Laura Childs – Gilt Trip

Book 11 in the Scrapbooking Mysteries series, published October 1, 2013.
Genre: cozy mystery with scrapbooking tips and recipes
Cover: nice



A New Orleans businessman and white-collar criminal is celebrating his early release from prison. But his freedom will be short lived ...
Scrapbook shop owner Carmela Bertrand and her best friend Ava, are off to a party. Prominent socialite Margo Leland is throwing an extravagant fete to welcome home her husband, Jerry Earl's. There’s a Zydeco band, champagne ice luge, and waiters in ties and tails. But in the midst of the revelry, Jerry Earl is murdered – then stuffed inside a clothes dryer.
When the grieving widow turns to her for help, Carmela can't say no. But Jerry Earl took a lot of people to the cleaners with his underhanded business tactics, so Carmela's going to be hard-pressed to identify which of his enemies was steamed enough to kill him. As she sorts through Jerry Earl's dirty laundry, she needs to collar the killer before another victim is set to tumble dry…


When Margo Leland manages to get her husband Jerry Earl out of jail early (bribery and such works well), she throws him a Get Out Of Jail Free-party. Carmela Bertrand has designed the invitations, and was invited as well. Both she and her best friend and neighbour Ava love to party and see how the rich of New Orleans live. But when Ava spills some of the delicious food on her silk shirt, Carmela tries to find the kitchen to get something to clean it. Instead she finds the laundry room, and Jerry Earl Leland ... stuffed inside a clothes dryer.
As her sweetheart and murder detective Babcock is out of town on a seminar, another detective takes the case, and he is not so happy with Carmela trying to find out details from him.
And when the widow asks Carmela to investigate for her, Carmela can’t say no. Not after her good friend Jekyll Hardy has sung her praises, and her shop assistant urges her on as well. She can’t help it, she is just good at finding out things.

Jerry Earl was into the construction business, but his passion was for fossils and buried treasure. And how did he get prison tattoos on his back? What do they mean? And was he really having an affair with his wife’s best friend Beetsie? Why did she commission a death portrait while her husband was still alive? Murder suspects galore, but Carmela will have to find the right one, especially when Jerry Earl’s personal assistant gets killed as well ...


Another good mystery by Laura Childs. She was one of the first authors I started reading in this genre, and I still love her books very much. She is so good at capturing the atmosphere of New Orleans, the opulence and the decadent foods. I so want to go there one day. I love Carmela and Ava, they are such great and fun characters.
The mystery is a good one, and I did not solve it in time. The best surprise were the prison gang members though. Usually, those are bad guys, and in prison for a reason. But they really were not, and saved the day and Carmela. That was fun. Cake throwing was involved...

If you are a fan of a New Orleans setting for your books, like I am, you really should try this series even if you think that cozy mysteries are not your genre. You might be surprised ...

9 stars.

© 2014 Reviews by Aurian