| Title | : | Secrets, Lies, \u0026 Crawfish Pies (Romaine Wilder #1) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 268 |
| Publication | : | First published March 22, 2018 |
Suzanne Babet Derbinay, Romaine’s Auntie Zanne and proprietor of the Ball Funeral Home, has long since traded her French Creole upbringing for Big Texas attitude. She’s a member in a number of ladies’ auxiliaries and clubs, including being in charge of the Tri-County Annual Crawfish Boil and Music Festival.
Hanging on to the magic of her Louisiana roots, she’s cooked up a love potion or two—if she could only get Romaine to drink it. But her plans are derailed when the Ball Funeral Home, bursting at the seams with dead bodies, has a squatter stiff.
Dead Guy is a problem.
Auntie Zanne can’t abide by a murderer using her funeral home as the dumping grounds for their crimes, and Romaine doesn’t want her newly elected cousin, Sheriff Pogue Folsom, to fail on his first murder case. Together, Romaine and Auntie Zanne set off to solve it.
With a dash of humor, a dollop of Southern charm, and a peek at current social issues in the mix, it’s a fun romp around East Texas to solve a murder mystery of the cozy kind.
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
SECRETS, LIES, & CRAWFISH PIES | A Henery Press Mystery. If you like one, you’ll probably like them all.
Secrets, Lies, \u0026 Crawfish Pies (Romaine Wilder #1) Reviews
-
I felt right at home reading this story. I’m a native East Texan and could’ve stepped right out of the pages of Abby L. VanDiver’s story. Set around the awesome pineywoods area of Roble, TX, we find protagonist—Dr. Romaine Wilder—traveling home with her Aunt Zanne (Babet). Home being the Ball Funeral Home & Crematorium. They arrive to find Josephine Gail, Babet’s ditzy best friend, all in a tizzy saying there’s an extra dead body in the funeral home. Sure enough, there’s a suited corpse laying in a casket someone swiped from the showroom floor! The local law, Pogue, just happens to be Romaine’s first cousin, and he’s pretty green when it comes to solving crimes, especially murder.
Aunt Zanne’s not shy and she’s determined to find out who the unidentified dead man is as soon as Romaine performs the autopsy to determine cause of death and whatever other clues she can gleam from the body. Following Auntie as she drags Romaine from place to place looking for clues had me chuckling throughout the story. Babet is not one to stop when she’s on a mission!
Ms. VanDiver skillfully sets up a mighty fine southern mystery. Brimming with humor, it’s a great portrayal of small town families, friends, and rivalries. The cast have realistic personality quirks and all kinds of talent! I had fun reading this story and can hardly wait for the next one. 5 out of 5 Stars!
I provide an honest review of an ARC from NetGalley and Henery Press. -
Downsized from her job as a medical examiner in Chicago, Romaine Wilder returns to Roble, TX to live with her Aunt Suzanne who raised her. Auntie Zanne is a bit of an eccentric, practicing Voodoo herbalism to help those around her. The family business is the Ball Funeral Home and Crematorium. Her auntie spent 2 weeks in Chicago helping Romie get ready to move. They arrive in Texas to a surprise, but not the kind people enjoy receiving. The funeral home has a guest -- an extra dead body. Not only do they have no idea about the identity of the deceased middle aged man reclining in one of their caskets...but it appears that he has been murdered. Romie soon finds herself involved in a murder investigation along with her aunt and her cousin, Pogue, the local sheriff.
I enjoyed this book. It's a nice start to a new cozy series! The characters are eccentric, lively and have that spunky southern country attitude. It made the story fun to read! Aunt Zanne is my favorite character. She really rushes in and takes everything over when she gets a notion into her head. It does make her butt heads frequently with her niece....but only because the two women are a lot alike -- intelligent and independent. I did find Romie to be a bit less determined than her auntie. At times she didn't seem to react to things the way a doctor would, but if I had just lost my job in Chicago and moved to east-nowhere small town Texas, I would probably react to things a little slowly myself. The one thing that bothered me is that the premise of her moving to Texas was that she couldn't find another job in Chicago. I don't believe it would be difficult for a doctor, especially a medical examiner, to find a job in a large metro area. She wasn't dismissed for malpractice or a problem on the job....but downsized. I don't believe she would have been forced to move to Texas. And surely a doctor would have some savings or credit to fall back on in an emergency. That part of the plot just didn't make sense to me. But......it's a cozy and not meant to be a realistic hard-hitting crime novel. Romie came back home to help bake crawfish pie and solve a murder. :)
The mystery moved along at a nice pace with plenty of twists and sleuthing. The story definitely kept my attention from beginning to end.
