Maggie Crozat has the Halloween heebie-jeebies in USA Today bestselling and Agatha Award-winning author Ellen Byron’s howlingly funny sixth Cajun Country mystery.Maggie Crozat, proprietor of a historic Cajun Country B&B, prefers to let the good times roll. But hard times rock her hostelry when a new cell phone app makes it easy for locals to rent their spare rooms to tourists. With … tourists. With October–and Halloween–approaching, she conjures up a witch-crafty marketing scheme to draw visitors to Pelican, Louisiana.
Five local plantation B&Bs host “Pelican’s Spooky Past” packages, featuring regional crafts, unique menus, and a pet costume parade. Topping it off, the derelict Dupois cemetery is the suitably sepulchral setting for the spine-chilling play Resurrection of a Spirit. But all the witchcraft has inevitably conjured something: her B&B guests are being terrified out of town by sightings of the legendary rougarou, a cross between a werewolf and vampire.
When, in the Dupois cemetery, someone costumed as a rougarou stumbles onstage during the play–and promptly gives up the ghost, the rougarou mask having been poisoned with strychnine, Maggie is on the case. But as more murders stack up, Maggie fears that Pelican’s spooky past has nothing on its bloodcurdling present.
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Byron does a great job in this Halloween-inspired mystery. I love the details of Pelican, Louisiana, with its various and unique regional customs. (The food descriptions, of course, also made me quite hungry. Good thing there are recipes in the back!)
The Crozats in the story continue to be a delightful family cast. I really enjoyed their interactions with one another. The theme involving B&Bs versus rental apps made things feel fresh and contemporary.
As always, the list of suspects is superb, and I love how complex of a mystery Byron crafted.
Another great entry in the Cajun Country series—definitely not a trick to call it a treat of a read.
When Maggie comes up with the idea of teaming up with four other Bed and Breakfasts in Pelican, Louisiana offering a Halloween themed stay dealing with the areas spooky past. All seems to be going according to schedule until a local legend the rougarou appears causing havoc for the other inn keepers. A rougarou is a hybrid of wolfman and vampire who may pass his curse on to another after 8 days.
Added to the rougarou problem is the arrival of a long lost family member of the family who is going to try and take over the inn as well as stealing business from friends. When the play part of the weekend is going on at the family cemetery a rougarou staggers in and dies at the end of the play. Maggie is able to keep the guest believing that this is all a part of the act. The rougarou is unmasked and it turns out Maggie is under the mask.
Maggie is concerned that the police will arrest her family. More extended family members are dying. More evidence is mounting against her family. Will her family be cleared or will the curse of the rougarou get them. I know I keep typing rougarou i just love the word. I would recommend this as a fun Halloween read.
Maggie Crozat hates Hallowe’en. But the family’s B&B is suffering diminished revenue as the result of an out-of-towner buying up Pelican homes for day rentals. So she coordinates with the other B&Bs to host Halllowe’en events hoping to encourage reservations. She also has the bright idea of hiring her Canadian cousin as a masseuse in her newly-built Crozat spa. As soon as the Canadians land, strange things begin happening all over town. Soon enough the bodies begin to fall and the authorities’ prime suspect is Maggie.
MURDER IN THE BAYOU BONEYARD is classic puzzle mystery with lots of Cajun Country atmosphere. It’s a delightful weekend read that will transport you to back to the before times and place. One great escape! Looking forward to more Maggie!
Dollycas’s Thoughts
Halloween in Pelican, Louisiana can be interesting but this year business at the local B&B’s in taking a hit due to a new enterprise for regular folks can rent out rooms to tourists. So a few local B&B’s band together to host weekends featuring “Pelican’s Spooky Past” packages complete with spa treatments, crafting classes, special menus, and a play Resurrection of a Spirit performed in a cemetery. Visitors may also be treated to seeing a rougarou, which is a cross between a vampire and a werewolf, and scary.
The Crozat’s have added a spa to the property and a Canadian cousin has agreed to come to town as their massage therapist. Maggie quickly learns her dear cousin and her husband have ulterior motives for their visit. Then one night the masseuse crashes the play and dies, the Crozat’s become prime suspects. When there is another murder Maggie plunges herself into the investigation.
These characters continue to be some of my faves. Maggie is a smart amateur sleuth who doesn’t give up. Her relationship with her sassy grandmother is fun and heartwarming. Her mom and dad have a ton of energy and go to great lengths to meet their guests’ needs while still being there for their family and friends. This story takes family to a new level when the Canadian cousins come to town with their outlandish plans.
Ms. Byron has crafted a mystery filled with twists, turns, and a bit of folklore. I am fine with the rougarou as long as I don’t have to meet one in the middle of the night, better yet as long as they stay within the pages of this book. The author also includes a variety of Cajun dishes, some of the recipes are at the back of the book.
What I really enjoy is that the Crozat’s daily life endeavors blend seamlessly with the mystery. Wedding plans are ongoing and Maggie gets a big surprise at the end of the story with a big message for everyone, especially in the world we are living in today.
Murder in the Bayou Boneyard is a totally entertaining Halloween mystery and a fantastic addition to this series. I am so excited for the next book in this series.
Murder in the Bayou Boneyard by Ellen Byron is a Cajun Country Mystery and takes place at the Crozat B & B outside Baton Rouge. There’s plenty on. It is only two months before the weddings of Maggie and Bo, and her grandmother and Leo. It is Halloween, a heady time in this part of the country. It is also the grand opening of the B & B’s new spa. A long, lost cousin, Suzannah, who is also a masseuse, has come from Canada to pen the spa. Along with Susannah comes her husband, and his two adult children, twins. Life is good. In order to prop up the business of B & Bs in the area, Maggie came up with the idea of Halloween specials during October weekends. Included were special meals, attendance at a seasonal play, pet parades, costume events and much more. It is looking to be successful until Suzanne, dressed in a costume, runs across the stage at the end of the play and falls down and dies. She was dressed as a rogarou, which is a human with the head of a wolf. It all gets is complicated, but fun.
The really interesting characters in this cozy mystery are the peripheral ones: the son, Johnnie; the actor, Barrymore Tuttle; the guest parrot, Benedict, and more. Byron has a good sense of character . . . hers are always multidimensional. Maggie and her fiancé, Bo, a local police detective are the ideal couple and she knows how lucky she is to have found him. Her parents and her grandmother all work at the B & B and are entertaining every minute. Who doesn’t need an eccentric grandmother? There are so many characters and so many things going on in this book that it moves at a fast clip, so fast it turns out there are multiple murderers. It is an entertaining series and this is an entertaining book. Halloween in the bayou! I recommend it.
I was invited to read a free ARC of Murder in the Bayou Boneyard by Netgalley. All opinions and interpretations contained herein are solely my own. #netgalley #murderinthebayouconeyard