Ellen Byron

Maggie Crozat, the Great- Great - Great Granddaughter of Magnolia Marie Doucet, works at the Doucet Plantation as a tour guide, while she lives on the Crozat Plantation grounds in shotgun styled home common to that area of the state. Both sides of her family are "Louisiana royalty". The Crozat plantation has been remodeled into a Bed and Breakfast since times have been hard, and now the family does the work that is no longer done by servants along with the hired cleaning crew. The story takes up at the exciting time of "Fete L'ete", and the town of Pelican. "Fete Lete" is a celebration that honors the ending of summer season. The Bed and Breakfast is filled with all varieties of interesting guests that all have their own agendas as we soon learn. During a dark storm...is there any other type ???, two guests "depart" rather spectacularly. When the lights come back on, the local police are almost living at the door. The Chief of Police hates the Crozat's family because of a "Curse" that was placed by them on his family 150-years or so ago, and he continues to feud with the family and carry a grudge. The plantation is now a crime scene, and it is up to Maggie...why I don't know...to solve these crimes. I've never quiet understood the reasoning behind it being okay to allow common, non-law enforcement citizens do the work of the police in these stories...but what I cared for much less than that was the "supposed to be funny" labeling of a cross dresser by the all-white guests and the paid staff as “Norman Batesy”....not once but several times. If you need romance in your mystery there is a connection and a bit of romantic tension flying between Maggie and Bo. I did wonder how the 150-year-old feud and curse between the two families was going to make a relationship between them work, but I really don't think I care enough to read the next one to find out.… (más)

Wined and Died in New Orleans is the second book in this series and I thought ti was a fun read. It picks up soon after the first book, and Ricki continues to work hard building her new business, a vintage gift shop in one of the local museums. Repairs on part of the old house lead to a discovery of very old and valuable French wine buried by the original owner, a discovery that leads Ricki into an interesting mystery and to meeting many members of the Charbonnet family who are now coming out of the woodwork wanting a claim of the new fortune.

Ricki is a likeable character, someone who makes friends easily, but also tends to question herself quite a bit due to her history and her previous marriage that ended in disaster. Her gift shop features vintage cookbooks and I find this aspect of her job quite fascinating as I remember looking through my grandmother's old cookbooks when I was younger and laughing at some of the recipes, so I get the appeal. Both of the books made reference to her parentage and as she is adopted, there is a mystery that is developing as a secondary story line, one that I find quite interesting, but has not yet taken center stage.

The secondary characters are just as interesting as the main character. The witty dialogue and banter between them drew me into their world and I thought the author captured the cultural traditions of New Orleans very well through their interactions and their commentary. I have only been there once, but I could visualize the places and sights through their eyes and I enjoyed revisiting the city in my mind as I read. I enjoyed how the characters responded to situations as the story unfolded; yes, there was drama, but it wasn't silly and the characters had smart discussions about how the various situations would affect them, their jobs, and their businesses.

The plot itself was fun and enjoyable. The tension slowly built throughout the book, and though I had guessed who was the culprit, I amused myself by playing around with other possibilities, just in case I was wrong. The author was good at throwing some red herrings along the way, and the twists and turns were interesting. I always find it intriguing how one little comment can give away the whole plot of a story unintentionally, and that is what happened to me with this story. It didn't take away from the fun of the book though as it allowed me to reflect more on the themes being presented in the book rather than just the mystery; death, grief, friendship, family relationships, family history, secrets, greed, trust issues, and regret all played a role in this book.

Verdict
Wined and Died in New Orleans was an engaging novel with a diverse set of characters and a story line that was interesting and intriguing. It continued some of the themes from the first book, but was also contained its own mystery so could be read as a standalone, although I don't recommend it being read that way. If you like to cook, there are also some vintage recipes to try out throughout the story that look interesting. The writing style was engaging, the mystery was fun, and I definitely recommend anyone who is interested in cozy mysteries check this one out.… (más)

Wined and Died in New Orleans by Ellen Byron is the second book in her latest cozy mystery series that takes place in New Orleans, and it is another great read!

Byron once again shows why she is one of the Queens of Cozies with her well developed characters and glorious descriptions of New Orleans and the beautiful manor where much of the book takes place. Add in a few scoops of local history and local restaurants along with some dashes of information on vintage cookbooks and kitchen gadgets and it’s a tasty second book.

The characters are getting even more fleshed out, and the new characters are just as fun to read about. And instead of the typical cat or dog in a cozy mystery, we get two feisty peacocks who seem to really not like some of the people… which makes those scenes even more amusing.

The big secret that ended book one is partially revealed in this one… although there are still some major questions surrounding it that have yet to be answered. Which makes me super excited for book three in the Vintage Cookbook Mysteries to come out!… (más)