This is the first cozy I have read where all the main characters are black. It was refreshing and enjoyable to read! The characters were wonderful, well developed, and entertaining.
All in all, a great beginning to a new cozy series! I can't wait to read more!
**I voluntarily read an advanced readers copy of this book from Henery Press via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.** -
SECRETS, LIES, & CRAWFISH PIES features Romaine Wilder, a medical examiner in her early forties being forced into making big changes in her life. She's moving from a successful and fast paced life in Chicago back to her hometown of Roble, Texas where life moves at a slower pace but with deeper connections. Romaine's professional and personal life is in flux and she is none too happy about it. Torn between believing that she has outgrown her small town roots and wanting to be respectful of where she comes from, Romaine is in a tough spot. Her Aunt Zanne on the other hand knows exactly what Romaine needs to do, much to Romaine's chagrin.
SECRETS, LIES, & CRAWFISH PIES is a completely enjoyable and entertaining cozy mystery with everything that I would have wanted in this type of story. Likable main characters in Romaine who happens to be at a crossroads in her life and her busy body Aunt Zanne who knows everyone's business in their small home town in East Texas and has a desire to set things right herself. I completely related to Romaine's relationship with her aunt. I myself have family members who have the same magical powers of getting me to do things that I know that I said I didn't want to do. I have often found myself at church functions, charity events, and general social functions wondering how the hell I ended up there while also knowing exactly how it happened.
Abby Vandiver also created secondary characters that I hope will continue to play a role in future books. Some who I expect will add interest and some with opaque pasts that I hope will add some twists and turns to future stories. Best of all for me, this is a cozy mystery written by a Black woman featuring Black women, and it doesn't hurt that it is set in a part of the country that I have great personal affection for and can easily picture while reading. I love when a good story is set in a place that I am familiar with.
I am so happy that I had the opportunity to read this book and will happily continue the series.
***I received a copy in exchange for an honest review.***
Where you can find me:
•(♥).•*Monlatable Book Reviews*•.(♥)•
Twitter:
@MonlatReader
Instagram:
@readermonica
Facebook:
Monica Reeds
Goodreads Group:
The Black Bookcase -
Romaine Wilder is a medical examiner living in Chicago who seems to have the perfect life until she is evicted and has to move back to her hometown in Texas. Romaine moves in with her Auntie Zanne "Babet" who owns and runs a funeral home. Death is no stranger to this medical examiner who comes from a line of morticians, but when a body is found at her family's funeral home, Romaine, cousin Sheriff Pogue, and Auntie Zanne join forces to try to solve the mystery in time for the Tri-County Annual Crawfish Boil and Music Festival.
This is book one of the Romaine Wilder Mystery series. Although Romaine is the main character, I have to say that Auntie Zanne is the star of this story. She is absolutely hilarious. This book has several out loud laughing moments, and I honestly enjoyed reading about French Creole traditions and Southern life.
I loved this fun cozy mystery, and I look forward to reading more books in this series. This book is scheduled to be published June 12th, 2018.
I would like to thank Henery Press and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. -
What a refreshing cozy mystery! I loved the East Texas setting and the French Creole culture infused in the story. Bonus points for a female protagonist (medical examiner) who is NOT a baker, quilter, librarian or bookshop owner - while those are all enjoyable, I love how this does "cozy" differently. I'll definitely be reading more in this series. I'm so happy that I found this author during my deep dive into "non-issue books by authors of color" research in January.
-
Secrets, Lies & Crawfish Pies by Abby L. Vandiver was a fun beginning to a new mystery series.
