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French Quarter Fatale
Her return to the Big Easy
Makes her a target
A year after her famous mother disappeared during Mardi Gras, Josette Guillory is back on Bourbon Street. She’s looking for answers, even if that means putting herself at risk. Law enforcement failed her, which is why she pushes FBI Agent Keenan Carter away—until their mutual attraction makes her pull him close. She trusts him with her life, but that doesn’t mean she trusts him with her heart…
Makes her a target
A year after her famous mother disappeared during Mardi Gras, Josette Guillory is back on Bourbon Street. She’s looking for answers, even if that means putting herself at risk. Law enforcement failed her, which is why she pushes FBI Agent Keenan Carter away—until their mutual attraction makes her pull him close. She trusts him with her life, but that doesn’t mean she trusts him with her heart…
248 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published February 2, 2023
7 people are currently reading
30 people want to read
About the author
Joanna Wayne
187 books59 followersReal name: Jo Ann Vest
Pseudonyms: Joanna Wayne.
Joanna Wayne began her professional writing career with the release of her first novel, DEEP IN THE BAYOU, in 1994, but Joanna will be the first to tell you that the wheels were set in motion years before. She started reading at four years of age, the same age that she began making weekly trips to the library to check out as many books as they’d let her have, only to finish reading them all before bedtime. That love of books never waned.
Joanna was born and raised in Shreveport, Louisiana and was the middle child of a large family. She moved to New Orleans, Louisiana in 1984 when she married her current husband. New Orleans opened up a whole new realm of activities and she found the mix of cultures, music, history, food and sultry southern classics along with her love of reading a natural impetus for beginning her writing career. It was there that she attended her first writing class and joined her first professional writing organization. From that point on, there was no looking back.
Now, forty published books later, Joanna has made a name for herself as being on the cutting edge of romantic suspense in both series and mainstream novels. She is known for the suspense and emotion she brings to the page, as she takes ordinary people and thrusts them into life-and-death situations. She has been on the Walden Bestselling List for romance and won many industry awards. She is a popular speaker at writing organizations and local community functions and has taught creative writing at the University of New Orleans Metropolitan College.
She currently resides in a small community forty miles north of Houston, Texas with her husband. Though she still has many family and emotional ties to Louisiana, she loves living in the Lone Star state.
Pseudonyms: Joanna Wayne.
Joanna Wayne began her professional writing career with the release of her first novel, DEEP IN THE BAYOU, in 1994, but Joanna will be the first to tell you that the wheels were set in motion years before. She started reading at four years of age, the same age that she began making weekly trips to the library to check out as many books as they’d let her have, only to finish reading them all before bedtime. That love of books never waned.
Joanna was born and raised in Shreveport, Louisiana and was the middle child of a large family. She moved to New Orleans, Louisiana in 1984 when she married her current husband. New Orleans opened up a whole new realm of activities and she found the mix of cultures, music, history, food and sultry southern classics along with her love of reading a natural impetus for beginning her writing career. It was there that she attended her first writing class and joined her first professional writing organization. From that point on, there was no looking back.
Now, forty published books later, Joanna has made a name for herself as being on the cutting edge of romantic suspense in both series and mainstream novels. She is known for the suspense and emotion she brings to the page, as she takes ordinary people and thrusts them into life-and-death situations. She has been on the Walden Bestselling List for romance and won many industry awards. She is a popular speaker at writing organizations and local community functions and has taught creative writing at the University of New Orleans Metropolitan College.
She currently resides in a small community forty miles north of Houston, Texas with her husband. Though she still has many family and emotional ties to Louisiana, she loves living in the Lone Star state.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
March 18, 2023
Alligator Moon was 1000x better.
The beginning of this was okay - I liked the initial meet cute, I thought the backstory with her missing TV star mom was intriguing, but it ended in a completely lackluster way. It just fizzled out to nothing. And the last chapter was disappointing. Sigh.
The beginning of this was okay - I liked the initial meet cute, I thought the backstory with her missing TV star mom was intriguing, but it ended in a completely lackluster way. It just fizzled out to nothing. And the last chapter was disappointing. Sigh.
April 2, 2023
The mystery of this book didn’t live up to the hype of the synopsis. This book wasn’t spicy 🌶️ either.
This story revolved around a woman named Josette Guillory. Her mother is this famous celebrity who goes missing in the French Quarter. Josette goes back to New Orleans for a friends wedding. Josette while in New Orleans is looking for answers. This story also revolved around a FBI agent named Keenan Carter. They develop an attraction towards one another but there weren’t any spicy 🌶️ moments in this story that I wanted. The mystery of her mother missing wasn’t a mystery at all. The mother wasn’t missing at all and I wanted an explosive dramatic ending which I didn’t get in the story. I was disappointed at the end of this book.
This story revolved around a woman named Josette Guillory. Her mother is this famous celebrity who goes missing in the French Quarter. Josette goes back to New Orleans for a friends wedding. Josette while in New Orleans is looking for answers. This story also revolved around a FBI agent named Keenan Carter. They develop an attraction towards one another but there weren’t any spicy 🌶️ moments in this story that I wanted. The mystery of her mother missing wasn’t a mystery at all. The mother wasn’t missing at all and I wanted an explosive dramatic ending which I didn’t get in the story. I was disappointed at the end of this book.
April 5, 2023
Josette’s mother has been missing for a year. Keenan, an FBI agent, meets Josette at a wedding. Read as they look for answers among the cops, kidnappers and drug cartel. Really enjoyed this story.
April 24, 2023
I don't usually write reviews but, I was thoroughly disappointed by this book. It definitely didn't live up to the description on the back of the book. The ending in my opinion was terrible and felt too rushed there needed to be more to the ending than there was.
March 26, 2023
Good read with plenty of surprises.
June 10, 2024
3.5 stars
August 17, 2025
Not the most action I have read in this genre of book but the plot moved along fast enough to keep my interest. The overall mystery was solved and so were the smaller mysteries.
May 16, 2023
A fast-paced book spanning a mere five days that kept me intrigued from start to finish. Josette hasn't returned to New Orleans since her mother disappeared during Mardi Gras the previous year. Now she's headed for her best friend's wedding, with a side of looking for answers.
Keenan is an FBI agent on medical leave after being injured. He is the best man at the wedding where Josette is the maid of honor. He first noticed her on the flight to New Orleans, though his attempt at flirting didn't get him very far. It was when they arrived that they learned of their connection.
I loved the scenes with Josette, Addison (the bride), and the other bridesmaids. Friends during college, they are still close, and I enjoyed their light-hearted reminisces. The wedding preparation scenes in popular New Orleans locations were terrific, especially with the added excitement of Mardi Gras. I liked that the reason Josette was there was nicely balanced with the mystery.
Almost as soon as Josette arrives in New Orleans, rumors circulate that the missing Isadora will stage a triumphal return. The local detective, Max, knows nothing about it and cautions Josette not to get her hopes up. When someone has been missing that long, the outcome is rarely good.
Meanwhile, Josette tries to contact her father, Antoine, a shrimper on a nearby bayou. She's disturbed by his refusal to see her and more so by the news he shares with her. Max offers to go with her as moral support when she plans to visit him. Their trip to Alligator Cove raises more questions than answers. Mixed in among wedding activities, Josette and Keenan put their minds to finding out what Antoine is hiding, and when they do, why it doesn't make sense.
The stakes go up when a woman's body is found floating in the bayou, and Keenan and Josette run into danger while searching a deserted cabin. The final confrontation is a nail-biter but leaves one central question unanswered. Because of the length of time elapsed, the why of the explanation was no surprise when the resolution came. After all was said and done, it was a bit anti-climactic, but I still enjoyed it.
I loved seeing the relationship between Keenan and Josette develop. The sparks of attraction were there from the moment they met, but doing anything about them didn't seem like a good idea. After the wedding, Keenan would return to DC, and his job with the FBI, and Josette would return to Nashville and her successful career as a fashion designer. But Keenan's protective instincts were aroused and second only to his desire to spend as much time as possible with Josette.
After a year of dealing with various law enforcement types, Josette isn't inclined to trust Keenan initially, but it isn't long before he wins her over. I loved how Keenan was there to support her however she needed it. Over the time they spent together, their attraction continued to grow, leading to some very intense kisses and an unexpected deepening of the feelings growing between them. While the danger they experienced made them realize they didn't want to be apart, they still needed to figure out how to make it happen.
Keenan is an FBI agent on medical leave after being injured. He is the best man at the wedding where Josette is the maid of honor. He first noticed her on the flight to New Orleans, though his attempt at flirting didn't get him very far. It was when they arrived that they learned of their connection.
I loved the scenes with Josette, Addison (the bride), and the other bridesmaids. Friends during college, they are still close, and I enjoyed their light-hearted reminisces. The wedding preparation scenes in popular New Orleans locations were terrific, especially with the added excitement of Mardi Gras. I liked that the reason Josette was there was nicely balanced with the mystery.
Almost as soon as Josette arrives in New Orleans, rumors circulate that the missing Isadora will stage a triumphal return. The local detective, Max, knows nothing about it and cautions Josette not to get her hopes up. When someone has been missing that long, the outcome is rarely good.
Meanwhile, Josette tries to contact her father, Antoine, a shrimper on a nearby bayou. She's disturbed by his refusal to see her and more so by the news he shares with her. Max offers to go with her as moral support when she plans to visit him. Their trip to Alligator Cove raises more questions than answers. Mixed in among wedding activities, Josette and Keenan put their minds to finding out what Antoine is hiding, and when they do, why it doesn't make sense.
The stakes go up when a woman's body is found floating in the bayou, and Keenan and Josette run into danger while searching a deserted cabin. The final confrontation is a nail-biter but leaves one central question unanswered. Because of the length of time elapsed, the why of the explanation was no surprise when the resolution came. After all was said and done, it was a bit anti-climactic, but I still enjoyed it.
I loved seeing the relationship between Keenan and Josette develop. The sparks of attraction were there from the moment they met, but doing anything about them didn't seem like a good idea. After the wedding, Keenan would return to DC, and his job with the FBI, and Josette would return to Nashville and her successful career as a fashion designer. But Keenan's protective instincts were aroused and second only to his desire to spend as much time as possible with Josette.
After a year of dealing with various law enforcement types, Josette isn't inclined to trust Keenan initially, but it isn't long before he wins her over. I loved how Keenan was there to support her however she needed it. Over the time they spent together, their attraction continued to grow, leading to some very intense kisses and an unexpected deepening of the feelings growing between them. While the danger they experienced made them realize they didn't want to be apart, they still needed to figure out how to make it happen.
March 31, 2023
3,5 stars
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews