Friday, January 19, 2018

"Murder on Rue Royal" by Angela Crider Neary

Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, January-February 2018, p. 67–75

The staff of New Orleans' Cafe Alcide is eager to impress important—and self-important—food critic Niles Breaux and make up for his previous negative review. They do impress Breaux, only to see him gasp to death minutes after complimenting chef-owner Jean-Claude Alcide.

Our own Bill Crider's daughter makes her EQMM debut with a twist on the multi-culprit "perfect" crime. Neary goes into many characters' viewpoints, showing three had grudges against Alcide. NOPD Det. Charles Rousseau arrests these three, citing evidence they conspired to frame Alcide for Breaux's murder, but—I'll just say Rousseau is no Poirot.

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