Review of Cajun Fried Felony by Jana DeLeon

Venus Thibodeaux had a reputation for being trouble. Some said she started at birth. When she finally left Sinful shortly after turning eighteen, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. When she blew back into town four years later, no one was happy about her return. She immediately launched into her same old scams, picking off Sinful residents with ease before disappearing again as quickly as she’d appeared.

Everyone assumed she’d headed back to New Orleans.

But when an accident at the annual Thanksgiving Turkey Run uncovers her body, everyone Venus took for a ride becomes a suspect. The man at the top of that list sees the writing on the wall and hires Fortune to figure out who killed Venus, before he goes to prison for a murder he didn’t commit. Fortune, Ida Belle, and Gertie start poking around into Venus’s complicated life, hoping to find the killer. And to solve their first official case.

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When a book starts out with a community race to ‘catch the wild turkeys’, you know you’re going to be in for a wild and hilarious ride. 

Book 14 in the Miss Fortune series works fine as a stand-alone. There are a few references made to earlier cases but this story is most certainly fully self-contained and readers get to meet all the key players and view them in their element.

The mystery to solve in this book is who killed bully and all round no-good-doer, Venus Thibodeaux. Given her past antics the suspect list is a looong one and each suspect has more than ample motive and opportunity. The victim in this case is so awful, you almost kinda wish the culprit would get away with the crime! There are several red herrings thrown in and clues are revealed frequently enough to keep the reader gripped.

There is some interesting character development where Ida Belle is concerned, and it will be fun to see how her choices play out in the next book. Thankfully, in this instalment, there were a few less jokes about Ida Belle and Gertie’s age and a touch less slapstick at Gertie’s expense. That said, I still think the author could give that lovable character some more quality attention. 

Additionally, I’d love to see even more character growth for Fortune. I don’t mean for her to become all clingy to Carter and cater to his every wish just to keep herself out of trouble. However, the resolution of this particular case had some good emotional potential. To see Fortune really affected and reflective, and even in actual need of some real care from her friends and boyfriend would have been nice. 

Overall, however, this was an entertaining addition to the series and one that has more than piqued my interest for the next.

I give Cajun Fried Felony 4/5 thankful espresso shots.