ARC Review: Crescent City Christmas Chaos by Ellen Byron

Crescent City Christmas Chaos
Author: Ellen Byron
Series: Vintage Cookbook Mystery (Book 4)
Publication: Severn House (November 4, 2025)

Description: It's Christmas. It's cozy. It's culinary. It's chaos! It's the fourth book in this fabulous mystery series with a vintage flair from USA Today bestselling and Agatha Award–winning author Ellen Byron.

Have yourself a merry little . . . murder?

Ricki James-Diaz gets the best present ever when her parents arrive in New Orleans for the holidays. Not only is it a chance to catch up, it’s also an opportunity to jog her mom Josepha’s memory about Ricki’s adoption. The details have always been shrouded in mystery. And Ricki understands why when she learns her mother was blackmailed for years, simply for not wanting to lose her precious daughter.

But digging into the past soon lands the James-Diaz clan in water hotter than a big pot of gumbo! When the woman who extorted Ricki’s mom is found dead at her home, Josepha becomes the primary suspect. Now Ricki has another murder to solve, and tracking down a killer in Crescent City is going to take a miracle.

Luckily, ‘tis the season! And Ricki has all the staff at the Bon Vee Culinary House Museum on hand to help. Can she prove her mother’s innocence and have the case wrapped up in time for Christmas?

My Thoughts: It's Christmas time in New Orleans. Ricki James-Diaz is surprised by her boyfriend when he hires Ricki's father to be the cameraman shooting his TV special. Ricki looks forward to talking to her mom and learning more about her birth parents. She learns that her mother has been blackmailed for years by a woman named Phyllis Gibbs who worked in the office of the Charity Hospital where her mother was a nurse. 

Gibbs helped Ricki's mother by changing her records to indicate she was widowed rather than single which was a key point to allow a Black woman to adopt a white infant. But Gibbs demanded payment for her assistance. 

When Gibbs is found dead after recent visits by Ricki, her mom Josepha, and dad Luis, Josepha and Luis head the suspect list in the eyes of the New Orleans police. Ricki is on the cast to prove her parents innocent and find the guilty party. Her friend Nina has the case but is more preoccupied finding the Bongle Bandit who is breaking into all sorts of stores and potentially scaring the tourists. 

Ricki learns all sorts of things about Phyllis Gibbs as she investigates. The woman was running all sorts of scams and had a plethora of enemies who might have committed the crime. Among them are her next-door neighbors in her exclusive residential area. And the people she worked with at a Concierge Medical group weren't happy with her either. 

When Ricki's boyfriend Virgil gets swept onto the suspect list because Phyllis left money to the animal rescue he's involved with, Ricki has even more reason to solve the crime. 

This was an engaging cozy mystery with tasty recipes included. I liked that Ricki runs a vintage cookbook and housewares store inside a culinary museum. She had a lot of help from her friends as she worked at solving the case.

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.