Plantation Shudders: A Cajun Country Mystery
By: Ellen Byron
Rating: 4 of 5
“Plantation Shudders” is a debut mystery series by Ellen Byron. The setting is in a fictional and fairly small town, Pelican, in Louisiana within driving distance of New Orleans.
The sleuth in the story is Maggie Crozat. Maggie has moved home from New York City after her relationship of six years fell apart and her old boyfriend married someone else. Maggie is Pelican “royalty” as both sides of her family can trace their lineage back to plantation owners. Her mother’s family gave up their plantation to the state and Maggie is a tour guide at the old plantation, Doucet, as her main bread and butter job. She also helps out and lives at the ancestral home of her father’s family, the Crozat’s, who have turned their main plantation house into a bed and breakfast as a way to hang on to the property.
The bed and breakfast becomes the focus of all when a murder occurs and all of the workers and guests become suspects. Added to the misery is the fact that the local head of police has a bone to pick with the Crozats and is happy to drag his feet on the investigation and make life as miserable as possible for Maggie and her family. Thankfully, a new detective arrives to make things a little more livable, or does he?
Maggie decides to get involved in solving the mystery when she feels that the locals will not do justice – plus she’s a little on the nosy side. Grandma Crozat is the most fun of all the characters. While she is certainly of an age to remember the distant past, she is right up to date with all the technology of the present. She makes for a fun and memorable character.
The “shudders” of the title seems to be some sort of device that the author is using to show that the Crozats have the ability to know when trouble is coming. Apparently, they get a case of shudders. This part of the story is a tad too far for me but otherwise, the story is a fun and solvable mystery story. It appears to be the first of a series and would be one that I would pick up the second book to check out.
I received a complimentary copy of this book via the publisher.
“Plantation Shudders” is a debut mystery series by Ellen Byron. The setting is in a fictional and fairly small town, Pelican, in Louisiana within driving distance of New Orleans.