Bound for Murder

Laura Childs never disappoints. If you are a Laura Childs fan, you can never go wrong with one of her books and this is no exception - fun from the start to the end. If you are not a Laura Childs fan, become one. Her mysteries are fun, exciting, and they take you on a light journey so-to-speak. If you love scrapbooking and love mysteries, get Bound for Murder, sit yourself down for a fun read.

Carmella Bertrand runs Memory Mine, a scrapbook shop in New Orleans. She's helping Wren Wright decorate for her pre-wedding gala. Wren is Gabby's cousin. Gabby works for Carmella. Jamie Redmond owns a bookstore and is a co-creator with Blaine of Neutron, a software program that detects bugs and bombs in software code. Jamie and Wren are to be married soon. Unfortunately Carmella finds Jamie murdered during the pre-wedding gala. Dunbar DesLauriers begins hounding Wren to sell Jamie's book stock to him for a "fair price." Then Glory, Carmella's sister-in-law who threw Carmella out of the family home after her Carmella's husband left, shows up threatening to call in the mortgage on Jamie's home which is now Wren's if she doesn't sell to Dunbar. Blaine begins claiming he now has sole right to Neutron. Wren asks Carmella for help. She gives her business advice about the bookstore as well as helps her look into things. Carmella discovers skeletons in Jamie's past. Could these be why he was killed? I love this series. It's a recent find for me. I can't wait to read more of them! Carmella and the gang at her shop are so much fun. I like the descriptions about the various scrapbook projects even though I never seem to have time for such things. I like how the author makes it seem so natural for Carmella to investigate even though she isn't one. And she does a great job of it. I love the New Orleans setting as well. This is a great cozy mystery series. I highly recommend his book and series.

It was fun to read about pre-Katrina New Orleans. I kept thinking about what has happened to the city since Katrina. The bookstore references were great and the scrapbook store was fun. I did look up the boxes they mentioned making on the internet. The book was easy to read and a quick read. without giving away the murder, the murderer could have been more character based.

Carmela is a great character! These mysteries draw you right into the plot and never let go. I couldn't put the book down until I finished it. I do wish Carmela and Shamus would get their act together and get back together though!

When her rich husband Seamus Meechum walked out on their marriage because he needed his freedom, his sister Glory kicked Carmella Bertrand out of the family mansion. Instead of moping, she finds an apartment in New Orleans' French Quarter and opens Memory Mine, a scrapbooking shop not far from her new abode. Carmella helps Wren Wright decorate for the latter's pre-wedding gala. Wren is engaged to Jamie Redmond, the owner of a profitable bookstore and creator with his partner Blaine of a software program called Neutron that detects bugs and bombs in newly written software code. When Carmella takes a breather she finds Jamie dead. While Wren tries to cope with her finance's murder, Dunbar Des Lauriers pushes hard to buy Jamie's stock in the bookstore. Glory, who holds the mortgage to Jamie's and Wren's home, threatens to call it in if Wren doesn't sell to her. Blaine claims to have sole rights to Neutron and Carmella finds proof that Jamie was engaged to another woman a year ago without telling Wren. Overwhelmed, Wren asks Carmella to find her fiancé's killer; her inability to refuse places her in danger from a killer without mercy. Laura Childs is a creative storyteller who grabs reader attention from the time Jaime is murdered and doesn't release it grip until the murderer is found and Carmella is safe. There are numerable suspects with viable motives and readers will have a lot of fun guessing who the real killer is. There are a lot of creative arts and croft tips at the end of the book, a bonus that readers can make use of for the winter holidays. BOUND FOR MURDER raises the bar on amateur sleuth quality. Harriet Klausner