Lethal Bayou Beauty

iN A NUTSHELL
'Lethal Bayou Beauty' was a hoot: sheer, joyful, irrepressible escapism. The plot worked (with a very willing suspension of disbelief on my part). The characters were engaging. The action was fast-paced and the humour had me chuckling. It was a perfect lighthearted comfort read.

Lethal Bayou Beauty (2013) is the second book featuring CIA assassin Fortune Redding who is hiding out undercover in the (very) small town of Sinful, Louisiana. Fortune’s supposed to be keeping a low profile but she's not doing a good job of it, In her first week in Sinful (described in ‘Louisiana Longshot‘). Fortune was recruited into an informal murder investigation by The Sinful Ladies, a group of single older women who run the town behind show more the scenes and found herself involved in breaking and entering, boat theft and a fatal shooting,

‘Lethal Bayou Beuty‘, carried straight on from the first book and was just as much fun. Fortune doesn't see herself as what she calls 'a girly girl' but her cover story has 'Beauty Queen' on her resumé so she finds herself dragooned into her worst nightmare: helping to prepare little girls to take part in a beauty pageant. In the process, she clashes with Pansy Arceneaux, a local beauty queen turned wannabe Hollywood actress who has returned to town unexpectedly. I loved seeing the whole 'make me beautiful' process through Fortune's horrified and mystified eyes.

When Pansy turns up dead, Fortune becomes a suspect in the eyes of the whole town and the local Deputy is under pressure to arrest her or face a lynch mob, leaving Fortune no choice but to solve the murder herself.

What I liked most about this book was how irrepressibly joyful it was. The mystery was complicated enough to be interesting but it was mostly a vehicle for putting Fortune and The Sinful Ladies into impossible situations that made me laugh and let me get to know them better.

This is a series with a strong ensemble cast and Jana DeLeon does a great job in slowly building their individual personalities, sharing their backstories and creating a rapport between them that constantly feeds humour and friendship into the narrative.

One of the things I enjoyed is this 'episode' was discovering that Fortune has no knowledge of popular culture. She'd been so focused on carrying out assassination missions around the world that she'd never gotten around to taken-for-granted things like watching television. Her attempts at self-education gave the story another comedic twist.

I'm a fan now. I know the stories are formulaic and unrealistic but that's actually part of what makes them great lighthearted, escapist, comfort-reading fun. show less

Celia's group the GWs had the mayor appoint the main attraction of the Summer Festival as a beauty contest for children.

Since Fortune's cover in Sinful is as an ex-beauty queen / librarian she is the lead for the Sinful Lady's Society vs Pansy Arceneaux for the GW's. The fireworks start from the first rehearsal and then murder comes calling...

A book I couldn't put down. Nothing is better than reading a book that has you stifling your laughter in the middle of the night, so you don't wake up the rest of your family. The plot is fun, the characters are quirky but also formidable. The action just never seems to abate. While I was trying to figure out who the murderer was, I was rapidly turning the page for the next situation to explode. show more For a delightfully fun read, a solid mystery and a scooch of romance, I can heartily recommend this series. show less

More fun from Jana DeLeon. I really get a kick out of this series about a CIA assassin forced to hid in a small southern town only to find that they got as much nonsense going on as the missions she'd been sent on. The series is delightful and this is another great addition.

I am addicted to these books. Fun, light read with good humor and great crazy Louisiana characters. Plus strong female characters!

The second installment in the Miss Fortune mystery series, Lethal Bayou Beauty, is light, quick, and hilarious with a decent mystery thrown in. Those who like Connie Shelton's Heist Ladies or Stephanie Plum should enjoy this series.
Fortune Redding, who is hiding out from a CIA mission gone bad, has help again from the Geritol mafia to find out who killed the resident beauty queen. Hijinx ensue!
The quirky characters, humor, and strong, supportive bonds between the women are a delight. Can't wait to get to the next one!

Louisiana, comedy, murder, seniors, action-adventure, situational-humor, verbal-humor

This book is just too much fun! Miss Fortune can't quite remember that she is not on active duty with the CIA but hiding out in a small town in Louisiana, and gets together with a group of local friends known as the Geritol Mafia to solve a really odd murder. The mystery is excellent, but the laughs are exceptional! No spoilers, just be careful with your coffee while reading this one!
Cassandra Campbell gives a wonderful audio performance and doesn't crack up while narrating.

This is another great book in the story of Fortune. This second book picks up where the first book left off, i.e. Fortune getting involve with Gertie and Ida Bella, from the Sinful Ladies Society. However, in this instance, Gertie and Ida Bella are doing their best to protect Fortune from the trouble she appears to have landed herself in. Deputy LeBlanc aka Carter, continues to be great character catching Fortune, or just missing catching Fortune from doing something she shouldn't. The story for this book is all about Fortune, Gertie and Ida Bella trying to clear Fortune's name from having murdered Pansy. The story had me laughing out loud at many things and though I did suspect the murderer early on, I wasn't 100% certain so was both show more surprised and not surprised when the ending is revealed. This is deffinate a story I'd enjoy listening to time and again. The characters are so entertaining and I also find it has a good story line. Looking forward to book #03. show less