The Scrapbook Lovers Mystery

On the fringe of New Orleans's French Quarter sits Carmela Bertrand's little scrapbooking shop, Memory Mine. Business is booming and life is cozy. But when one of the city's elite dies during Mardi Gras, the police tag Carmela's estranged husband as their number one murder suspect. Even though the memory of how he scrapped their marriage hasn't faded, Carmela doesn't think that Shamus is cut out to be a killer. She's an expert at framing things herself - and doesn't like the pattern being laid out by a disreputable detective and a shady newspaper columnist. Then, as Shamus begs for help, Carmela uncovers an important clue in a most unlikely place - one of her customer's scrapbooks.

Title: Keepsake Crimes
Author: Laura Childs
Series: Scrapbooking Mystery, Book 1
Published: May 6, 2003
Publisher: Prime Crime (Berkley Publishing)
Pages: 244
Genre: Cozy Mystery- Hobby

I’ve heard a lot about Laura Childs' tea shop books and I had been meaning to get around to reading them when I heard that she also had a scrapbooking mystery series as well. I just finished the first book Keepsake Crimes and I have to say I was really impressed! I love a good cozy mystery and I’ve always found scrapbooking fascinating but I just don’t have the patience for it. Plus it’s set in New Orleans during Mardi Gras and has a couple of really funny parts.

Actually, to tell the truth, there isn’t that much detective work by our scrapbooking sleuth, Carmella (isn’t that a beautiful name?). Most of the clues just happen to fall in her lap and I noticed a few inconsistencies (Gabby’s been married for two months on p.5 but then on p.11 it’s four months) but it really was a good first-in-the-series novel. The book includes a couple of recipes and also some scrapbooking tips at the end.

Scrapbooking Mysteries
1. Keepsake Crimes (2003)
2. Photo Finished (2004)
3. Bound for Murder (2004)
4. Motif for Murder (2006)
5. Frill Kill (2007)
6. Death Swatch (2008)
7. Tragic Magic (2009)
8. Fiber & Brimstone (2010)

First Paragraph: Carmella Bertrand spun out a good fifteen inches of gold ribbon and snipped it off tidily. "This," she told the little group of scrapbookers clustered around her table, "gets added to the center panel." Heads bobbed, and eager eyes followed Carmela's hands as she punched two quick holes in the scrapbook page, then deftly threaded the ribbon through.

Find Laura Childs Online
Official Site

Links:

History of Mardi Gras
~ Here are two songs that are mentioned in the book:
Professor Longhair’s Go to the Mardi Gras
Official Mardi Gras Ballad- If I Ever Cease to Love

Source: Library Loan, paperback