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Secrets, Lies and Crawfish Pies


SECRETS, LIES, & CRAWFISH PIES

A Romaine Wilder Mystery

by Abby L. Vandiver

Henery Press

Multicultural Interest , Mystery & Thrillers

Pub Date 12 Jun 2018

Review

Secrets, Lies & Crawfish Pies is a fun cozy that is big on personality. As a New Orleans native transplanted to Texas, I was intrigued by the description. I’m glad I picked the book up. It is quirky, funny and full of charm that highlights the best of New Orleans and small town Texas.

Romaine Wilder left her small town roots to become a medical examiner in the big city. But a combination of dwindling finances and lack of position drove her straight back to where she didn’t want to be - Robel, Texas. Accompanied by her larger than life Auntie Zanne, she returns home to find that Auntie Zanne’s funeral home has acquired an extra body. As her cousin, the sheriff, has absolutely no experience investigating a murder, Romaine reluctantly joins forces with Auntie Zanne in hopes of finding the killer - or more accurately keep Auntie Zanne out of trouble and out of her love life. It’s easy to empathize with Romaine’s frustration - Auntie Zanne is a force of nature, and the residents of Robel are quirky, but clearly loved as family.

Secrets, Lies & Crawfish Pies is a cozy, so it is heavier on comedy and lighter on the mystery aspect. It is a sweet, flavorful read which made me smile and occasionally laugh out loud. I absolutely adored Auntie Zanne. I would love to have her as a relative, as exhausting as that would probably be. I definitely would recommend Secrets, Lies & Crawfish Pies to anyone who enjoys funny, culturally rich, quirky mysteries.

4 / 5

I received a copy of Secrets, Lies & Crawfish Pies from the publisher and Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.

-- Crittermom

Description

Romaine Wilder, big-city medical examiner with a small-town past, has been downsized and evicted. With few other options, she’s forced to return to her hometown of Robel in East Texas, leaving behind the man she’s dating and the life she’s worked hard to build.

Suzanne Babet Derbinay, Romaine’s Auntie Zanne and proprietor of the Ball Funeral Home, has long since traded her French Creole upbringing for Big Texas attitude. She’s a member in a number of ladies’ auxiliaries and clubs, including being in charge of the Tri-County Annual Crawfish Boil and Music Festival.

Hanging on to the magic of her Louisiana roots, she’s cooked up a love potion or two—if she could only get Romaine to drink it. But her plans are derailed when the Ball Funeral Home, bursting at the seams with dead bodies, has a squatter stiff.

Dead Guy is a problem.

Auntie Zanne can’t abide by a murderer using her funeral home as the dumping grounds for their crimes, and Romaine doesn’t want her newly elected cousin, Sheriff Pogue Folsom, to fail on his first murder case. Together, Romaine and Auntie Zanne set off to solve it.

With a dash of humor, a dollop of Southern charm, and a peek at current social issues in the mix, it’s a fun romp around East Texas to solve a murder mystery of the cozy kind.

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