e-Audio, 08:47:01
Narrated by: Bahni Turpin
Release Date: October 3, 2023
Published by: Spotify Audiobooks
Read from: February 24-26, 2025
Glory Broussard Mystery, #1
Source: Library’s Libby
Content Warning: Murder, Suicide, Death, Animal Cruelty, Violence, Infidelity, Classism, Addiction, Racism, Cancer
For Readers Interested In: Audio, Contemporary, Cozy, Fat Leads, Sparkly Covers, Mystery, Racial/Ethnic Diversity (Black), Realistic Fiction, RecommendedThe first in a crime series set in the Louisiana bayou, introducing the uncensored amateur sleuth Glory Broussard.
It’s a hot and sticky Sunday in Lafayette, Louisiana, and Glory has settled into her usual after-church routine, meeting gamblers at the local coffee shop, where she works as a small-time bookie. Sitting at her corner table, Glory hears that her best friend—a nun beloved by the community—has been found dead in her apartment. When police declare the mysterious death a suicide, Glory is convinced that there must be more to the story and, with her reluctant daughter, with troubles of her own, in tow, launches a shadow investigation in a town of oil tycoons, church gossips, and a rumored voodoo priestess. As a Black woman of a certain age who grew up in a segregated Louisiana, Glory is used to being minimized and overlooked. But she’s determined to make her presence known as the case leads her deep into a web of intrigue she never realized Lafayette could harbor.
*MY THOUGHTS*
Someone told me about this book when I was trying to get a recommendation from a book seller. And let me just tell you, they got me lol I read this via audio from my library, but I think I had ordered a physical copy before I had even finished it.
So I’ve said before that I’m not usually a fan of cozy mysteries because they seemed so bland. I like the grit and blood and weird and crazy of the regular mysteries and thrillers. But this one really hit home for me. And I had no idea why…. Until I started talking to my momma. Now my momma isn’t a borderline hoarder, but she is a busy body and everything else that Glory Broussard is lol And if my granny was alive, she would basically BE Glory. We’re Black, Catholic, my grandma ran numbers, was a busy body. AND was a borderline hoarder. So basically, I felt really at home in this. This is one of of the most relatable books I’ve read in a long time. I don’t think I’ve read a more real life character.
As for the amateur sleuth part, I thought this was interesting. I have such an issue with books that have ridiculous ways to get information for their cases. But this book didn’t have that problem. She really just went in and started talking to people and they did what she asked. And as someone with a Black mama, I know that power is real lol I also know the way people can just say, “Ain’t yo mama xyz? Should I tell her abc?” and people will fall in line is also real lol And the way she just caught people in a lie because she let people talk since they minimized her was just funny. Hell, everything Glory did was funny. I couldn’t stop laughing.
The mystery was so good tho. It starts with a nun who is found unalived in her apartment. It’s Glory’s best friend. She’s a nun, so everyone is a bit confused on to why and how this happened. Glory is the only one who doesn’t believe it happened. She goes through a long list of suspects and even seems a bit judgey in some places, but I think that was important for her character growth. As the mystery goes on, you get little bits and pieces of the behind the scenes and find out this thing was way bigger than you thought. So basically, once you think you know, YOU DON’T lol
I think my favorite part of this was her inside thoughts about the people she encountered lol Y’all Glory is such an older Black woman. I keep saying this because it was truly what pulled me into this story. I RAN to the other book once it came out. I’ll post my review of that one soon.
Overall, I give this
