*3.5 but rounding up*

A nice little mystery with a bit of a lesson in history as it tackles the weight of ones family name.

“Mardi Gras Murder” begins with a dead body and takes off from there as Maggie navigates her own life and questions her future plans with Bo and tries to tackle her first time judging the local beauty pageant, but when a second murder quickly joins the first she finds herself looking for any connection between the two and of it has anything to do with the plans to study family history through the infamous Orphan Trains and just how far some people will go to keep old secrets buried.

This is a quick read that balances out the mystery element with that of the good time feeling of the Madi Gras celebrations while advancing the main cast of characters to the next stages of their lives and relationships by forcing them to tackle serious conversations about what the future holds.

The mystery itself takes a couple turns that at times seems a bit too much with a lot of information dropping in on every side but it manages to tie together in the end. I actually just finished a podcast that discussed the Orphan Trains and while I’m glad this book stayed light hearted (can you say that when it has a few murders?) and didn’t go into all the details of the actual event it was nice to see it used because I’m not sure a lot of people know it actually existed.

Overall this was a nice book and pairs well with anything else in a similar style, fans of Jana Deleon’s Miss Fortune Series would have no problem jumping into this, I can’t wait to see where the next book takes us!

**thanks to the publishers and netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for a fair and honest review**

A very fun cozy mystery with a somber thread about the perils of living your life for ‘legacy’.

The Crozat family is ready to celebrate Mardi Gras with food, parades and parties when a flood deposits a body behind the family plantation bed and breakfast. The flood postpones many of the parties and also a controversial museum exhibit opening and then the judge of the Miss Pelican pageant is shot. Things in Pelican are spiraling out of control, so amateur sleuth Maggie Crozat steps in. She’s sure if she can identify the body found behind her family B&B, she can make a connection to the judge and hopefully solve the murder in time for the citizens of Pelican to still “let the good times roll”. A sassy Southern mystery with plenty of tasty bayou vittles