Mardi Gras Murder: A Cajun Country Mystery

In Byron’s superior fourth Cajun Country mystery (after 2017’s A Cajun Christmas Killing), Pelican, La., is flooded due to unseasonable rains a few days before the town’s annual Mardi Gras celebration. While clearing up debris, the body of an unidentified man surfaces under the bridge over a bayou at the far end of the property belonging to the Crozat family, also the site of the Crozat Plantation Bed and Breakfast. But Maggie Crozat, an artist by training and an innkeeper by inclination, has no time to worry about the body, as the pressure is on to help get the Mardi Gras festivities back on track. “Yes, we Peli-CAN” is the town’s rallying cry. When her beloved Grand-mère comes down with walking pneumonia, Maggie takes her place as a judge in the Miss Pelican Mardi Gras Gumbo Queen competition. The murder of a fellow judge puts her knee-deep in plausible suspects and a variety of murky motives. Well-rounded characters, a fair-play plot, entertaining repartee, as well as dashes of Cajun lore and Louisiana history make this cozy a winner. Agent: Doug Grad, Doug Grad Literary Agency. (Oct.)