Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Skeleton Letters-Laura Childs

Skeleton Letters


Laura Childs

Berkley Prime Crime, Oct 4 2011, $25.95

ISBN: 9780425243893



Memory Mine scrapbooking shop owner Carmella Bertrand and JuJu Voodoo store owner Ava Gruiex visit historic spooky St. Tristan’s Church in New Orleans’ French Quarter. The friends hear a noise followed by a scream and a crash. A hooded figure pushed a statue onto Byrle Coopersmith, a regular attendee at Carmella’s scrapbook group. The culprit escapes as Ava calls 911. They also learn that an ancient crucifix apparently was stolen also.



NOPD Detective Edgar Babcock warns his girlfriend Carmella to stay out of the investigation as he knows she is prone to snoop. He also tells her the killer used blunt force with St. Sebastian as the murder weapon. However when Babcock fails to take the lead and encouraged by the scrapbook regulars who do not trust dispassionate detective Bobby Gallant to dig deep, Carmella and Ava investigate the murder of a friend.



Although amateur sleuths coincidentally finding a corpse and feeling compelled to behave foolishly by investigating are not new concepts (see Death Swatch), readers will enjoy the latest scrapbooking mystery (see Fiber & Brimstone) as the BFFs place themselves in danger with their inquiry. The cozy is fun to follow and there are plenty of scrapbooking tips. Fans of the series will root for the dynamic duo as they work the case of a regular murdered in a church.



Harriet Klausner

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