Book Review: Haunted House Murder by Leslie Meier, Lee Hollis and Barbara Ross

Tricks and treats keep the Halloween spirit alive in coastal Maine. But this year the haunted house theme is getting carried a little too far . . . 

HAUNTED HOUSE MURDER by LESLIE MEIER Newcomers to Tinker’s Cove, Ty and Heather Moon have moved into a dilapidated house reputed to be a haven for ghosts. Now strange noises and flickering lights erupt from the house at all hours and neighborly relations are on edge. And when a local boy goes missing near the house, it’s up to Lucy Stone to unravel the mystery of the eccentric couple and their increasingly frightful behavior.

DEATH BY HAUNTED HOUSE by LEE HOLLIS For the past two years, the house next door to Hayley Powell has sat abandoned after the owner died under mysterious circumstances. The Salinger family has recently taken possession of the property, but the realtor behind the deal has vanished—after a very public and angry argument with Damien Salinger. If Bar Harbor’s newest neighbors are murderers, Hayley will haunt them until they confess.

HALLOWED OUT by BARBARA ROSS With its history of hauntings and ghost sightings, Busman’s Harbor is the perfect setting for Halloween festivities. But when a reenactment of a Prohibition-era gangster’s murder ends with a literal bang and a dead actor from New Jersey, Julia Snowden must identify a killer before she ends up sleeping with the fishes. 

There’s nothing like home sweet home in this trio of Halloween tales . . .[summary via Amazon]

Halloween is one of my favourite holidays and I couldn't resist digging into this new collection of spooky stories by Leslie Meier, Lee Hollis and Barbara Ross.

From Leslie Meier comes a spooky tale of a couple that don't appear to be all that nice, and may be up to something sinister. Lee Hollis delivers a deadly tale when a real estate agent is found murdered. Could it be the creepy newcomers next door? Last, but definitely not least, Barbara Ross returns us to Busman's Harbor, where a ghost tour turns deadly.

Haunted House Murder was the perfect spooky read. I loved stepping back into each of these series. They each created the perfect mystery, and murderous at that, to provide that early spook that I look forward to every September! 

It's been a while since I visited each series (not because they aren't awesome, but because I've stepped away from reading for a while) and I loved getting re-aquainted with each series. I definitely will be picking up each series to continue on!

If you're looking for the perfect appetizer for your spooky, holiday reading then pick up Haunted House Murder. These three fabulous, female authors never disappoint!

Book Review: Silent Night, Deadly Night

It's the week before Thanksgiving, and Merry Wilkinson, owner of Mrs. Claus's Treasures, is preparing for a weekend reunion of her mother's college friends. But when the group of women comes into Merry's shop, Merry is met with frosty attitudes and cold hearts.

The women argue amongst themselves constantly, and the bickering only intensifies after one of the friends is poisoned. With her father's role as Santa in danger due to his proximity to the crime, Merry will need to use all of her investigative gifts to wrap this mystery up and save Santa and her favorite holiday.[summary via Amazon]

In the fourth instalment in the Year-Round Christmas Mysteries, it's almost Thanksgiving in Rudolph and the holiday spirit is in the air. While Merry is busy at Mrs. Claus's Treasures, her mom is getting ready for a reunion with her college friends. However, the perfect weekend together doesn't go as planned, especially when the friends start constantly arguing and bickering. When one of the college friends turns up dead, at Merry's parents' house, Merry is determined to solve the mystery, and bring the holiday spirit back into their lives.

The Year-Round Christmas Mysteries are one of my favourite cozy mystery series. The atmosphere of the holiday season shines in Rudolph, even with the sinister crime lurking around the corner (because this is a cozy mystery!), and I always look forward to the next book in the series. 

Silent Night, Deadly Night is a compelling read, and is as good, if not better, than the previous instalments. This is one series that just keeps getting better and better. 

While I love the murder mystery, it is always the side stories that keep me coming back to the cozy mystery genre. These secondary stories are at their best in Silent Night, Deadly Night. There is a lot going on in Rudolph, and Merry is just the right person to set everything right and save Thanksgiving!

Vicki Delany had me stumped with the mystery, and I wasn't able to solve it before Merry. This made the denouement even more enjoyable for me, as I watched everything unravel.

If you haven't picked up the Year-Round Christmas Mysteries yet, you really should. They deliver a top-notch mystery with the perfect cozy town atmosphere. 

Book Review: A Killer Edition by Lorna Barrett

With her assistant, Pixie, picking up more responsibility around the shop, Tricia Miles suddenly has a lot more time on her hands. Tricia decides to join the local animal-rescue board and enter the Great Stoneham Bake-Off, but neither pans out as smoothly as she’d hoped.

Balancing a bake-off that’s heating up with a frosty reception from the board, Tricia stops by Joyce Whitman’s romance bookstore looking for a book to get her fired up. She stumbles on something hot, but it’s an argument between Joyce and her neighbor Vera Olson instead of a steamy read. When Vera turns up dead in Joyce’s garden hours later, Tricia has to wonder—could Joyce be the killer? Or is the culprit still lurking in town?

One thing is for sure, someone in Stoneham is stirring up something more sinister than sweet. Tricia is determined to win the cutthroat cooking contest, but first she will have to make sure no one else is in danger of getting burned....[summary via Amazon]

It's time to visit Stoneham again in Lorna Barrett's latest mystery, A Killer Edition.

Tricia is feeling a little lost. Her assistant manager, Pixie, has everything under control at her shop, Haven't Got a Clue, so Tricia is trying to fill her time. Unfortunately the frosty reception she receives when she tries to join the board for a local animal shelter, isn't making her feel any better. However, life is about to get interesting again when she uncovers a dead body and enters a local baking contest.

The Booktown Mysteries is the only series that I've stayed up to date with over the last 10 years of reading cozy mysteries. I absolutely love the release of every new addition to the series, and look forward to visiting Stoneham again and again!

The mystery itself is top-notch. While I had a feeling the cause of the murder, I was completely surprised when the murderer was unveiled. I love that Lorna Barrett always keeps me on my toes with a good mystery to unravel!

More than the mystery, I love the development of not just the relationships but life in Stoneham. A Killer Edition is the 13th book in the series and a lot has happened in Stoneham over the last 13 books. I really feel that Lorna Barrett develops this series at a realistic pace. Friendships and relationships go up and down, as life takes its course, and you can see this in this series. I love seeing  the development in  the relationship between Tricia and her sister, Angelica. They have grown closer, but there is still some rivalry there, as evidenced by each of them wanting to win the Bake-Off!

A Killer Edition is another fantastic instalment in this series and I absolutely can't wait for the next one!

Book Review: Read to Death by Terrie Farley Moran

With their book club season wrapping up with The Florida Life of Thomas Edison, Sassy and Bridgy decide to take their group on a day trip to the beautiful Edison and Ford Winter Estates. Hiring driver Oscar Frieland, who’s known for his colorful stories and love of the café’s Robert Frost fruit tartlets, the bibliophiles set off for a day of sunshine and history.

After a lovely excursion, the club returns to the café for lunch and a book discussion, but the group falls silent after Oscar is found dead in his van. The sheriff’s deputies have some questions of their own for the group, and if the ladies don’t find some answers soon, the next book they read might be from a prison library.[summary via Amazon]

Read to Death is the third book in the Read 'Em and Eat Mysteries. Sassy Cabot and Bridgy Mayfield are on a field trip to visit the Edison and Ford Winter Estates. All is going well until their driver is found dead, after they arrive back at the cafe. With Bridgy discovering the body, the police instantly suspect her. It's up to Sassy to try to clear her best friends name.

I really enjoyed the first two books in this series, and the third (and final) book is no exception. It was a charming and fun mystery, surrounding the book club's read of The Florida Life of Thomas Edison. 

I read a lot of mysteries and I love picking up clues early on. When the victim teases about knowing "all the girls way back when", I knew that was the line that had sealed his doom. Of course, I was right! It was interesting to try to figure out which book club member was keeping a secret and who the murderer was.

Beyond the mystery and the wonderful characters, I love all the "book title" dropping that this series provides. The various book clubs that meet at the Read 'Em and Eat Cafe are always interesting. Quite often, after reading the mystery I want to head to the library to check out the other books mentioned in the book. This time, it was Julie and Julia, and other Julia Childs cookbooks. The bookclub made the books sound so interesting, so I will definitely be having some cookbook reading in my future.

Read to Death is the last book in this series, and I hope some time in the future it might be picked up for more stories. I really enjoyed visiting with Sassy and Bridgy (and their moms in this book) and I hope there are more adventures in the future.

If you love books about books about books, then definitely pick up the Read 'Em and Eat Mysteries. They are well worth a read. And, there are delicious recipes too!

Book Review: Carving Out a Path by Lorraine Bartlett

A young shoplifter not only swipes a couple of hand-carved figurines from Ray Davenport, owner of Victoria Square’s Wood U gift shop, but barrels into and injures Katie Bonner, manager of Artisans Alley. Upon his escape, the police are called, but before the ink is dry on the report, the boy’s grandmother drags the would-be thief back to return the purloined items. She’s got an agenda and great expectations? Can Ray come through in a pinch?[summary via Amazon]

Carving Out a Path is the first novella in the "Life on Victoria Square" series. For those that haven't read the Victoria Square Mysteries, I recommend starting with A Crafty Killing. These novellas fit between the books, and contain small spoilers for the earlier books in the series.

Carving Out a Path centres around Ray Davenport's back story and involves a young shoplifter. I really enjoyed this novella. As a big fan of the Victoria Square mysteries, I like learning more about the individual characters - in this case Ray and his daughters. Lorraine Bartlett also gives a little background into her own family history involving wood carving, which I find really interesting.

This was a fun, short read and I'm really looking forward to reading the rest of the novellas in the Life on Victoria Square series. These are the perfect little mini stories, while I wait for Murder Ink to be released on December 31, 2019.