Eggs In Purgatory

Remember this blog is connected to the challenge posed in A Daily Creativity Journal and today's "assignment" was to use food that was in the house for our project!  

I recently started the Cackleberry mystery series by Laura Childs.  I am a huge fan of her Tea Shop mysteries.  Since I am up to date with those books, I went in search of a new one and was happily satisfied with this.

Three women who by their own description are on the north side of 40 have opened a restaurant in an abandoned gas station.  With a book nook and a knitting corner, the cafe is a big success.  They are the hit of the town.

One day after Suzanne's lawyer stops by with some papers for her to sign, his body is found in his truck behind the Cackleberry Club.  How can Suzanne let this go?  She and her buddies Petra and Toni are off to find the truth.  Luckily, their restaurant is popular and gossip abounds along with several clues.  It makes sleuthing more intriguing.

There are bumps along the way with more crimes and not without accusations but in the long run Suzanne finds the guilty party.  

Technically, my eggs are in the Inferno but they had to go through limbo to get here.

Scraps and Paper Planes Flying Along the Road

Creativity can be painful.  Thinking of things to meet the daily challenge can be a challenge in and of itself.  Create something from paper without using scissors or glue...and no drawing at all.  That just hurts my brain.  Luckily for my teachers, I was never a paper plane flying ace but in keeping with the theme "Book Road" I made the effort to create a plane.  Don't judge.  I am good of lots of other things.

Today we stop along the Book Road in New Orleans with a book that incorporates uses for scrap paper.  Keepsake Crimes by Laura Childs is the first in her scrapbooking mystery series.  Carmela Bertrand owns a scrapbooking shop in New Orleans.  She has a good business that thrives particularly because she has a small group of regulars who spend lots of time and lots of money there. They also act as sidekicks in her adventures.  

In Keepsake Crimes, Carmela is newly separated from her husband who has decided his stodgy banking position no longer suits him.  He is off to the Bayou to photograph nature sans wife.  She has been left behind to handle their friends, his family, and the police.  There has been a murder and Shamus is a prime suspect.  Although she is hurt and angry at his departure, Carmela can't believe he is guilty so off she goes to investigate.

In addition to the mystery, there are scrapbook tips and recipes included and there is a great picture of life in New Orleans.  This particular book gives a peek at Mardi Gras from the perspective of the home town folks.  Like Childs' other two mystery series,  there are strong women and an assortment of kooky characters.  I am well into the Tea Shop series and just started the other two.  Childs hasn't let me down.