Fatal Cajon Festival is a great cozy mystery. I strongly recommend this book. It is easy to recommend this book to almost any reader.

Praise for another great book in the Cajun Country Mystery series!! To the series that started my Cozy Mystery obsession and for always leaving me wanting more of Pelican, CHEERS!!!

Being born and raised in and around New Orleans, I am always hesitant and very judgmental when I read books set in the area. Ellen does a great job of separating New Orleans from the small Cajun town. I also learn something from each of her books that I didn't even know about areas in my home state of Louisiana.

Although this is a cozy mystery, I think the humor woven in it is my favorite part. There's plenty of drama mixed in with everything, and I greatly enjoyed reading this. There were enough twists and subtle clues to keep me guessing. Everything was neatly wrapped up by the end, which I always appreciate. A wonderful cozy mystery.

I LOVED this cozy mystery by Ellen Byron. The fifth in the Cajun Country Mystery Series, Fatal Cajun Festival is a fun and easy to follow storyline. The characters are well-crafted making you feel as if you are part of the story.

Maggie is fack in Louisiana as the music festival begins trying to figure out killed a member of Tammy's entourage. It will not be easy and boy did I get the killer wrong. It kept me guessing until the very end. Well written this is one book I highly recommend.

This is the fifth book in Ellen Byron’s Cajun Country series. I recommend reading the series in order.

The manager of a local girl who has made it big in the music industry, is murdered at the Pelican music festival. Maggie’s friend, Gaynell, was overheard threatening him shortly before his murder and she becomes the prime suspect. Maggie sets out to prove her friend’s innocence.

This was not my favorite book in the series. It was good but I felt like there were a lot of characters and a lot going on. It was still a good read though.

This is a terrific little cozy. I loved Maggie. She's a great character, and the B&B makes a charming setting for the story. I did end up figuring things out about 2/3rds into the book, but that's the fun part. I'd definitely recommend this series.

Fatal Cajun Festival is an entertaining cozy mystery. Very good plot and character dynamics. I highly recommend this book. My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my ebook. This is my unbiased review.

Dollycas’s Thoughts

We arrive in Pelican, Louisiana just in time for Cajun Country Live! the brainchild of Maggie’s grandmere. The event has lured hometown favorite, Tammy Barker, back as the headliner for the first time since she won that singing competition on television. Maggie’s friend Gaynell will also be performing with her band the Gator Girls in hopes of making it big like Tammy. It isn’t until after Tammy checks into Crozat Plantation B&B that Maggie learns that Tammy is holding an old grudge against Gaynell.

Tammy seems to be trying to help Gaynell when in truth she is trying to sabotage her any way she can and when one of Tammy’s crew is freakishly killed in front of a crowd at the festival, she makes sure Gaynell is the police’s prime suspect. Maggie knows her friend is innocent and will pull out all the stops to prove it.

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This series has some of the most well-developed characters out there. Their lives are interesting and entertaining even before adding the murder mystery. These daily life subplots never fail to draw me in. This time Maggie’s grandmother is doing the Swedish tradition of döstädning, which translates to death cleaning. Through this process, she makes a surprising discovery.

The main mystery did have a variety of suspects with opportunity and the author really tangled up all the possibilities. A twist confirmed a little inkling I had and the ending of the murder mystery came together nicely. But that wasn’t the end of the story. There were more surprises to come.

Music, mystery, and mayhem make Fatal Cajun Festival a must-read. I was so excited to have the next book, Murder in the Bayou Boneyard waiting on my Kindle that I dove right in as soon as I finished this book.