Romaine Wilder has returned to her roots in East Texas after losing her medical examiner position in Chicago. She has returned with her Aunt Zanne to the funeral home where she grew up after her parents died. Aunt Zanne is truly over the top throughout the book and caused many humorous moments throughout the story. The writing flows smoothly and there were enough twists and turns in the mystery to keep me turning the pages.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book from Henery Press via NetGalley. All of the above opinions are my own. -
First in Series
This is the first book in the Romaine Wilder series, and the first book I’ve read by Abby L. Vandiver...it won’t be the last. As a Texan, I loved the small town East Texas setting. Romaine Wilder and her family are great characters, especially her Auntie Zanne. I found myself laughing out loud at Auntie Zanne’s antics. I am looking forward to reading Book 2 in the series — Love, Hopes, and Marriage Tropes. -
Romaine Wilder, a medical-examiner, is saying goodbye to big city life and begrudgingly moving back to her small East Texas hometown with her aunt. Her Auntie Zanne raised her, sticks her nose in everything in a funny zany way, and owns the funeral home where a dead body is found. Yes, dead bodies belong in a funeral home, but not this one. And since Auntie Zanne doesn’t trust the Sheriff to solve it properly, she decides her and Wilder are going to solve this murder whether Wilder wants to or not…A good start to a series I’ll definitely keep reading.
https://bookriot.com/2018/06/08/diver... -
Almost the moment Romaine Wilder arrived in Roble, she wanted O U T. A few years, plenty of education and a good job in Chicago with the obligatory showy apartment and a man in her life that is exciting, if not exactly free, and Romaine has it all. Until the city’s budget cuts eliminate her position as a medical examiner, and her life suddenly goes pear shaped. When you add in the not so subtle distance that her doctor-boyfriend is displaying, partially due to his marital situation, no incoming salary and no immediate jobs to hand, she’s temporarily moving back to Roble, while she decides on her next move. Her Aunt Zanne, the woman who took her in after her parent’s death, and occasionally Ioh who am I kidding – constantly) marches to the beat of her own drummer, dragging, cajoling, guilting and always nudging people to follow along, is there to help her pack up for the return.
Arriving in Roble, the house / funeral parlor in the pouring rain, an ‘extra body’ that doesn’t belong in the business is there, left by the crematory door. Adding to that lovely event, the sheriff (a cousin) is new to the job, the person who found the body has a history of severe depression and has retreated into herself, there are new people that are ‘now indispensable’ according to Zanne, and everyone believes Romaine is there for good, and will be jumping into the local Crawfish festival planning, the event headed up by her Aunt. With the county’s medical examiner ill, Romaine is stepping in to autopsy the body, Aunt Zanne is determined to find the killer, and when she’s not spouting outrageous accusations, she’s off for one of her innumerable clubs, charities and boards. Oh – and did I mention that the sheriff, her nephew Pogue, has never investigated a murder, is new to the job, and has a 4 day conference that will take him away from the investigation? We’ll overlook Zanne’s references to his lack of qualifications, or his childhood oddities that stay with you, FOREVER, in these small towns.
“Pogue, as a child, was a bit slow and he had such a huge head that is was easy for people to make matters worse, he’d fall over by just moving it away from center mass – all it took was a slight lean and he’d go tumbling. Andie Zanne was always trying to get Aunt Julep to take him to a specialist in Houston because she swore it was filled with lead.”
As if those stories from childhood aren’t enough – the characters here are absolutely wonderful – utterly southern and palpable, with plenty of moments as Romaine is constantly hit with memories, challenges and the pressures overt and covert, exerted by Zanne. From returning to stay, to tagging along on investigations, bullied into baking, a constant battle of her own loyalties to family crossing the lines with investigative propriety, evidence protection and trying to help Pogue without actually doing all the work herself, she’s got plenty on her plate and is constantly fighting the battle between behaving like a petulant child who’s lost her best dolly and pitching in with a good attitude. Pitching in is a given, it’s only when her aunt’s manipulations bring her memories and moments she believed were lost that her own pieces start to fall into place. With the discovery of the killer and unearthing of several other MAJOR secrets that I’m sure will lead to issues in the future, the story was a delightful series of questions and puzzles, each coming together in ways that make absolute sense, after the reveal.
Seriously, Zanne was the star of this book and Romaine, while solid, steady and likable was more the straight man to Zanne’s antics. The small town and family feel came through solidly and strong, at times it felt as if I was among the DH’s older relatives: just quietly listening and HOPING to keep up – from childhood stories, to expected participation the love, support and personalities shine through – in this relocated Louisiana Creole family in a small East Texas town.
I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via Edelweiss for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.
Review first appeared at
I am, Indeed -
3.5 Stars
Romaine Wilder moves back to her home town after losing her job in Chicago due to downsizing. She soon finds herself reluctantly helping her Aunt Zanne find out who left an extra dead body in their funeral home.
Aunt Zanne is that aunt that we all have. The one who everyone loves and she makes you feel guilty when you try to tell her no after she asks you to do something you both know you shouldn’t do.
