All Hats on Deck

All Hats on Deck is the fifth book in the Missy DuBois cozy mystery series written by Sandra Bretting. I’ve read and enjoyed the previous four books, so I had to get the latest one when it was released. The series takes place on the bayou in Louisiana and follows a milliner (hat designer) who mostly designs creations for upscale weddings. She and her fiance, a dressmaker, also find themselves smack in the middle of finding dead bodies. This time, Missy is on her own when she discovers a friend floating in the river. Someone we’ve come to know across the books was murdered, and it’s definitely sad.

Ruby, an older woman with wise advice who will curse you if you cross her, is found off the dock near her house, swimming with the alligators. Her grandson Hollis tries to save her, but he’s too late. Someone wanted her property, and they were willing to kill for it. Was it the river boat owner, the captain, the mayor, an old flame, her grandson, a visitor in town… there are quite a few angles for Missy to investigate. At the same time, Missy’s trying to figure out her own wedding plans and prevent a new hat shop from opening in Bleu Bayou. She doesn’t mind the competition, but it’s obvious the other owner is out to get Missy and is not a very good hat maker. It could ruin both their reputations, so Missy must protect everything around her.

Of all the books, I enjoyed Missy’s character the most in this one. She’s become more endearing, and I enjoy the southern dialect and fun sayings. I’m still not convinced of her relationship with Ambrose, as I see more of a spark with Lance. I might be in the minority on that one. I did like how she almost mothered 18-year-old Hollis, and it showed lots of potential for her future. The setting is always gorgeous and makes you want to visit a plantation or large southern estate. It also convinced me why I’ll never swim in those waters. Hollis and Missy had a conversation about swimming with the alligators that was quite similar to one I had with my other half who is from Louisiana. Nope, ain’t ever doin’ it, thank you very much. I’m with Missy on this one.

As for the mystery, it was good. There were plenty of suspects and lots of different turns to take between how Ruby died, who had it in for her, what they wanted her property for, and which person was actually trying to protect her. I do think it ended more abruptly than I prefer, as I would’ve liked to explore all the whys and hows, especially with the history of some of the characters. I also liked the subplot with the hat shop, which is unresolved, so I know we’ll get more of that in the next book. I do enjoy something fun to look forward to.

Another fun installment… and I’ll keep reading this series. Thanks for entertaining me for a few hours with the latest edition.

This is a lovely little cozy. I thoroughly enjoyed the setting (Louisiana bayou), the occupation (hat maker) and the characters. Definitely some Southern eccentrics! I’m from the South so no haters, please. The book makes you want to experience the South for yourself. At least the wedding venues, maybe not the swamps. LOL! You can definitely read this as a standalone with no problem. The author does refer back to earlier books very well and it wets your appetite to read the rest of the series. I had never really considered what went into making fascinators and quite frankly, I’m fascinated. Sorry, I just had to!! All in all, a very good cozy.

Blue Bayou, Louisiana is where Missy
DuBois runs the Crowning Glory boutique.
She is a milliner plus amateur sleuth. Her
finance is Ambrose ‘Bo’ Jackson who
designs wedding dresses. They work in
the same complex.
Ruby Oubre, an elderly Cajun grandmother
requests Missy to come to her mobile home
on the Atchafalaya River to teach Hollis, her
grandson how to start and run a business.
Upon arrival, Missy is greeted by Jacques
who is the vicious dog that guards the dock.
Ruby is not home so Missy begins to tudor
Hollis. He has no formal knowledge of
business practices. When they finish, Hollis
goes to find Ruby.
Hollis discovers Ruby……dead!!
Accidental or was foul play involved?? Who
would want to kill Ruby?
The characters are three dimensional, quirky,
multifaceted, colorful, some with interesting
backstories plus your locals. You will meet
Christophe d’Aulnay, Mayor Zephirim Turcott,
Captain Remy Gaudet who are all interested
in buying Ruby’s property.
Talented writing with palpable energy and
danger always lurking.
The story takes off very quickly and keeps
up at an invigorating pace with plenty of
twists and turns.
The proficient detailed description made
the reader part of the southern way of life.
You can taste the jambalaya, the sweet
rolls, smell the southern fried chicken and
drink a tall cool glasses of southern sweet
ice tea.
This is book # 5 in A Missy DuBois Mystery
series. It can be read as a stand alone. My
opinion is voluntary and my own.
It is a page turner!!!

