This book is composed by three novellas and I found it quite enjoyable.
All novellas are entertaining and well written, the characters are realistic and the plot keeps you hooked.
My favourite was the one by Leslie Meyer, I liked the Halloween them but also appreciated the social theme that are in the background.
The other two were engrossing and entertaining read.
Recommended
Many thanks to Kensington Books and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington Publishers for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book contains three stories relating to Halloween. Haunted House Murder by Leslie Meier, Death by Haunted House by Lee Hollis and Hallowed Out by Barbara Ross. All three are fun stories involving characters that we are familiar with from previous books by these authors. They are great reads to put one into the upcoming fall and holiday season.

After readying 25+ books in this series, I shouldn’t be surprised when Lucy’s children are inconsiderate and selfish or when her husband is a chauvinistic pig, but it still bothers me Every Single Time. I want Lucy to be my mother/grandmother, so I can appreciate her properly. I do enjoy when Lucy has Patrick, so that was nice. And overall this mystery was cute. I like that Meier addresses bigger issues in her mysteries and this time it was domestic violence. I liked the descriptions of the spooky house, too. I missed the presence of Lucy’s best girlfriends, but that happens in these mini-mysteries.
The second story leads me to believe that husbands in Maine tend to suck in general. Hayley’s husband, Danny, is an unemployed child who never seems to have her back or help her out... I’m not sure who I prefer: Lucy’s sexist carpenter or Hayley’s useless househusband. The relationships in this story didn’t make much sense as a whole. Hayley and her husband were accusing the neighbors of murder, yet the husbands drank beer and talked baseball? And Danny sent their children over to spy on the neighbors he thought were murderers? The anger/friendliness/fear seemed really uneven/imbalanced. I like the rest of the cast of characters in Bar Harbor. I’ve read one other Hayley Powell Mystery and I remember liking the brother & his boyfriend and the scenery, this story just didn’t do it for me.
The third story is excellent. I really enjoyed Julia, her boyfriend Chris (who restores my faith in the men of Maine), and her mom. I loved the historical touches and the ghost stories and the mystery was very unique with a great twist. All the characters were fun and likable. I’ll definitely keep my eyes out for more Maine Clambake Mysteries.

Haunted House Murder should probably be called Haunted House Mystery. Or better yet- Neighbor Misconceptions. There was no murder involved. The initial story, of the three that make up this book, was disappointing. Ive read many of Leslie Meier's books and found them entertaining. This one was not. It was short, cliched and full of sad stereotypes about new neighbors in a run down house. I almost stopped reading.
The second story, Death by Haunted House, was a bit better. The story was light hearted. The characters were shallow, but it was a good cozy mystery.
The third story, Hallowed Out, was the most engaging. The characters were not caricatures. It was a cozy mystery with some substance.
All in all, a light hearted read for when you need a break from heavier books.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Trio Of Haunted Maine Novellas
This is a set of Halloween stories all based in Maine. The stories are; Haunted House Murder by Leslie Meier, Death by Haunted House by Lee Hollis and Hallowed Out by Barbara Ross. In Haunted House Murder the writing is well done, but it is a B grade story. Our heroine is quite the 'doormat' for her family. I finished the story but was 'talking' to the author the entire time. This is the first Lucy Stone book that I have read. Those who enjoy the Lucy Stone series will love this story. Next is Death by Haunted House. This is another B grade story. It is similar to the 1981 movie, 'Neighbors' with Belushi and Ackroyd. Overall, a husband who is just a big kid talks his sane wife and young kids into believing the new neighbors are weird in a Halloween sense. The writing is good, but the plot is dumb. The last story is Hallowed Out. It is a wonderful Halloween based cozy murder mystery. This is part of the author's Clambake Mysteries series. This is a very well done story with lots of interesting aspects. The final reveal is quite a surprise. I really enjoyed the last story, but the first two were not my cup of tea. This is good reading to help get into the Halloween spirit. I received this ARC book for free from Net Galley and this is my honest review.

Autumn means cooler weather, football and Halloween. This trio of short novellas is perfect for the fall and Halloween season. All three are set in small towns in Maine, with characters we already know and love and have a spooky haunted house theme. Eerie sounds, interesting families and of course a murder or two will have you in the perfect mood for Halloween. There are also some terrific sounding recipes to share while you read. Sp grab your favorite beverage, a nice cozy throw and curl up with Lucy Stone, Hayley Powell and Julia Snowden for a cozy evening of fun!
Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the chance to read and review this book.

I really enjoy this series. I felt like this story was something that I already read before, but then realized that it was a new short story. I love the characters and like to read about their lives besides the mystery. Looking forward to the next book!

Three great authors in one entertaining Halloween book! All three stories have delicious recipes included!

Leslie Meier's Haunted House Murder brings Lucy Stone a full house - when her grandson Patrick comes to visit while his mom is recovering from hand surgery. In addition to playing doting grandmother, Lucy must solve a crime that affects the whole town. I enjoy Lucy's determination and seeing her interacting with Patrick was charming. The mystery was fun and had a perfect Halloween vibe.

