Mumbo Gumbo Murder New Orleans's style

This latest installment in Laura Child's scrapbooking series finds Carmela Bertrand and Ava looking to solve the murder of Carmela's friend Devon.  All the while, perturbing Carmela's fiance, Detective Edgar Babcock. The book is full of plenty of intrigue and New Orleans funk and flair.  It is always enjoyable to see what crazy antics the 2 friends find themselves embroiled in each time.  This book has everything from crafting to matchmaking and all sorts of other activities in between all while trying to solve the murder.  The story twists and turns around Carmela's life and we see how different coincidences and moments of chance help her to solve the mysteries.

I always love reading about the different crafts Carmela designs and the different relationships with the recurring characters.  We get quick glimpses of Shamus, the dogs, and his sister Glory.   Again we find ourselves at a house party in the Garden District and viewing parades in the French Quarter. The Memory Mine regulars pop in, including Gabby and Baby.

An enjoyable, light read with a surprise ending.  I only had a fleeting bit of suspicion as to who the guilty party was in the murder.  The underlying premise of the crime made for an interesting twist to the story.   Grab this book if you want to experience a little French Creole charm while trying to figure out whodunit.


Mumbo Gumbo Murder by Laura Childs
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It is always fun to read the Laura Childs' scrapbooking series. These books cover both my interests, mysteries and scrapbooking so they don't come out fast enough for my reading pleasure. This series is set in the French Quarter in New Orleans and as such has lots of the aspects one associates with the Big Easy. There are parades, fancy dining, and plenty of drinking in the book. There are nods to the city's links with the mystical and the dead as well as the antiques trade so prevalent there. The antiques business is at the center of this particular installment when Carmela Bertrand and her friend Ava stumble upon the body of their friend Devon in his antique shop while watching a parade as part of the city's legendary Jazz Fest. The story of their amateur sleuthing to solve Devon's murder is intertwined with stories of their everyday lives, including the scrapbook store, Memory Mine, Carmela owns. There are plenty of visits from ex-beaus as well as glimpses of her current relationship with fiance, Detective Edgar Babcock. All in all the story is well paced and enjoyable with enough suspense to keep the reader engaged. I recommend this book if you like cozy mysteries and fun quirky characters.


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Challenge Prompts

The Challenge Prompts I will use this for are:

1. Library Love  #LibraryLoveChallenge -  Book #25
2. Literary Escapes-  LA
3. Finishing the Series-  #FinishingTheSeries2020   New Orleans Scrapbooking Series #16
4. Cravings for a Cozy and Cloak and  Dagger #CloakDaggerChal : Book  #17
5. Cruising through cozies -  craft #2
6. Calendar of Crime-  #CalendarOfCrime2020  
7. Medical Examiner-  2 Toe Tag 
8. Six Shooter-  2nd shot for Laura Childs
9. Color Coded:  #4 Green
10. Wizarding World Tour  
• Castelobruxo: Green dust jacket; 
11. 52 Books in 52 weeks  #2 A Hardcover