No Mardi Gras for the Dead - An Andy Broussard/Kit Franklyn Mystery

No Mardi Gras for the Dead by D.J. Donaldson is the third book in the Andy Broussard/Kit Franklyn mystery series and it opens with Bubba Oustellette helping Kit out by digging a space for her rose garden in the backyard of her newly acquired home. They hit a snag when Bubba discovers a human bone amidst the dirt and this sets Kit, Andy and Detective Phil Gatlin off on a cold case, to discover who these old bones belong to. The clues left behind are few and far between and, based on forensic anthropologist Victoria French's estimation, are decades old. When she creates a facial reconstruction to help identify the victim, it stirs up some long-forgotten sad memories for Kit which causes her to forge ahead with solving the case with all the more determination, despite Phil Gatlin removing her from the case.

Kit just can't stay away, as this case is literally happening in her very own backyard, so she starts digging through old property records in the hopes of discovering who lived there during the timeframe the girl was killed. In the meantime, several people contact her based on the facial reconstruction picture that shows up on the news, and this leads her to be able to narrow down the girl's identity. Kit has a breakthrough when a nervous man calls her with information on the case, but soon more bodies start dropping and then boom, the case appears to be gift-wrapped and solved. Kit doesn't believe it could be that simple, but her doggedness just might get her killed! Fortunately, Broussard is one smart cookie and, as always, he is one step ahead of the killer.

No Mardi Gras for the Dead is not quite as strong as Cajun Nights and Blood on the Bayou, but it is still a solid mystery and any fan of the Andy Broussard/Kit Franklyn mystery series will enjoy it. I look forward to delving into the fourth book in the series, Sleeping with the Crawfish in the near future, so look for a review soon.