Review of "Fatal Cajun Festival: A Cajun Country Mystery" by Ellen Byron

 

In this fifth book in the 'Cajun Country Mystery' series, amateur sleuth Maggie Crozat investigates the murder of a country singer's manager. The book can be read as a standalone.

*****



After living in New York for over a decade, artist Maggie Crozat returned to her home town of Pelican, Louisiana. There Maggie shares a shotgun house with her Grand-mère Charlotte;



helps her parents run the Crozat Plantation Bed and Breakfast;



works as the art manager for the Doucet Plantation tourist attraction;



and recently became engaged to Sheriff's Department Detective Bo Durand.



Since both Maggie and Bo come from ancestral Pelican families, their nuptials are the local equivalent of a royal wedding. Thus the betrothed couple is constantly asked 'When's the wedding?'....which they can't answer yet.

Luckily Maggie and Bo get a break from the attention of the townsfolk when Grand-mère Charlotte organizes a music festival to be held in Pelican. The star attraction is Tammy Barker, a Pelican girl who became a country music star and moved away.



Tammy comes back to Pelican in style, bringing her manager, Pony Pickner;



her assistant, her backup singer, and a motley crew of musicians Pony put together.



Pelican has another aspiring singer, Maggie Crozat's friend Gaynell Bourgeois, who's also scheduled to play at the music festival.



Back in the day, Tammy and Gaynell went to school together, and Tammy was a mean-girl bully. Tammy hasn't changed, and although she pretends to be nice to Gaynell, Tammy's agenda is to undermine her music rival. Tammy sneakily co-opts Gaynell's band, the Gator Girls, for her own act....



....and in the guise of helping Gaynell's career, introduces her to manager Pony Pickner. Pickner is an arrogant guy who disses Gaynell's talent and makes sexual innuendoes. Gaynell makes threats in response, so when Pony is murdered, Gaynell is the first suspect.

Maggie isn't going to sit still while her friend is in trouble, and she sets out to find the real killer. To assist the investigation, Maggie and Bo pretend to break up so Maggie can hang out with Tammy's entourage, flirt with the musicians, and zero in on the murderer. The 'break-up' rumor spreads through Pelican - and the surrounding area - like wildfire.



As a result, Maggie has to deal with gals hitting on newly single, hunky Bo while she uncovers clues to the murderer.



In addition to sleuthing, Maggie is running the Crozat Praline Booth at the music festival, which sells delicious treats.



Maggie makes lots of candy to sell, and hires teenage siblings to assist her. The youngsters get the business bug, and Maggie helps them become praline entrepreneurs. 😊

It's always a treat to get a peek at the Cajun ambiance of Pelican, and to visit with popular characters in the series, like Sheriff Rufus Durand - who's doing well with his exercise guru girlfriend;



Cousin Lia - who's pregnant with triplets;



Maggie's mom Ninette, who's overwhelmed with vegan and vegetarian dietary requests by Tammy's crew; 



Grand-mère Charlotte - who uncovers love letters her husband wrote when she's doing a 'Swedish death cleaning'; and more.



This is a fun addition to the popular cozy mystery series, recommended to fans of the genre.

Recipes in the book include:

Cauliflower Jambalaya


Pecan Pralines


Maple Bacon Pralines


Rum Raisin Cake

Rating: 3 stars