Death Swatch

A Scrapbooking Mystery #6

by Laura Childs

Murder comes to Mardi Gras! The seventh in the popular series - including scrapbooking tips. Jekyl Hardy is hosting a Mardi Gras party in his French Quarter apartment, amid Zydeco rhythms and popping champagne corks. On a wild night like this, anything can happen. The guests, including scrapbook-store owner Carmela Bertrand, never imagine it will be murder. But as the evening progresses, Jekyl's neighbor, float designer Archie Baudier, is found on the balcony choked to death with a barbed wire garrote. Buried up to her neck in strange clues, Carmela is sure of only one thing: whoever killed Archie is now following her - straight into the madness of Mardi Gras.

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fiction, Cozy, Crafts, Contemporary, Mystery Thriller

320 pages, Hardcover

First published September 2, 2008

About the author

Laura Childs is a pseudonym for Gerry Schmitt and she is the best-selling author of the Tea Shop Mysteries, the Scrapbook Mysteries, and the Cackleberry Club Mysteries.

Laura Childs is the New York Times bestselling author of the Tea Shop Mysteries, Scrapbook Mysteries, and Cackleberry Club Mysteries. In her previous life she was CEO/Creative Director of her own marketing firm and authored several screenplays. She is married to a professor of Chinese art history, loves to travel, rides horses, enjoys fund raising for various non-profits, and has two Chinese Shar-Pei dogs.

Laura specializes in cozy mysteries that have the pace of a thriller (a thrillzy!) Her three series are:

The Tea Shop Mysteries - set in the historic district of Charleston and featuring Theodosia Browning, owner of the Indigo Tea Shop. Theodosia is a savvy entrepreneur, and pet mom to service dog Earl Grey. She's also an intelligent, focused amateur sleuth who doesn't rely on coincidences or inept police work to solve crimes. This charming series is highly atmospheric and rife with the history and mystery that is Charleston.

The Scrapbooking Mysteries - a slightly edgier series that take place in New Orleans. The main character, Carmela, owns Memory Mine scrapbooking shop in the French Quarter and is forever getting into trouble with her friend, Ava, who owns the Juju Voodoo shop. New Orleans' spooky above-ground cemeteries, jazz clubs, bayous, and Mardi Gras madness make their presence known here!

The Cackleberry Club Mysteries - set in Kindred, a fictional town in the Midwest. In a rehabbed Spur station, Suzanne, Toni, and Petra, three semi-desperate, forty-plus women have launched the Cackleberry Club. Eggs are the morning specialty here and this cozy cafe even offers a book nook and yarn shop. Business is good but murder could lead to the cafe's undoing! This series offers recipes, knitting, cake decorating, and a dash of spirituality.

Reviews

[Lain · Rating 3 out of 5]

After disliking the first five books in this series (WHY did I keep reading? They're about scrapbooking!), I actually enjoyed this one! Carmela wasn't quite the dunce she'd been in previous books, and the mystery had lots of New Orleans intrigue.

Carmela, a gorgeous scrapbook store owner in New Orleans, is on the hunt for a murderer (again!). Someone has offed one of Jekyl's business associates, and Carmela is the one to find the body. Set against the backdrop of Mardi Gras, the mystery winds through the bayous and Garden District mansions. Of course, in the end, Carmela finds her man (or woman...).

There were still glaring errors:
-the dead body with barbed wire around its neck, yet no one mentions the blood... or the damage that must have occurred to the perp's hands. And the whole barbed wire becomes a giant red herring...

-the coin that Carmela distractedly pockets (which is critical evidence, yet she never does anything with it, nor does she turn it over to the police... nor does it come up again)...

-the idea that Carmela could be forced from her home without any settlement (the divorce is STILL pending)...

but all the same, this book was better than many, and the recipes look delicious.

[Danielle Gonzalez · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was another enjoyable mystery as Carmela and her best friend Ava try to figure out who murdered the neighbor of her good friend Jekyl. This story also includes historical references to the pirate Jean Lafitte and the search for his hidden treasures. It's fun to watch the escapades of the two girls. There are a handful of potential suspects, and you find out who committed the murder in the last chapters. It is also a fun read to see how Carmela is doing with romance as well. Wiithout giving anything away, I can say I was happy to see the direction her love life is going.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was another fun New Orlean & Scrapbooking mystery. Costumes and vampires oh-my.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok, these characters are growing on me, and for what it is — the cozy chick lit mystery genre — I give it 4 stars. Super-fun.