I really like Romaine as the lead. Unlike other cozy mysteries that I’ve read she actually knows what she is doing for the most part and doesn’t just luckily stumble upon the clues and wrongly accuse everyone under the sun of being guilty without evidence.
I’ll definitely check out the other books in this series. -
Abby Vandiver introduces Romaine Wilder in this Mystery. Romaine is forced to leave Chicago and return to the source of her roots. A small town in East Texas called Rebel. Aunt Zanne is focused on making sure that Romaine stays in Rebel permanently! Ball Funeral Home owned by her Aunt makes perfect place for Romaine to practice her medical examiner training. When a dead body is discovered complete with his own coffin in the funeral home Sherlock skills have to be employed to find out who it is. Easy moving plot with a group of laid back southern folk. Nice cover art but the edge of the seat drama was just not there for me. "A copy of this book was provided by Henery Press via Netgalley with no requirements for a review. Comments here are my honest opinion."
-
The first book in a new series and a new author to me. It well was written and the descriptions will take you to Louisiana and French Creole culture.. The protagonist, Romaine Wilder is a medical examiner, she had been working in the Chicago area but lost her position. She has returned to her hometown Robel in East Texas. She is planning on leaving Robel as very soon and missing Her married boyfriend. Her Aunt Zanny owns a funeral home there. Aunt Zanny's antics had me laughing. After a storm, an extra body is found at the home all ready for burial. Romaine efforts to find out how the body was placed in the home, who he was, how he died will hold your interest. Aunt Zanny is chairman of the annual Tri-County Annual Crawfish Boil and Music Festival and her demands keep Romaine busy. Romaine cousin, Pogue Folsom has been elected Sheriff and Romaine works with him on the investigation.
Disclosure: Many thanks to Henery Press for a review copy. The opinions expressed are my own. -
What a strong first novel in this new series (A Romaine Wilder Mystery Book 1) by Abby L. Vandiver! The setting of a small town in East Texas, the spunky characters of Romaine and her grandmother and the great storyline of a new sheriff having his first murder case all combined to make a great book. I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a good, clean mystery! It was a great read! This book was gifted to me by the author for purposes of an unbiased review.
-
I really wanted to like this book, however, the techniques taken to solve the case were so far-out that they were unbelievable. Another issue is that one of the main characters who is suppose to be an eighty-year old,"spunky" grandma type came off as overbearing and rude. This book was just not for me.
-
Secrets, Lies, & Crawfish Pies is the debut of Abby L. Vandiver’s Romaine Wilder Mystery series. This is the first book I’ve read by this author and I enjoyed her humorous writing style. The characters are well developed and there’s an intriguing mystery to solve. The storyline flows smoothly at a steady pace and there were enough twists and turns in the mystery to keep me engaged and guessing. I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a good, clean mystery.
After losing her medical examiner position, Dr. Romaine Wilder is forced to leave Chicago and return to the small town of Roble in East Texas where she grew up after her parents died. Her Aunt Zanne (a/k/a Babet) who owns Ball Funeral Home & Crematorium is very focused on making sure that Romaine permanently stays in Roble. After a long train ride, they arrived in a rainy downpour and upon arrival at the funeral home, they find Josephine Gail Cox, Babet’s oldest friend and a frequent resident in a mental health facility, soaking wet in the driveway. Shortly after, Romaine’s cousin, Pogue Folsom, the newly sheriff, pulled into the drive and told them that Josephine Gail had reported an extra dead body in the funeral home. Turns out that Josephine Gail was right; there’s an unauthorized and unidentified corpse, a possible murder victim, inside one of Babet’s coffins. Tri-County’s medical examiner, Doc Westin, isn’t feeling well and gives his permission for Romaine to perform the autopsy since she’s kept her Texas license current. This is Pogue’s first murder case and he’s quite insecure and uncertain how to proceed, but he thinks Josephine Gail might be guilty. The fact that Romaine is a medical examiner allows her to work closely with Pogue on the investigation and be privy to details an amateur sleuth wouldn’t have access to. Romaine and Auntie Zanne are both determined to help Pogue capture the murderer, but Babet is focused on one suspect, Pogue’s mother, Julep, even though the facts don’t support her theory. In her determination to solve the case and absolve her friend, Josephine Gail, Babet goes around pushing and probing people for details and bending the law to suit her purposes. Pogue is scheduled to attend an out-of-town law enforcement conference and asks for Romaine’s help, so she and her aunt investigate on their own.
