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    Mumbo Gumbo Murder
    Mumbo Gumbo Murder
    Mumbo Gumbo Murder
    Audiobook9 hours

    Mumbo Gumbo Murder

    Written by Laura Childs and Terrie Farley Moran

    Narrated by Danielle Ferland

    3.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    A shocking murder strikes a sour note during Jazz Fest in the latest New Orleans Scrapbooking Mystery from New York Times bestselling author Laura Childs. It's Jazz Fest in New Orleans, and the giant puppets from the Beastmaster Puppet Theatre are parading through the French Quarter. Some are very spooky and veiled, others are tall and gangly, like strange aliens. As the parade proceeds, Carmela Bertrand and her best friend, Ava, follow behind, down Royal Street and past the food booths. Suddenly, they hear a terrible crash from Devon Dowling's antiques shop. They rush inside to find Devon collapsed with blood streaming down the side of his face. Has he been shot? Stabbed? 911 is hastily called, and the police and EMTs show up. After the police examine Devon's body, they tell Carmela and Ava that their friend was murdered with an icepick. They're shocked beyond belief-and now Mimi, Devon's little pug, is left homeless. Carmela and Ava are determined to catch the murderer, but the list of suspects is long. How long do they have before they find themselves on the killer's list?
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateOct 1, 2019
    ISBN9781980002178
    Mumbo Gumbo Murder

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    Reviews for Mumbo Gumbo Murder

