Skeleton Letters

August 22, 2011
The theft of a religious icon from New Orleans’ St. Tristan’s church leads to murder in Childs’s disappointing ninth Scrapbooking mystery (after 2010’s Fiber & Brimstone). Carmela Bertrand, the proprietor of the scrapbooking shop Memory Mine, and her friend Ava Gruiex happen to be in St. Tristan’s when the mayhem begins, and they know the victim, so Carmela soon agrees to investigate when another friend begs her to do so. Carmela’s boyfriend, homicide detective Edgar Babcock, asks her to stay out of it, but she ignores him and sets out with Ava to look for suspects. A good deal of scrapbooking and other design activity are included along with the sleuthing, but they’re not enough to save the story. Carmela and Ava engage in some very dumb behavior; Babcock is completely ineffectual; dialogue is often trite; and, when the murderer is revealed, the reason behind it all is silly.

October 1, 2011

The scrapbookers are on a tear in the French Quarter of New Orleans when one of their own is killed with a stolen crucifix. Childs's ninth outing (after Fiber & Brimstone) has the winning formula, plus tips and recipes.

Copyright 2011 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2011
Childs serves up a rich gumbo of scrapbooking tips, publicity events, spiteful society matrons, soup kitchens, suave restaurateurs, and photo ops, spiced with murder in a cathedral. Carmela Bertrand, recently divorced from her society husband, takes a break from running her scrapbooking shop in New Orleans' French Quarter to help her friend Ava, a retired beauty queen and proprietor of Juju Voodoo, with an errand at the cathedral. Just as they put the calligraphed sign Carmela made into place, they see a shrouded figure disappear and watch one of their dearest scrapbooking friends collapse, dead. Admonished by her boyfriend, a detective, to stay out of it, Carmela keeps wondering why anyone would hurt her friend or steal a historic crucifix. Her calligraphy workshop provides time for gossip, chatter, and speculation, all useful elements in forcing the hand of the villain. Childs includes both recipes (jambalaya, not gumbo, alas) and crafting tips.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)