Thank you NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for a copy of Murder in the Bayou Boneyard in exchange for my honest review.

The story takes place at the Crozat Plantation B & B in Pelican, Louisiana. Magnolia (Maggie) Marie Crozat has come up with a "Pelican's Spooky Past" month as a Halloween Vacation Package. Her parents Ninette Doucet Crozat and Tug Crozat help her run the B & B along with her grand-mère (Tug's mother). Grand-mère and her fiancée Lee Bertrand will be having a double wedding on New Years Eve with Maggie and her fiancée Bo Durand - who a a member of the Pelican Police Department.

From the way things go at the Crozat Plantation having a police officer in the family might not be such a bad idea. When new found distant cousins Doug MacDowell, his wife Susannah Crozat MacDowell and his twin children - Johnnie and Bonnie - from a previous marriage show up from Canada all sorts of evil things start to happen. From murder, to rougarou sightings, to land surveyors trying to buy up land, to cancellations at the B & B's in town. Top of the suspect list is Maggie and her family.

This is book 6 in the series and there are a lot of references to previous books. It makes it slightly confusing if you did not read the previous books but the book is delightful to read.

There isn't anything about this book I didn't enjoy, from the dedication to the ending. Ellen Byron writes a funny, charming, and witty Southern mystery. The characters are well developed and the storyline is well crafted. I love Pelican, Louisiana! I'm ready for book 7.

Full of frightful Halloween hijinks, "Murder in the Bayou Boneyard" is a fun (and scary) 6th title in the Cajun Country Mystery series. Opening up at a funeral in a Louisiana cemetery, the reader knows they are going to be exposed to a lot of Cajun culture surrounding death, mourning, and all things that might provide you with the heebie jeebies. Maggie Crozat, who works at her family's historical B&B as well as an art restorer at Doucet plantation (once familial home to her Mother's side of the family) decides to create an October spooky themed package for guests to boost sales during a slow season. Everything seems to be going well until guests at various B&B's throughout Pelican claim they are seeing a rougarou, a legendary werewolf life creature. As guests start to check-out, the Crozats also need to deal with their Canadian distant relations who have come to visit, but are not exactly what they seem to be.

After the matriarch of the Canadian family is found dead, what unfolds is a chaotic spiral of murder, theft, and secrets.

This has been my favourite instalment of the series so far. The constant action makes the pacing of the book seem quick, and there are various threads to follow throughout the book. The scenery of Pelican in the Fall is described beautifully, and as readers we have now spent a full year with the Crozat family, experiencing all seasons at their B&B. Ellen Byron does an amazing job at educating readers about Cajun culture while creating her cozy series. This gives the series substance, and makes each instalment more anticipated than the next.

Magnolia Crozat, better known as Maggie, is busy with wedding arrangements, but she still have to run her B and B, along with her parents. It's Halloween in Pelican LA and five other B and Bs have chosen to participate in an exciting program to try and outwit someone who is ruining their business with an app designed for short-term rentals. The Pelican B and Bs have set up a spooky play in a famous local cemetery, but when a guest at Maggie's B and B turns up dead, everyone is shaken. On top of that, the murder occurred in a different jurisdiction, so the Pelican PD, containing Maggie's friends, are side-lined. But nothing can stop Maggie from trying to get to the truth. This is a very enjoyable cozy read. Maggie and all her friends are folks the reader will root for!

Another great mystery from Ellen Byron! I have read all of the others in this series and have enjoyed the unique cast of characters. Though many of the characters we have grown to love are in it, a good majority of them take a back seat as it focuses on Maggie's long lost relatives. Usually, I have an idea of the ending, but this time, I had no idea who the culprit was or the motive. Ms. Byron told a wonderful tale with Pelican's crime solving Crozats and I look forward to many more adventures with Maggie, Gran, and Bo!

I enjoy this ongoing series and reading about the adventures of the protagonist, Maggie. She own a B&B and always manages to find trouble and a mystery to solve. This story is just in time for Halloween! This book reads as a standalone but you may want to go back and read the others in the series just for fun! Thank you NetGalley for the advanced readers copy for review.

I really enjoyed reading this book! It is what I call a "happy mystery". A loving family, a handsome fiancee who just happens to be in law enforcement and a woman with a penchant for being involved in murders. Combine this with a plantation house, some odd quests, a recluse, a dog and a bird named Lovie with a big mouth and you have all the ingredients for a really good read.!

