A Vintage Cookbook Mystery: Book 2
Publication Date: February 7, 2023
The second in a fantastic new cozy mystery series with a vintage flair from USA Today bestselling and Agatha Award–winning author Ellen Byron.
It’s hurricane season in New Orleans and vintage cookbook fan Ricki James-Diaz is trying to shelve her weather-related fears and focus on her business, Miss Vee’s Vintage Cookbook and Kitchenware Shop, housed in the magnificent Bon Vee Culinary House Museum.
Repairs on the property unearth crates of very old, very valuable French wine, buried by the home’s builder, Jean-Louis Charbonnet. Ricki, who’s been struggling to attract more customers to Miss Vee’s, is thrilled when her post about the discovery of this long-buried treasure goes viral. She’s less thrilled when the post brings distant Charbonnet family members out of the woodwork, all clamoring for a cut of the wine’s sale.
When a dead body turns up in Bon Vee’s cheery fall decorations, the NOPD zeroes in on Eugenia Charbonnet Felice as the prime suspect, figuring that as head of the Charbonnet family, she has the most to gain. Ricki is determined to uncover the real culprit, but she can’t help noticing that Eugenia is acting strangely. Ricki wonders what kind of secret her mentor has bottled up, and fears what might happen if she uncorks it.
In the second Vintage Cookbook Mystery, Ricki has to help solve a murder, untangle family secrets, and grow her business, all while living under the threat of a hurricane that could wipe out everything from her home to Bon Vee.
It was wonderful to be back in New Orleans and at the Bon Vee Culinary House Museum, but especially at Miss Vee’s Vintage Cookbook and Kitchenware Shop, which is located on the premises and owned by Ricki, in Wined and Died in New Orleans by Ellen Byron.
We meet up with the characters we’ve met before, along with many new ones. Of course, there are murders, crimes, some shady characters, good food, and better wine which had me turning the pages to see what would happen next!
Ricki is an amateur sleuth who seems to stay one step ahead of the local police in helping to solve the crimes committed. The whodunnit wasn’t obvious to me, which is always a plus when reading a cozy mystery.
There are so many twists and turns to the story, along with multiple storylines revealed. Some subplots are just as important as the main ones and really held my interest. I liked the friendships that crossed generations and how Olivia doing her internship with Ricki, really flourished and grew up as a result. The number of vintage cooking gadgets, cookbooks, foods, and wine just added another layer of fun to the story.
There’s some romance mixed in with the mystery. There are lovely and vivid descriptions of the neighborhood, the businesses, the homes, and even the unpredictable weather. The story even takes us to the panhandle of Florida to gather clues.
I loved the cover, and the title of the book was playful and spot on. The recipes at the back of the book and some historical facts about the cookbooks they came from were a nice touch and tied into the story nicely. I can’t wait to see how Ms. Byron tops this book and continues the series.
Wined and Died in New Orleans is a cozy mystery with wonderful characters set in a picturesque location that had me looking forward to what unfolded next.
Ellen’s Cajun Country Mysteries have won the Agatha Award for Best Contemporary Novel and multiple Lefty Awards for Best Humorous Mystery. Bayou Book Thief will be the first book in her new Vintage Cookbook Mysteries. She also writes the Catering Hall Mystery series under the name Maria DiRico.
Ellen is an award-winning playwright, and non-award-winning TV writer of comedies like Wings, Just Shoot Me, and Fairly Odd Parents. She has written over two hundred articles for national magazines but considers her most impressive credit working as a cater-waiter for Martha Stewart. An alum of New Orleans’ Tulane University, she blogs with Chicks on the Case, is a lifetime member of the Writers Guild of America and will be the 2023 Left Coast Crime Toastmaster.
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Sounds like a great read.
Thank you SOOO much for a great review!! Shared on IG, now onto Twitter and FB!