    3.5/5

    17 ratings5 reviews

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    • 2/5
      I can't say I had this predicted early but after the second murder I knew who it was. Kitschy and extremely over the top, the best thing about this book isn't any of the characters or the plot itself, it's the setting. New Orleans is the stand out in this cozy mystery; not Carmela the scrapbook store owner, Detective Babcock her grumpy fiance (although to be fair I'd be more than grumpy if my fiance kept discovering bodies), Ava the stylish single romantic best friend, or any of the ten thousand suspects. New Orleans is pretty much the only good thing about this mystery, I can't believe there are FIFTEEN books in the series before you get to this one!! Carmela sure knows how to do the job better than the police apparently! Carmela and her bestie are wandering the streets, enjoying the food and drinks, while watching a street parade when they hear a window break and screaming. They rush over and discover that Carmela's friend (honestly more like acquaintance) has been killed inside his antique store. Since it's her FRIEND, obviously Carmela has to do some sleuthing - why would she ever trust her fiance - you know, the detective on the case?!?! Lots of red herrings, asides about food, crafting tips, and witty banter. Pretty banal in my opinion and I wouldn't read more in the series.
    • 2/5
      The place: New Orleans. The time: Jazz Fest. Lots of people, lots of tourists, lots of floats, lots of entertainers around. Suddenly Carmela Bertrand and her best friend Ava Gruiex, here crash from their friend Devon’s antique shop. They run into the shop and find him bleeding on the floor.The police arrive, soon followed by Carmella’s fiancé Detective Edgar Babcock. Babcock wasn’t happy to find Carmela there and told her to leave. Has she done so, this book would’ve been much shorter.The book continues for almost 300 more pages as Carmella and Ava try to figure out who killed Devon and why and Babcock tries to stop them. In the meantime, there’s another killing and a former male friend of Carmella puts her in a possibly lucrative situation while Babcock lets her know he doesn’t want her to have any part of it. The book also contains six craft ideas and ten recipes.As far as writing goes, the book isn’t bad. The reader can+ differentiate between the characters and they are consistent. Unfortunately, I didn’t like any of them.Carmella gets very upset when Babcock has to leave the dinner and romantic evening she planned because of a call from work. He’s a police detective. What does she expect him to do?Babcock, on the other hand, is very controlling and tries to stop her from going into business with her former friend. She’s run a successful business for awhile and should get credit for knowing what she is doing. However, the friend doesn’t accept her desire to make up her own mind as to whether or not to become involved in the new business.Ava thinks showing an excessive amount of skin in always appropriate.Carmella discover a break-in and don’t inform the police. They take evidence from a crime scene, thereby tainting them, and agree to go to a cemetery late at night to get information without letting Babcock or anyone else know.Rating: 2 stars for the writing.
    • 3/5
      Carmela Bertrand and Ava Gruiex have watched the parade for the Jazz Fest in New Orleans and head over to Royal Street for the street fair and food stalls. While they are wondering around, they hear shouting and glass breaking but arrive too late at Dulcimers Antiques where Carmela finds her friend Devon Dowling dead. Detective Babcock (Carmela's fiancé) arrives with the police and Carmela begs him to find who did this to her friend. But she is impatient, and not hearing anything about progress on the investigation, so she and Ava set out with an investigation of heir own.This is a fun series mainly because of the setting in New Orleans, however, I think it is starting to get a bit stale with Carmela's friends being bumped off one by one. If I was Ava, I'd watch out!Thanks to the author for an advanced copy for review.
    • 4/5
      It’s Jazz Fest in New Orleans, but the fun times turn serious when an antique shop owner is killed. Carmela and Ava are hot on the trail, putting their own lives in danger. Carmela’s fiancé Detective Edgar Babcock tries unsuccessfully to get her to cease and desist, but his displeasure just makes Carmela more secretive. Add in some side stories about Carmela’s friend Quigg and Ava’s pursuit of the perfect date, and you have a perfect recipe for an exciting tale of murder, southern style.
    • 4/5
      Mumbo Gumbo Murder by Laura Childs and Terrie Farley Moran is the 16th A Scrapbooking Mystery. Carmela Bertrand and Ava Gruiex finished watching the kick-off parade for Jazz Fest and went to Royal Street where a street fair is taking place. They hear glass breaking along with shouting and rush to investigate. At Dulcimers Antiques owned by Devon Dowling, they find the shop is a mess with Devon dead on the Persian carpet. Carmela wants to know what happened to her friend and sets out to get answers despite the warning from her fiancé, Detective Edgar Babcock. Mumbo Gumbo Murder is a delightfully entertaining cozy mystery. It can be read as a standalone for those new to the series, but you would be missing out on some charming cozy mysteries. I thought Mumbo Gumbo Murder was well-written with developed characters and a wonderful setting (New Orleans). The descriptions brought the city alive for me. Carmela Bertrand owns Memory Mine Scrapbooking Shop in the French Quarter which she runs with the assistance of Gabby Mercer-Morris. Carmela is a creative and clever woman who has two dogs (maybe three now), divorced, and has a penchant for getting into fixes. Ava Gruiex is Carmela’s best friend who owns Juju Voodoo and likes to wear tight, revealing clothing plus she is outrageous (never met a man she wouldn’t flirt with). I enjoy the dialogue between Carmela and Ava. They are a fun duo whose antics will have you laughing. Ava decides to consult a matchmaker so she can find a good man. Carmela finds herself roped into Quigg Brevard’s new venture. She likes the idea and so does everyone else except Edgar Babcock. Edgar wants Carmela to set the wedding date and begin planning their nuptials. Carmela wants to marry Edgar, but something (like her disastrous first marriage) is holding her back. I had to laugh when Edgar mentioned getting bow ties for the two dogs (they need to be appropriately attired for the wedding). Carmela works on some creative projects at Memory Mine including a paper theater and I was drooling over the descriptions of the items in Memory Mine (hundreds of papers, stamps, Paperclay, ribbon, and so much more). There is even a mention of one of my favorite magazine companies, Somerset Studio. The murder of Devon Dowling has Carmela asking questions, digging up clues, and prying information out of Edgar. There is misdirection along with direct clues. I wish, though, that I had not been able to identify the killer so early in the story plus there were unanswered questions at the end. I hope we hear wedding bells for Carmela soon. She just needs to figure out where she wishes to get married and when. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Mumbo Gumbo Murder and I look forward to Cadmium Red Dead next year. There are New Orleans recipes at the end along with Scrapbook, Stamping and Craft Tips. Two of my favorite lines from Mumbo Gumbo Murder were “Nothing like a good exorcism to set you straight again” and “I swear, this is the last time I buy Louboutin knockoffs!”. Mumbo Gumbo Murder is a pleasing cozy mystery with paper projects, wedding woes, a bowwow bystander, a mystified matchmaker, a bothersome ex-beau, and a frustrated fiancé.