I received this book for free from my own shelves in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Source: my own shelves
Nixed in New Orleans
by
Kristen Painter
humor, amateur sleuth, cozy mystery, paranormal fantasy in a Kindle edition that was published by the author on October 31, 2024 and has 317 pages.
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Other books by this author which I have reviewed include Blood Rights, Flesh and Blood, Bad Blood, Out for Blood, Last Blood, House of the Rising Sun, City of Eternal Night, Garden of Dreams and Desires, Miss Frost Solves a Cold Case, All Fired Up, "Prologue to The Vampire's Mail Order Bride", The Vampire's Mail Order Bride, The Werewolf Meets His Match, The Gargoyle Gets His Girl, The Professor Woos the Witch, The Vampire's Fake Fiancée, The Shifter Romances the Writer, "The Witch's Halloween Hero", The Dragon Finds Forever, The Vampire's Accidental Wife, The Reaper Rescues the Genie, The Detective Wins The Witch, The Vampire's Priceless Treasure, The Werewolf Dates the Deputy, "When Birdie Babysat Spider", Miss Frost Ices the Imp, Miss Frost Saves the Sandman, Miss Frost Cracks a Caper, Miss Frost Braves the Blizzard, "The Werewolf's Christmas Wish", The Vampire's Cursed Kiss, Her First Taste of Fire, The Trouble With Witches, Moody and the Beast, The Vampire's Sunny Sweetheart, Miss Frost Chills the Cheater, Lost in Las Vegas, Wrapped Up in Christmas, Mystified in Music City, Sucks To Be Me, A Sky Full of Stars, Suck It Up Buttercup, The Forgettable Miss French, Sucker Punch, The Suck Stops Here
Fourth in the Frost & Crowe paranormal cozy mystery series revolving around an amateur sleuth who happens to be Jack Frost’s daughter. The focus is on a blackmailer targeting Sin’s friend.
My Take
Jayne and Sin are still touring the US in their fancy RV and this time they’re headed to New Orleans.
I do envy Jayne’s ability to eat all that sugar and never gain any weight.
Sigh, I wish . . .
”An ice cream truck might overturn and need us to help eat all the ice cream before it melts.”
Ooh, Jayne learns how much of a nerd Sin was in school, lol.
Painter uses first person dual protagonist point-of-view from Jayne’s and Sin’s perspectives. From this we learn how each of them is looking forward to and worrying about bringing up a child.
While it is sweet to hear Jayne and Sin being all gooey-gooey about each other, Painter stretches it too far.
It’s quite the contrast with the so-helpful Tony who’s willing to do anything for Charlie.
There’s a lot of eating, worry and joy about the coming baby, enjoying the food in New Orleans as well as Spider’s and Sugar’s comments, and the ooey-gooey with short bursts of action.
If you need a feel-good book, Nixed in New Orleans isn’t a bad bet.
The Story
It’s a great visit for Sin to see his good friend Matt and to introduce his wife to him. Until they discover that someone is blackmailing Matt about an innocent photo.
And Spider helped.
The Characters
The seven-months pregnant Jayne Frost, a winter elf who is the daughter and heir of Jack Frost, is married to Sinclair Crowe, a necromancer who does great donuts. Jack Jr is the coming baby. Spider is a black cat who has been with Jayne since Miss Frost Solves a Cold Case, 1, in Jayne Frost; Sugar is Sin’s white cat who was given the ability to talk. It’s so sweet reading their contributions to the conversations. They’re very forthright, lol. Mr and Mrs Claus will be the baby’s great-uncle and great-aunt. Sin’s parents live in Las Vegas along with Aunt Zinnia (Lost in Las Vegas, 1).
Matt Galloway has his own security company and lives in New Orleans. Slim is his beloved (and asthmatic) street cat. Julie is Matt’s older sister who’s married to Dan and lives in Houston with two daughters. Matt also has a younger brother. Dexter, a white-hat hacker, works for Matt. Charlotte “Charlie” Frett of Frett’s Pets is Matt’s cat sitter.
Isla Larson, she’s a sales rep for ChemSafe, is Matt’s ex-girlfriend — he traveled too much for her. Another negative? She’s allergic to cats. Although, Wentworth is her dog. Veronica is Matt’s decorator. Madeline Deville is a friend who deals in antique books and rare documents.
Some of the places where Matt likes to eat include The Ruby Slipper, Lola’s, Auntie Mae’s Diner where Anita is a waitress (she has a dog named Bean), Slim Goodies Diner, Luzie’s, and Tuttle’s Gastro Pub.
Darryl Tyson is the police commissioner and engaged to Leonie, a witch, who is Effie’s mother (The Vampire’s Former Flame, 16). Sergeant Chambeau and Officers Ricks and Greely are with the NOLA PD. Kim works in the IT lab. Tara is a paramedic.
Eileen Toussaint has quite the record. Anthony “Tony” Cipriani is Charlie’s on-again off-again boyfriend.
Nocturne Falls is . . .
. . . where Jayne and Sin met. Birdie Caruthers, a werewolf, is the receptionist for the sheriff’s department. She knows more about computers than many. Birdie is dating Jack Van Zant (The Detective Wins the Witch, 10). Remy Lafitte, a vampire, is from New Orleans originally, and is now a police officer. Ephie/Effie is Remy’s girlfriend (and also from New Orleans AND Darryl’s goddaughter (The Vampire’s Former Flame). The Tombstone is the local newspaper. Zombie Donuts had been Sin’s shop here until he sold it to Archie Tingle, a retired (from the North Pole!) elf baker. Delaney Elllingham makes those incredible Delaney’s Delectables in The Vampire’s Mail Order Bride, 1.
The Santa Slide is how Santa (and relatives) can get into any space.
The Cover and Title
The cover is cheerful in its New Orleans street view at night with its brightly colored lights and a few people walking in the background. In the foreground is the black-and-blue-haired Jayne with her pointed ear showing, wearing black leggings, black flats, and a black-and-white horizontally striped sweater. She’s carrying a purse on her right arm which is bent to touch Sin’s chest. He’s pretty hunky-looking in black jacket and pants with a dark green T-shirt, his right arm cuddling Jayne and his left in his pocket. On either side of them are their cats, Spider is on the left and Sugar is on the right, looking up at them. All the text is in white, starting with the series info at the very top with the title below it. Under Jayne’s and Sin’s feet is an info blurb with the author’s name below that.
I suspect the title refers to Matt, as he’s Nixed in New Orleans.
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