Book Review: Crescent City Christmas Chaos by Ellen Byron

 

Cozy mystery lovers are going to want to check out Crescent City Christmas Chaos by Ellen Byron, the fourth book in the Vintage Cookbook Mystery series. 

When Ricki James-Diaz's boyfriend invites her parents to New Orleans, she has no idea her parents will wind up being suspects in a murder tied to a secret from her mother's past. As Ricki juggles the busiest shopping season of the year at the Bon Vee Culinary House Museum, a community-inspired cookbook project, and a budding romance while trying to find a killer to clear her parents' names, it's a good thing that the staff of Bon Vee and her friends have her back. 

Before I get into my review, I have to give a shout-out to cover and jacket designer Nick May. What a fabulous, colorful, and fun cover he created for Crescent City Christmas Chaos. This is one of my favorite book covers of 2025. 

As readers dive into Crescent City Christmas Chaos, they discover Ricki is still on the hunt for her biological mother. Meanwhile, the shop is as busy as ever with holiday shoppers. When her boyfriend, Virgil Morel, announces he is making his first solo TV cooking show special, this brings Ricki's father, Luis, back to New Orleans to be Virgil's camera operator. Thrilled to have her parents in town, this will give her the excuse to pry more details about her adoption from her mother. But when Phyllis Gibbs, the woman who helped Josepha adopt Ricki decades ago, is found dead, Ricki's parents become the primary suspects once it is discovered she had been blackmailing Josepha. This leads Ricki and a supporting cast of characters to search for the real killer. 

Thankfully, Byron included a cast of characters broken down by who they are and where they work, because there are a ton, and I sometimes found it challenging to keep track of them all. This is a fun, light mystery with engaging characters, a fabulous setting, and a solid plot. Though this is the fourth novel in the series, it can stand on its own, and I don't feel anything is lost--except backstory--by reading this novel by itself. It's easy to see why Byron has won awards for her mysteries. I look forward to reading more from her.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Severn House
• Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 4, 2025
• Edition ‏ : ‎ Main
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 240 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 144831318X
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1448313181
• 
  

I received a copy of this book from the author. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way. 

Book Review: The Man Next Door by Sheila Roberts

 

If you are looking for a funny and warm romantic mystery, grab The Man Next Door by Sheila Roberts. 

After her divorce, Zona moved in with her mother, Louise. Her ex-husband and his gambling addiction drained not only their savings, but also her daughter Bree's college fund. Reducing her expenses will help her replace Bree's college fund so she can attend nursing school. 

Louise had been looking forward to a senior singles cruise until a broken leg changed her plans. Now, she is stuck at home, hanging with her buddy Martin, who is about as exciting as watching paint dry. The good news is that she has a gorgeous new neighbor next door, and he may be the one to lift Zona's spirits. Except...

There is something dark and mysterious about Alec Jones. Louise hears shouting matches with an unknown woman on the other side of the fence, and her true-crime, mystery-loving self can't help but wonder if he is dangerous. 

With The Man Next Door, Sheila Roberts has expanded her writing wings beyond the standard contemporary romance. All the elements she is known for are here: stellar writing, humor, romance, and well-defined characters. She adds mystery to the mix with a nod to Hitchcock's Rear Window, which is mentioned in the book by Louise. 

This novel is funny. It is sweet. It is romantic. You are rooting for so many of the main characters, which makes this more about a core group of people than just one couple. Loved everything about this story from beginning to end. 

Highly recommended!

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ MIRA
• Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 14, 2025
• Edition ‏ : ‎ Original
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 368 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0778360288
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0778360285

I received a copy of this book from the author. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.

Merry Christmas!

 

Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge: What I Wish for My Blogging Friends

 

The Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge is hosted by Long and Short Reviews. They offer this blog hop as a weekly prompt to help you gain new friends and visitors. You don't have to participate every week, but if you decide to post and join the blog hop for a week, Long and Short Reviews asks that you share your link on their weekly post on their website (it will be the top post on the home page each Wednesday morning). The link list remains open for new links for 48 hours. Visit the other bloggers participating to see what they discuss that week. Comments are appreciated.  

Though the Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge is on hiatus until the new year, I created my own for today. Hope you will still visit Long and Short Reviews to see what they are reading and writing about. 

Today, I am sharing...

What I Wish for My Blogging Friends

For close to twenty years, I've been blessed by the support of and conversations with my blogging friends. I've met so many wonderful people and made numerous connections that, decades ago, would never have been easily possible. So, for you, my blogging friends, I wish...

