by Laura Childs
Mardi Gras parade goers are shocked when paramedics take the nearly lifeless body of Jimmy Earl Clayton down from the ocean-themed Pluvius krewe float.Carmela Bertrand, owner of the Memory Mine scrapbooking shop, is even more shocked when she learns that fingers are pointing toward her estranged husband, Shamus Meechum.
Although Shamus abruptly walked out on their marriage and his career in his family’s bank to pursue an interest in photography, Carmela can’t believe he’s capable of murder. A bad temper, yes. A taste for sophomoric pranks, yes, but not murder.
Her loyal assistant Gabby Mercer-Morris; customers Tandy Bliss and Baby Fontaine; and friend Ava Grieux, a voodoo shop owner, stand by her as rumors fly and malice swirls suggesting she, too, was a party to the crime.
Driven by curiosity, self-protection and a need to keep the ex-husband she’s still in love with safe, Carmela pokes and ponders until she finds herself at the wrong end of a gun.
Keepsake Crimes is set in the lushness of New Orleans during Mardi Gras.
Although I’m not a lover of cozy mysteries, Childs has created an enchanting world, interesting characters and realistic motivations for a murder that is not trivialized. Included in the book are scrapbooking tips and recipes for famed New Orleans dishes.
This is the first of an extensive list of sequels in this series, which include:
- PHOTO FINISHED
- BOUND FOR MURDER
- MOTIF FOR MURDER
- FRILL KILL
- DEATH SWATCH
- TRAGIC MAGIC
- FIBER AND BRIMSTONE
- SKELETON LETTERS
- POSTCARDS FROM THE DEAD
- GILT TRIP
- GOSSAMER GHOST
- PARCHMENT AND OLD LACE
- CREPE FACTOR
- GLITTER BOMB
- MUMBO GUMBO MURDER
About the Author: Laura Childs
Laura Childs is the pen name of Gerry Schmitt. She worked in advertising for 30 years before turning to fiction. Raised in rural Minnesota, she graduated from the University of Minnesota. She wrote for Target before moving into advertising. In addition to being a Clio Award-winning copywriter, she ran her own marketing firm, wrote several screenplays and produced a reality TV show.
In addition to the Scrapbooking Mystery Series, Child has also written the Tea Shop Mysteries, featuring Theodosia Browning’s Indigo Tea Shop in Charleston; the Afton Tangler Thrillers, written under the name Gerry Schmitt, and featuring Minneapolis Police Department liaison officer Afton Tangler; and the Cackleberry Club Mysteries, featuring three, 40-plus ladies who run the Cackleberry Club cafe.