This book was a great mental getaway. I love visiting Pelican and the Crozat family. In the latest book the town is hosting a music festival that will be held right before the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. The headlining band features a local woman that won a singing competition and is now famous. A man is murdered and unfortunately one of Maggie's friends is a prime suspect. Maggie feels like she has to help clear her friend of the crime. I love how family and friends band together in these books to help Maggie find clues that help solve the crime. The story comes together in a way that I didn't expect and I was surprised by the ending.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

It’s time for the Cajun Country Live Festival
in Pelican, Louisiana. This is the town’s
answer to the annual New Orleans Jazz
and Heritage Festival.
Tammy Barker, a native daughter who won
a singing contest then became an overnight
success is the lead act. Tammy and her
manager have reserved the whole Crozat
Plantation B&B.
Magnolia Crozat better known as Maggie
helps her parents and Gran-mere at the
B&B. She has just acquired a new position
at the Planation where she had been a
tour guide. She is now the Doucet’s Art
Collection Specialist.
Maggie is going to run a booth at the
festival selling Pelican Pralines and several
of her art pieces.
Maggie’s best friend, Gaynell Gaynell
Bourgeois has a band called Gaynell and
the Gator Girls. They are hopeful to perform.
Gaynell and Tammy have a history going
back to high school. But what has Gaynell
done that has made a Tammy so vindictive??
When Tammy’s manager, Pony Pickner goes
to check out the microphone Tammy will use
during her performance, he ends up DEAD.
Was Pony the intended victim or Tammy?
The drummer in Tammy’s group is found
beaten to the point he needed hospitalization.
What’s happening within this group?
Maggie acts like a band groupie to infiltrate
the band until she finds a snake in her car.
It is an imported one. She is getting to close
to the culprit.
The story is intense with plenty of drama,
suspense, intrigue and colorful, quirky, vivid
characters. The plot really thickens when
Gaynell is kidnapped. There are plenty of
well created suspects to sift through to find
the culprit.
The reader gets a historical tour of the area
plus a sample of Cajun food. There are recipes
at the end.
Come enjoy time spent in Pelican, Louisiana,
the Cajun Country Live Festival, the New
Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival plus a visit
with Maggie, her family and friends.
This is book # 5 in the Cajun Country Mysteries
series. It can be read as a stand alone.
I volunteered to read Fatal Cajun Festival.
Thanks to Crooked Lane Books via Net Gallery
for the opportunity. My opinion is voluntary and
my own.

Fatal Cajun Festival is the fifth installment in the Cajun Country Mystery series by Ellen Byron. The protagonist, Maggie Crozat, proprietor of the Crozat Plantation B&B, is excited to attend the Cajun Country Live! Festival in their small Louisiana town, especially since her talented friend, Gaynell, with her band, the Gator Girls will be performing. Tammy Barker, who became famous when she won a singing competition, comes back to her hometown to headline the festival, and when the locals see how she treats them, she all of a sudden becomes less popular to them. However, when one of the members of Tammy’s staff is murdered, and Gaynell is blamed, Maggie gets involved in amateur sleuthing to clear her friend.

One of the fun things about this series is the food. Almost everything revolves around it – Maggie sells pralines at the festival, and others are constantly making mouthwatering Cajun food at the B & B. It’s nice that there are good recipes at the end of the novel, too; they are fairly easy, so readers will want to try them.

Maggie is a likeable character who has been well-developed; readers will like her even if they haven’t read the previous books. The supporting characters are also likeable and well developed (well not all are likeable, of course because there is a murderer in the mix and a very big-headed singer that thinks she is better than her old friends). Actually, there is a good variety of characters that are relatable.

The story is told in an easy-to-follow way, and is typical of small-town America. Readers will enjoy Byron’s writing style, and will appreciate the fact that it is a fast and fun read. Most readers will want to read all of the books in the series.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

Ellen Byron's Cajun Country Mystery series is an award winning cozy series, and after reading Fatal Cajun Festival the awards are totally merited. What makes a cozy enjoyable? To myself, not only is the crime aspect key, but also the environment in which the crime takes place, the characters that the author introduces, and the unique aspects included that set apart one series from the next. Ellen Byron's series takes place in the heart of Louisiana. The geography is important, but so are the unique regional differences that Byron includes enriching the reading experience and educating the reader about Cajun culture. Through her wonderful descriptive writing I was able to clearly imagine the setting and found myself craving Cajun food and looking up Cajun music on Spotify to hear what Gaynell and the Gator Girls would sound like. I also found myself singing Jambalaya on the Bayou for a few days after finishing this book.

