Customer Reviews

Trouble in Mudbug

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Helena Henry was dead and didn't know it when she woke up at her own funeral. The only person who could see her was her estranged daughter-in-law who inherited a bayou full of trouble from her mother-in-law and from there this ghost story turned murder mystery turned romance story gets off to a running start. Lots of fun, very entertaining and a real whodunit that had me guessing right to the end. Happy to see there are more books in the series. Small Spoiler: The author did manage to work in some adult content in the romance subplot so readers who wish to avoid that may want to be forewarned, and those who are looking for that may be disappointed as it was quite brief.

Jana DeLeon's first in the Ghost-in-Law series introduces Helena Henry, the dead mother-in-law to Maryse Robicheaux. Helena was never well liked in the town of Mudbug and her daughter-in-law was at the top of the list of people who couldn't stand her. Helena's wayward son, Hank disappeared 2 years ago and Maryse needs to find him to serve him divorce papers. Unfortunately, he still hasn't made an appearance, but his mother is now haunting Maryse.

Maryse's dull like suddenly gets interesting with a ghost haunting her, someone trying to kill her, and a hot officemate that is wreaking havoc on her hormones.

I really enjoyed this book. It is laugh-out-loud funny and cute. The mystery is decent with enough red herrings to keep the reader guessing, but also not too difficult to figure out. The Maryse/Luc romance is just hot enough without being too steamy. I enjoyed the first 2/3 more than the last 1/3...mostly because the end wasn't as humorous. It also closed everything up without as much excitement.

The style is similar to Stephanie Plum, but not as goofy--just fun. Also similar to Kathleen Bacus's Calamity Jayne series though not as immature (Tressa was young and in the process of growing up). All are very humorous. This one does have more descriptive sex, though (only one episode and it isn't too steamy).

The next installment of the series involves Maryse's friend, Sabine. I'm looking forward to more antics from Helena. She may not have been liked in life, but she's a lot more fun in death!

Maryse goes to her mother-in-law funeral even though she had lots of problems dealing with her and in the middle of funeral sees her crawling out of the casket. Maryse talks more with helena now that she is dead than a live and together they try and find out who is trying to kill maryse and who suceeded to kill Helena. their is lots of action, attempted murder a few times. talking to a ghost that only she can see causes some fun embarrsing moments. I enjoyed the book and look forward to reading more of the series

I really liked this little book. It has a neat idea for the characters - the dead mother in law (Ghost-in-Law) is a riot and her relationship with Maryse is not only funny, but the interaction between the two is real. Conversations you can believe and dialogue that real people would use everyday. Gotta love Luc, the love interest here, he's hot, romantic and still sensible and the kind of guy you can picture meeting in real life. The storyline was more interesting than the romance (which was pretty decent too) and I will definately keep an eye out for the next book in this series.

This was an impulse buy for a reader who loves paranormal and mysteries. Combine the two and I'm hooked.

But what a pleasant surprise that the book trotted along at a nice clip and the characters were filled with quirks, personality and gusto. I have to say I fell a little bit in love with Helena, the MIL that refuses to move on to the next plane. And Maryse's dealings with her had me laughing out loud. That isn't to say it's not also a well plotted mystery with clues to keep you guessing, a hunky love interest, and just a hint of a teaser to make you want to pick up the next book. A fun ride!

Barbra Annino
Author of Opal Fire (A Stacy Justice Mystery)

Jana DeLeon's Trouble In Mudbug is a laugh out loud awesome read.

Maryse Robicheaux attends the funeral for her deceased mother in law, Helena Henry. Helena made Maryse's live a living hell when she walked the earth. Imagine Maryse shock and horror when Helena decides to haunt Maryse in the middle of the service. Helena needs Maryse help to find out who killed her.

Maryse has enough on her plate without Helena dodging her ever step. She is trying to find the source of a cancer cure out in the bayou. Now she has a hotter then sin person sharing her tiny office.

Luc LeJeune is under cover in Mudbug, LA as a zoologist for the state. The higher ups think Maryse may be involved in something shady. The more the gets to know her the less likely this appears to be true. Luc finds himself very attracted to Maryse and this is a huge problem for him.

With Helena's death someone is out to harm Maryse. Luc jeopardizes everything to keep Maryse safe.

Trouble In Mudbug is one of the funniest books I have read. I busted out laughing so many times. The wit is priceless and the chemistry between Maryse and Luc is hotter then any night in the bayou.

Absolutely loved this series!!! All three books have the key ingredients I want in a book ~ mystery, romance and humor. I look forward to reading more books by Jana DeLeon......

I had problems with the "hunky love interest" part of this -- it was just not believable that the two antagonists would immediately fall into lust at first sight and in love shortly thereafter. I also have a bit of distrust of characters who are too perfect. Give 'em a character flaw or two. Set up some conflict other than yearning to get into bed.

The mother-in-law part was funny and enjoyable. Great setup: a detested mother-in-law who refuses to stay dead? And there were a few scintillating bits of wordsmithery here and there, such as "she sorta resembled the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man dressed in Pepto-Bismol," and the way we find out that Maryse is possessed by Helena's ghost.

I really wanted to like this. I'm sorry that I didn't.

This is the first in a series of great books. The characters are loveable and captivating. You need to read them in order so start with this one and you will be running to get the other 2. Ghosts have never been so entertaining!

This book was a bit of a let-down fo rme because it started off so well. As soon as I read the sample which was amusing and fast-paced, I downloaded the book right away. I was really looking forward to this one, but I found as I got futher into that it was a very uneven read. basically the book can be split into 2 parts. one is the very amusing storyline with maryse's hellish-and dead-mother-in-law haunting her and pressuring her into solving the mystery of her murder. this part of the book is very well done and entertaining. I really looked forward to their scenes together.

the second part of this book is the so-called romance with Luc, who was such a cardboard cut-out cliche in my opinion, that I simply could not get into him and maryse as a couple, or really believe any of Luc's "thoughts" and we were subjected to pages and pages of his lame, lothario-type internal monologues. that spoiled the overall enjoyment of the read for me, until I just literally skipped over all of his scenes. I think part of my annoyance was that Maryse seems much cooler when she's focused on the mystery and her annoying mother-in-law than when she's mentally worshipping Luc's butt and wasting pages of thoughts about his tight jeans etc. It just changed her character almost like a light switch going on and off.

Final criticism was that the botany stuff went on a little long for me. maybe it was just me but reading about the seed packets and plant samples slowed down the pace of the book a lot. I don't want to be too harsh because Jana DeLeon is obviously capable of amusing dialogue and good writing, and I do like when authors mix mystery plots with love stories. I know that "romance" can be subjective. this particular romance just really felt flat to me but perhaps would work for someone else.