Book Review and GIVEAWAY: Glory Be, by Danielle Arceneaux {ends 10/19}

Guest review by: Becki Bayley

The town of Scott, Louisiana, hadn’t changed much from the days Glory and Amity would run around town in scuffed Mary Janes and starched pinafores. No one had bothered to tear down the defunct cotton gin, the gray metal building that stood on stilts with the rusted red roof. The town was stuck in time, but an awful moment in time. A time its black residents would rather not revisit and its white residents would rather pretend  didn’t happen at all. 

Delphine crossed the train tracks and drove by the old pharmacy with the Rexall sign that could have been from the 1950s, or even earlier. Electrical wiring draped from pole to pole on each street, which were lined with tidy but old single-story homes with flat roofs.

Glory Broussard is shocked when her childhood friend who is now a nun is found dead, and the authorities immediately decide no investigation is needed for an apparent suicide.

Official synopsis:

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. With her reluctant daughter—who has troubles of her own—in tow, Glory launches a shadow investigation into Lafayette’s oil tycoons, church gossips, a rumored voodoo priestess, nosey neighbors, and longtime ne'er-do wells.

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.

Glory is used to being fiercely independent. Her ex-husband is finally gone, and her daughter is a successful attorney in New York. When Glory’s best friend, Sister Amity, is found dead, Glory’s daughter, Delphine, comes back to town to attend the funeral. Luckily she has some extra time to stick around and help Glory get her life back on track.

Delphine is soon involved with not only helping Glory find out who has been reporting her house to the city as uninhabitable, but she may also be growing more convinced by Glory’s insistence that Sister Amity’s death was suspicious. While Delphine is originally staying in Louisiana to avoid some of her own life, it turns out some of her relationships from her youth could still be waiting to pick up where they left off.

As the first book of the Glory Broussard Mystery series, this book set up several key players and relationships with potential for growth and more interactions. This book was 3 out of 5 stars, as getting to know about the characters showed a lot of their good qualities and their opportunities for growth. When Glory and Delphine didn’t get along as well in the beginning of the story, neither of them were very likable. This would definitely be a book enjoyed by those who like light-hearted family dramas, cozy mysteries, and fun series about Louisiana life. 

{click here to purchase on Amazon}

Becki Bayley enjoys keeping her feet warm, feeling the sun on her skin, and uninterrupted sleep. Check out some of her random moments on Instagram where she posts as PoshBecki.

GIVEAWAY:

One of my lucky readers will win a copy of Glory Be!

Enter via the widget below. Giveaway will end on Thursday, October 19th, at 11:59pm ET, and winner will be contacted via email the next day and have 24 hours to respond, or an alternate winner will be chosen.

U.S. residents only, please.

Good luck!

Glory Be, by Danielle Arceneaux