Carmela Bertrand owns a scrapbooking store, Memory Mine, in the heart of New Orleans. She's frequented by visitors and regulars alike. When she decides to have a late-night "Crop Till You Drop" session, she expects it will be with her usual customers. But when her neighbor, cranky Bartholomew Hayward, the owner of the antiques store next to her, knocks on her back door to tell her to move her car, she finds out she's not going to get what she expects after all. Especially when her employee Gabby offers to move Carmela's car, and the next thing she hears is Gabby's scream...

Carmela, along with the croppers, rush out and find Bartholomew's body in the alley - and he's been stabbed in the neck with a pair of crafting scissors. When the police suspect Barty's employee, Billy Cobb, of the murder, Carmela's friend Tandy Bliss is beside herself, because she's Billy aunt and refuses to believe him capable of murder.

On top of this, Carmela is still in love with her estranged husband Shamus, and she's surprised when he shows up and wants her to come to a party his sister Glory is giving. Glory has made it quite well known to Carmela that she doesn't like her at all, so this stuns her, but she still agrees to go, hoping that maybe they can be reconciled at some point.

When Tandy asks Carmela to help find the murderer since the police seem to be focused entirely on Billy, how can she refuse? So now Carmela is looking for a killer and trying to please everyone around her while she runs her business. But if her work load isn't going to kill her, someone else might just be looking to do it...

This is the second book in the series, and I did mention before that I've started with the later ones and enjoyed them so much that I decided to go back to the beginning. I'm very glad to say that I haven't been disappointed. Ms. Childs writes with a flair that brings you to the heart of New Orleans and everything around it. I've never been, but her books make me want to indeed visit this place. Her characters are lively and full of life, and I relish spending time with them.

The mystery itself is quite a lot of fun to read, with plenty of characters who wanted Barty dead, and the red herrings make it all that much more intriguing, with several going in different directions. I was surprised when I discovered the murderer, and that made it even more pleasing since it's always nice when you really can't figure it out.

In the end, everything was put together quickly and easily, and it left us wondering what will happen in the next book. Even though I know the eventual outcome, it's the journey that is the most interesting, and I will continue with this series. Recommended. ( )

This is definitely light fare; but quite enjoyable all the same. ( )

Not much of a mystery fan. Gave this a try because it was gift from a friend. It was easy to read. ( )

Synopsis: The antique dealer next door to Carmela's business is murdered and the nephew of one of her best friends/customers is suspected. Shamus re-appears, wanting Carmela to lend familial support to his sister as though they were still together. Sweetmama Pam, Ava's rather eccentric grandmother, adds a wry element to the normal group of scrapbooking customers.
Review: The seemingly endless on/off relationship between Shamus and Carmela is irritating. It was apparent from the beginning that the murder victim was a crook and equally apparent that one of his partners was the murderer. However, the setting and the descriptions of the work Carmela was doing was enough to hold the story together. There are several places in the story that may be foreshadows of stories to come. ( )

Fun read, but too typical. I am familiar with New Orleans, so that setting made it more interesting. Carmela's next door neighbor at her Memory Mine scrapbooking shop is murdered and she sets off to clear a customers nephew when she finds a unique clue. ( )