Review of "Cajun Kiss of Death: A Cajun Country Mystery" by Ellen Byron

 

In this 7th book in the 'Cajun Country Mystery' series, amateur sleuth Maggie Crozat helps investigate the murder of a restaurateur. The book can be read as a standalone with respect to the mystery, but it's best to start at the beginning if you want to follow the characters' arcs.

*****

Maggie Crozat is a thirtysomething artist who lives in Pelican, Louisiana.



There Maggie helps her parents run the Crozat Plantation Bed and Breakfast; works as the art manager for the Doucet Plantation tourist attraction; and is newly married to Sheriff's Department Detective Bo Durand.



Maggie is stepmother to Bo's eight-year-old son Xander, who's an art prodigy with Asperger's syndrome.



Pelican has had two popular eateries for years: Abel's Home Cookin'.....



.....and Junie's Oyster Bar and Dance Hall.



In addition, the Crozat B&B dining room, Fais Dough Dough bakery, and Bon Bon Sweets add to the town's culinary treats. The gastronomic choices are expanding, however, with the addition of the high-end Chanson Restaurant.....



.....run by celebrity chef Phillippe Chanson.



As the Chanson Restaurant is opening, some of the personnel are staying at the Crozat B&B, where Maggie can sense tension among the staff. This is especially true of Philippe's ex-wife Kate - who manages the Chanson group, and Philippe's current girlfriend Becca - who's the sous-chef.



Also present is a ghostwriter named Dyer Gossmer, who's penning Philippe's autobiography, but is forbidden to put in any juicy stuff. This galls the author, who's hoping to revive his declining career.



The other restaurateurs in Pelican soon learn that Philippe is an unscrupulous man who steals recipes and uses unethical tactics. This becomes clear when Chanson Restaurant starts serving the fillet-of-catfish po'boy featured at Abel's Home Cookin'; and when Junie's Oyster Bar and Dance Hall is framed for health code violations. Even Maggie's mother Ninette - who's the chef for the Crozat B&B - is a victim when Chanson Restaurant starts offering her calas (fried rice fritters) dessert.



All three wronged chefs are angry at Philippe, and publicly voice their dismay.

Thus, when Philippe is murdered the suspects include Abel, JJ (owner of Junie's), and Ninette. Maggie is determined to clear their names, and inveigles herself into Chanson's staff to investigate.

As this is going on, Maggie is taking art lessons with renowned painter Vi De Lavallade; getting ready for Valentine's Day; curating a wedding gown exhibit; dealing with an anonymous stalker; and helping plan a fundraiser for the Doucet Plantation. The fundraiser will be a gala with delicious food, a silent auction, music by Gaynell and the Gator Girls, and a senior citizen talent show organized by Maggie's grand-mère Charlotte....



.....who's part of a Rosie the Riveter song and dance troupe.



The series' recurring characters make an appearance as well, adding to the fun of the story.

If you want to sample the taste of southern Louisiana (literally, because the books contain recipes), try this series.

Thanks to Netgalley, Ellen Byron, and Crooked Lane Books for a copy of the book.

Recipes in the book include:

Maggie's Beer Bread


Baked Catfish Po'Boy


Gooey Pineapple Pecan Cake


Calas (Rice Fritters)

Butter Beans and River Shrimp

Rating: 3.5 stars

Review of "Then Again: A Memoir" by Diane Keaton

 

Diane Keaton

Diane Keaton is an American actor, director, and producer. She's well known for her roles in many films, including: Play It Again, Sam; The Godfather Trilogy; Annie Hall; Something's Gotta Give; Mad Money.....and many others.







In this memoir Diane talks about growing up in a large family in California, her career, her romances, her adopted children, and especially her mother. She calls this a story about her mother and herself.


Little Diane Keaton

Diane grew up in a loving home, with an especially warm and creative mother and a father who - though somewhat distant - tried to do right by his family. Diane's mother, Dorothy Hall, was addicted to documenting her life, and left behind a large number of journals that are excerpted in this book.