Maggie owns a b&b and finds herself competing with an app that allows anyone to rent out rooms in their homes. With halloween coming maggie comes up with a spooky way to get tourists to come to her hometown and her b&b to enjoy the festivities. The fun soon turns dangerous so maggies on the case. The characters are sweet and the story is very entertaining. It just draws you in. I cant wait for the next installment. I would recommend this series.

I received this ARC via Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books, in return for an honest review. While not the first in this series, it is easily read as a standalone. Ellen Byron is rightfully deserving of her 2019 Agatha Award for this series, set in the small town of Pelican, Louisiana. The protagonist, Maggie Crozat, works at her parents B&B in their historic Louisiana plantation home. She shares a cottage with her Grandmother, and both are planning a joint wedding to their respective sweethearts. Until then, a distant cousin, with her family, arrive to serve as the on-site massage therapist at the new spa. Turns out, this family aren’t really the best kind of cousins to have around and things turn tense. When murder strikes, in an unconventional way, Maggie moves to the top of the suspect list. Ms. Byron writes so well. Her stories are fast paced, cleverly conceived and expertly delivered. The recipes are an added bonus to a delectable mystery story. Do yourself a favor and enjoy visiting Pelican, Louisiana. You’ll be glad you did!

This is part of a series but it wasnt a problem that I hadn't read the previous books.

Maggie and her Grandma are planning a joint wedding but the emphasis is on murder rather than the wedding.
Maggie invites distant cousins from Canada to work in her new spa. However, sometimes family is not who you expect them to be and when her cousin is murdered Maggie is a prime suspect.

The family dynamic is fun and its an enjoyable cosy read.

Murder in the Bayou Boneyard is the latest book in the Cajun Country Mystery series written by Ellen Byron. I've read all the previous books, and when this one became available on NetGalley, I had to request it. The book doesn't launch until September 2020, but it's one of my favorite series and I will highlight it again around publication day. So... let's chat a bit about this 5-star read.

Maggie, a 30ish witty young woman from Pelican, Louisiana, runs a B&B with her parents, the Crozats. Throw in Gran, her newly engaged grandmother, and you've got a lovely core family to entertain us. Maggie's fiance, Bo Durand, is a detective on the police force, and he's often forced to get the family out of a bunch of murders... though they never commit them, this time, someone in their estranged family is the victim. On top of that, several others are murdered, and when a strange werewolf-like beast roams the town, Halloween has everyone a flutter and afraid.

The mystery is haunting and clever. The extended family members are quite an annoying group... they start out nice, but clearly, they are out for something after all these years. The guests at the inn make for an eclectic bunch, especially the talkative parrot. By adding in humor and the holiday-theme, the book is even stronger. I enjoyed reading about the history of the town, some of the other families, and the plans for both upcoming weddings. I will say... there are tons of snappy lines, and Rufus has turned a corner! What a great dynamic to have the neighboring town's sheriff causing trouble this time.

Byron entertains... this is a top notch book, and I love being able to see the differences in her writing style, yet the amazing similarities too, with her Queens-based Italian family series. I hope one day we get a crossover because that would be just so over-the-top, I might not be able to stop myself from reading it every day for a month! Thanks for this funtastic (yep, my word for today) edition.

This cozy mystery is rife with intrigue and humor.
Set at a B&B in Louisianna, it contains an eclectic mix of characters, with vivid ddescriptions of same and the settings.
Ms. Byron has a cast of likable characters, along with a few villanous ones and a few misunderstood. When items disappear and bodies appear the main character, Maggie Crozat has her hands full. She is running the B&B with family, planning a wedding and helping the town with a promotion meant to ease their collective financial hardships.
When the bodies start appearing, she looks suspicious to a neighboring police department, one in competition with her fiance's department.
Her vivid descriptions make it easy to see her story in your mind. The characters, pet and human were a delight and I recommend it if you like your cozies with laugh out loud humor and plenty of suspects.
I requested and received a NetGalley Arc to peruse and offer my opinion freely.

A Netgalley ARC book -Maggie Crozat in Pelican Louisiana with her family started a B & B with a Spa and during October arranged with the area to do things for Halloween each week. The graveyard close by was used to perform a play. Maggie's cousin & family from Canada was hired to run the Spa. After one performance her cousin fell over dead while dressed like a Rougarou, a mythical creature. Things were happening that kept Maggie and her family as suspects. A fast read that ended with a surprise!

