Cajun Kiss of Death by Ellen Byron

I’ve been to a double wedding, but never a triple wedding – that is, until now! Ellen Byron once again brings us a delectable cozy, Cajun-style. Cajun Kiss of Death immediately grabs your attention and tugs at your heart as the book opens with a triple wedding in Pelican, Louisiana. And this is no ordinary wedding – it begins on New Year’s Eve and ends on New Year’s Day!

The details of the triple wedding and the attendees immediately give you a flavor of the steadfast and quirky characters in Byron’s Cajun Country mysteries. This is the newest release and it’s due out on August 10th – Woohoo!

It’s the start of a new year for folks in Pelican. We find Maggie, the series’ heroine, still involved with her family’s B & B, and brushing up on her artistic skills. But while January is quietly slipping away, high-profile celebrity chef, Phillippe Chanson, has recently acquired a local shuttered restaurant. The remodeling has started and it will be the chef’s newest addition to his famed Chanson Restaurant Group.

While the new restaurant has everyone in town buzzing, some of the locals are worried as to how this new restaurant might affect their smaller, longstanding restaurants. Junie’s Oyster Bar and Dance Hall may not be as fancy as Chanson’s, but the food is authentic Cajun cuisine and simply out of this world. JJ is the proprietor, but unlike Maggie and some of her friends, he’s not worried about the competition. Unfortunately, he should be. If he could foresee the future, he’d realize he’s losing a steady stream of customers to Pelican’s newest restaurant.

As Chanson’s ramps up for their grand opening, we find out that Phillippe Chanson is completely ruthless when it comes to business. He’s got an ex-wife, Kate, who is still the brand manager. Becca is his sous chef – and current girlfriend. He’s got a slick mixologist known as “Trick” and an oyster shucker who’ll be entertaining customers with his special skills. Rounding out the main staff is Luis, a young, new manager. As his employees know, Chanson is tough to work for – it’s no picnic in his park!

But when someone dies a fiery death just as the restaurant is about to launch, what started out as a quiet new year with a triple wedding, becomes a new year of triple trouble for Maggie and her family!

Trouble #1: Her good friend and restaurant owner, JJ, becomes a murder suspect. Trouble #2: Even worse, Maggie’s mom also becomes a murder suspect! Maggie isn’t going to sit back and watch her friend or her mom get tossed in the klink for murder, so she’s bound and determined to do all she can to help expose the real killer.

Trouble #3: Maggie has started getting gifts from a secret admirer…flowers, candy, etc. But when the gifts start taking on an ominous tone, the red flag starts waving – and she wonders if she has a stalker or if this somehow connects to the new restaurant or the recent murder.

Cozy fans will delight in this tantalizing tale with original southern style, featuring characters as colorful as a Mardi Gras parade! Want suspects? Ellen Byron graciously provides plenty of them. Want a good cozy to while away a few summer hours (with or without a famed Hurricane drink in hand)? Then grab your copy of this NEWEST release, Cajun Kiss of Death (A Cajun Country Mystery).

And don’t forget to check out the “books/mystery” category on this site for an interview with the author, as well reviews on some of her other books.

A copy of this book/photo was provided by Crooked Lane Books.