Dorothy Hall  (Diane Keaton's mother)


Diane Keaton with her mother

We come to know her as a woman devoted to her family and proud of her talented daughter, though perhaps somewhat unfulfilled in her own life.

Diane also writes a good deal about her siblings, with whom she has close and affectionate relationships. A couple of eccentric grandparents also make an appearance, whose exploits are sometimes humorous, sometimes touching or sad.

Diane devotes a good deal of the book to her career: her love of singing, her move to New York to look for work, her acting coaches, her entry into show business, movies she's acted in and directed, her friends in the industry, and more. This is engaging and gives a small but interesting glimpse into the world of show business.


Diane Keaton and Al Pacino in The Godfather (1972)


Diane Keaton and Warren Beatty in Reds (1981)


Diane Keaton and Steve Martin in Father of the Bride (1991)


Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson in Something's Gotta Give (2003)


Diane Keaton and Candace Bergen in The Book Club (2018)

Diane is honest about her love life, and speaks openly and kindly about her romances with Woody Allen, Warren Beatty, and Al Pacino. Diane badly wanted to marry Pacino, with whom she made three Godfather movies, but could never convince him to take the plunge. Nevertheless, all Diane's boyfriends apparently remained friends for life.


Diane Keaton and Woody Allen

Diane is devoted to the two children she adopted later in life, her daughter Dexter and her son Duke. We learn details about their arrival at her home, gifts they received from Diane's celebrity friends, their birthdays, what they liked to do, their loving interactions with their mom, and so on.


Diane Keaton with her children Dexter and Duke


Diane Keaton with grown up Dexter and Duke

Diane devotes many pages to the death of her father from cancer, and to her mother's struggle with Alzheimer's disease; we see Dorothy's slow decline and eventual death. To me, these parts of the book - though clearly very meaningful to the author, whose anguish is clear - were overly long and the least interesting parts of the story.


Diane Keaton and her mother Dorothy as a young woman (left) and an older woman

I enjoyed the first part of the book, about Diane's career, much more than the parts devoted to her parents decline, which were sad but not gripping. If the author writes another book concentrating on her show business experiences I'd read it.

Rating: 3 stars

Review of "Project Hail Mary" by Andy Weir

 

This review was first posted on Mystery and Suspense. Check it out for features, interviews, and reviews. https://www.mysteryandsuspense.com/pr...

A Russian scientist named Irina Petrova.....



.....discovers that an arc of infrared radiation extends from the sun's North Pole to Venus, where it spreads out to the width of the planet.



Researchers learn that the arc, named the Petrova line, is getting brighter as the sun is getting dimmer, and if the phenomenon continues, it will soon result in a catastrophic ice age on Earth.



Moreover, other nearby stars are getting dimmer as well, and the phenomenon is spreading.

There's one exception though. The star Tau Ceti, which is twelve lights years from Earth, is maintaining it's luminosity.



The United Nations forms the Petrova Taskforce to discover why Tau Ceti is immune from the astrophysical scourge. The program director is Eva Stratt, a brilliant, multilingual, Dutch scientist who's given total authority over the project.



Under Stratt's oversight, the world builds a spacecraft, named the Hail Mary, to go to Tau Ceti.



The starship will carry three scientist-astronauts: one from Russia, one from China, and one from the United States. The passengers will be in hibernation for the trip, so only people with coma-resistant genes can make the journey. This limits the astronaut pool, since only one person in seven thousand has the appropriate DNA.



Carrying the sleeping astronauts, the Hail Mary - traveling close to the speed of light - will reach Tau Ceti in 13 years. If the crew is successful, a probe containing the 'dimming cure' will reach Earth 13 years after that.....so at least 26 years.



By then many Earth species will be extinct and the human population will be decimated, but there will still be a chance to save humanity. (The author has a spot of fun here. For redundancy, the Hail Mary has four probes called beetles, which are whimsically named John, Paul, George, and Ringo.)

The American astronaut aboard the Hail Mary is Ryland Grace, who tells the story from his point of view.



