2.5 stars. I can't make myself be more generous than that. The writing was simplistic, Maggie's inability to talk with her grandmother about 'death cleaning' plain dumb (as was the pretend break-up) and Maggie exhibited some first-rate too stupid to live behaviour. Oy.

The town of Pelican is hosting the Cajun Country Live! festival and local girl that made it big Tammy Barker is back in town to perform at the festival, and to be a pain in the backside of Gaynell, a girl Tammy bullied in highschool. Tammy sets Gaynell - an aspiring musician herself - up with her manager Pony, but Pony tells Gaynell she won't make it in the music business because she doesn't have sex appeal. Things come to real blows when Tammy finishes her set at the festival with a song Gaynell wrote and had wanted to use for her own set. Gaynell leaves making threats to Pony.

Shortly after, Pony is killed by electrocution.

Gaynell is the main suspect, because making threats gives you motive. Because Gaynell is her friend and she can't believe the girl would do such a thing, Maggie Crozat steps in to investigate. She even goes as far as to go on a pretend break-up with her fiancé so she can get closer to the musicians in Tammy's support band. Why out-of-town musicians would be interested in small town gossip about a couple's break up is beyond me.

Strangely enough, they are into the local gossip and let Maggie hang out with them to mend her broken heart. Ugh.

There's a large cast of characters. Probably too large to get a connection to any of them. Mainly, I didn't get a connection to Maggie, the sleuth, who is a woman of strong, but shallow emotions. It was an enjoyable story, though. And I probably won't pass if I come across any of the other books in the series.

I read an ARC through Netgalley.