Lee Hollis's Death by Haunted House features a flashback theme with a mystery that has Hayley's ex-husband Danny, in the picture. Dealing with Danny, her job and a murder mystery have Hayley on edge!

Barbara Ross's Hallowed Out has three ghost stories and a very modern murder. Julia, Chris and Gus find themselves in an acting gig that will wind up in murder!

A fun Halloween triology!

I received an ARC from NetGalley for a fair and honest review of this book.

Perfect if you're looking for a collection of cozy novellas! Yes that can be a thing and here it's a Halloween themed one. Each of the stories is by an author you will enjoy and each features a neatly tried up mystery. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A treat.

What fun these 3 unique Halloween stories were to read. Always a treat to visit with Lucy Stone and the gang in Tinkers Cove, Maine. Because of my love of Lucy, I was introduced to 2 new authors that I had not read before. I will be reading more from both Hollis and Ross in the near future.

One star rating, as I only finished a single story.

I jumped at this book because it was Halloween themed, and quickly realized that I shouldn't have. I've read some of all three authors' series, and frankly, wasn't a huge fan.

No surprise then that I didn't like two of the three stories. Especially the second one. It was just so over the top and annoying. The third one wasn't horrible.

Definitely not my cup of tea, and I really should have paid attention to the authors.

HAUNTED HOUSE MURDER by Leslie Meier, Lee Hollis, and Barbara Ross is the third anthology book the three talented authors have teamed up for. With three Halloween-themed novellas to provide short, goosebump-worthy reads, each author spins tales based on their much-loved characters from their long-enduring series. As you would expect, each novella has different characters and much different storytelling styles.

Leslie Meier writes a soft mystery intertwining a social issue. I like how she uses the grandson of the protagonist, Lucy Stone to increase the suspense. Lee Hollis takes the reader back in time to when the protagonist, Hayley Powell, has her young children at home. Halloween, especially when kids are involved, tends to not be quite so scary. Still the author manages to insert references to old-school horror movies and characters that had me chuckling. Barbara Ross ramps up the spookiness factor with a ghost tour in which she relates local ghost stories of Busman Harbor. As a longtime fan of the Maine Clambake Mystery series, I appreciated the peek into a different view of the town’s history and setting. I also appreciated her tale adhering to the title of the book by including a murder and not just a mystery. Despite the short novella length, Ms. Ross manages to make the story feel full length with good character development, a crime, great settings and Halloween flavors, and a complete resolution.

Haunted House Murder
(Maine Clambake Mystery #7.5 - Hallowed Out)
by Leslie Meier, Lee Hollis & Barbara Ross 

Kindle Edition, 320 pages
Expected publication: August 27th 2019 by Kensington


Goodreads synopsis:
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 . . .


***

3.5 Stars

I have to admit, this book kind of threw me in the beginning. When I got to the end of story number one and no murder had actually happened, I felt like I stepped to the edge of a cliff and fell off before the end of the book. I originally thought this was a story only by Leslie Meier. On the book cover her name is so huge, I overlooked the other two author’s names. I was three chapters into the next story before I realized this was three short stories and not one big story.

I was disappointed there wasn’t a death in story one. I figured it was a given considering the title of the book was “Haunted House MURDER.” I was ready to go in for the long haul when the story seemed to abruptly end. That may have been the natural ending but I was left wanting more to this tidbit of Meiers work. I felt for Lucy as she tried to take care of her grandson pretty much on her own. No one else even seemed to have her back,. Not her daughter or her hubby. I wanted more of this part of the story. It wasn’t really resolved. Now I am wondering if this will be brought up in the next book. I need more, dang it!

Short story number two DEATH BY HAUNTER HOUSE was pretty good after I realized it was indeed its own separate story. I had never read a Lee Hollis story and so I was intrigued by the characters. I did have a bit of trouble in the beginning distinguishing children from adults. But once I did, I thought it was a hoot. Hayley’s hubby was almost as bad as the kids sometimes. I will definitely have to check out more of this author’s work. I think I have a few books already in my vast Kindle Library.

Short story number three HALLOWED OUT was the best of the bunch, in my opinion. This story alone is worth the purchase of the book. I am totally going to dive into Barbara Ross’s books with gusto now. I have five or six, I think in my collection, both digital and proper paperback versions. I felt the story was completely fleshed out with all the motivations and structure of a larger book. To say I was impressed was an understatement.

If you are keeping count, there are murders in story two and three but not in story one.

There was also a big a weirdness around the placement of the recipes. I felt like they restricted the flow of the story. I would have liked them to be at the end instead of between stories. But that is just me. I don’t read books like this for the recipes. But for the people who like them, I am sure they are appreciated wherever they find them.

Overall, it was a nice and enjoyable read. I just wish the stories could have been a bit longer. Sometimes when you are invested in a world, it is hard to say goodbye. Definitely check this out if you are into cozy mysteries and want to check out new authors. You won’t come away disasppointed.