Grace is a molecular biologist who became a junior high school science teacher. The dual careers - and his natural curiosity - give Grace a wide breadth of knowledge about biology, chemistry, physics, and astronomy. The chapters alternate back and forth between preparations for the expedition and what happens when the Hail Mary reaches Tau Ceti.

Prior to blastoff, Grace is instrumental in mission preparation, and after the spacecraft arrives at Tau Ceti, he searches for a solution to the sun-dimming problem. Grace's work is complex and difficult, and his explanations are heavy with math and science.





As always with a huge project like Hail Mary, things go wrong, resulting in death, destruction, and unexpected consequences. Luckily, Grace has a sense of humor and a gift for quips, which provide a welcome light touch to the narrative.



To reveal more would be a spoiler, except to say this is a sci-fi thriller with big surprises. The novel has a fascinating premise and is a wonderful accolade to the cleverness, ingenuity, and better nature of the characters.

Thanks to Netgalley, Andy Weir, and Ballantine Books for a copy of the book.

Rating: 4 stars

Review of "The Cat Who Sang for the Birds: A Jim Qwilleran Cozy Mystery" by Lilian Jackson Braun

In this 20th book in 'The Cat Who' cozy mystery series, newspaper columnist/amateur sleuth Jim Qwilleran helps solve crimes involving arson, theft, and more. The book works fine as a standalone.

*****

Jim Qwilleran (Qwill) was a crime journalist in Chicago when he inherited billions of dollars from his mother's friend Fanny Klingenschoen. To receive the money Qwill had to move to the city of Pickax in Moose County, which is '400 miles north of everywhere.' So Qwill and his two Siamese cats, Koko and Yum Yum, relocated to Pickax. There Qwill used his inheritance to set up the Klingenschoen Fund, which supports projects that benefit the community.



Quill had a huge apple barn converted into a unique home for himself and his felines.....



.....and then built an enclosed gazebo nearby, so the cats could watch birds.



Qwill's dwelling is the talk of the town, and attracts attention from both Pickax residents and tourists.

Quill writes a twice-weekly column, called The Qwill Pen, for the 'Moose County Something' newspaper. Quill is very familiar with Pickax and its residents because he's always researching topics and interviewing people for his column. Thus Quill knows when things are 'off' in town, especially if he's alerted by his cat Koko - who has a supernatural ability to detect crime and criminals. Koko communicates by yowling, licking photos, knocking down books, moving compass needles, throwing checkers on the floor, shredding newspapers, and so on.



In this book Qwill interviews two people for The Quill Pen: a young artist who raises butterflies and makes paintings of them;



and an elderly farming widow who sticks to the old traditions and takes in old dogs.



Qwill is always interested in the lives of his interviewees, and takes note when the butterfly artist's bartender boyfriend is suddenly flush with money. Quill also takes umbrage on behalf of the farm wife when she's cheated on a property sale. When the old woman dies in unfortunate circumstances, Qwill makes sure she has a fitting funeral.

Koko seems to know something bad is going on with respect to the two women, but his 'communications' aren't always easy to interpret, so it takes a while for Qwill to catch on. However, he gets there in the end.

Meanwhile, Qwill gets involved with the town's Adult Spelling Bee;



initiates a naming contest for two new library cats;



attends an art show;



buys an antique compass; etc.



Though 'the cat who' books are cozy mysteries, they're also stories about the colorful residents of Pickax. These include Qwill's lady friend Polly Duncan- who runs the library; Qwill's friend Arch Riker - who publishes the Moose County Something; Arch Riker's wife Mildred - who's a great cook; Derek Cuttlebrink - a 6' 8'' tall college student who acts in the community theater; Weatherby Goode (aka Joe Bunker) - who reports the weather; Hixie Rice - who runs public relations events; Police Chief Andrew Brodie - who knows about Koko's special abilities; Celia Robinson - who leaves Qwill casseroles and does a spot of espionage for him; and more.

I enjoyed this cozy mystery and its quirky characters.

Rating: 3 stars