**Two and a half stars**The mystery part of the story was okay. I didn't really see it coming in the end which is always good, but then again, I don't think Childs leaves clues for you to possibly figure out who it is. The whole mystery part of the story is red herring. Which is a little deceitful, I think, for a mystery novel.The scrapbooking part of the story was also just okay. I am a scrapbooker and I keep up with the trends and the tips are just very old school. The book was published in 2003 and it is hard to fault the book for that...trends come and go, and I'm sure that the techniques talked about were popular at the time.Now for the New Orleans part...if I were one of the experts that Childs thanked at the beginning of the book, I would be really upset. I am from New Orleans and in the beginning of the book I thought that she might get it partly right, but then it started to go terribly down hill. Spelling the biggest parades that there are completely wrong is completely inexcusable. Saying that Metairie (which she spelled wrong too) is across the river from New Orleans when its on the same side of the river is shameful. Saying that someone drove down "the River Road" to take pictures of some of the old plantations, "the Destrehan, the Laura, the Houmas House" is mind boggling. You don't need to say "the" before each plantation. Its like saying you have the cancer. It might be grammatically correct, but you still wouldn't say it. No local would ever say that. And to repeatedly call a streetcar a trolley is complete blasphemy. I could excuse some of this stuff if the main characters weren't suppose to be born and raised locals, but they are. Chapters 20-23 basically have our Carmela, our main character, run from the French Quarter to the Garden District and then to the CBD and then back to her house in the French Quarter by 2...and you know because it was early yet, she ran down to Audubon park to help children learn how to paint. And she did all this by driving her own car...not taking a streetcar. Nice normal day, you would think, except that it happens on Bacchus Sunday and there is no way any of that is happening, could or would happen. At least 4 parades run through the Garden District on that day starting at 11:00am. These parades end in the CBD. Carmela would have had to fought through tons of street closures, obscene traffic, and would have spent 45 minutes looking for a place to park. Getting back to the CBD would have been just as hard if not worse. Then to leave her home to go back to Audubon Park which is in the Garden District to help teach a class is utterly ridiculous as that class would have been canceled because everything normal is canceled due to Mardi Gras. Now I know that I'm nit-picking here, cause sometimes allowances have to be made to tell your story and I get that. And if you had never been to New Orleans during Mardi Gras, then there is nothing wrong with this chunk of story. There are no outright errors, she doesn't mention these parades so that's all good. But as I was reading this part of the book, I kept thinking, "But its Bacchus Sunday, there is no way this could possibly happen." It was inwardly frustrating. The whole New Orleans part of the book just felt like Childs came to New Orleans for two days and walked away thinking that she knew everything.Childs also had a tendency to give characters names as if they came from Savannah, GA instead of New Orleans. We don't have a bunch of people running about called Buford Maple. Childs also would replace real places or real people with made up ones so those people and places aren't associated with certain things. And I totally understand that, but then she should completely change the names instead of weirdly mixing them up with other stuff. The famous restaurant Antoine's becomes Beltoine's. Blaine Kern (float builder extraordinaire) becomes Jekyl Hardy which would seem okay except famous local celebrity Mr. Mardi Gras is named Arthur Hardy and then it just becomes all confusing.Sorry about the rant, I just felt that this book was extraordinarily frustrating from a local's standpoint. I really liked the way Childs described Charleston in her Tea Shop Mysteries, to the point where I would love to take a vacation there. But now I'm left to wonder what she got wrong about Charleston.
I really liked this book - New Orleans is a great setting even if not all of the descriptions are 100% accurate. You get the idea of the positive side of the city and its people.Plot and resulting character dialogue is good and sounds more realistic than a lot of other stories. I can imagine hanging out with Carmela and her friends, much like I can in this author's other books (Tea Shop Mystery series). However, the ongoing issue Carmela in this book has with her ex-husband is frustrating and a bit over the top. All in all a good book to read and I am on the fourth one now....I do always look forward to her books.As a note, I do find her scrapbooking/craft ideas to be fun. Just remember when the book was published and that "fads" or "trends" in crafts - especially scrapbooking - come and go very quickly! So if you are reading book #1 and are a scrapbooker, the ideas may seem "old school". I've tried quite a few of the recipes with ingredients I can find in California, all good!In her other books, her tea lore, ideas, and recipes are great.
What do You think about Keepsake Crimes (2003)?
Book 1 in the Scrapbooking mysteries introduces Carmela Bertrand, owner of a scrapbooking store in New Orleans. While scrapbooking friends gather and gossip, Carmela gets involved in a murder that then launches her career as a novice sleuth. She is aided in her investigations by sidekick Ava Grieux who owns a voodoo shop across the courtyard. Estranged from her high society and bank president husband, Shamus Meechum, Carmela is trying to prove herself capable of being an independent, self-supporting woman. When Shamus is implicated in a Mardi Gras murder, Carmela rushes to his aid, as she is sure of his innocence. Of course the local police are not exactly happy with Carmela's interference.Packed with action, Childs also includes much of the flavor of New Orleans culture and food, as her characters venture from the French Quarter to the Bayou in their exploits. It is easy to get caught up in this lifestyle of Mardi Gras parades, restaurants, art events, and high society parties, even if one has never been to New Orleans.
—Betty Strohecker
#15 02/05/06 KEEPSAKE CRIMES by Laura ChildsRATING: 4.5/B+GENRE/PUB DATE/ # OF PGS: Mystery, 2003, 236 pgsTIME/PLACE: Present, New OrleansCHARACTERS: Carmela Bertrand/scrapbooking shop ownerCOMMENTS: 1st in scrapbooking cozy mystery series. I don'tdo scrapbooking but found the information included interesting and not overly done for someone like me who doesn't know much about this hobby. New Orleans during Mardi Gras was done well. And characters were very likeable. When Jimmy Earl dies on a float during one of the Mardi Gras parades, Carmela's estranged husbandis suspect. Carmela had lived in a lovely home in the Garden District w/ her husband Shamus until he decided he had to find himself by giving up his career in the family banking business and to go live alone in the bayou. Now separated, altho' she isn't happy w/ Shamus, Carmela doesn't think he could be the killer & does some detecting on her own.
—Pam
Some interesting scrap booking ideas and a lot of charming characters. Not a lot of mystery - at least, not what I was looking for when I picked this book up. I will, with an open mind, read some more of Laura Childs (I think this is my first), because she has a pleasant style.In KEEPSAKE CRIMES, the setting is New Orleans during Mardi Gras and Ms Childs DID give a detailed view of this setting, which is okay because I‘ve always liked New Orleans. As a heroine, Carmella is a contradiction. At times spunky, even carelessly so, then a bit wimpy to my mind, an invitation to being used. I will continue reading the series to see if it develops further. Right now, all I can say is that it is a quick, light read if that’s what you’re in the mood for.
—Darlene
