Since we just celebrated Fat Tuesday, it seemed fitting for me to read Lisa Pivey’s “Murder by the Script.”
Mila Breaux is new to the bayou and eager to experience Mardi Gras. Mila is a “letter artist’”who creates signs, logos and decals in beautiful designs. She shares a houseboat with her best friend, Cherie Mamou.
As Mardi Gras nears, Mila, Cherie and Mila’s boyfriend Xavier Ordoyn have prepared the first crawfish boil of the season. As they enjoy the delicious meal, someone appears in Auntie Roma’s backyard.
Mila is stunned to learn that the woman is Xavier’s ex-wife, Valerie. Valerie needs him to complete some paperwork so that she can remarry.
The handsome fish and game officer has never mentioned a former wife. Xavier tries to explain, but Mila is too angry to listen.
Cherie is thrilled when Lucas Fontaine asks Mila to create the art for the floats of Krewe of Scriptus in Beau Ridge. When they arrive, Valerie informs them that she is queen of the Scriptus krewe. The krewe king suggests they figure out a theme using words from Shakespeare. Luckily, Cherie is very familiar with Shakespeare’s writings.
After a flurry of activity, the lettering is finished and the floats begin the annual parade along the levy. As the float reaches their location, Rex stands and offers a toast. Almost immediately he topples off the float and into the arms of Mila and Cherie.
Before he loses consciousness, he presses a strange doubloon-like coin into Mila’s hand. Within minutes he is dead, and Mila is sure that he was poisoned. Out of concern and curiosity, Mila wants to learn who this Rex really was.
The dead man was Joseph Benoit, aka the Crawfish King. He was also Valerie’s mystery fiancé. Mila has a history of solving strange murder cases.
Soon she and her friends are digging to find out who Joseph Benoit was and why anyone would want to kill him. A visit to Lucas Fontaine doesn’t yield much information, but it offers hints on where to look next. That leads them to Benoit’s residence and a well-hidden play script written by someone named Billy Allemand.
From there they trace a small logo to a theater on Canal Street. The owner knew Allemand and gives them an envelope Billy had entrusted to him. The envelope contains a poem directing them to the location of a great treasure. The treasure is hidden beneath an old oak on property owned by Benoit.
With some digging and intuition, they learn that Joseph Benoit was originally Billy Allemand. Long ago, Allemand stole a fortune from the mob and disappeared. Mila and friends conclude that he resurfaced as Joseph Benoit. Apparently, someone has figured this out and killed Benoit to get the treasure.
When the woman who claimed to be Benoit’s daughter is poisoned and Valerie disappears, their search is more urgent. What follows is a dangerous chase to find who committed the crimes.
After things quiet down, Mila, Xavier, Cherie and Auntie Roma dig up a priceless Shakespeare manuscript. The sale of the manuscript funds a foundation dedicated to assisting struggling artists of all kinds. At last, Mila and Xavier clear the air and agree to begin a real relationship.
AT A GLANCE
Book: “Murder by the Script” (The Lettering Detective Cozy Mysteries, Book 4)
Author: Lisa Pevey
Publisher: Lisa Pevey
Year published: 2024
Number of pages: 178
Mardi Gras is setting for murder