I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in return for an honest review. I thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this title.

Haunted House murder is a compilation of three spooky cozy mystery stories by three well known mystery writers. I love how these stories are connected in a way in a central theme but are also standalone stories. These are the perfect way to welcome in the cooler weather to make way for fall!

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.

Going in, I didn't realize this was three separate stories and got super confused at first. Once I figured out what was going on, I was able to fully enjoy each novella.

Loved the first two short stories, Haunted House Murder and Death By Haunted House, since they were both creepy and suspenseful. The third story, Hallowed Out, didn't grab me and I was bored with all the reenactment details. Still worth reading and recommend on a dark and stormy night for full effect.

This book delivers on everything I was hoping for as a reader- three very cozy stories centered around Halloween, which left me feeling ready for fall and craving hot spiced cider and pumpkin flavored anything. The Lucy Stone mystery was especially fun because Lucy’s grandson came to stay with her. It felt like reading one of the early books in the series when Lucy was a young mother. Please keep these cozy holiday compilations coming!

I have read this trio's previous anthologies of Christmas novellas and loved them, so I was excited to see that they had written Halloween stories this time around. All the stories take place in Maine. I enjoy Leslie Meier's Lucy Stone stories. I have read her from the very beginning and my kids have grown up with Lucy's. In this outing, Patrick comes to stay with the Lucy & Bill for awhile. She enjoys her grandson but has forgotten how much work little ones are. In addition to his activities, she has to fit in her own daily activities plus solve the haunted house mystery that's popped up in Tinker's Cove. Next we have Lee Hollis's Hayley Powell, whom I adore. Her mysteries are so much fun. This story is a prequel so we get to see her when she is still married to Danny, the father of her two children. The haunted house is right next door to them and craziness ensues. The third story is Barbara Ross's Julia Snowden. This character is relatively new to me. I've only read her novellas in the Christmas anthologies, but I've enjoyed them. I will be reading all of her full length novels. This story features a haunted tour. Of course, the tour doesn't go as planned. The scenes with Clyde, the town know it all, are hilarious. I didn't guess the endings on any of the three stories. Despite the murder rates, I wouldn't mind living in any of these towns. As long as I don't tick anyone off, I'll be fine! If you are looking for Halloween stories that aren't scary, these will do the trick. You don't need to be long time readers of either series to follow along. Although if you want back stories, all three authors have several books in each of their series. Thank you to Netgalley and Kensington for the ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

I received a copy through Netgalley. A review was not required and is being done on my own. When I received a book I didn't read carefully. I pleasantly found that I actually had three novellas from three different authors. I really love the Lucy Stone series by Leslie Meier. Her series follows Lucy, a part time reporter/full time mother, in her adventures in Tinker"s Cove, Maine. While each of these books are stand alone, reading the whole series allows the reader to grow up with her children and see the changes coming to her town. Leslie Meier doesn't disappoint although I would have loved to see a little more development of this story. Lee Hollis is a relatively new author for me. I have read a couple of books by this author. I enjoy this story about a realtor that disappears after an encounter with a new buyer. Did the new residents kill? Barbara Ross's story brings us to Bar Harbor, a city rich in history and ghosts. However when an re-enactment of a murder brings about a real murder, Julia must figure out who wanted this man dead. I found the story to be well done and the characters intrigued me. I plan to look further at her Clambake mystery series further. I love Halloween so each these stories were a wonderful read for me. Pull up a comfortable chair and grab a hot drink on a dark night and enjoy these stories.

I must admit that I loved this book, it was just what I needed.

Every night before my reading time, I would pop me a bag of Microwave popcorn and settle in for a good read.

Leslie Meier really knows how to write, giving us the details of Lucy's life down the smallest detail. I feel like I know the Stone family personally. Lucy likes to go to the IGA on Wednesday afternoon, after her Pennysaver newspaper deadline has been met, and she is always a little frazzled with her "to-do" list. - - I know the feeling, but this Halloween added to the excitement of the holiday, is her grandson Patrick, who will be staying for a few months. Which adds a new level to Lucy's stress-meter, as she will be babysitting Patrick, without his parents and his needs have to be met, (mainly food, and more food) and a new school, homework, and after school ball practice.

The excitement builds when new and strange neighbors move in and they have weird noises and lights coming from their house, and they do not want any visitors. Is the wife Heather being abused by her husband Ty? She looks like a ghost herself.

But wait!! There's more! What? Patrick is missing? Or is he just hiding?

This story kept me flipping pages to the end. - - a MUST READ entertainment!

I also enjoyed the stories by Lee Hollis and Barbara Ross, these three writers make a great team and I hope Kensington Books releases more books featuring this trio.

Buy a copy for yourself or give as a gift.

Thank you Kensington for allowing me to read this copy in exchange for an honest review.

This review will also be posted today at Goodreads.

Get that popcorn and ENJOY! (less)