The character development is enjoyable, and readers will be enthralled by the life changes taking place to those in the Crozat family and their loved ones.

The mystery itself is well developed, and again I could not guess who the perpetrator of the crime was and kept me guessing right until the end. I am so excited to get my hands on the next and future instalments of this series.

Tammy Barker grew up in Pelican, won a singing contest and went on to become a star in the music industry. She comes back to Pelican to sing in the local music festival, and cause trouble for Maggie's friend Gaynell.
When Tammy's manager is murdered, she makes sure Gaynell is the main suspect. Maggie poses as a groupie to find the real killer.
In addition to Maggie's family and friends there are several members of Tammy's entourage in this book. Difficult for me to remember them all, but worth it as a this is a great Cozy Mysyery.

Fatal Cajun Festival

by Ellen Byron

If you are charmed or captivated by all things Cajun, from zydeco music to Jambalaya with shrimp and sausage, you will enjoy Ellen Byron’s Fatal Cajun Festival. The Louisiana plantation setting is a great backdrop for a mystery that centers around Tammy Barker, hometown girl who made it big in the music industry. She returns to the small town of Pelican to give back, gloat, or maybe exact revenge at the Cajun Country Live Festival.

Local artist, Maggie Crozat, who also helps out at her family’s B&B, is caught up in deciphering the motives of Tammy and her entourage and in clearing her friend Gaynell of suspicion. There is a tangle of relationships which won’t be resolved until the end. Meanwhile, Maggie and her fiancé Bo Durand, a detective, try to keep the peace and everyone alive in Pelican. Maggie’s family has a booth at the festival selling Maggie’s artwork and as many pralines as she can make. There is also a brief side story about a mysterious Carina who may have been involved with Maggie’s now deceased Grand-père. This is an all round fun cozy mystery with lots of Louisiana flavor and interesting characters.

I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Crooked Lane Books for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 5/5

Category: Mystery

Notes: 1. #4 in the Cajun Country Mystery Series, but works as a standalone as the author includes a list of characters with notes about them.
2. Recipes are included at the end of the book.

Publication: September 10, 2019—Crooked Lane Books

Memorable Lines:

“You used refined oil, didn’t you?” Nanette flashed a devilish grin. “Chère, that oil’s so refined it could be a debutante.”

“Remember his favorite saying…” “In Louisiana, we only follow the rules we like,” the couple said simultaneously.

Bo once told her that humiliation was the main motivation behind most murders.

The first book in the Cajun County Mystery series by Ellen Byron is Fatal Cajun Festival. The local Cajun festival promises to be the event of the season. B&B owner Maggie is thrilled that her friend Gaynell will be taking the stage along with her band The Gator Girls. The main attraction is a local girl who hit the big stage. Tammy has an attitude to go along with her singing voice. When Tammy is murdered, Gaynell tops a long list of suspects leading Maggie to start her own investigation. This is a wonderful start to a new cozy series. The mystery was strong, and I look forward to reading more about the characters in future books!

I received this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed the setting of this cozy mystery, and the festival atmosphere of this story in particular. I like the amateur sleuth too and am looking forward to reading more books in this series.

As expected, this newest installment of the Cajun Country Mysteries proved to be another fast-paced adventure filled with live boot-scootin’ music, scrumptious Southern cooking and a dash of romance as steamy as a pot of Tugg’s famous jambalaya! Will we see wedding bells in the next book? I hope so!

Summed Up: Maggie Crozat is on the case once again—and this time it’s happening at a music festival starring the illustrious Tammy Barker, a small town mean girl-turned country sensation superstar (think Taylor Swift meet Miley Cyrus…yuck). The mystery begins when Tammy’s sleazy manager gets zapped to death on stage, and all eyes are on Maggie’s best bud, Gaynell! It’s up to Maggie to piece together the clues (with her hunky cop boyfriend, of course) to find the real killer before her songbird bestie becomes a jailbird. Sorry, I just couldn’t help myself.

