boyfriend, Detective Bo Durand, remains under suspicion. With Bo sidelined during the investigation, Maggie finds herself forced to work with an unlikely ally: longtime family enemy Rufus Durand. Her sleuthing uncovers more suspects than drummers drumming, and lands her in the crosshairs of the murderer.
The sleigh bells are jingling, and the clock is ticking for Maggie and Rufus, who must catch the killer or it will be the opposite of a Joyeux Noël in A Cajun Christmas Killing, the recipe-stuffed third installment of USA Today bestselling author Ellen Byron’s Cajun Country mysteries.
Dollycas’s Thoughts
Christmas in Pelican sounds just fantastic! Huge bonfires on the bayou, yummy food, special carols and people coming together to celebrate. The whole town is excited and getting ready. Then Donald Baxter is found dead at Doucet and the whole Crozat family are lined up on the suspect list. Even Detective Bo Durand makes the list and is pulled off the investigation. Rufus Durand and Maggie make an unlikely team but there is too much at stake to deal with a family feud. They need to catch the killer before anyone else ends up dead and puts an end to everyone’s happy holiday.
Ellen Byron writes the kind of story that I love to escape right into. Never having been anywhere near the Louisiana bayou I depend on her words to take me there and she does it so wonderfully. I loved learning the traditions so unlike those here in Wisconsin. While we do eat a lot during the season, it is more the usual turkey and cranberry meals, not a pot of gumbo. No bonfires here either but usually way too much snow. These differences help to draw me in but it is the characters and the suspense that make me stay.
The characters are wrapped up in so much, the new manger at Doucet is really shaking things up, Tug has a health scare, someone is writing trashy reviews about the B&B, Maggie ex comes to town, and Maggie and Bo’s relationship is growing and becoming more known. All that before the murder of Donald Baxter. All these plot lines come together in this marvelous mystery.
All the characters have continue to evolve and the way they handle all the situations that arise is very believable. I really love they family feel of this story. Everyone is welcome whether truly related or just a friend. A true Christmas feeling.
I have loved each book in the series but this one is my favorite. The intrigue built as the pages kept turning but there are several bits of humor too. A perfect mystery to curl up and read this holiday season.
Body on the Bayou, the second in Ellen’s Cajun Country Mystery series, won the Left Coast Crime Lefty Award for Best Humorous Mystery, and was nominated for a Best Contemporary Novel Agatha Award. Her debut book in the series, Plantation Shudders, made the USA Today Bestsellers list, and was nominated for Agatha, Lefty, and Daphne awards. Ellen is also a recipient of a William F. Deeck-Malice Domestic Grant from the Malice Domestic Convention. Her TV credits include Wings, Still Standing, and Just Shoot Me, as well as network and cable pilots. As a journalist, she’s written over 200 magazine articles for national publications. Her plays, published by Dramatists Play Service, include the popular Graceland and Asleep on the Wind. A native New Yorker and graduate of Tulane University, Ellen lives in the Los Angeles area with her husband, daughter, and the family’s spoiled rescue dogs.
Author Links – Webpage – Facebook – Twitter – GoodReads
Praise for A Cajun Christmas Killing: A Cajun Country Mystery
by Ellen ByronI’ve enjoyed the series from the beginning – the family dynamics, the clever plots, and the vivid imagery make for a compelling series for sure.
~The Girl with Book LungsThis series has it all. Everything fun and comfortable you crave in a cozy, with enough substance to keep your mind working while you read.
~A Cozy ExperienceGet ready for a fun and lively ride with the upper crust of Louisiana and just some good ‘ole folks.
~My Reading JourneysI absolutely love this series. I’ve grown to really love the Crozat family and some of the other supporting characters in this book.
~Bookworm CafeI just loved the mix of strong characters, silliness, action, mystery, secrets, and drama. It all combines into a wonderful cozy mystery that I was unable to put down for even a minute. I loved it so much it gets 5/5 stars.
~Books a Plenty Book ReviewsI loved the Cajun country atmosphere. I have spent time in Louisiana and loved it, and the author, Ellen Byron, really captured the area’s charm so well.
~View from the BirdhouseEllen Byron’s Cajun Country mysteries are delightful and addictive.
~The Mysterious Ink SpotI really love this series and I know a lot of it is tied to having family in Louisiana and I can relate/understand many of the situations and traditions but there is something about Pelican that makes me feel right at home.
~Storeybook Reviews
TOUR PARTICIPANTS
September 17 – Island Confidential – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
September 17 – 3 Partners in Shopping, Nana, Mommy, & Sissy, Too! – SPOTLIGHT
September 18 – Valerie’s Musings – GUEST POST
September 19 – Bibliophile Reviews – INTERVIEW
September 19 – A Holland Reads – GUEST POST
September 20 – Girl with Book Lung – REVIEW, CHARACTER INTERVIEW
September 20 – A Cozy Experience – REVIEW
September 21 – My Reading Journeys – REVIEW, INTERVIEW
September 22 – Readeropolis – INTERVIEW
September 23 – Bookworm Cafe – REVIEW, INTERVIEW
September 24 – Mystery Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
September 25 – Cozy Up With Kathy – CHARACTER GUEST POST
September 25 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews – REVIEW
September 25 – View from the Birdhouse – REVIEW
September 26 – The Mysterious Ink Spot – REVIEW
September 26 – StoreyBook Reviews – REVIEW
September 27 – The Pulp and Mystery Shelf – INTERVIEW
September 27 – A Blue Million Books – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
September 28 – I Wish I Lived in a Library – REVIEW
September 28 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW
September 29 – Brooke Blogs – CHARACTER GUEST POST
September 29 – Teresa Trent Author Blog – REVIEW
September 30 – Varietats – REVIEW
October 1 – Back Porchervations – REVIEW
October 1 – Melina’s Book Blog – REVIEW, GUEST POST
Have you signed up to be a Tour Host?
Click Here Find Details and Sign Up Today!
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of this book. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Great review thank you, love the cover, I’m looking forward to reading this, thanks
Penney
I like holiday stories.
I love the title of this book and the story sounds like a fun one. Thank you for the chance to win
I love Cajun food and I know that I would love to read A Cajun Christmas Killing. Thanks for a chance to win a copy.
This sounds wonderful and I can’t wait to read it.
I love this series and have read all the books to date. I’d love to win this one to start a collection of Ellen’s books in my personal home library.
Land a goshen! That’d put a damper on the holiday!
Great review! One of my favorite series.
New author/series for me. Sounds terrific and now on wish list!
Sounds like a good cozy. Thanks for this opportunity.