• An abundance of creativity inside and outside of the blogosphere;
• Overflowing amounts of love and community near and far;
• A world filled with kindness and peace;
• The ability and motivation to meet your goals and obtain your dreams;
• A new year brimming with hope, joy, good health, family, and friends.

Thank you for your loyal readership. Happy holidays!

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Hope Santa Brings/Bookish Wishes & Tell Me Something Tuesday: What's a Song That Always Makes You Want to Dance?

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. 

Happy Tuesday! It's almost Christmas Eve. Are you ready for the holidays? I am not, but no matter how much I get done between today and tomorrow, it will be wonderful to have all the kids together. 

For this week's Top Ten Tuesday, we are talking about books that we hope Santa brings or our bookish wishes. I think I will do five and five for this post. So, here are...

My Top Five Books I Hope Santa Brings

 &

My Top Five Bookish Wishes

Under the Mistletoe by Penny Zeller

Stupid TV, Be More Funny: How the Golden Era of The Simpsons Changed Television--and America--Forever by Alan Siegl

From Little Houses to Little Women: Revisiting a Literary Childhood by Nancy McCabe

The Santa Claus Girl by Patricia P. Goodin

Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn

Bookish Wish #1: The inspiration and energy to set up a home library in the spare bedroom. 

Bookish Wish #2: The self-control to buy fewer books in 2026. 

Bookish Wish #3: The discipline to finish writing Sheltered Hearts by the summer.

Bookish Wish #4: The motivation to continue submitting Home for the Heart if the two current agents considering it do not offer a contract.

Bookish Wish #5: The determination to carve out more regular writing time in 2026. 

Tell Me Something Tuesday (TMST) is hosted by Jen Twimom at That's What I'm Talking About. TMST is a weekly discussion post where bloggers discuss a wide range of topics from books and blogging to life in general. Participation is optional, and you leave your comments in the weekly post when participating. Check it out if you would like to join.

What a neat topic for this week: What's a song that always makes you want to dance? As a former ballerina and a person who loves music, that is a lengthy list. Here are choices from each decade I've been alive:

1960s - "Honky Tonk Woman" by The Rolling Stones

1970s - "September" by Earth, Wind & Fire

1980s - "Celebration" by Kool & The Gang 

1990s - "This is How We Do It" by Montell Jordan

2000s - "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on it)" by Beyoncé

2010s - "Uptown Funk" - by Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars

2020s - "Dance the Night" by Dua Lipa 

What are some songs that make you want to dance? 

What Happened to Monday's Post?

Happy Monday, now that it is almost over. We made a trip to NYC on Sunday, so I did not post anything for It's Monday! What Are You Reading? or Mailbox Monday. I will catch up on those posts next week. Here are a few photos from our trip.

Met up with our unofficially adopted daughter for brunch at Lilly's Craft & Kitchen

Rockefeller Center was crowded 

We had dinner at John's of Times Square (pizzeria in a converted church)

After dinner, we made our way to Radio City Music Hall to see the Rockettes. In honor of their 100th anniversary, they refreshed the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. 

We had a blast, but we didn't arrive home until 3:00 a.m. Monday morning, and I am still working through tomorrow. Hope you had a nice weekend!

Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge: Something I Wish I Were Better At Doing

 

The Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge is hosted by Long and Short Reviews. They offer this blog hop as a weekly prompt to help you gain new friends and visitors. You don't have to participate every week, but if you decide to post and join the blog hop for a week, Long and Short Reviews asks that you share your link on their weekly post on their website (it will be the top post on the home page each Wednesday morning). The link list remains open for new links for 48 hours. Visit the other bloggers participating to see what they discuss that week. Comments are appreciated.  

Happy Wednesday! I'm still catching up this week, but I will visit my blogging friends once I have time.

Today, we are talking about something we wish we were better at doing. Oh my, that is a very long list for me. I will stick with the top three:

1. Drawing/painting/crafting in general
2. Gardening
3. Self-care

As a creative person, I wish I had more skills in the art department. Writing will have to be it for me. 

I love, love, love to garden. However, I am dismal at it. I can recreate a garden plan with instructions, but have no ability to know what goes well where otherwise, and struggle to keep some things alive.

Self-care is such a struggle for me. I need to be better at it for everyone's sake, but it's the thing that goes out the window first when I get busy.

How about you? What is something you wish you were better at?