Thursday, October 3, 2019

Mumbo Gumbo Murder by Laura Childs & Terrie Farley Moran: Review & Giveaway!


Mumbo Gumbo Murder

A Scrapbooking Mystery

by Laura Childs and Terrie Farley Moran


About Mumbo Gumbo Murder 

Cozy Mystery
16th in Series
Berkley (October 1, 2019)
Hardcover: 320 pages
ISBN-10: 0451489578
ISBN-13: 978-0451489579
Digital ASIN: B07M75KVSB
A shocking murder strikes a sour note during Jazz Fest in the latest New Orleans Scrapbooking Mystery from New York Times bestselling author Laura Childs.

It's Jazz Fest in New Orleans, and the giant puppets from the Beastmaster Puppet Theatre are parading through the French Quarter. Some are very spooky and veiled, others are tall and gangly, like strange aliens.

As the parade proceeds, Carmela Bertrand and her best friend, Ava, follow behind, down Royal Street and past the food booths. Suddenly, they hear a terrible crash from Devon Dowling's antiques shop. They rush inside to find Devon collapsed with blood streaming down the side of his face. Has he been shot? Stabbed? 911 is hastily called, and the police and EMTs show up. After the police examine Devon's body, they tell Carmela and Ava that their friend was murdered with an icepick. They're shocked beyond belief—and now Mimi, Devon's little pug, is left homeless.

Carmela and Ava are determined to catch the murderer, but the list of suspects is long. How long do they have before they find themselves on the killer's list?
Social aid and pleasure clubs have a centuries-long history in New Orleans. (Photo courtesy of New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival presented by Shell)

About The Authors

laura childs from facebook

Laura Childs is the New York Times bestselling author of the The Tea Shop Mysteries, The Scrapbook Mysteries, and The Cackleberry Club Mysteries. In her previous life she was CEO/Creative Director of her own marketing firm and authored several screenplays. She is married to a professor of Chinese art history, loves to travel, rides horses, enjoys fundraising for various non-profits, and has two Chinese Shar-Pei dogs.  Laura specializes in cozy mysteries that have the pace of a thriller (a thrillzy!) Her three series are:

The Tea Shop Mysteries - set in the historic district of Charleston and featuring Theodosia Browning, owner of the Indigo Tea Shop. Theodosia is a savvy entrepreneur, and pet mom to service dog Earl Grey. She’s also an intelligent, focused amateur sleuth who doesn’t rely on coincidences or inept police work to solve crimes. This charming series is highly atmospheric and rife with the history and mystery that is Charleston.

The Scrapbooking Mysteries – a slightly edgier series that take place in New Orleans. The main character, Carmela, owns Memory Mine scrapbooking shop in the French Quarter and is forever getting into trouble with her friend, Ava, who owns the Juju Voodoo shop. New Orleans’ spooky above-ground cemeteries, jazz clubs, bayous, and Mardi Gras madness make their presence known here!

The Cackleberry Club Mysteries - set in Kindred, a fictional town in the Midwest. In a rehabbed Spur station, Suzanne, Toni, and Petra, three semi-desperate, forty-plus women have launched the Cackleberry Club. Eggs are the morning specialty here and this cozy cafe even offers a book nook and yarn shop. Business is good but murder could lead to the cafe’s undoing! This series offers recipes, knitting, cake decorating, and a dash of spirituality.

Laura’s Links:




Recipient of both the Agatha and the Derringer awards, Terrie Farley Moran is the author of the beachside Read 'Em and Eat cozy mystery series; co-author of Laura Childs’ New Orleans scrapbooking mystery series; and has published numerous short stories in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, Mystery Weekly Magazine and numerous anthologies.

The only thing Terrie enjoys more than wrangling mystery plots into submission is hanging out with any or all of her seven grandchildren who reside in New York and Florida.

Terrie’s Links:



