#AudioBookReview: A Murderer’s Guide to Mardi Gras by Ellen Byron

A Murderer's Guide to Mardi Gras (Vintage Cookbook Mystery, 5) by Ellen Byron
Narrator: Amy Melissa Bentley
Format: audiobook, ebook
Source: borrowed from Amazon Kindle Unlimited, supplied by RB Media
Formats available: hardcover, ebook, audiobook
Genres: cozy mystery, culinary mystery, mystery
Series: Vintage Cookbook Mystery #5
Pages: 240
Length: 7 hours and 23 minutes
on August 4, 2026
Purchasing Info: Author's Website, Publisher's Website, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Bookshop.org, Better World Books
Goodreads

It's cozy. It's culinary. It's Mardi Gras madness! It's the fifth book in this fabulous mystery series with a vintage flair from USA Today-bestselling and Agatha Award–winning author Ellen Byron.

Step 1: join a killer krewe

It’s carnival season in New Orleans, and Ricki James-Diaz and her friends from Bon Vee are dressing up for Mardi Gras. They’ve joined the notorious krewe of Chew to support Ricki’s chef boyfriend, Virgil, who is to be crowned this year’s king. It’s all fun, throws, and over-the-top outfits until the krewe’s captain is found strangled with his own medallion.

Step 2: survive the festivities

The prime suspect is Ricki’s friend, the deceased’s wife who discovered he was cheating on her. It seems a straightforward case, but Ricki isn’t so sure. The krewe’s leader had many enemies including his mistress, his krewe co-founder who he ousted, and his college friend whose girlfriend he stole. One thing’s clear, Ricki’s at the center of yet another murder investigation. And if she’s not careful, her first Mardi Gras could also be her last . . .

Perfect for fans of Joanne Fluke, these delightful mysteries bring New Orleans to life with fun characters and delicious recipes. This series is a must-read for culinary cozy lovers!

My Review:

Just the words “Mardi Gras” conjure up all sorts of images of parades and beads and over-the-top decorations and scenes of absolute but also absolutely fun chaos. In the U.S., New Orleans is the unofficial “capital” of Mardi Gras, and probably the first place that people outside the area think of when the phrase is mentioned.

For people who live there, it’s more than one day. It’s more than the tourist invasion that accompanies it. The roots of the Mardi Gras celebrations go deep and far back into the history of the city, and its a tradition that recently returned New Orleans native Ricki James-Diaz, proprietor of Miss Vee’s Vintage Cookbooks and Kitchenware Shop at the recently opened Bon Vee Culinary House Museum, is more than happy to participate in.

At least at the beginning of the Krewe season. And at the end, on the day itself, when it’s parades and parties and celebrations everywhere. But in the middle, at least for Ricki, it’s a lot of money she didn’t plan on spending, a lot of exhaustion between late night Krewe parties and early mornings at work – to pay for all those beads and gowns and throw packages – and angsting about whether her new boyfriend is itching to get back with his gorgeous ex. Or definitely vice-versa.

More than anything, though, what Ricki really didn’t plan on for Mardi Gras – although she probably should have considering her previous adventures – is a murder investigation. Again.

At least this time, Ricki is NOT one of the suspects. But the members of the krewe of Chew? That’s a whole different bowl of gumbo. A bowl that someone has thrown straight at Ricki’s head.

Escape Rating B: So far, this series has been a lot of fun when I’m looking for a cozy mystery. I adore the New Orleans setting, and Ricki’s investigative adventures certainly do bring New Orleans to vibrant life. Even the car-swallowing potholes. It’s all part of the charm. I picked up the audiobook because I’d already read the first and fourth books (Bayou Book Thief and Crescent City Christmas Chaos) and thought that for sure I’d be in for a good time with the audio, read by Amy Melissa Bentley. I’m pleased to say that I was right, the story was indeed a good time, and the narrator did a terrific job of voicing Ricki along with the rest of her ‘Scooby gang’.

This particular entry was fascinating because it puts Ricki in the middle of something that New Orleans is famous – and infamous – for, the over-the-top Mardi Gras celebrations. We’ve all heard about the krewes, we’ve all seen pictures of the floats, we’ve all heard stories about the beads and the parades, but this story puts all of that together and we get to experience a bit of what it’s like for someone who wants to become part of the story.

So that was terrific – even if I did feel like I should have held onto the book until January when krewe season starts. Nevertheless, I loved that part of the story. I feel like I learned a bunch while definitely being entertained every step of the way.

(Although I would have enjoyed this a bit more if Ricki had angsted a bit less about her relationship with Virgil. Both because that’s been a feature of the series since they got together and because he doesn’t do a single thing to cause that angst. It’s a situation that needs to settle down and I REALLY hope it does in future books.)

One of the things on Ricki’s personal front that is delightfully settling down regards her complicated family tree and her discovery of more family than she ever knew she had. Because I haven’t read the two middle books (Wined and Died in New Orleans and French Quarter Fright Night, yet, I’m seeing the results but not how that part of the saga got started. I don’t think I missed anything I needed to get into this entry in the series, but do I ever want to know.

In the best cozy mystery tradition, the victim had it coming. Or, it couldn’t have happened to a more deserving fellow. One of the great things about cozy mysteries is that while there’s a real murder, it’s not someone the reader – or the characters – mourn overmuch. If at all. In this case, it’s the krewe captain, who seems to have been a serial cheater, a con artist, and just a general, all-around rotten scoundrel with more than enough charm and charisma to get away with everything short of murder until someone decided they’d had enough of him.

In this particular case, part of what makes the amateur investigation interesting is that the victim’s wife is one of Ricki’s friends, and that the lead detective in the case is a jerk. So she’s inclined to think he’s got the wrong suspect and so are we. But every once in a while, even jerks get it right. At least partially. It’s always fun to see a mystery poke a few holes in its own tropes, and it works well this time around.

Well enough that I’ll be back for more of Ricki’s investigative adventures. I’m planning to review French Quarter Fright Night later next month. New Orleans and spooky season seem like two great tastes that should go scarily terrific together!

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