3 out of 5 stars
Halloween Bingo 2025
This little mystery was a bit of light relief following a Victorian adventure novel. I have been enjoying DeLeon's Miss Fortune Mysteries, featuring CIA agent in hiding, Fortune Redding. That series is amusing enough that I decided to give her Ghost-in-Law series a try. The set up had promise: Botanist Maryse Robicheaux is attending her almost-ex-mother-in-law’s funeral when Helena's ghost sits up in the casket and starts yelling at the congregation. No one sees her except Maryse and when Helena finally processes the fact of her death, she tracks her reluctant daughter-in-law down and demands her assistance in discovering her murderer.
This plot leans heavily on the horrible mother-in-law trope. Helena has a reputation in the Louisiana town of Mudbug as a rich bitch. Her husband and son are both shiftless, pleasure seeking idiots. Maryse has been trying for years to locate the son, Hank, to serve him with divorce papers. Helena's lawyer advises Maryse to be present when the will is read and she is startled to realize that she has inherited the stewardship of a large chunk of bayou. Unluckily, someone seems to want her out of the way because of this. Luckily she has good friends who will help her out. Possibly including a man masquerading as a zoologist and insisting on sharing her office.
Somehow this book didn't seem as humerous to me as Miss Fortune, but a mystery is a mystery and I wanted to know whodunnit. It was a short, easy read and the mysteries are partially solved. Helena is still hanging around, leading to several more books, so I trust that all will be revealed eventually. A check of my library's database showed that the second book is unavailable. I can't say that I'm very disappointed—one book was fun, but I have no burning desire to read further.
I read this book for the Ghosts and Hauntings square of my Halloween Bingo card.
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