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Contemporary mystery set in post-Katrina New Orleans during Mardi Gras. You would think that this would be a perfect book for me, since I love mysteries and I love scrapbooking. But I didn't really enjoy it. I'm giving it 3 stars, because I did finish it, but honestly, it could have been so much better. It seemed a little like the author just threw everything in there and sort of hoped a plot would emerge, complete with a killer and a motive. A killer did emerge, and a motives, but no explanation as to how the crime was actually committed or any trouble to make the solution believable.

This is the first book I've read in this series and it will be the last.

[ette · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was sick in bed. It was there. I wouldn't recommend it. Plausibility is light. The characters are OK. There's better out there.

[Marilyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

A new story, oh boy. This is one of Laura Childs Scrapbooking Mysteries. It is set in New Orleans. Like the Tea Shop Mysteries, the main character Carmella Bertrand owns a craft shop and her partner in crime is Ada who owns a Voodoo Shop. They get into several "pickles" while doing their amateur detective sleuthing when a friend is most grisly murdered with a barbed wire garrote, very nasty way to die. As in all the Laura Childs mysteries lots of suspected characters.

Good book, I will have to read more of this series, I'm not sure I like the main characters as well as the Tea Shop Mysteries--time will tell

[Mindy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really like Laura Childs' tea shop mysteries and generally think her scrapbooking ones are OK. However, I didn't like this one. Maybe it was the setting during Mardi Gras in New Orleans (which doesn't appeal to me), but she also had lot of little details and conversations that didn't seem to pertain to the storyline at all.

[Lynda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I gotta stop picking these books up thinking I'll like them. The scrapbooking is only okay and the ending seemed just thrown together. Ultimately unsatisfying.

[Jennifer Robb · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember mentioning this series to a friend when I first discovered it. She indicated then that although it is named "a scrapbooking mystery" that there are better series out there--after reading this, I tend to agree with her. Scrapbooking is barely mentioned--so it might be better labelled a papercrafting mystery or a crafting mystery. (Ladies in this book make jewelry, stamp candles, decorate a frame with paper and rubber stamp, make map favors, and make programs/menus. Only once is scrapbooking mentioned--when two ladies have run out of scrapbook page ideas. One needed one for a baby layout and I forget what the other one was. It sounded like Carmela used similar ideas for both needs, just with different colors.)

I've never quite understood New Orleans and Mardi Gras--different groups (krewes) working on floats--apparently there are a number of parades on Fat Tuesday? Without understanding a lot of that, much of the undercurrent is lost on me.

There's a subplot of looking for Lafitte's treasure.

There's really no wrap-up. The murderer's identity is discovered, but we don't really see the denouement of the capture/arrest. I'm not really sure we're given the clues to solve whodunit until the author reveals it--even the characters seem to feel that way.

[Eva · Rating 3 out of 5]

And still Carmela and her husband Shamus' divorce drags on while his hateful sister continues to be a snarky pain in Carmela's neck. This is starting to get really old. Otherwise, the plot of this installment of the cozy mystery series was pretty good. A rare and antique coin collector is killed at a party and Carmela and her faithful sidekick, Ava, busy themselves trying to track down Archie's killer. But in the process, the two find themselves on the trail of fabled missing pirate treasure. With all the commotion in NOLA for Mardi Gras and tracking down a killer, will Carmela find the answers she is looking for before her goose is cooked?! And what should she make of the attention of detective Edgar Babcock? Could this finally mean an end is coming to the long, drawn out divorce between Carmela and Shamus -- FINALLY?!

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Carmela and Ava are involved in another murder - this time during Mardi Gras. They are at a party hosted by Jekyl Hardy ;) a well known float designer. His assistant is murdered with a barbed wire garrote! Once again, Carmela gets to "work" with the handsome detective Edgar Babcock. Jekyl asks her to look into the murder as he's a suspect. There are secret passages, possible pirate treasures, scary basements, really spooky and scary meetings with absinthe dealers, and a possible Russian mob connection. Carmela is still trying to conclude a divorce from her husband. She does make it into her scrapbook shop occasionally (these amateur sleuths have such wonderful and non-complaining shop assistants!). Once again she and Ava are on a Mardi Gras float, jumping off to do some more investigating. The plot is a little more convoluted than I expected and the murderer was unexpected as well.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another unbelievable adventure of Carmela and Ava....

