"Exciting amateur sleuth mystery"
After a year of marriage, her husband quits his job at the
bank and moves to his family place in the Bayou. Although
Shamus comes from old world money he wants to be free and
get his photographs into a high class gallery. The bond
that ties Carmela to her husband is still strong so that
neither has filed for a divorce. Still Carmela has moved
on with her life in a professional capacity, opening a
store in the French Quarter. Memory Mine sells scrapbooks
and gives lessons to customers who want to turn them into
art. Next door to Memory Mine is Menagerie Antiques owned by
Bartholomew, a man who Carmela believes works on the wrong
side of the law. One night while giving a craft lesson,
Carmela's assistant finds Bart dead in the alley, a
scissors in his chest. Everyone from her assistant to her
best friend expects Carmela to uncover the identity of the
killer and she does her best to accommodate their
expectations. PHOTO FINISHED is an exciting amateur sleuth mystery
starring a heroine that is impossible to not like. She
moves at supersonic speed which means a fast plot, plenty
of action and a lot at hair-raising adventure though why
involvement in a homicide investigation seems stretched.
Laura Childs takes the reader on a tour of New Orleans
that seems so realistic that the audience will believe
they are there. One should not read this novel on an
empty stomach because the mouth watering descriptions of
foods will make the reader visit the nearest five star
restaurant. Harriet Klausner
Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted December 20, 2003
SummaryNew Orleans scrapbooking shop owner Carmela Bertrand is
hosting a late-night "Crop Till You Drop" session-when a
neighboring antique-shop owner winds up murdered in the
alley. Now, the scrapbooking expert must rearrange the
jumble of clues and pick out the killer.
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