Download or read book Bayou Book Thief written by Ellen Byron and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2022-06-07 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A fantastic new cozy mystery series with a vintage flair from USA Today bestselling and Agatha Award–winning author Ellen Byron. Twenty-eight-year-old widow Ricki James leaves Los Angeles to start a new life in New Orleans after her showboating actor husband perishes doing a stupid internet stunt. The Big Easy is where she was born and adopted by the NICU nurse who cared for her after Ricki’s teen mother disappeared from the hospital. Ricki’s dream comes true when she joins the quirky staff of Bon Vee Culinary House Museum, the spectacular former Garden District home of late bon vivant Genevieve “Vee” Charbonnet, the city’s legendary restauranteur. Ricki is excited about turning her avocation – collecting vintage cookbooks – into a vocation by launching the museum’s gift shop, Miss Vee’s Vintage Cookbooks and Kitchenware. Then she discovers that a box of donated vintage cookbooks contains the body of a cantankerous Bon Vee employee who was fired after being exposed as a book thief. The skills Ricki has developed ferreting out hidden vintage treasures come in handy for investigations. But both her business and Bon Vee could wind up as deadstock when Ricki’s past as curator of a billionaire’s first edition collection comes back to haunt her. Will Miss Vee’s Vintage Cookbooks and Kitchenware be a success … or a recipe for disaster?

Download or read book Body on the Bayou written by Ellen Byron and published by Crooked Lane Books. This book was released on 2016-09-13 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Winner of the 2016 Best Humorous Mystery Lefty Award and shortlisted for the Agatha Best Contemporary Novel Award, Body on the Bayou finds Maggie Crozat once again using her artist's eye to spot clues and help. The Crozats feared that past murders at Crozat Plantation B&B might spell the death of their beloved estate, but they've managed to survive the scandal. Now there's a trés bigger story in Pelican, Louisiana: the upcoming nuptials between Maggie Crozat's nemesis, Police Chief Rufus Durand, and her co-worker, Vanessa Fleer. When everyone else refuses the job of being Vanessa's Maid of Honor, Maggie reluctantly takes up the title and finds herself tasked with a long list of duties—the most important of which is entertaining Vanessa's cousin, Ginger Fleer-Starke. But just days before the wedding, Ginger's lifeless body is found on the bayou and the Pelican PD, as well as the Crozats, have another murder mystery on their hands. There's a gumbo-potful of suspects, including an ex-Marine with PTSD, an annoying local newspaper reporter, and Vanessa's own sparkplug of a mother. But when it looks like the investigation is zeroing in on Vanessa as the prime suspect, Maggie reluctantly adds keeping the bride-to-be out of jail to her list of Maid of Honor responsibilities in Body on the Bayou, Ellen Byron's funny and engaging follow up to her critically acclaimed novel Plantation Shudders.

Download or read book Here Comes the Body written by Maria DiRico and published by Kensington Cozies. This book was released on 2020-02-25 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After her philandering husband’s boat went down, newly single Mia Carina went back to Astoria, the bustling Queens neighborhood of her youth. Living with her nonna and her oversized cat, Doorstop, she’s got a whole new life—including some amateur sleuthing . . . Mia is starting work at Belle View, her father’s catering hall, a popular spot for weddings, office parties, and more—despite the planes that occasionally roar overhead on their way to LaGuardia and rattle the crystal chandelier. Soon she’s planning a bachelor party for a less-than-gentlemanly groom. But it goes awry when the gigantic cake is wheeled in and a deadly surprise is revealed . . . Since some of her family’s associates are on the shady side, the NYPD wastes no time in casting suspicion on Mia’s father. Now, Mia’s going to have to use all her street smarts to keep him out of Rikers Island . . . Italian recipes included! “Mamma mia! What a nifty story. This endearing new heroine has a lot on her plate—all of it delicious fun!” —Laura Levine, author of Death of a Gigolo “A catered feast of a mystery.” —Sherry Harris, author of Let’s Fake a Deal

Download or read book Angel Thieves written by Kathi Appelt and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2019-03-12 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An ocelot. A slave. An angel thief. With interconnecting stories ebbing and flowing, this jewel of a novel from Newbery Honor–winning author and National Book Award finalist Kathi Appelt is a striking depiction of family devotion, a harsh cry for freedom, new love, oh, and an ocelot. Sixteen-year-old Cade Curtis is an angel thief. Abandoned by his mother, he and his dad moved to the apartment above a local antique shop. The only payment the owner Mrs. Walker requests: marble angels, stolen from graveyards, for her to sell for thousands of dollars to collectors. But there’s one angel that would be the last they’d ever need to steal; an angel, carved by a slave, with one hand open and one hand closed. If only Cade could find it… Zorra, a young ocelot, watches the bayou rush past her yearningly. The poacher who captured and caged her has gone away, and Zorra is getting hungrier and thirstier by the day. Trapped, she only has the sounds of the bayou for comfort—but it tells her help will come soon. Before Zorra, Achsah, a slave, watched the very same bayou with her two young daughters. After the death of her master, Achsah is free, but she’ll be damned if her daughters aren’t freed with her. All they need to do is find the church with an angel with one hand open and one hand closed… A soaring, searing novel from Newbery Honor–winning author and National Book Award finalist Kathi Appelt, Angel Thieves weaves together stories across time, connected by the bayou, an angel, and a universal desire to be free.

