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cozy mystery
Series · cozy mystery
Scrapbooking Mysteries
The Scrapbooking Mysteries series by Laura Childs has 16 known books (16 published) and is best read in publication order, starting with Keepsake Crimes (2003).
- Books
- 16 known books (16 novels)
- Published
- 16
- First published
- 2003
- Status
- hiatus
- Shelved under
- Mystery & Crime
- Last checked
Start here: Keepsake Crimes (2003) — then read straight through in publication order.
Reading order
The date order of published books and any announced future entries — the default way to read the series.
- Book 1:
Keepsake Crimes
Keepsake Crimes opens the Scrapbooking Mysteries in 2003, introducing Carmela Bertrand -- owner of the French Quarter scrapbooking shop Memory Mine -- and the amateur-sleuth habit of picking through evidence herself that will carry her through the series' next fifteen books. It runs 286 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Keepsake Crimes - Book 2:
Photo Finished
Photo Finished followed in 2004 as the second Scrapbooking Mysteries entry, running 297 pages and continuing to draw on New Orleans' French Quarter -- its antique shops, festivals and Cajun cooking -- as the backdrop for Carmela Bertrand's latest brush with murder.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Photo Finished - Book 3:
Bound for Murder
Bound for Murder is book 3 of the Scrapbooking Mysteries, also published in 2004, at 271 pages. Like the rest of the series, it pairs Laura Childs' genuine scrapbooking and papercraft detail with a brisk, gossip-fueled French Quarter whodunit.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Bound for Murder - Book 4:
Motif for Murder
Motif for Murder came out in 2006, the fourth entry in the series, with Carmela Bertrand's Memory Mine shop and her friendship with next-door voodoo-and-antiques dealer Ava Gruiteux once again pulled into a New Orleans murder investigation. It runs 288 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Motif for Murder - Book 5:
Frill Kill
Frill Kill holds the fifth spot in the Scrapbooking Mysteries, arriving in 2007 at 288 pages, and keeps to the series' formula of a French Quarter institution -- shop, restaurant or festival -- providing the backdrop for Carmela's amateur detective work.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Frill Kill - Book 6:
Death Swatch
Death Swatch is the sixth entry in the series, released in 2008 at 303 pages, with Carmela Bertrand once again running circles around her ex-husband-turned-love-interest Detective Edgar Babcock's official investigation.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Death Swatch - Book 7:
Tragic Magic
Tragic Magic appeared in 2009 as the seventh Scrapbooking Mysteries book, continuing the gossip-fueled, French Quarter-set whodunit formula Laura Childs built the series on rather than anything darker or more violent.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Tragic Magic - Book 8:
Fiber and Brimstone
Fiber and Brimstone appeared in 2010, the eighth entry at 338 pages, sending Carmela Bertrand and Ava Gruiteux back into New Orleans' parade routes and antique shops in pursuit of another French Quarter mystery.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Fiber and Brimstone - Book 9:
Skeleton Letters
Skeleton Letters appeared in 2011, book 9 of the series, blending real scrapbooking technique with a New Orleans mystery in the same brisk, atmosphere-driven register as the rest of Laura Childs' run.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Skeleton Letters - Book 10:
Postcards from the Dead
Postcards from the Dead is book 10 of the Scrapbooking Mysteries, released in 2012 (some retailer editions list 2013) and running 336 pages, with Carmela Bertrand's Memory Mine shop once again the hub for a French Quarter investigation.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Postcards from the Dead - Book 11:
Gilt Trip
Gilt Trip came out in 2013, holding the eleventh spot in the series, and keeps the emphasis Laura Childs favors throughout -- atmosphere, friendship and Carmela's knack for turning up where she isn't wanted -- over darker crime writing.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Gilt Trip - Book 12:
Gossamer Ghost
