Maryse Robicheaux isn't overly sad her mother-in-law passed
away. Helena's son Hank made Maryse's life miserable for
the brief time they were together, then made it even worse
by disappearing with loan sharks looking to geth their
money back. Adding insult to injury is the fact that
they're still married even though Hank fled two years ago;
in Louisiana you have to serve divorce papers in person and
Maryse doesn't know where the gambling fool went. At the
funeral service she felt obligated to attend, Maryse is
victim to the Robicheaux clan again when Helena's ghost
rises from the coffin and only Maryse can see her. Helena
is sure she was murdered and wants her daughter-in-law to
find the killer so she can be at rest. Maryse doesn't want
to help the cranky old woman, even as a ghost, but she
can't get rid of her. And maybe Helena's not that bad
anyway?
Another complication comes in the form of the new guy the
state sent to study animal life in the bayou, Luc LeJeune.
It's been decided he'll be sharing office space with Maryse
since she's studying plant life for the state, but she's
not happy about it. She's not even happy about it after he
saves her life, more than once, with skills a zoologist
doesn't usually have.
So who is Luc really? And who killed Helena? And who's
trying to kill Maryse now? Not to mention the sparks she
feels with bad boy Luc, why can't she fall for a boring
guy?
This may be the first Ghost-in-Law novel but thankfully it
won't be the last. The second title in the series,
Mischief in Mudbug, is scheduled to be released in
the fall
of 2009. The characters are engaging, the action moves at a
good pace, the small-town feeling comes through nicely, and
the ending is complete, leaving the reader feeling
satisfied even though the next book must already be in the
works.
Maryse Robicheaux can’t help heaving a sigh of relief at the
news that her not-so-beloved mother-in-law has kicked the
bucket. The woman was rude, manipulative and loved lording
over everyone as the richest citizen of Mudbug, Louisiana.
Unfortunately, death doesn’t slow Helena Henry down one bit.
Being haunted—or more like harried—by Helena’s ghost isn’t
even the worst of Maryse’s problems. Close to making a huge
medical breakthrough, she’s suddenly been given an
officemate, and the only thing bigger than Luc LeJeune’s ego
is his sex appeal. Maryse would bet her life the hot
half-Creole is hiding something. Especially because it seems
someone’s out to kill her. But getting Luc to spill his
secrets while avoiding Helena’s histrionics and staying
alive herself will be the ultimate bayou balancing act