Review: Postcards from the Dead by Laura Childs

Postcards from the Dead by Laura Childs

Berkley

October 2012

Format: Hardcover,  336 pages

First line: A dazzling night filled with gigantic floats, silver beads, dizzying lights, fire-twirling flambeaus, and a crowd that was fueled by too much Dixie Beer and Southern Comfort.

From the inside cover: New Orleans is in
the throes of another fantastic Mardi Gras celebration when the party
gets crashed by a murderer. Now a scrapbooking sleuth is going to have
to stop the partying to catch the killer…

There’s a parade
rolling through the historic French Quarter, with gigantic floats,
silver beads, and dizzying lights—and Kimber Breeze of KBEZ-TV is
broadcasting live from a small balcony on the fourth floor of the Hotel
Tremain, interviewing locals and capturing the spectacle down below. Her
next subject will be Carmela Bertrand, owner of Memory Mine
scrapbooking shop. Carmela has never been a fan of Kimber, but she isn’t
about to turn down the chance of good publicity for her shop.

But before Carmela’s shop gets its five minutes of fame, a killer slips
onto the balcony and strangles Kimber with a cord, leaving her body
dangling above the parade. Carmela is horrified, but she quickly
discovers the nightmare isn’t over. Because someone is now leaving
strange postcards at Carmela’s shop—signed by the dead Kimber. Now
Carmela and her friend Ava will have to risk their own necks to find out
who’s posing as a ghost—and to expose a killer…  

My thoughts: This is the 10th book in Laura Child’s Scrapbooking Mystery series and it was filled with action – not only due to the murder but also because of the Mardi Gras celebrations going on.

As Carmela is waiting her turn to be interviewed during one of the parades, the reporter is mysteriously strangled and left hanging over the balcony. Carmela is fine with letting the police do their job. Even beau, Homicide Detective Edgar
Babcock, tells her repeatedly not to get involved. It isn’t until she begins receiving strange postcards apparently from Kimber, the dead
reporter, that Carmela gets involved and gets her best friend Ava to help. Who is sending these mysterious postcards and do they have anything to do with Kimber’s death?

One of my favorite parts of this series are the scrapbooking tips that are mentioned throughout the book and also the ones included at the end. I am a scrapbooker myself and after reading these books, I always find myself wishing I had more time to devote to scrapbooking and also that there was a shop similar to Carmela’s Memory Mine that held classes I could attend. I love when Carmela holds classes – not only for the great ideas, but also for all the gossip we get as the gals chat it up. 

As the series continues, I feel that each of the main characters continues to be developed. We find out a little bit more about Carmela, Babcock, Ava and the rest of the gang, helping to develop a sense of really knowing these characters and what motivates them – giving us the sense that they could be real people. I love all the Mardi Gras flair that Laura Childs includes, and find that with each book, I learn something new about the event. In this case, it’s that store owners use chicken wire to protect their shop windows during the parades.

I’m looking forward to what comes next for Carmela…I only wish I didn’t have to wait a year to find out! 

Do you have a hobby that you wish you had more time to devote to like I do with scrapbooking?

(I borrowed this book from the library.)

Books in this series: 

1. Keepsake Crimes                          6.  Death Swatch
2. Photo Finished                             7.  Tragic Magic
3. Bound for Murder                        8.  Fiber & Brimstone
4. Motif for Murder                          9.  Skeleton Letters   
5. Frill Kill                                         10.  Postcards from the Dead