Murder comes to Mardi Gras! The seventh in the popular series - including scrapbooking tips. Jekyl Hardy is hosting a Mardi Gras party in his French Quarter apartment, amid Zydeco rhythms and popping champagne corks. On a wild night like this, anything can happen. The guests, including scrapbook-store owner Carmela Bertrand, never imagine it will be murder. But as the evening progresses, Jekyl's neighbor, float designer Archie Baudier, is found on the balcony choked to death with a barbed wire garrote. Buried up to her neck in strange clues, Carmela is sure of only one thing: whoever killed Archie is now following her - straight into the madness of Mardi Gras.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Challenges: RRRCs July 2019 - Red cover for 'Kissing Day' (4); and, Create Your Own Readathon/Steeped in Books/Stacking the Series - Primary List/Level 9/Book 6. Our main characters revel in riding on a Mardi Gras float for the first time. A gruesome murder appears to be connected to the long-lost treasure of the pirate Jean LaFitte, the solution interjected with various creative projects in scrapbooking and independent design. An atmospheric read that entertains in spite of a few inconsistencies in the story.

[Crystal Toller · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Carmela Bertrand and her best friend, Ava Grieux go to a party in the French Quarter at Carmela's friend Jekyl Hardy's apartment they discover that Jekyl's friend Archie Baudlier has been murdered. How Ava and Carmela manage to help the police find the killer makes for an very entriguing and interesting read. I was really shocked at the ending of this book. I loved reading about Jean Lafitte and his treasure. This book in the series was a real treat for a history lover like me. Highly recommend this book and the series.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mardi Gras festivities, murder, a search for pirate treasure, and...scrapbooking. Hard to believe there are enough hours in the day to pack it all in when the action begins. Do the main characters lead wild and unconventional lives, or is this the norm for New Orleans’ upper crust? I suspect the society events are as exaggerated as the old “Southern” names and meals that all include grits, sweet potatoes, and pecans. Still, another fun book in this series.

[Nickole Richardson · Rating 3 out of 5]

All the action happens at the beginning of the book, then the rest is spent trying to solve the mystery. For me, it was really hard to stay interested through the middle of the book. If there was more action, I'd really like this book. The storyline is interesting and the characters are amazing. This book just falls a little flat in some places. Still very satisfied with the ending and absolutely did not expect the ending. A little slow, but overall a pretty good book. 👍🏻

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another charming entry in the Scrapbooking Mystery series.

The scene of the crime is at Jekyll's apartment, and again Carmela finds the body--unfortunately for her, she does watch the victim die and it's in a particulary nasty way. Suspicion falls on Jekyll, and Carmela and Ava work to clear Jekyll and find the real culprit.

In between reading about their delicious meals and Mardi Gras celebrations, Carmela & Ava search for Jean Lafitte's legendary treasure.

[Karen Hufman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I keep saying I'm not going to read anymore of these and then I find another one in my stash of books. This one didn't bother me as much as the previous ones. I actually figured out fairly early on who the culprit was. In this one, Carmela finds one of Jekyl's friends dead on his balcony during a pre-Mardi Gras party.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cher, there's no crazy like Mardi Gras! Pretty good little read.
But I may be too old for these now. Or maybe I've just read them out of order. Found a serious incongruity in time...made me go check the copyright date and, yep, needed better editing/proofing!

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has a gruesome way to die for the murder. Also, a strange coin, rumors of lost treasure and of course the Mardi Gras. Love how scrapbooking help Carmela put together clues to the treasure and the murder.

[Cathie Murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good book. I enjoyed the plot and the storyline. There's some good suspense but going into sewers isn't one of them. Some good humor. Lots of twists and turns. Fun cozy mystery to read. Highly recommend.

[Stacy Hedges · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was an easy read. It took awhile to get into the story. Once I did it was fun and couldn't put it down.

[Lyn Soulia-Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

The girls are always putting them selves in trouble. Light funny and a bit of love

[Kimberley Cornwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

just a fun read! Finally, it appears that Carmeia has made a move in the romance department. Happy dance!

[Kathie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Entertaining book with a very exciting ending.

[Soc Page · Rating 3 out of 5]

easy read murder mystery. scrapbooking info pretty standard. recipes not bad.

[Gale Penton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read. Lots of action. Great mystery. Scenes from New Orleans. Can’t wait to read the next one in the series. Highly recommend

[Angelica Morado-Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great mystery! It was a good setting. First scrapbook that I have read by this author. Planning to read more as I like to guess who done it and I have to get to the end to find the answer!

[Kathleen Hubbs · Rating 3 out of 5]

I give this 3.5 stares. # 6 in series. Nice easy read. Fun. I am a Scrapbooker so I enjoy this series. Called ,Scrapbooking Mysteries .