I received an Advance Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and voluntarily reviewed it. -
Thank you to Henery Press and NetGalley for an early review copy of Secrets, Lies, and Crawfish Pies by Abby L Vandiver, which will publish June 12, 2018. All thoughts are my own.
Writing: 3.5 Plot: 3.5 Characters: 4
A fun, cozy, mystery - full of colorful Southern characters surrounded by good food and music.
Romaine Gabriela Sadie Heloise Wilder is a medical examiner in Chicago, in love with the married Chief of Staff of her hospital. When she loses her job and man through one swift act of downsizing, she is dragged home to East Texas (Roble, to be exact) by her voodoo and herbal remedy-wielding Aunt Zanne. When they arrive they find a surprise guest at the Ball Funeral Home and Crematorium — the family business. He fits right in, though, as he is quite, quite, dead. Romie solves the mystery with the help of her Aunt, the sheriff (a first cousin), and a couple of attractive beaux-in-waiting.
Fun, light, well-written. For those who care about these kinds of things, the author and most (perhaps all) of the characters are African American. I hadn’t heard of this author before, but she is quite prolific with three additional mystery series to her name — so if you like this one, you’ll have a lot more to read! -
Secrets, Lies, & Crawfish Pies is the first book in the Romaine Wilder Mystery series. Romaine Wilder has recently lost her job as a medical examiner in Chicago. She returns to her small hometown in East Texas, and stumbles upon a dead body in her aunt’s funeral home. This should come as no surprise, since it is a funeral home, but this body was dumped there.
This is a cute first in a new series that has good bones and can quickly become a hit series.
I volunteered to read and review an ARC of this book provided by the publisher and NetGalley. -
I really enjoyed this story. I just knew that I knew who the murderer was and was totally surprised to find out who did it. The only reason I gave this book four stars was because of grammatical errors. A few I can absolutely understand because no one catches everything, but there were just a few too many and they became distracting. Other than that it is a great story and I am looking forward to reading the second one in the series.
-
“The amusing narrative zips along, providing a multilayered plot with loads of plausible suspects and possible motives. Cozy fans will look forward to Romaine’s future exploits.” – Publishers Weekly
-
This has everything that a good cozy mystery should have: Interesting characters covering a range of ages and lives, a good sideline story of food and music and most importantly a dead body. At least the murderer was nice enough to put the body in a casket at the funeral home. However it was just that, a good story. I liked it but did not love it. There are a lot of great cozy mysteries out there and this one was just not my cup of tea.
-
This is a strong beginning to what will be a great series. I love the setting, a small town in East Texas. The author creates well developed characters, an interesting plot and a satisfying mystery. I loved the story so much that I didn't want to put it down!
*I'd 👍 to thank the author/publisher/Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a fair and honest review* -
The cozy mystery genre is my favorite at the moment and I find myself constantly searching for new stories where the protagonist is not in one of the frequently used occupations. So it was nice to come across Romaine Wilder who is a medical examiner as opposed to a baker, restaurant owner, or homemaker. It added an interesting element that allowed her to be working closely with the sheriff on the case and receive key details to the case. She performs the autopsy and helps determine the victim's cause of death. Often in these stories our lead just happens to conveniently overhear details or people around town are so charmed by her they easily spill details.
Now if you want someone who goes around pushing and probing people for details her Auntie Zanne does that in her determination to solve the case and absolve her best friend. Auntie Zanne is that family member who you love one minute and grates your nerves the next. She narrows in on one suspect and convinces herself they are the murder while trying to twist the clues to fit them. She's a New Orleans Creole Queen with a touch of Texan Southern Belle. Auntie Zanne is well known around town for being involved in just about every committee and for her business the Ball Funeral Home & Crematorium. Her occupation and natural need to be involved put her right in the middle of the drama. My only complaint is that sometimes her big personality and pushiness outshines Romaine as she drags her from place to place determined to solve the mystery in between planning the county's big festival.
I'm not too familiar with Southern culture but this story had me craving crawfish pies and some ice cold sweet tea.
And yes I do want to make note that our lead Romaine is an unapologetic black women because there are so few black women in cozy mysteries. Now in the past year we have become acquainted with quite a few and I'm happy to see this number growing. And Romaine's New Orleans family routes as well as her father's musical routes were very important to her.
