January 2024 Reads
February 8, 2024
Book Review with Spoilers | ARC Review | Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson
February 10, 2024
Lethal Bayou Beauty (Miss Fortune Mystery #2)
Finished: February 2024
Book Source: Library
No one in Sinful liked Pansy Arceneaux, but who hated her enough to kill her?
When aspiring actress Pansy Arceneaux returns to Sinful, Louisiana to head up the beauty pageant portion of the Summer Festival, CIA assassin Fortune Redding knows she’s in for trouble. Her undercover identity as a former beauty queen makes Fortune the perfect choice to chair the event with Pansy, but Pansy’s abrasive personality makes it impossible to get through a single rehearsal without a fight.
When Pansy turns up dead, Fortune is the prime suspect.
Armed with only her wits and two conniving seniors referred to locally as The Geritol Mafia, Fortune launches an investigation to find the real killer before her cover is blown.
Trigger Warnings:
Murder, Sort of Incest?, prostitution
Characters
- Pansy – local beauty queen that went off to LA to try to become an actress
- The rest of the characters mostly the same
My Review
I thoroughly enjoyed diving back into the world of the Sinful Ladies Society with “Lethal Bayou Beauty” by Jana DeLeon. While it didn’t quite reach the same level of intrigue and excitement as the first book, the characters continued to shine bright.
One of the strongest aspects of this series is undoubtedly its characters. The ladies of the Sinful Ladies Society are an absolute riot, and their banter and schemes kept me thoroughly entertained throughout the book.
While I was hoping for a bit more in terms of romance, especially after the buildup from the first book, I appreciated that the focus remained on the cozy mystery elements. It’s refreshing to read a series where the mystery takes center stage, and any romantic developments feel like a delightful side story rather than a necessity.
Fans of cozy mysteries will find plenty to love here, especially in the form of the wonderfully quirky characters and their hilarious antics. I can’t wait to see what adventures await the Sinful Ladies Society in the next books!
Spoilers/Summary
The local beauty queen is back. She ends up dead after Fortune has threatened to kill her. They find a plastic surgeon that seems like was sleeping with her. They go visit him in New Orleans where he is in a hotel. One of the locals confesses to killing her – he had been arguing with his wife at the beginning. Someone breaks into Celia’s house. The team catches Dr. Ryan. But he’s not the killer! The mayor’s wife drugs Fortune and is going to stage a suicide. It turns out that Pansy was having an affair with HER UNCLE (gross.. although he married into the family so at least it wasn’t blood related? Still gross.). The mayor’s first wife left and signed an NDA and took most of his money. The mayor/uncle kills Pansy to keep her quiet.