Body on the Bayou

July 4, 2016
In Byron’s charming second Cajun Country mystery (after 2015’s Plantation Shudders), Magnolia Marie “Maggie” Crozat, artist and tour guide on the historic Louisiana plantation once owned by her ancestors, has agreed to act as maid of honor for pregnant bride-to-be Vanessa Fleer. When Vanessa’s manipulative, deceitful cousin, Ginger Fleer-Starke, is found dead in the bayou behind Maggie’s parents’ bed-and-breakfast, Maggie’s most important duty as maid of honor becomes helping find Ginger’s killer before Vanessa is arrested for murder. Maggie’s task is complicated by her tentative attraction to Det. Bo Durand, her grandmother’s love life, a double litter of stray puppies and kittens, and the unreasonable, never-ending demands of the ultimate bridezilla. A tight plot, an appealing setting, and a smart, good-hearted protagonist with a caring, supportive family and lots of friends give this story everything cozy mystery readers could want. Agent: Doug Grad, Doug Grad Literary Agency.