New Orleans Jazz | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

My Thoughts

Mumbo Gumbo Murder by Laura Childs and Terrie Farley Moran is the 16th A Scrapbooking Mystery.  Carmela Bertrand and Ava Gruiex finished watching the kick-off parade for Jazz Fest and went to Royal Street where a street fair is taking place.  They hear glass breaking along with shouting and rush to investigate.  At Dulcimers Antiques owned by Devon Dowling, they find the shop is a mess with Devon dead on the Persian carpet.  Carmela wants to know what happened to her friend and sets out to get answers despite the warning from her fiancé, Detective Edgar Babcock.  Mumbo Gumbo Murder is a delightfully entertaining cozy mystery.  It can be read as a standalone for those new to the series, but you would be missing out on some charming cozy mysteries.  I thought Mumbo Gumbo Murder was well-written with developed characters and a wonderful setting (New Orleans).  The descriptions brought the city alive for me.  Carmela Bertrand owns Memory Mine Scrapbooking Shop in the French Quarter which she runs with the assistance of Gabby Mercer-Morris.  Carmela is a creative and clever woman who has two dogs (maybe three now), divorced, and has a penchant for getting into fixes.  Ava Gruiex is Carmela’s best friend who owns Juju Voodoo and likes to wear tight, revealing clothing plus she is outrageous (never met a man she wouldn’t flirt with).  I enjoy the dialogue between Carmela and Ava.  They are a fun duo whose antics will have you laughing.  Ava decides to consult a matchmaker so she can find a good man.  Carmela finds herself roped into Quigg Brevard’s new venture.  She likes the idea and so does everyone else except Edgar Babcock.  Edgar wants Carmela to set the wedding date and begin planning their nuptials.  Carmela wants to marry Edgar, but something (like her disastrous first marriage) is holding her back.  I had to laugh when Edgar mentioned getting bow ties for the two dogs (they need to be appropriately attired for the wedding).  Carmela works on some creative projects at Memory Mine including a paper theater and I was drooling over the descriptions of the items in Memory Mine (hundreds of papers, stamps, Paperclay, ribbon, and so much more).  There is even a mention of one of my favorite magazine companies, Somerset Studio.  The murder of Devon Dowling has Carmela asking questions, digging up clues, and prying information out of Edgar.  There is misdirection along with direct clues.  I wish, though, that I had not been able to identify the killer so early in the story plus there were unanswered questions at the end.  I hope we hear wedding bells for Carmela soon.  She just needs to figure out where she wishes to get married and when.  I thoroughly enjoyed reading Mumbo Gumbo Murder and I look forward to Cadmium Red Dead next year.  There are New Orleans recipes at the end along with Scrapbook, Stamping and Craft Tips.  Two of my favorite lines from Mumbo Gumbo Murder were “Nothing like a good exorcism to set you straight again” and “I swear, this is the last time I buy Louboutin knockoffs!”.  Mumbo Gumbo Murder is a pleasing cozy mystery with paper projects, wedding woes, a bowwow bystander, a mystified matchmaker, a bothersome ex-beau, and a frustrated fiancé.

Mumbo Gumbo Murder is available at AmazonB&NKoboGoogle Play, and IndieBound.  To win a copy of Mumbo Gumbo Murder (US Only), you can click here or enter via the Rafflecopter form below.  Good Luck! Take the time to visit the other stops on the tour for author interviews, guest posts, reviews and character guest post (schedule below).  Thank you for dropping by today.  I hope I have helped you find a new book to read.  I will be back tomorrow to review a book that I recently read.  Take care and Happy Reading!

Kris
The Avid Reader

Tour Participants



October 2 – Babs Book Bistro – SPOTLIGHT - Sapphyria's Books

October 2 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT

October 2 – Island Confidential - SPOTLIGHT

October 3 – The Avid Reader – REVIEW

October 3 – A Blue Million Books – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

October 4 – Laura's Interests – REVIEW

October 4 – Hearts & Scribbles – SPOTLIGHT

October 5 – MJB Reviewers – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

October 5 – Lisa Ks Book Reviews – REVIEW

October 6 – Mystery Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Reviews – CHARACTER GUEST POST

October 6 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews – REVIEW

October 7 – The Book's the Thing – REVIEW *

October 7 – Reading Is My SuperPower – GUEST POST

October 8 – The Book Decoder – REVIEW

October 8 – Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT

October 9 – eBook Addicts – SPOTLIGHT

October 9 – My Reading Journeys – REVIEW *

October 10 – Mysteries with Character – REVIEW

October 10 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW  

October 11 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW *

October 11 – A Holland Reads - REVIEW, CHARACTER GUEST POST *

October 12 – Celticlady's Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

October 12 – Readeropolis – SPOTLIGHT

October 13 – Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers – SPOTLIGHT

October 13 – T's Stuff – SPOTLIGHT

October 14 – Diary of a Book Fiend – REVIEW

October 14 – A Chick Who Reads – REVIEW *

October 15 – Socrates Book Reviews – REVIEW

October 15 – Paranormal and Romantic Suspense Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

October 15 – Sapphyria's Books - REVIEW
Tarot Card Reader In New Orleans  (reading Anne Rice).

Have you signed up to be a Tour Host?




2 comments:

  1. Thank you for your review on "Mumbo Gumbo Murder" by Laura Childs and Terrie Farley Moran and for being part of the book tour.

    GREAT cover and wonderful storyline. Can't wait for the opportunity to read the book.
    2clowns at arkansas dot net

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for such a fabulous review!! Laura and I are thrilled.

    ReplyDelete