Customer Reviews

Tragic Magic (Kennebec Large Print Superior Collection)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

After three long years wrangling over a divorce, Carmela Bertrand and Seamus are near a settlement if his sister Gloria minds her business. In the meantime, four years since Katrina, Carmela, owner of Memory Mine scrapbook shop, is finally finding her customers coming back and making money. Her friend, Melody Mayfeldt is up against a deadline to convert an old mansion Medusa Manor into a haunted house that will attract customers from all over the country. When Carmela and her friend Ava Gruiex, owner of Juju Voodoo, are near Medusa Manor, they hear a loud explosion and see a fiery body flying through a window.

The victim is Melody; a shaken Carmela and Ava are accosted by Melody's silent partner Olivia Wainwright who pleads with them to get the haunted house ready in time for the horror convection DiscordaCon. Carmela's significant other Detective Edgar Babcock tells her that Melody's husband Garth, owner of the Fire and Ice high end jewelry store, is the prime suspect; as the shop is bankrupt and he recently took out insurance on his late wife. Carmela and the cops have other suspects, but as each investigates separately increasingly Garth looks guilty.

New Orleans is still trying to return to normal as the Big Easy, but there is plenty left to do. Although fans will have to accept Carmela's need to sleuth, as part of her being a strong independent person who refuses to let neither Seamus nor Edgar bully her; ironically their motives on the altruism scale are wide apart. Fast-paced with plenty of action, TRAGIC MAGIC is terrific scrapbooking amateur sleuth mystery in which the audience will enjoy stomping through the mud while trying to determine who killed Melody before the heroine can.

Harriet Klausner

I really enjoyed this mystery cozy. The heroines,
Carmela and Ava, make this book an enjoyable read for me.
Those two ladies know how to find trouble.
Visiting graveyards, designing haunted houses, finding dead bodies,
are all in a "days work" for them.
The location, New Orleans, is perfect for this mystery.
Bring out your Mari Gras beads, and sit back for an enjoyable cozy read.
The recipes and scrapbook ideas are wonderful too.

TRAGIC MAGIC is a scrapbooking mystery set in New Orleans and revolving around Carmella, owner of Memory Mine scrapbooking store, and her best friend Ava, owner of Juju Voodoo. Their joint project converting an old mansion into a haunted house backfires when the haunted house becomes too authentic and death walks among them in this vivid mystery perfect for any serious mystery collection.

New Orleans is again the wonderful background for the latest Scrapbooking Mystery. Carmela and her friend Ava have taken on the project of converting an old mansion into a haunted house for a woman named Melody Mayfeldt. Things turn truly spooky when a dead body comes hurtling at Carmela and Ava as they are working at the mansion. The victim's husband is the #1 suspect, but Carmela sets out to prove that he is not the guilty party. A subplot concerns Carmela's divorce from Shamus, which may go down as the longest divorce process in history, thanks to Shamus' meddling sister. This is another pleasant cozy from author, Laura Childs.

I enjoyed this book. It was set in New Orleans, post Katrina. Carmela Bertram, is the proprietor of the Memory Lane Scrapbooking shop so there are scrapbooking suggestions all through this mystery. There is also a great section on scrapbooking and delicious sounding receipes in the back of the book. Her friend, Ava Gruex, owns JuJu Voodoo and knows how to conduct seances and is knowledgeable about voodoo. The pair are very likeable and the story is satisfying but it will make you hungry!

I really enjoyed this particular book. Although some things seemed far fetched it was still good, and enjoyed the fact that the whodunit wasn't obvious.

Carmela and her friend Ava have been contracted to decorate Medusa Manor for a haunted house by their friend Melody. When they arrive a the house for the first time to meet Melody, they find her in a gruesome and unexpected way. They find her murdered. Carmela finds herself investigating a crime where some of her friends seem to be suspects.

I loved the setting of New Orleans and the idea of setting up a haunted house. Childs brings the city to life in many ways, from the people to the streets to the celebrations. Carmela is avery believable character that quickly grew to like...almost a little too much. She almost seemed a little too perfect at times. The mystery kept me guessing up until the very end, which is something that really makes a mystery for me.

3.5/5

I enjoy reading cozy mysteries and Laura Childs has several different series which I follow. Even though I don't do scrapbooking, I like reading about the ideas her heroine comes up with for scrapbook pages. Throw in a murder or two and it is the perfect thing to read on a winter day, by the fire, with a cup of tea.

I really enjoy this series, and Tragic Magic was very good. I loved learning more about the Southern lifestyle. I know nothing about scrapbooking, but that part would be attractive to someone with that hobby as well.

Another great one in her Scrapbook Series of books. I also recommend the Teashop Mysteries as well. Tragic Magic (A Scrapbooking Mystery)