Download or read book A Cajun Christmas Killing written by Ellen Byron and published by Crooked Lane Books. This book was released on 2017-10-10 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Maggie Crozat is back home in bayou country during the most magical time of the year. In Pelican, Louisiana, Christmastime is a season of giant bonfires on the levee, zydeco carols, and pots of gumbo. Except, this year, the Grinch has come to stay at the family-run Crozat Plantation B&B. When he floods travel websites with vicious reviews, Maggie thinks she’s identified him as rival businessman Donald Baxter. That is, until he’s found stabbed to death at Maggie’s workplace. And Maggie and her loved ones become top suspects. The Crozats quickly establish alibis, but Maggie’s boyfriend, Detective Bo Durand, remains under suspicion. With Bo sidelined during the investigation, Maggie finds herself forced to work with an unlikely ally: longtime family enemy Rufus Durand. Her sleuthing uncovers more suspects than drummers drumming, and lands her in the crosshairs of the murderer. The sleigh bells are jingling, and the clock is ticking for Maggie and Rufus, who must catch the killer or it will be the opposite of a Joyeux Noël in A Cajun Christmas Killing, the recipe-stuffed third installment of USA Today bestselling author Ellen Byron’s Cajun Country mysteries.

Download or read book Graceland And Asleep on the Wind written by Ellen Byron and published by Dramatists Play Service Inc. This book was released on 1984 with total page 52 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: THE STORIES: GRACELAND. The place is the front entrance of Graceland, the late Elvis Presley's Memphis mansion, the time, five o'clock in the morning, three days before the estate is to be opened to the public. Two ardent Presley fans, Bev and Rootie, are

Download or read book Cajun Kiss of Death written by Ellen Byron and published by Crooked Lane Books. This book was released on 2021-08-10 with total page 284 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The next shot from Cupid's bow may be fatal in USA Today bestselling, Agatha Award-winning author Ellen Byron's hearty and delightful seventh Cajun Country mystery. In Pelican, Louisiana, Valentine's Day has a way of warming the heart, despite the February chill. But the air at Crozat Plantation B&B turns decidedly frigid when celebrity chef Phillippe Chanson checks in. And when the arrogant Phillippe--in town to open his newest Cajun-themed restaurant--perishes in a fiery boat crash, Maggie Crozat's dear friend JJ lands in very cold water. Did JJ, proprietor of Junie's Oyster Bar and Dance Hall, murder Phillippe because he feared the competition? Might Maggie's mother, Ninette, have bumped off the chef for stealing one of her cherished recipes? Or was the culprit a local seafood vendor, miffed because Phillippe was somehow able to sell oysters for a remarkably reasonable price, despite an oyster shortage? Maggie had planned to devote her February to art lessons in New Orleans, a present from her sweetheart, Bo. But now she has to focus on helping her friend and her mother cross a murder charge off the menu. Meanwhile, Maggie receives a series of anonymous gifts that begin as charming but grow increasingly disturbing. Does Maggie have an admirer--or a stalker? And are these mysterious gifts somehow related to Phillippe's murder? Blood may be thicker than water, but this case is thicker than gumbo. And solving it will determine whether Maggie gets hearts and roses--or hearse and lilies--this Valentine's Day.

Download or read book Fatal Cajun Festival written by Ellen Byron and published by Crooked Lane Books. This book was released on 2019-09-10 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: USA Today bestselling and award-winning author Ellen Byron cranks it up to eleven in the fifth fast and funny Cajun Country mystery. Louisiana B&B owner Maggie Crozat kicks up her heels at a country music festival--but she'll have one foot in the grave if she can't bring the killer of a diva's hanger-on to heel. Grab your tickets for Cajun Country Live!, the pickers' and crooners' answer to the legendary New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. Maggie Crozat, proprietor of the Crozat Plantation B&B, plans to be in the cheering section when her friend Gaynell Bourgeois takes the stage with her band, Gaynell and the Gator Girls. The festival's headliner, native daughter Tammy Barker, rocketed to stardom on a TV singing competition. She has the voice of an angel...and the personality of a devilish diva. But Maggie learns that this tiny terror carries a grudge against Gaynell. She's already sabotaged the Gator Girls' JazzFest audition. When a member of Tammy's entourage is murdered at the festival, Tammy makes sure Gaynell is number one on the suspect list. Gaynell has plenty of company on that list--including every one of Tammy's musicians. Posing as a groupie, Maggie infiltrates Tammy's band and will have to hit all the right notes to clear her friend's name.

Download or read book Stork Raving Mad written by Donna Andrews and published by St. Martin's Press. This book was released on 2011-06-28 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Includes excerpt from The real macaw (p. [291]-304).

Download or read book Dial Om for Murder written by Diana Killian and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2009-11-03 with total page 221 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When one of A.J.'s celebrity yoga students gets permanently bent out of shape, and another is accused of the crime, A.J. has no choice but to position herself as a sleuth to find the real killer.

