CeeCee and I love zydeco music, gumbo and scrumptious pralines! So naturally, we just had to read this fun little whodunit set in the one of our most favorite fictional Southern towns, which could quite possibly be the murder capital of Louisiana. 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.

Mandatory disclaimer: I got an advance copy for free via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.