Welcome to my stop on the Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour for French Quarter Fright Night (Vintage Cookbook) by Ellen Byron! Today we are featuring a review of the third in the fabulous cozy mystery series with a vintage flair from a USA Today bestselling and Agatha Award-winning author. Stop by each blog on the tour for interviews, guest posts, spotlights, reviews, and more! There is also a Rafflecopter Giveaway for a vintage cookbook from Ellen’s collection. ENTER HERE! 

French Quarter Fright Night (Vintage Cookbook)
Cozy Mystery
3rd in Series
Setting – the Garden District of New Orleans
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Severn House (September 3, 2024)
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 256 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1448312655
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1448312658
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0CTHQXNM5

About the Book:

Welcome to the Bon Veeevil Festival of Fear! Prepare for the spookiest night of your life . . .

It’s Halloween in New Orleans, and the staff of Bon Vee Culinary House Museum is setting up a fantastic haunted house tour for their visitors. But when flashy movie star Blaine Taggart and his entourage move into the mansion next door, gift shop proprietor Ricki James-Diaz gets a fright of her own.

While Ricki is excited about the potential business the tours will bring to her vintage cookbook shop, she’s less thrilled by former friend Blaine’s arrival in town. Then Bon Vee’s prop tomb becomes a real tomb for Blaine’s nasty assistant, and suddenly everyone at Bon Vee is a murder suspect. There isn’t a ghost of a chance one of them committed the crime, but with NOPD busy tackling the mischief and mayhem generated by the spooky holiday, it falls on Ricki and her friends to catch the killer.

As the Big Easy gears up for the Big Scary, it seems everyone has skeletons in their closets. Can Ricki reveal the shadowy killer before someone else becomes part of the Halloween horror show?

My Review:

Ellen Byron is hands down one of my very favorite mystery writers, and I was delighted that this wonderful cozy series was continuing with book three. You could certainly read this as a standalone, but why would you when books one and two are just as excellent, and you’ll pick up on some interesting backstory. (I can also attest to book two being a wonderful listen as an audiobook.) 

Here in book three, it’s Halloween time in New Orleans, and Ellen’s descriptions make this a festive fall read. That’s one aspect of Ellen’s writing that I thoroughly enjoy – each of her books evoke a strong sense of place and allow for me to feel fully transported. There’s so much here about New Orleans food and culture that I found fascinating and made this an immersive reading experience. Armchair travel at its best. 

The mystery is solid and wonderfully paced. I was annoyed with life when I had to put this down and take care of adulting tasks. I investigated right along with Ricki and her crew of friends. Speaking of her friends…I adore all the supporting characters – they are truly unique and so entertaining. And the pets are especially fun – Thor and Princess are the dogs Ricki co-parents with her neighbor, and Gumbo and Jambalaya are the peacocks at the museum. There’s also the addition of another adorable bet in this story that readers are guaranteed to love. 

There is an overarching, ongoing search for Ricki’s family throughout the series and I loved the facts Ricki was able to piece together in this entry. 

Five stars for French Quarter Fright Night, and I can’t wait for more! 

About the Author:

Ellen is a USA Today bestselling author, Anthony nominee, and recipient of multiple Agatha and Lefty awards for her Cajun Country Mysteries, Vintage Cookbook Mysteries, and Catering Hall Mysteries (as Maria DiRico). Her new series, The Golden Motel Mysteries, recently debuted. She is also an award-winning playwright and non-award-winning writer of TV hits like Wings, Just Shoot Me, and Fairly OddParents, but considers her most impressive achievement working as a cater-waiter for Martha Stewart. Visit her at Cozy Mysteries | Ellen Byron | Author

Author Links:

Newsletter:   https://www.ellenbyron.com/

Facebook:   https://www.facebook.com/ellenbyronauthor/

Instagram:   https://www.instagram.com/ellenbyronmariadirico/

Bookbub:   https://www.bookbub.com/profile/ellen-byron

Purchase Links: – Amazon – B&N – Bookshop.org 

TOUR PARTICIPANTS:

• September 4 – Mystery, Thrillers, and Suspense – SPOTLIGHT  
• September 4 – Angel’s Book Nook – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
• September 5 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – REVIEW
• September 6 – The Mystery of Writing – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
• September 6 – Baroness Book Trove – REVIEW
• September 7 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
• September 7 – fundinmental – SPOTLIGHT
• September 8 – The Plain-Spoken Pen – REVIEW, RECIPE
• September 9 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT
• September 9 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
• September 10 – Ruff Drafts – SPOTLIGHT WITH RECIPE
• September 10 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW
• September 11 – Ascroft, eh? – CHARACTER INTERVIEW  
• September 11 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIIGHT
• September 12 – Paranormal and Romantic Suspense Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
• September 13 – View from the Birdhouse – REVIEW
• September 14 – Guatemala Paula Loves to Read – REVIEW
• September 14 – StoreyBook Reviews – REVIEW
• September 15 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW, CHARACTER GUEST POST
• September 16 – Sarah Can’t Stop Reading Books – REVIEW
• September 17 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT

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