I received an ARC courtesy of Henery Press and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review -
Romaine Wilder has lost her job in a Chicago hospital and forced to return home to Roble, Texas, to live with her Aunt Zanne (Babet) at the family funeral home. She isn't happy but is convinced it's only temporary so is going to make it work.
The moment they return home they see a family friend, Josephine Gail, out on the lawn in the rain babbling about a dead body. Well, it is a funeral home, of course - but the dead body doesn't belong there. No one seems to know who it is or how he got there. When Romaine does a quick check, she can't find any reason why he should be dead in the first place, but will know more after an autopsy. When it's discovered how he was murdered and who he was, then her cousin Sheriff Pogue Folsum has his work cut out for him trying to find out who murdered the man.
Standing in his way is Zanne, who is trying to make his job harder and Romie's life miserable while she decides she's going to find a killer who had the nerve to leave an unwanted body in her funeral home...
Following are spoilers: -
Secrets, Lies, & Crawfish Pies is the first in a cozy mystery series that feature the fortyish-year-old medical examiner Romaine Wilder, who was born and raised in the small town of Roble (pronounced ro-BLAY) in East Texas. Crawfish festivals are a huge deal here, along with everyone knowing everyone else’s business, which is probably why Romaine left in the first place. Now, the loss of her job in Chicago is bringing her back until she figures out what to do with her life.
The plot of this book hooked me in right away, and then the bait stopped coming. The blurb is interesting enough: Romaine Wilder, a big-city medical examiner, returns to the small town she grew up in until she can find another job slicing open the dead and determining their cause of death. Equally interesting is that her bossy elderly Auntie Zanne has owned, operated and lived in her own funeral home for decades. While Romaine only plans to stay with her aunt until she finds employment back in Chicago, her aunt has her heart set on her niece finding an eligible man and settling down where she can keep a watchful southern eye on things. Both agendas are somewhat thwarted when they come home to find a dead body that doesn’t appear on their list of stiffs that are sent to them for embalming. They make up their minds to solve this mystery.
The plot of this book seemed intriguing enough, and the first sentence was an appropriate hook. Then, I got my first red flag in the very first chapter, when I read this clunker of a sentence:
“Anxiety simmering, embarrassment teetering, I clutched my highball glass tightly in hand, gave a tug on my mini, off-the-shoulder Tadashi Shoji blush-colored cocktail dress, and headed off on my mission.”
I don’t know if you noticed, but five adjectives were used to describe one dress. I hoped the entire book wasn’t going to be that way, or seventy-five percent of the text was going to be adjectives. But I pressed on, willing to overlook the small things in favor of a promising plot.
After a few chapters, I started to lose interest in moving forward. I just could not get into the slow pacing of this book. While the chapters were short, some of them could have been skipped entirely for all the information they gave and the events that occurred, which were few in number and devoid of excitement. There seemed to be way too much dialogue in some chapters, and not enough building up of tension. New characters were introduced, then never seen again. If they did show up again, I don’t know...I didn’t stick with the book long enough to find out.
There was only one character in the story that actually seemed three-dimensional. Unfortunately, I kept wanting to punch her because she was so annoying. Auntie Zanne, also known as Babet. Her sole function seemed to be sticking her nose everywhere it had no business being, from the murder investigation to Romaine's personal life. I was glad she wasn't MY aunt, because I would have told her off.
I must confess that I personally did not find this book to be a page-turner. After getting through 130 pages, which was roughly half of the book, I had to stop reading. This was the first cozy mystery I’ve ever read, so I don’t know if they’re all like this. Maybe they’re just not my crawfish pie, but this story didn’t do a whole lot to entertain me. In fact, I was bored. Others might not feel the same, so don’t just take my word for it. Read it yourself. In contrast, I’ve seen a lot of poorly-rated and unpopular movies that were right up my dark alley, so in the end, it’s all down to perspective. -
Secrets, Lies, and Crawfish Pies is the first story in Abby L. Vandiver’s new Romaine Wilder series. Recently downsized from her medical examiner position in Chicago, Romaine finds herself accompanying her Auntie Zanne by train back to her childhood home in Roble, Texas.
Romaine’s people are from Creole background, but when their home of New Orleans was ramrodded by racist bureaucracy in the mid twentieth century their was a mass migration to East Texas, first to the Houston area, later after tragedy struck, Auntie Zanne moved on to Roble with her new husband. There they opened the Ball Funeral Home and Crematorium. Some years later tragedy struck once more with the loss of both of Romaine’s parents. At this time a young Romaine came to live with her aunt. Now, after all of her years’ of study and hard work, returning to Roble seems like defeat.