All Hats on Deck is a Missy DuBois mystery novel by Sandra Bretting. This story may be short, but it is packed full of everything one could want in a cozy mystery novel. You get drama, mystery, murder, and an overall satisfying ending.
It’s not every day that one stumbles across a murder, but sadly that’s what happens and the list of suspects includes a few of the locals and couple in particular who are in “high” places of the community. This is the first book that I have read by Sandra Bretting and I thoroughly enjoyed the book overall. Everything happens in a matter of a few days from murder to resolution. I was a bit shocked to be honest. Haha! I actually expected the investigation to go on for a few weeks at least, but the author has the murderer figured out within a week!
The characters are engaging though I have to admit that I find Missy a bit silly at times which caused me to be a bit put off about her character in those moments. There were times of where it seemed that she just didn’t think things through in certain situations when the appropriate course of action was so obvious. My only other issue with this book would be the epilogue. I wanted the author to tell me how much time had passed. The wheels of justice rarely turn quickly, so I wanted to know how much time had passed since the suspect(s) were apprehended and brought to justice. I also wanted to know what had happened with the other woman who was coming to town. That plot point seemed to have fallen through the cracks at the end.
Overall, this is a delightful story and I enjoyed reading it. While this book is essentially part of a series it can be read alone, but I applaud the author for her tactful ways of piquing my interest with incidents that I’m sure occurred in other books. I’ll be checking those out when I have the time. For those who enjoy a good cozy mystery with a satisfying ending overall, this is a good book to pick up. If you have read Ms. Bretting’s previous works and enjoyed then I’m sure that you will enjoy reading this book as well. I am rating this book 5 out of 5 stars. Job well done on a delightful cozy mystery.

As a Southern girl myself (although not quite as Southern as Missy), I loved all the Southern culture and charm that were sprinkled throughout this book. Missy herself is delightful. She is witty, funny, and much smarter than she seems at first glance! I like how she seems to have grown up and matured a bit as the series continues. Although I have read earlier books in the series, I don’t think you’d have to in order to enjoy this one. Anything you need to know is covered here, and you should be able to pick right up on the characters and situations. There are a few hints about past stories here and there, though, and I imagine you’d want to go back and read more if you haven’t already!

I also really enjoyed the setting. It is well described, and I could picture everything perfectly in my mind as I read. In addition to the actual mystery, the whole bit about Hollis and the alligator farm added a lot to the story for me. I really hope future books will revisit Hollis so that I (and all the other readers) can stay up-to-date on how he’s doing with all those gators!

Highly recommended to all fans of the cozy mystery genre, plus anyone who loves all things Southern!

This is book #5 in the Missy Dubois series and the series continues to satisfy this reader. Missy runs her own business designing and making high end hats and her friend, Ruby asks her to talk to her grandson, Hollis about starting up a business. I guess business is business but Missy designs hats and Hollis wants to open a gator farm….for tourists. Interesting pairing. Soon tragedy strikes when Ruby is found dead in the bayou and it was no accident. More than one person makes it to the suspect list and it looks like a prime motive might be the desire to get their hands on her very valuable waterfront property.
I have enjoyed the previous books in this series and have come to really like the main characters so I was sad that the murder victim was Ruby. Beyond that, the mystery was solid with enough to keep me guessing to the last page. If you like your cozy mysteries with a big helping of Southern charm than this is your kind of mystery. I’m keeping this series on my must read list.

I wanted to like All Hats on Deck more since I love books that take place down South and Ruby practices voodoo, but it was just okay.

The main characters were all enjoyable and people I would want to continue to get to know better. The descriptions of the town, bayou, and hats that Sandra Bretting writes about are all done very well. But the three biggest sticking points for me were the lack of suspects, that Missy was never at her shop, and the lack of consistency when it came to details.

In regards to suspects, it was pretty easy to guess who was in on it right away and even their motive. Often in cozy mysteries even if I think I know who the killer is early on, I’ll still not be sure of the motive until the big reveal. Unfortunately that was not the case here. I would be able to overlook that and give the book a higher score if that was the only thing.

Missy was never at her shop, constantly going back to the Bayou or her home. The character even comments at one point in the book on how when other business owners would leave their shops early she would still be there late into the evening, and now she was the one always leaving her shop for her employee, Beatrice, to contend with. Pointing this out doesn’t excuse her actions and it’s completely unbelievable that she’s able to maintain a business where she’s the only one creating the merchandise.

And if this would have been the only time where Missy points out a contradiction, that too could have been overlooked. But the contradictions continued throughout the book, starting with her telling her finance to tell Beatrice to go back to the shop instead of coming back, and then a bit later she’s wondering where Beatrice is. I should have marked the other instances but there were quite a few more.

The last thing that kept pulling me out of the story was whenever Missy referenced a past murder, she would say something like, “That’s a story for another day.” I have never had this happen in another cozy. Other cozy authors give you enough information to infer what had happened so you got the gist of it, either to be reminded of the event if you’re a long time reader of the series, or to clue you in if this is your first book in the series. By Bretting just having Missy say that it’s something for another day, I felt this was another cop out instead of editing the story better or adding more information.

But just because I didn’t enjoy this one, doesn’t mean you won’t, especially if you’ve read the previous Missy DuBois Mysteries. If you have read prior books in the series or this one, I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments!