Dead with the Wind

Finished May 3

Dead with the Wind by Miranda James

This cozy mystery is set in small town Louisiana, where Mississippi sisters An'gel and Dickce Ducote have come to visit their cousin Mireille for her granddaughter Sondra's wedding. They've also brought their ward, Benjy Stevens, and his Abyssinian cat Endora and Labradoodle dog Peanut. They are staying in a cottage rooms, part of a bed-and-breakfast that Mireille runs along with her longtime housekeeper/cook Estelle. 

Mireille's daughter Jacqueline and her second husband Horace live with Mireille at her large home, as does Sondra. As the scene is set, we see all the main characters, including Mireille's long-term butler Jackson, Sondra's fiancé Lance, Mireille's lawyer Richard and Horace's son Trey. 

Estelle is outspoken and often rude, very critical of Sondra and her actions. Sondra is also outspoken and rude, particularly to her grandmother. She's very beautiful and very entitled and her parents spoiled her when she was younger. There is some question as her motives for getting married. Lance is as beautiful as Sondra is and they've known each other since they were in kindergarten. Lance is also extremely clueless and not very bright. Trey has a crush on Sondra and is jealous of Lance. Horace and Jacqueline's relationship seems tense and we gradually learn why. 

As An'gel and Dickce observe the people around them, and the reactions when Sondra is swept off her balcony to her death in a storm, they also look for who might have wanted to kill her and why. 

There is a lot of southern tradition in the main characters and their relations, as might be expected from wealthy white women who come from plantation backgrounds, but the sisters are more open to new ideas than they seem at first, and Benjy also explains some things to them when they don't understand something. This book grew on me as the plot developed, and while many of the characters are stereotypical, the plot is interesting.