Gossamer Ghost holds the twelfth spot in the series, released in 2014 at 328 pages, with Carmela and Ava's French Quarter sleuthing once again running well ahead of Detective Edgar Babcock's official investigation.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Gossamer Ghost - Book 13:
Parchment and Old Lace
Parchment and Old Lace is the thirteenth entry in the Scrapbooking Mysteries, the last one written solely by Laura Childs before Terrie Farley Moran joined as co-author starting with the next book. It runs 323 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Parchment and Old Lace - Book 14:
Crepe Factor
Crepe Factor is the fourteenth entry in the series and the first credited to both Laura Childs and Terrie Farley Moran, who co-wrote every Scrapbooking Mysteries book from here through the end of the run. It runs 320 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Crepe Factor - Book 15:
Glitter Bomb
Glitter Bomb holds the fifteenth spot in the series, credited to Laura Childs and Terrie Farley Moran, and at 381 pages is the longest Scrapbooking Mysteries entry, still built around Carmela Bertrand's French Quarter sleuthing.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Glitter Bomb - Book 16:
Mumbo Gumbo Murder
Mumbo Gumbo Murder holds the sixteenth and, as of this catalogue, final spot in the Scrapbooking Mysteries, credited to Laura Childs and Terrie Farley Moran and running 314 pages -- the most recent entry before the series' extended hiatus.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Mumbo Gumbo Murder
About the Scrapbooking Mysteries series
Carmela Bertrand runs Memory Mine, a scrapbooking shop tucked into New Orleans' French Quarter, where she sells paper, ribbon and rubber stamps to a clientele of Garden District society ladies, tourists and Mardi Gras krewe members. Widowed young and fiercely independent, Carmela is the kind of amateur sleuth who can't walk past a body without picking through the evidence herself, usually alongside her best friend and shop assistant Ava Gruiteux, who runs the voodoo-and-antiques shop next door. Ex-husband-turned-love-interest Detective Edgar Babcock provides the official investigation Carmela routinely runs circles around.
What sets this series apart from Laura Childs' other cozy lines is its setting: New Orleans supplies parade routes, cemetery tours, jazz clubs, plantation homes and Cajun cooking as a rotating backdrop for each mystery, alongside genuine scrapbooking and papercraft technique woven into Carmela's amateur detective work. Starting with book fourteen, Crepe Factor, Childs began co-writing the series with fellow cozy novelist Terrie Farley Moran, who is credited alongside her on every entry since. The mysteries stayed brisk, gossip-fueled whodunits built around French Quarter institutions — antique shops, restaurants, festivals — rather than dark or violent crime, keeping the emphasis on atmosphere, friendship and Carmela's knack for turning up where she isn't wanted.
Frequently asked questions
How many books are in the Scrapbooking Mysteries series?
There are 16 published novels, from Keepsake Crimes (2003) to Mumbo Gumbo Murder (2019). A 17th book, tentatively titled Cadmium Red Dead, has been announced but has no confirmed release date as of August 2026.
What order should I read the Scrapbooking Mysteries in?
Publication order, starting with Keepsake Crimes, so you meet Carmela Bertrand, Ava Gruiteux and the French Quarter setting as Laura Childs establishes them.
Is the Scrapbooking Mysteries series finished?
It's on an extended hiatus rather than formally concluded. No new entry has appeared since Mumbo Gumbo Murder (2019), though a 17th book has been announced without a firm publication date.
Who is Terrie Farley Moran and why is she credited on later books?
Terrie Farley Moran is a fellow cozy mystery author who began co-writing the series with Laura Childs starting with Crepe Factor (book 14, 2016); she's credited as co-author on every book since.
How does this series differ from Laura Childs's other cozy mysteries?
Scrapbooking Mysteries is set in New Orleans' French Quarter and centers on scrapbooking shop owner Carmela Bertrand, distinguishing it from the Charleston tea-shop setting of Tea Shop Mysteries and the Midwest egg-and-yarn cafe of Cackleberry Club Mysteries.
If you like the Scrapbooking Mysteries series
Reading order last verified .