TROUBLE IN MUDBUG

Author: Jana DeLeon ISBN: 9780505527844 2/2009 MYSTERY Publisher: DORCHESTER/LOVE SPELL

Maryse Robicheaux can’t help heaving a sigh of relief at the news that her not-so-beloved mother-in-law has kicked the bucket. The woman was rude, manipulative and loved lording over everyone as the richest citizen of Mudbug, Louisiana. Unfortunately, death doesn’t slow Helena Henry down one bit. Being haunted—or more like harried—by Helena’s ghost isn’t even the worst of Maryse’s problems. Close to making a huge medical breakthrough, she’s suddenly been given an officemate, and the only thing bigger than Luc LeJeune’s ego is his sex appeal. Maryse would bet her life the hot half-Creole is hiding something. Especially because it seems someone’s out to kill her. But getting Luc to spill his secrets while avoiding Helena’s histrionics and staying alive herself will be the ultimate bayou balancing act.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

TROUBLE IN MUDBUG, the first Ghost-in-Law mystery romance, was so much fun to read that I really wish the second book in the series was available now, because I’d have stayed up last night and read it. This humorous story really hit the spot.

Maryse Robicheaux is a hard luck case with goals. Her parents are dead, her no-good husband has vanished, and what keeps her going is the search for a cancer-fighting plant that might have saved her father’s life if a mysterious medicine woman hadn’t died before finishing his treatment. Unfortunately, searching for this plant keeps her out, alone and vulnerable to danger, in the bayou a lot of the time.

She gets mixed up in a secret investigation for chemical polluters in the bayou just as her evil mother-in-law dies and begins haunting her. For a bad mother-in-law, Helena Henry is a very sympathetic hoot of a character and one of the best parts of the book. Romance develops as well, as Maryse falls for an undercover agent working on the pollution case.

DeLeon develops a cast of fabulous characters and her plot has plenty of twists and turns. She finds the heart in all but the most egregious of her story people and makes us care about them. I hope this series is a huge success for her!

Heather Hiestand