Dead with the Wind (A Southern Ladies Mystery)

even for a Cozy mystery. How ever the characters are as quirky as you would expect in a Southern mystery. And the ending satisfying!

An’gel and Dickce Ducote, along with their ward Benjy, their dog Peanut, and their cat Endora travel to Louisiana for a wedding and what they hope will be a pleasant visit with relatives. Their hopes are quickly dashed, however ,by the amount of tension among their relatives. As unsettling as that is, nothing prepares them for the murder of the bride-to-be. Her death won't be the first one and soon An’gel and Dickce are once again involved in a murder investigation.“Dead with the Wind” (a great title with a theme that is carried throughout the book) is the nicely done second book in Miranda James’ Southern Ladies cozy mystery series. (Miranda James is the pen name of author Dean James). An’gel and Dickce are great characters - octogenarians who aren’t afraid to speak their mind (especially An’gel). Benjy, Peanut, and Endora are also delightful characters with the animals often being better behaved than the humans. An’gel and Dickce's relatives are more complicated which makes the mystery harder to solve. James does a wonderful job with the mystery, planting just enough clothes for the reader to solve the mystery alongside An’gel and Dickce (I figured out some of the clues; other events in the novel took me by surprise). This clever plotting and writing, as well as the Gone with the Wind theme throughout the book (I just love the last paragraph!) make this a delightful book to read.“Dead with the Wind” is another great cozy mystery by Miranda James.

Another fun adventure with the Ducote sisters and their three rescues - Benjy, Endora and Peanut -( a young man, a cat, and a dog). Love the Southern charm, the surprise ending. A couple of complaints: Sondra, the bride-to-be in the wedding the Ducote sisters have come for is almost 21. Her out-of-wedlock daughter, Tippy was born when Sondra was age 17. At the beginning of the book, Tippy's age was given as 3. That makes sense. Halfway through the book, her age is suddenly changed to 4. Now, in a book that chronicles every nap, did she have a birthday that wasn't mentioned? How can she turn 4 before her mother turns 21? The other complaint is that it is never explained why or by whom the brakes on Sondra's car were cut. I did very much like that the author located the murders out of the Ducote sister's home town. So many books have all the murders in a small town, which of course is highly unlikely.

I had read the first book in this series last year and had been wanting to continue the series, because I'd enjoyed my first trip to Athena MS so much. This book took place mostly in Louisiana with the sisters An'gel and Dickce traveling with Benjy and the pets to a wedding of An'gel's cousin's daughter. When the bride died under suspicious circumstances, An'gel and her sister started investigating. There was an a really cool and unexpected twist toward the end which led to an even better and more satisfying showdown with a killer.I just love these two ladies! And Benjy their ward is the sweetest guy ever. Peanut and Endora are pretty special too. Endora was good at warning people and Peanut was always good for a hug or doggie snuggle when a little girl who just lost her mama needed it. I'll look forward to when I can read the next in the series.

What can I say I have been a bit selfish and lazy about entering a review here or there..But Dead with the Wind by Miranda James has kicked me back in gear!I absolutely fell in love with the DuCote sisters when they were first introduced in Bless Her Dead Little Heart and the separation from the Cats in the Stacks has been deemed a huge success IMHO! I simply adored this book so much I stretched out the last few pages knowing who dunnit.An'gel and Dickce along with their ward, Bengy and their pets go off to Louisiana for a family wedding that smacks of just too much closeness, promises not kept, and survivors, plotters and blackmailers all wanting a piece of the pie. Kind of Nouveau Gothic with a twist of humor that will make you laugh, cry and love those ladies and little Tippy a 4year old I would like to see pay the sisters and Bengy a visit down the road. Thank you sooooooo much Miranda/Dean James for this gem of a book..can never get enough of this crew....

Light hearted mystery, with cats. 🙂

Good condition and arrived promptly

This is such an entertaining series. It’s hard to believe these 2 sisters are the ages they are! I also like the 2 4-legged critters - such smart pets and very demonstrative toward their owners!

OK but not quite as good as the cats series

A great new series

After reading the first book from my library, I couldn’t wait for them to buy the second book so I jumped on Amazon for the kindle edition. I am very much enjoying the characters Ms James has created - I mean how often do you see a senior sleuth, let alone two? - and Miss An’gel and Miss Dickce are certainly a memorable pair.This mystery had a lot going for it. An intriguing premise, great characters, a lot of tension and turmoil, plus one heck of a plot twist that I honestly didn’t see coming. I devoured this, and would highly recommend if you’re looking for a different type of protagonist. Can’t wait to read book three.

Usually one writes a review after the book is finished- well I decided to go a bit ahead. I loved- an still love - this book right from the Beginning- well developed characters- well written plott- and the phrases that brings a smile to ones face. Witty- I would call it- the sisters are a marvel- and the animals always a nice touch- esp. for dog or cat- people! ( As I'am -allthough more cats in my case)So I won't go into details about the plot- enough written there already- just one thing more- BUY IT - READ IT - YOU WONT BE DISSAPPOINTED!

A okay book. Reminded me of something similar that I read before. A bit strange for a new bookBut it flowed well to read. However I liked the other books by this author better.