Auntie Zanne’s right hand man Rhett Remmiere gets them at the station with the last leg of the journey in pouring down rain. Their homecoming is met by Auntie’s best friend Josephine Gail dancing in the rain awaiting the arrival of new sheriff, and Romaine’s first cousin on her father’s side, Pogue Folsom. It seems that Josephine Gail has discovered a dead body on the premises, one that was not accounted for.
New to the job in an area with minimal crime, Pogue is clueless as to how to investigate. That was part of what he was to learn at the conference he was to attend the following day. With Romaine’s encouragement, Pogue does go to the mandated conference. To further complicate matters, however, the tri-County medical examiner is ill. With her national and local certifications in order, Romaine steps in to do the autopsy, but then is swept along in Auntie’s ideas of how to solve the crime.
In a fast paced, often funny, story of life in a small East Texas town and the interesting characters who dwell there, we are treated to a winding mystery that will be solved, even if serendipitously so. This is a fun read and I do recommend it -
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
SECRETS, LIES, & CRAWFISH PIES by Abby L. Vandiver (published June 12, 2018 by Henery Press) is the first novel in the Romaine Wilder Mystery series. Romaine Wilder has recently lost her job as a medical examiner in Chicago. She returns to her small hometown in East Texas, and almost immediately stumbles upon a dead body in her aunt’s funeral home. Now, finding a dead body in a funeral home shouldn’t be that big of a surprise – except this body shouldn’t be there. It turns out that this person was murdered, and then his body was dumped at the funeral home to dispose of it. Romaine reluctantly teams up with her overzealous, nosy Auntie Zanne to figure out how and why the corpse wound up in her funeral home, and find the killer.
I found SECRETS, LIES, & CRAWFISH PIES to be a very fun novel. There are many times where I laughed out loud. And Auntie Zanne is one of my new favorite amateur sleuths. She’s eccentric, she’s determined, and she’s not going to let anyone come between her and her many missions. She also steals the show from her niece! Romaine is an equally interesting character, and she perfectly balances out her aunt as the two work together. The author also brings small town Texas to life. The descriptions made me feel like I was right there in Robel, Texas. The mystery aspect also kept me guessing throughout the novel – there were numerous suspects and motives. The secondary plot lines were also intriguing and helped move the story along. -
A nice beginning to a new cozy series. Romaine Wilder is a Chicago medical examiner who has been "downsized" and is heading home to tiny Robel, Texas to figure out how she can get back to the big city. Her Aunt Zanne, who raised her, is the proprietor of Ball Funeral Home and a force of nature in the small town, and boy, does she have different plans for Romaine. Before Romaine even gets her foot in the front door, crisis erupts when an "extra" body is found in the funeral home with signs of murder. Lots of wild antics, eclectic characters (Aunt Zanne's mentally fragile best friend is a very nice addition), Creole flavor, Texas attitude and a plausible mystery make for an enjoyable read. The first book in a series is always the most difficult, taking extra time to introduce the characters and the setting. At first, Romaine's mild character seemed completely overwhelmed by her overbearing and extremely bossy aunt. But by the end of the story, Romaine was growing a spine, and Aunt Zanne's motives and methods turned out to be more thoughtful and compassionate than they at first seemed, and the two begin to form a stronger partnership in both life and sleuthing. Only temporary, of course, until Romaine gets back to the city.... Yeah, right.
My copy was an ARC from NetGalley -
What a delightful read! Lots of great characters with quirky personalities. It's obvious that the author spent a lot of time developing them and wanted you to become a part of the town of Roble, TX.
Great mystery from the very first of the book and keeps you guessing until the end. I had a clue, but wasn't sure which person might be guilty of murder until the very end. But it doesn't matter if you can't figure it out right away, because the story is full of twists and turns and lots of crazy antics. Auntie Zanne has you chuckling and understanding how Romaine could lose her cool with her aunt.
It appears this book sets things up for a sequel and I am looking anxiously forward to seeing what happens with Romaine and a couple of interested "fellas". The book moves along quickly and you are constantly facing a new clue as you try to figure out the identity of the dead body found at the funeral home and how he got there.
The one negative aspect is that I did not like the situation Romaine left in Chicago. She's too smart to put up with that type of relationship. But we'll see what happens when the next book comes out...hopefully soon!
Thank you to Henery Press and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest feedback.