So much fun! I love Magnolia and all her crazy antics. She is amazing and this mystery had a lot of twists and turns. Ellen Byron is amazing as usual. This was a great read.

Halloween is a spooky time to be in Louisiana and this year it is no exception. In the hopes of bringing more tourists to their B&B, Maggie Crozat organizes Pelican's Spooky Past package for all of the B&Bs in the area complete with spas, costume parades and a spine-tingling theater performance in the Dupois manor house's derelict cemetery. Trouble arrives in the form of some long-lost cousins from Canada. Someone is also scaring the guest by appearing as the legendary rougarou, a cross between a werewolf and vampire. When a person wearing the rougarou mask dies during the play, Maggie fears there's something more sinister than Halloween spirits afoot. Love this series. It always makes we want to go back to Louisiana.

It seemed like a good idea at the time to Maggie Crozat, but she quickly comes to regret suggesting the Spooky Past vacation packages and employing her long-lost cousin at the B&B's spa. Not only does the Cajun equivalent of a werewolf start appearing to scare guests, her cousin turns up dead and Maggie's the main suspect.

With all the Southern hospitality you'd expect from Ellen Byron, Murder in the Bayou Boneyard is a nice addition to the Cajun Country Mystery series.

I received access to a digital ARC from Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley.

I first discovered this series on Netgalley about 2 books ago and have since then been following the series (and also reading the previous books in the series). This is the sixth book in the series and another great hit. I absolutely love all the details Byron adds to the books around Louisiana culture, food and history; the details are so rich that you feel like you're right there watching it unfold around you. The character development across the series is also nicely done and well balanced in terms of flaws and positive attributes.

Already looking forward to the next one.

Maggie returned to Pelican in failure mode, which turned out to be the best move she had made in a long time. Maggie’s Gran and her impending double weeding are not the main topic of conversation, murder is. Extended family can be a blessing or a curse. Maggie learned quickly that she never should have asked her extended family to visit.
Sabotage and murder surround her and her family home. The killer is wondering free because Griffith was so focused on trying to pin the murder on Maggie or one of her family. Enjoyed how the mystery was solved and how family stuck through the hard times to come out on top.

An incredibly fun and twisting murder mystery set in the Deep South of Louisiana. I absolutely fell in love with the cover of this book, and the contents did not disappoint! Highly recommended for mystery lovers who are wishing for something a bit lighter.

Despite this being the sixth installment of Ellen Byron's Cajun Country Mystery series, I was able to grasp the character dynamics quickly, and really grew to enjoy them. Just an all around fun read!

The Crozat family has a charming, quaint and cozy bed and breakfast In Pelican, LA - an hour from New Orleans. They’ve promoted some Spooky Pasts weekend Halloween packages to bring in more guests. After a disagreement with distant relatives over new findings regarding the family’s property, someone is murdered and everyone in the Crozat family is a suspect. Murder, mysterious sightings, and family rafts heat up, causing a decline in bookings. There are many suspects and motives...how far will Maggie go to protect her family’s home and find the murderer?

I really loved the Cajun twang, food and vibes throughout. It makes me want to book a B&B getaway where delicious Cajun delicacies are provided nightly. I also loved the strong Crozat family dynamics and bonds.

One thing I noticed missing was descriptions of the characters. Imagery and detail is very important to me. I like to visualize the characters, their features, dress, style by the descriptions the author provides. No faces came to mind for me, which was disappointing.

I was also a bit confused about the time period of the book. I imagine this story to be present-day, but I kept getting 1950s feels. Perhaps it was the references to the plantations, but that’s Louisiana for you.

I stepped a tad bit out of my element with this book, although it is a mystery - which I love - I would’ve automatically passed on it because of the cover. (Judgmental, much?) Turns out it is considered cozy mystery, which is a first for me. I also learned after the fact that this book is apart of a series, which I would definitely continue to follow.

I’m so glad I gave it a try because I found this book to be a juicy suspense that left me wondering who-dun-it until the very end, and hungry for some authentic New Orleans cajun food. Gumbo and bananas foster anyone? The author also lists some yummy Cajun recipes at the end of the book!

⭐️: 3.5/5

Many thanks to @netgalley and #crookedlanebooks for this #arc in exchange for my honest review!