Member Reviews
This is a collection of three short Halloween mysteries. The first takes place in Tinker’s cove where house owners throw a party and one ends up dead due to tainted drugs. Lucy Stone tries to solve the mystery. The second is at Hayley Powell’s party where the guest are in costume. One is dead and another the killer? The third Julia Snowden has to solve the murder of a tenant found dead in the backyard.
Three cozy short stories set to a Halloween theme written by some of the best cozy mystery writers in the business. No one is better than Leslie Meier at building an excellent story in such a few chapters. Lee Hollis and Barbara Ross are close competition for space on my TBR list. Easy 5 stars from me. No trick, just a treat or three.
I like the three authors in this book. I have read each separately and enjoy the novellas contained in this book
I apprecitate the publisher allowing me to read this book. I found this a really interesting read and the characters are quite engaging. it kept me reading until the end. I highly recommend.
The perfect cozy mystery for Halloween, The writing style kept me engaged throughout the book, having me wishing I was there with the characters.
Halloween is in full swing in small-town Maine, and this book is a perfect blend of spine-chilling suspense and cozy mystery. Each of the three stories included will keep you entertained and on the edge of your seat.
In "Halloween Party Murder" by Leslie Meier, we follow journalist Lucy Stone as she investigates the mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of one of the newest residents of Tinker's Cove. Ty and Heather Moon had turned their Victorian home into a haunted house to raise funds for charity, but when Heather overdoses on tainted drugs and Ty finds himself accused of murder, Lucy uncovers some sinister secrets in the Moons' past linked to a conspiracy in her hometown.
In "Death of a Halloween Party Monster" by Lee Hollis, everyone at Island Times Food and Cocktail columnist Hayley Powell's Halloween party is dressed as their favorite movie monster. However, the night takes a turn for the worst when partygoers discover Boris Candy's bludgeoned body. It falls to Hayley to uncover the murderer among the guests, and she sets out to find out who wanted to stop the man from clowning around permanently.
Lastly, in "Scared Off" by Barbara Ross, three teenage girls spend Halloween night together for a sleepover, but their fun is interrupted when high schoolers crash the house for a party. The night takes a turn for the worst when they find Mrs. Zelisko, the elderly third-floor tenant, dead in the backyard, dressed like a ghost. With her niece traumatized, Julia Snowden must unmask the killer behind such a murderous trick and solve this spine-tingling mystery.
Overall, "Halloween Party Murder" is a delightful, spine-tingling collection of Halloween-themed mysteries that will leave you guessing until the very end. Whether you're a fan of cozy mysteries or Halloween stories, this book is the perfect treat for you this season.
These are three of the best murder series writers in the business! This is such a feel good, comforting mystery that I can read through very quickly. I can also count on any of these authors to get me out of a reading slump; and halloween is my favorite holiday!
When I requested this I thought it was one of those books that’s become the “Murder She Baked” movies on Hallmark Murders and Mysteries. Well - I was wrong. I don’t love shortys in general and I was expecting some “light” murder like poisoned cookies rather than a drug overdose in a dang bathtub soooooo on to the next.
ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I didn't love this compilation. I enjoyed Barbara Ross's story, but the others just fell a little flat, maybe because I don't read these series and haven't caught up.
5 stars. Leslie Meier is just a great cozy mystery author. I love all of her books so to read one where she had one story involved really helped me open my reading to new authors who were just as great. This one which is based around Halloween is a great I'm a NE girl and this book is based in Maine. Each story is unique in their own based around Halloween.
This is a collection of mysteries that are somewhat quick and easy to solve. The authors seem to cram all of the clues and suspects into the first couple of chapters in each story, and then try to drag out the main characters solving the murders when the reader has already solved the mystery before the conclusion come.
RATING AND REVIEW FOR Death Of A Halloween Party Monster BY Lee Hollis
Enjoyable short story to hold me over until the next in this series! I was able to guess some of what was going on before the reveal. The room was pretty cool though. I didn't see that coming. I saw an interesting recipe or two too so that's a plus!
Thank you NetGalley for a copy of the ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
I really enjoy these seasonal/holiday collections of cozy mystery novellas from Kensington. Unfortunately the 3 novellas here are not equally strong. I really only enjoyed the Lee Hollis one. However, I would still recommend this to others, especially to get a small taste of cozy mysteries and some ongoing cozy series.
I started the first story in this book, but wasn’t a fan of it. The second story was good. I didn’t finish the last because of a spoiler that bummed me out.
I keep reading the Lucy Stone mysteries and I've realized I have to quit. I can't stand Lucy. I think she's just too judgmental for me to enjoy. That being said, I really enjoyed the other 2 books. I think Lee Hollis and Barbara Ross did an excellent job entertaining me.
Loved this one! Perfect spooky read for Halloween time. Three short stories each packing their own punch. I love the world Leslie Meier creates and enjoyed this bite size mystery.
This is a collection of Halloween themed novellas. Each novella is a fun cozy mystery to get you in the mood for spooky season.
Book #1 Halloween Party Murder. Lucy Stone once again is involved in an investigation of a suspicious death. In this book Lucy and her friends are getting older and the are not as much of the social scene as they once were. So the team up with some of the younger adults in hosting a haunted house. Everything seems to be going great until one of the hosts are found dead. The mystery is fasted pasted and full of twists and turns. I suspected the culprit but the journey to the reveal was entertaining.
Book #2 Death of a Halloween Party Monster. Haley is hosting a Halloween Party at her restaurant. Guests dress as their favorite monsters. One of the funniest parts is where one of the guests comes dressed as Pennywise and has fun scaring one of the other guest throughout the party. When the party is over they find a dead body but the victims is no longer in costume. This is an entertaining mystery that keeps you guessing guess until the end.
Book #3 Scared Off. Julie gets a call from her niece who is supposed to be at a slumber party with a couple of friends. The slumber party has tuned into a unsupervised party with high school kids. When Julie arrives to get her niece she see the police has arrived too. To Julie and the policeman’s surprise they not only find a party but a dead body. As Julie looks into the case, she discovers a lot of secrets the victim was keeping. This is a fast paced, fun, roller coaster of a mystery.
I loved this volume of three mysteries. Two of the authors (Meier and Hollis) I love and have read all of there books but the third (Ross) was a new to me author.
All of the mysteries were interesting, well-written and have characters that I would love to meet. If you've read anything by one of these authors or just love 'visiting' Maine, I think that you will like this collection of stories.
This is a fantastic bookclub book or a book to dip your toe into the pool of cozy mysteries. You don't have to be caught up on the all of the author's series to enjoy the short stories in here. This was a fun read to have to the #spooktacularcozychallenge that I helped host on Instagram for the month of October. I recommend it.
Halloween Party Murder is a three story book. The authors are Leslie Meier, Lee Hollis, and Barbara Ross.
All three mysteries will put you in the Halloween spirit. They have you guessing to the end. There is family, friendship, and a tad of humor. They are well written and easy reads.
I was given an ARC by Kensington via NetGalley for an honest review.