Mardi Gras Murder (A Cajun Country Mystery)

Mardi Gras Murder by Ellen Byron is the fourth book in A Cajun Country Mystery series. The town of Pelican, Louisiana suffered from heavy rains and flooding. Behind the Crozat Plantation B&B, under piles of debris the family finds a dead man without identification. Three weeks later, the town is recovering from the flooding and they are ready for the Mardi Gras celebrations to begin—Laissez les bon temps rouler. The celebrations include a gumbo cook-off, a parade and the Miss Pelican Mardi Gras Gumbo Queen pageant. Maggie's grandmother normally is one of the pageant judges, but walking pneumonia has her confined to bed which means Maggie must step up to the plate (despite her opinion of pageants). At the first meeting of the judges, Maggie learns about the controversial Louisiana Orphan Train exhibit. The highlight of the meeting is when a fight breaks out between two of the pageant contestant mothers. On the way home, Maggie is rear ended by Gerard Damboise, head judge and president of the historical society. Maggie finds him bleeding from a gunshot wound. Gerard whispers two last words before he perishes. Maggie wonders if his death is related to the pageant or the orphan train exhibit. Maggie begins scouting for clues in the hopes of resolving Gerard's murder. Can Maggie unmask the killer before Fat Tuesday?

Mardi Gras Murder can be read alone if you have not read the other novels in A Cajun Country Mystery series. There is a lot going on in Mardi Gras Murder. I only covered the basics in my summary. There is the unidentified dead man, Mardi Gras, the pageant, problems with Tug's gumbo pot, Gran's illness, guests at the B&B, Maggie's relationship with Bo, a mystery at Doucet, a secret room at Grove Hall, the flooding, and the orphan train exhibit controversy. The book is well-written with a steady pace and humor scattered throughout. There are numerous characters, but the author does provide a handy cheat sheet at the beginning of the book (I wish I could have printed it out). Pelican is a small town where everyone knows your business and is happy to pass it along to others. The town goes all out for Mardi Gras. I learned some interesting facts about the holiday along with interesting traditions. The murder mystery has some intriguing points (I do not want to spoil it for you). There is misdirection along with direct clues. Avid cozy mystery readers will have no problem solving the whodunit. All the storylines are wrapped up at the end. There is a sweet ending that will have the romantics smiling, and I love who won the gumbo cook-off. Ellen Byron combines Southern charm, Mardi Gras, humor, a cast of quirky characters and a beguiling mystery into one rousing cozy mystery.