Whenever people picture the grand old mansions that line the Mississippi River, they tend to imagine sugary columns, sweeping staircases and wraparound porches that stretch out forever.
That’s what I expected when I moved to Bleu Bayou a few years ago to set up a hat-making studio. Little did I know it’s what happens inside those mansions that adds spice to the gumbo, as we say here in southern Louisiana, and not what appears on the outside.
Not to mention, this area has more bayous than you can shake a stick at, and all of them teem with intrigue of one kind or another.
We’re talking murder investigations, wandering ghosts, and conspiracies galore. So, while I spend my days pleasing persnickety brides at my hat studio, I spend my nights alongside the parish’s star police detective, who happens to be my very best friend.
It’s a handful. Thank goodness I have a handsome beau who calms my nerves whenever it gets to be a bit much. Not to mention a wonderful assistant and neighboring shopkeepers who keep me sane.
Why, just the other day, the town’s very own Ruby Oubre went missing. Now, the elderly Cajun is known for fixing magick potions on a stove in her doublewide, so we all figured she up and drove to New Orleans to peddle her potions. Too bad that’s not what happened.
Long story short, I found myself knee deep in another investigation, and at the worst possible time, too. That’s just how things happen down here in Bleu Bayou, where the only things spicier than the gumbo are the people who eat it.
Giveaway: If you could live in one of the grand old mansions that dot the Mississippi River, would you? Tell us why (or why not) for a chance to win a paperback copy of All Hats on Deck, which is limited to U.S. residents. The giveaway ends September 16, 2019. The winner will be notified by email (so check your spam folder). Good luck y’all!
You can read more about Missy in All Hats On Deck, the fifth book in the “Missy DuBois” cozy mystery series, released September 10, 2019.
No Southern wedding is complete without a special veil designed by Louisiana hat maker Missy DuBois. But it’s hats off to Missy when she tries to save her town from a bayou killer. . .
When Ruby Oubre asks Missy to advise her grandson on a business idea, the successful owner of Crowning Glory is happy to oblige. After a quick jaunt down the river, Missy meets with eighteen-year-old Hollis about the viability of opening an alligator farm for tourists. But it isn’t an alligator Missy finds floating at the mossy bottom of the Atchafalaya River. It’s Ruby, and her death wasn’t caused by accidental drowning. It seems everyone from local tour boat operators to the chief of police and the mayor of Bleu Bayou had an eye on snatching up Ruby’s riverbank property. If Missy doesn’t unveil a greedy killer soon, her hat-making career could be bogged down for good. . .
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About the author
Sandra Bretting writes The Missy DuBois Mystery Series for Kensington/Lyrical Underground. A graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism, she began her career writing for the Los Angeles Times, Orange Coast Magazine and others. From 2006 until 2016, she wrote feature stories for the award-winning business section of the Houston Chronicle.
The Missy DuBois Mystery Series follows milliner and bona fide Southern belle Missy DuBois, who becomes entangled in several unfashionable murders on the Great River Road in Louisiana. The first book, Murder at Morningside, debuted in 2016, followed by Something Foul at Sweetwater, and Someone’s Mad at the Hatter in 2017, and Death Comes to Dogwood Manor arrived in 2018.
Sandra welcomes readers to connect with her at sandrabretting.com.
All comments are welcomed.
I would love to live in one of the grand old mansions alobg the Mississippi. I love old houses. The history that makes up the mansion. I think of Gone With The Wind. This sounds like a great book.
I would live in one of those mansions if it came with $$$$ for upkeep & $$ for live-in help. I’d probably be forced to bring in boarders or keep much of it closed off. ☺
I would love to live in one, but it would need to be like The Myrtles. I love the idea of living in a haunted Southern Manse.
I love the Antebellum mansions along the Mississippi River. I love the Antebellum era and would love to live in any of the Grand Homes.
It would be a pleasure to live in a grand old mansion as long as I had the staff to help maintain it. Since watching Scarlett O’Hara stroll down those beautiful stairs I’ve loved
the gracious looking mansions. Thanks for sharing Sandra Bretting’s latest book on
your blog.
It would be wonderful to live in one of those grand old homes with the tree-lined drives. All Hats on Deck sounds like a great book ~
Sure, I would love to live in one of those mansions. I currently live on land that was part of a plantation, plus two plantations right down the road from me.
Yes, I would love to live in one of the riverside mansions. I love this series. Thanks for the chance to win.
I wouldn’t mind one of the smaller mansions with some land! I think I already know what is involved (termites, mosquitoes, hurricanes, etc.) since I already live in that climate.
I wouldn’t turn down living in a mansion on the Mississippi River if I had unlimited income to maintain the place.
What a thought! I would have to consider the upkeep costs!
Don’t know if I’d like living in the south, but I’d sure enjoy the chance to live in one of these magnificent homes.
No, I wouldn’t want to live in a mansion on the Mississippi River. Maintaining the place would be costly.
If I had the money to buy one of the grand ladies of New Orleans I would be on the next plane down. I could spend my days reading and posting on line and the evenings enjoying some of the best food and music in the world. So HELL’S YEAH I’d do it.
Oh, and yes I’d like to be entered in the giveaway.
In a SNAP! you bet, with gumbo on the menu. What an adorable cover!
I wouldn’t want to live in one of those mansions–they’re great to visit, but the heat and humidity is too much–I toured New Orleans and the plantation houses around it in June, and I thought I would die from the heat.
I’d love to live in a grand mansion. I’ve always dreamed of being a southern belle. I may have even been one in a former life! Lol.