Review
The Second Vintage Cookbook Mystery
Hurricane warnings have Ricki James-Diaz flustered even more than the low sales at Miss Vee’s Vintage Cookbook and Kitchenware Shop that she runs at the Bon Vee Culinary House Museum. The exciting discovery of wine hidden under the mansion since the mid 1800s could solve the historic home's financial woes. Facing her fear of social media, Ricki posts about the find, hoping to lure prospective buyers for the auction. Instead she lures shady Charbonnet relatives, all looking to cash in. When the head interloper in murdered on the property with vintage kitchenware from Ricki's shop police aim their sights at the New Orleans Charbonnet clan. In order to prove Eugenia's innocence Ricki will have to look into the Charbonnet family history and the financial problems that may have created a killer.
The weather isn't the only thing that's stormy in the second Vintage Cookbook mystery when family and romantic relationships collide with murder! The mystery was clever with several motives, sketchy characters, and lots of avenues to explore. I like how Ricki's relationship with NOLA PD is improving, indeed how a friendship is forming. I'm also pleased with the different romantic relationships slowly evolving.
WINED AND DIED IN NEW ORLEANS rocks. Seedy relatives arriving like leeches, an annoying Gen Z who turns invaluable, and an assistant with a black heart all assail Bon Vee and add plenty of drama and fun. The characters are really coming into their own in this second outing. They're more vibrant and less flighty. I'm still not a fan of Cookie, but I don't dislike her as much, and I enjoy seeing the other friendships grow. Clarissa was a good addition, making trouble for Ricki and being a good villain. Ricki showed more restraint for dealing with her that I would have!
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Wined and Died in New Orleans (A Vintage Cookbook) by Ellen Byron
About Wined and Died in New Orleans
Wined and Died in New Orleans (A Vintage Cookbook)
Cozy Mystery 2nd in Series
Setting - Louisiana
Berkley (February 7, 2023)
Mass Market Paperback: 288 pages
The second in a fantastic new cozy mystery series with a vintage flair from USA Today bestselling and Agatha Award–winning author Ellen Byron.
It’s hurricane season in New Orleans and vintage cookbook fan Ricki James-Diaz is trying to shelve her weather-related fears and focus on her business, Miss Vee’s Vintage Cookbook and Kitchenware Shop, housed in the magnificent Bon Vee Culinary House Museum.
Repairs on the property unearth crates of very old, very valuable French wine, buried by the home’s builder, Jean-Louis Charbonnet. Ricki, who’s been struggling to attract more customers to Miss Vee’s, is thrilled when her post about the discovery of this long-buried treasure goes viral. She’s less thrilled when the post brings distant Charbonnet family members out of the woodwork, all clamoring for a cut of the wine’s sale.
When a dead body turns up in Bon Vee’s cheery fall decorations, the NOPD zeroes in on Eugenia Charbonnet Felice as the prime suspect, figuring that as head of the Charbonnet family, she has the most to gain. Ricki is determined to uncover the real culprit, but she can’t help noticing that Eugenia is acting strangely. Ricki wonders what kind of secret her mentor has bottled up, and fears what might happen if she uncorks it.
In the second Vintage Cookbook Mystery, Ricki has to help solve a murder, untangle family secrets, and grow her business, all while living under the threat of a hurricane that could wipe out everything from her home to Bon Vee.
About Ellen Byron
Ellen’s Cajun Country Mysteries have won the Agatha Award for Best Contemporary Novel and multiple Lefty Awards for Best Humorous Mystery. Bayou Book Thief will be the first book in her new Vintage Cookbook Mysteries. She also writes the Catering Hall Mystery series under the name Maria DiRico.
Ellen is an award-winning playwright, and non-award-winning TV writer of comedies like Wings, Just Shoot Me, and Fairly Odd Parents. She has written over two hundred articles for national magazines but considers her most impressive credit working as a cater-waiter for Martha Stewart. An alum of New Orleans’ Tulane University, she blogs with Chicks on the Case, is a lifetime member of the Writers Guild of America and will be the 2023 Left Coast Crime Toastmaster. Please visit her at https://www.ellenbyron.com/
Author Links:
Newsletter: https://www.ellenbyron.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ellenbyronauthor/ https://www.facebook.com/CateringHallMysteries/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ellenbyronmariadirico/
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/ellen-byron https://www.bookbub.com/authors/maria-dirico
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/23234.Ellen_Byron https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19130966.Maria_DiRico
I'm looking forward to reading the book.
ReplyDeleteI hope you enjoy it!
DeleteThanks so much for a great review!
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by. I really enjoyed it!
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