Gossamer Ghost

Childs’s enjoyable 12th Scrapbooking mystery (after 2013’s Gilt Trip) finds charming heroine Carmela Bertrand musing about what costumes to wear over Halloween and what classes to offer next at her New Orleans craft store. But she soon has a bigger puzzle to solve: the murder of Marcus Joubert, the creepy owner of the store next door. A rare French mask is missing from Joubert’s store, and soon the police, including Carmela’s hunky cop beau, Det. Edgar Babcock, are wondering not only who stole the mask from Marcus but also whether Marcus himself had come into its possession illegally. Real estate lust also complicates matters—more than one savvy small businessperson was longing for Marcus to vacate his primo location. Local color is Child’s strong suit, and on this romp with Carmela, the details of the Big Easy, from absinthe to étouffée, do not disappoint—and readers will get a few zany Halloween costume ideas to boot. (Oct.)