She got it right in this one. I was just along for the ride. Very good book. ( )

SKELETON LETTERS is the ninth book in Laura Childs' A Scrapbooking Mystery series. The book started out strong by setting up an intriguing mystery. Carmela Bertrand, the owner of a scrapbooking shop, and her best friend Ava witness the murder of their friend Bryle by someone hidden under a monk's robe inside St. Tristan's Church. The murderer also stole a priceless religious artifact uncovered in an archeological dig on church grounds. Because Bryle was their friend, Carmela and Ava start doing some digging of their own to uncover the guilty party.

After reading the first couple of chapters, I had very high hopes for the story, but in the end it was just okay. There were some parts of this book that worked for me, and others that didn't. The characters were fun, and I loved the friendship between Carmela and Ava. I have not read the previous books, but right away I felt like I was up to speed on the whos and whats of the series. I adore books set in New Orleans, and the author did a great job bringing the city to life. I especially loved hearing about the New Orleans cuisine!

As far as drawbacks go, there were a couple of things that I struggled with. I thought the pacing of the story was slow at times. Part of the reason was that there were scenes that veered off from the murder mystery, like calligraphy classes, event planning, etc. I love the interesting and sometimes quirky occupations in cozy mysteries, but I want the story to stay focused on the mystery. I don't want to give away spoilers, so I'll just say that I thought the ending was strange, as in who the murderer was and why. It left me scratching my head!

I'd say SKELETON LETTERS was a 2.75 out of 5 star read for me. I think those who have read the previous books in the series or are hardcore scrapbookers may appreciate it more than I did. I would like to know the history between Carmela and her ex-husband Shamus, so I plan to check out the earlier books. The first three books are available in one volume under the title DEATH BY DESIGN. ( )

Carmela Bertrand and her friend Ava Gruiex are back at it as detectives when they witness the murder of their friend Byrle in St. Tristan's Church.

Carmela can't seem to follow the warnings of her police detective boyfriend and gets involved in the investigation and together they get into a few very tight spots.

This is the 9th book in the Scrapbooking Mysteries series. The interaction of the characters has improved and I will look forward to the next in the series. ( )