Mourning Waffles

The Uma Blanchard Cozy Mystery Series, Book 1

By: Trixie Fairdale

Narrated by: Trixie Fairdale

Cajun curmudgeon Uma Blanchard can't seem to catch a break. While prepping for a long-awaited cruise due to set sail hours after her youngest daughter's wedding, the corpse of her would-be son-in-law, Carl Easterly, is found face down in his pile of waffles, shaking the quirky town of Killjoy, Louisiana, to its deep-fried core.

With her vicious Chihuahua, her almost-grandson, and her handsome stuntman neighbor, the aging amateur sleuth embarks on a uniquely southern adventure to solve the wild bayou murder mystery in time to still board her cruise! The hilarious, self-proclaimed "Queen of Karaoke" vows to help the begrudging sheriff and his bumbling deputy crack the case. But the more she noses around, the more danger she finds herself in. The zany plot thickens when the sassy mother of five reveals a harsh truth: that half of Killjoy had a motive to kill Carl!

With a wily cast of memorable characters and a growing list of twisted suspects, Mourning Waffles is a charming laugh-out-loud riot by award-winning author Trixie Fairdale that lets the good times roll!

Start the series today!

Published by Rusty Ogre Publishing.

©2025 Trixie Fairdale (P)2025 Rusty Ogre Publishing

Great audiobook

I really enjoyed listening to this audiobook this is a great story the author did a really great job writing this story I very much enjoyed this audiobook a lot.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

A scoundrel meets his fate but who did the deed

Lots of people had a reason, but who brought down the hammer that sent his face into a pile of waffles? This cozy mystery shows an author who is skilled at twisting plots and developing believable characters.

Fun

This was such a fun audiobook! I haven't read it, but listening to it in a Southern accent with all of Uma's sass made it an even more enjoyable experience than reading it myself. Uma is sassy, blunt, at times sarcastic, and always spoke her mind regardless of what anyone thought or what was happening around her. I was immediately getting flashbacks of the sharp-tongued matriarch Mama Harper from the Carol Burnett Show, who I always loved and thought hilarious.

Uma's future son-in-law, whom she didn't like nor think was good enough for her daughter, was murdered in her house less than a week before the wedding. With numerous suspects who have a grudge against him, and what will likely be a long police investigation, if she wants to get on her cruise in 4 days, she'll just have to find the killer herself, no matter what the sheriff says.

I haven't read a mystery book in years and I'm not very good at figuring out who the culprit is before they're revealed, so the mystery and suspense of it carried through. But to me, Uma was the star of the show and made of laugh out loud more than once. There were also a lot of other quirky characters. I really enjoyed all the Cajun culture and food references, too.

Trixie Fairdale did a wonderful job bringing these characters and story to life. I can't imagine the hard work it takes to narrate a book into audio and am always impressed when I find a book where the author is also the narrator. This was my first of Trixie's books, and I would definitely listen to more- especially if Uma is leading the charge! A great start to a new series.

Overall: 4 stars
Performance: 5 stars
Story: 4 stars

Lawd Uma

First off, the narrator killed it. Uma is a hot mess and busy body but I am hooked. This is my first read of this series and I am not disappointed.

The voice actor was great

I liked this story. it had interesting characters. I liked how the author introduced them at a family event with food. Lot's of food and drama. I enjoyed the voice actor who read the mystery. I think that the characters really became alive on my tablet for me. It was entertaining.
I received a complimentary copy of this story and I freely left this review.