What worked: The mystery proved to be quite a puzzle with loads of suspects who all have ample motives for electrocuting the womanizing manager. As with all cozy mysteries, there’s a tangled web of characters thrown into this big ol’ spicy pot of jambalaya, but thankfully we have a character map at the front of the book to sort them all out. I’m sure that all my fellow cozy mystery lovers would agree that this is a highly necessary tool. Either way, this was another clever whodunit with a surprise ending—even for this seasoned mystery fan.

What didn’t work: I’ll be honest, I’m not a big fan of the sub-plot involving Maggie’s granny doing her “death cleaning,” meaning downsizing her belongings to prepare for the great beyond. I know it’s practical and worth doing, but yeah…it made me squeamish.

Favorite Character: CeeCee and I love a strong, dog-loving heroine with a penchant for mischief! What we love most about Maggie is her loyalty to her friends and family. Gaynell is a lucky girl to have such a talented super sleuth for a bestie. Let’s face it, in a town with such a high body count, you just never know what’s going to happen!

Least favorite character: Tammy Barker is—hands down—the most deplorable character in this book. She’s everything that’s wrong with country-crossover-pop music these days, and I couldn’t wait for her to become the next victim. Did she end up on the killer’s hit list? You’ll have to read the book to find out!

This book is best pared with: A giant homemade praline and a cold glass of sweet tea.

The fifth book in the Cajun Country Mystery series by Ellen Byron and she has done it again. I really enjoy this series. It is full of down home Louisiana customs, charm and characters. Once again, Maggie is right in the middle of a murder investigation, and once again, one of her friends is the main suspect. The mysteries for each book are standalone stories, but the personal events happening with the characters is a continuing storyline.

In Fatal Cajun Festival, Pelican is hosting Cajun Country Live!, their answer to the legendary New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. Tammy, a local singer who made it big, has returned to her hometown to headline the festival. Tammy has her own issues, one is that she holds a grudge against Gaynell, one of Maggie's friends and the lead in her own band. Tammy shows up in town with her entourage, band members, manager and others and they book Crozat's as one of their accommodations. When Tammy steals one of Gaynell's songs, and performs it on stage, the animosity between the two bubbles up. When Tammy's manager is killed, Gaynell becomes a suspect, and Maggie is out to prove her innocence.

There is a second storyline dealing with the romance of Maggie and Bo. They are trying to figure out when to get married, but end up taking a break in this story. The characters in this story are great. They are well developed as most of them have been in other books in this series. The characters that we are not supposed to like, Tammy, I didn't like. Rufus is continuing to change and become a more positive person and I love the change in him. Gaynell got a chance to shine with her Gator Girls band in this book and it was nice to see that side of her. I liked seeing how she was willing to sacrifice her own glory for the good of her band. This was another well-written and plotted story. I was not able to figure out who the culprit was as there seemed to be many suspects and red herrings. There was a twist that added a secondary mystery to the story which was interesting. When the reveal came, it ended in a showdown that was unexpected, especially in a cozy mystery. I enjoy the fun characters and wonderful setting. I love the quirkiness and Southern charm of Pelican and its residents. I definitely recommend this book and series to all cozy mystery lovers.

Fatal Cajun Festival” is the fifth book in the Cajun Country Mystery series, but the “Cast of Characters” at the beginning of the book makes it easy for new readers to catch up. I have read each of the prior books and have liked the main character, Maggie, from the very beginning. Each book could be a stand alone book. All enjoyable. Looking forward to the next one.

My rating: 3 of 5 stars, I liked it, but it's not my favorite.

5th in the series.

This time around it just felt like there were too many characters in the mix to keep track of and too much going on. It didn't have the charm of the previous books and Maggie really had some stupid moments.

I still enjoy the series and look forward to the next book.