Download or read book Mrs Morris and the Pot of Gold written by Traci Wilton and published by Kensington Books. This book was released on 2022-08-23 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Salem, Massachusetts, B&B owner Charlene Morris will need the luck of the Irish—and the help of a ghost—to unveil a hooded killer . . . Charlene has hired a van to ferry her B&B guests to an all-you-can-eat corned beef and cabbage dinner hosted by Salem’s Irish community at the Ancient Order of Hibernians club—but she should have booked a hearse. It’s never a good sign when the family black sheep drunkenly crashes a party by punching the guy dressed as a leprechaun. But things go from troublesome to fatal when Charlene stumbles upon a second brawl in an upper room—and this fight Connor Gallagher loses, his anonymous assailant rushing past Charlene, hidden by a hoodie. Now Detective Sam Holden has another homicide on his hands, with Charlene as the only eyewitness. Even if she can’t give the police sketch artist much to go on, Charlene is determined to ID the murderer, with the help of Dr. Jack Strathmore, the charming ghost who haunts her B&B. The answer lies in the motive, and to uncover that sleuth and spook will need to shine a light on Connor’s shady past—before the killer pulls another Irish goodbye . . .

Download or read book Bayou Whispers written by R. B. Wood and published by Crystal Lake Publishing. This book was released on 2021-04-29 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The thrilling story of Jeannine LaRue, the sole survivor of her family after Hurricane Katrina.

Download or read book Open for Murder written by Mary Angela and published by Lyrical Underground. This book was released on 2020-11-24 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From award-winning author Rebekah Weatherspoon comes a thoroughly modern take on the timeless tale of a struggling Cinderella who finds her prince charming at the eleventh hour—and the adventure that ensues the morning after . . . Working as the personal assistant to one of Hollywood’s cruelest divas has left Amanda Queen more determined than ever to sell her screenplay and gain her independence. In the meantime, she’ll settle for a temporary escape. When her employer is felled by the flu on Hollywood’s biggest night of the year, Amanda gets her glam on, struts out the door, and parties with the glitterati. But she never expects to come face to face—and closer than close—with one of the hottest stars in the game . . . Following up his first Oscar win with a steamy after-hours romp with an enigmatic woman seems like the perfect way for actor Sam Pleasant to celebrate—until she suddenly disappears. Worse, she’s vanished with the wrong swag bag: the one containing his Oscar statue, leaving Sam even more intrigued about the beauty’s identity—and wondering if a repeat performance of their amazing night is in the stars. And when a second chance encounter happens, only a trip to Sam’s family ranch—and revealing the whole, not-always-glamorous, truth about themselves—will give them a chance to turn one magical night into forever . . .

Download or read book The Ghost of a Memory written by Bobbi Holmes and published by Robeth Publishing. This book was released on 2020-08-18 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Past and present collide when a secret from the 1920s wreaks havoc on Marlow House. Walt struggles to remember what he may have forgotten before it’s too late.

Download or read book The Ghost and the Birthday Boy written by Bobbi Holmes and published by Robeth Publishing. This book was released on 2021-08-17 with total page 338 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Lily and Ian’s families come to Frederickport to celebrate Connor’s first Birthday. Bringing the in-laws together is not always easy, especially when uninvited guests from the spirit realm show up.

Download or read book Mardi Gras Murder written by Ellen Byron and published by Worldwide Library. This book was released on 2021-04-06 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A SIMMERING WHODUNIT It's Mardi Gras season on the bayou, which means parades, pageantry and gumbo galore. But when a flood upends life in the tiny town of Pelican, Louisiana--and deposits the body of a stranger behind the Crozat Plantation B and B--the celebration takes a decidedly dark turn. Maggie Crozat is determined to discover the man's identity and find out why he was murdered. Then a judge for the Miss Pelican Mardi Gras Gumbo Queen pageant is shot, and Maggie is convinced that the deaths are connected. Does someone covet the pageant crown enough to kill for it? Or could the deaths be related to the opening of a controversial exhibit about the historic Louisiana Orphan Train? The leads are thin on this Fat Tuesday--and until the killer is unmasked, no one in Pelican is safe.

Download or read book The Bayou written by Arden Powell and published by . This book was released on 2021-01-10 with total page 147 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Small-town Louisiana, 1935.When Eugene was twelve, a girl from town disappeared. Everyone said the gators must have got her when she strayed too near the bayou. No foul play, just a terrible accident. But Eugene can't shake the conviction that Mary Beth's death had something to do with the man who used to haunt her--the man no one else could see.Now, nearly two decades later, there are more dangerous things than gators in Chanlarivyè. People are disappearing again, and this time, no one can find the bodies. As the town's unease grows, charismatic fugitive Johnny Walker arrives on the scene, shedding bullet casings and stolen bank notes in his wake. He tangles himself up in Eugene's life and awakens memories Eugene thought he had laid to rest years ago. Memories of the mysterious man who followed Eugene into his dreams, and memories of the bayou--and of the horrifying entity that lurks beneath the water's surface, slowly seeping into the town like a stain.