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<b>Halloween Party Murder -- by LESLIE MEIER</b> ⭐⭐⭐

To be honest, I usually really dislike this author's cozy mysteries. That's not to say the author is a dreadful writer, she isn't. In fact, I find the books (that I have read) to be well written and I enjoy the mysteries and the plots. However, I LOATHE Lucy and her stuck up group of judgmental busybodies with the passion of a thousand blistering suns. 😂 That said, she (surprisingly) wasn't that annoying in this book. Oh, there were moments, but they were brief. However, I didn't love the plot of this one very much. It was weird with the whole "drug" thing. It also wasn't very festive. All three of the stories in this collection lacked the Halloween festive feeling. 🤷🏻‍♀️

<b>DEATH OF A HALLOWEEN PARTY MONSTER by LEE HOLLIS</> ⭐⭐⭐

I recently read another book by this author and enjoyed it. I felt the same way about this one. It held my interest. The characters were likable. The mystery was a little predictable, but enjoyable. That said, I had the same issue with this story as I had with the previous book. The author places recipes (and the short stories that went along with them) between chapters.. I find this annoying as it interrupted the pace of the story. And again, I just ended up skipping them. 🤷🏻‍♀️

<b>SCARED OFF by BARBARA ROSS</b> ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This was my first time reading anything by this author, and I was pleasantly surprised. Again it missed the Halloween festive mark, but overall the plot was interesting and the characters likable. I'll definitely check out other books by this author. 👍🏻

**ARC Via NetGalley**

Great Halloween cozy mysteries. Each story had me hooked from the first chapters to the last ones. Each one really had me on the edge of my seat and put me in a great Halloween mood.

Thank you Kensington Books and NetGalley for this fantastic ARC.

These three stories are the perfect way to get in the mood for Halloween.. Meier does it again with her Lucy Stone story. Lee Hollis and Barbara Ross offer fresh voices even with their vast experience. A good book for fans of any of the authors

Rating: 4 stars

Halloween Party Murder Earns 5/5 Triple Delights…Engaging Fun!

Leslie Meier, Lee Hollis, and Barbara Ross have partnered again in this trilogy of novellas just in time to whet your craving for tricksters and treaters of the Halloween season. Each author may have a different style or perspective on the haunting season, but they all are entertaining and clever with a satisfying conclusion as they present holiday fun, or murder, with characters from one of their series. Recipes, too!

Leslie Meier, inspired by her Lucy Stone Mystery, presents “Halloween Party Murder” focusing on the Moons, new residents in Timber Cove, Maine, offering the house they are renovating for a haunted house charity event, but the dead body discovered wasn’t part of the approved decoration. Based on Lee Hollis’s Hayley Powell Food and Cocktails Mystery, “Death of a Halloween Party Monster” provides a challenge for the hostess when an brutish guest is found dead and with suspects all costumed it is difficult to manage clues. Recipes include drinks, bites, and sweets perfect for your own party, sans the dead body! Barbara Ross brings the cast from her Maine Clambake Mystery in “Scared Off” with a “should’ve known better” scenario: three teens left home, a party tonight text goes out, and all the antics one can imagine…but a dead body! Recipe is a gluten-free version of pumpkin cookies.

Fun, entertaining, easy to read page-turner and…recipes! Who would miss this?

I really enjoyed the stories from various cozy authors. The mysteries were fun and entertaining, and I loved that they each had a Halloween Party. I will definitely reread this when I want a Halloween themed cozy!

A wonderful collection of three stories by a great group of authors.
In the first story the newest residents to town hope to help raise funds for a local charity by turning their home into a haunted house. Lucy is looking forward to writing a story about the upcoming festivities. When one of the hosts dies from a drug overdose and her spouse is accused of murder Lucy decides to dig deeper into the incident to make sure the right person is being charged. Will Lucy be able to figure out just what happened that night or will a murderer stay free.
In the second story Hayley is throwing a Halloween party and all the guests are dressed up, ready to party. Things are going great until one of the guests is found dead. Hayley can't have such a horrific event hanging over her head so she starts to investigate. Who would have wanted to kill Boris and why. Hayley begins to look into all of her guests to figure out who had it in for the man. Will Hayley find a murderer or will her event stay tainted.
In the third story three teenagers are enjoying a sleepover when it is crashed by some older kids looking to party. When an elderly woman is found dead in the backyard dressed like a ghost the young girls are shocked. Julia's niece was one of the girls and she hates that she saw such a sight. Julia decides to look into the death and see if she can figure out just what happened that night. Will it end up being an uninvited guest or someone much older and more devious.
I so enjoy the shorts and being able to catch up with favored characters while longer books are being plotted.

I always enjoy a cozy mystery compilation of authors writing about the same topic. As usual, this book did not disappoint. I picked it up because I really enjoy Leslie Meier's Lucy Stone series but found that my favorite was the offering by Barbara Ross. Lucky me because now I will go back and read others in the series! Recommended for fans of holiday cozies.

I usually try to stay away from novellas and in-between books because I never end up liking them. These are three series that I really like and this time I really enjoyed the stories. The Lucy Stone one built on the one from last year (these characters don't show up in the regular series) and I felt that maybe this could have been expanded on and made into a full book. I'm always a fan of Lee Hollis' stories and seeing Hayley flourish in her new career makes me happy. I also liked the direction the Barbara Ross story took. It was nice to get more about Page and her friends. I can't wait for the next full length adventures in each of these series.

This book was such a treat to read! There were three short stories and each one was Halloween themed. The stories were so good, they would be enjoyable at any time of the year. I enjoy cozy mysteries and these did not disappoint. All the stories center around small town Maine and my favorite would have to be "Death of a Halloween Party Monster" by Lee Hollis. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced read, I will recommending it my patrons for sure!

HALLOWEEN PARTY MURDER is a compilation of three cozy mystery novellas by three terrific authors: Leslie Meier, Lee Hollis, and Barbara Ross. If you haven’t yet read any books by these authors, this Halloween trilogy is a great way to try them out. And if you’re already a fan, you’ll love catching up with favorite characters via these quick vignettes. Despite the shortened length of each story, the authors do a marvelous job of setting the stage, capturing the essence of Halloween with spooky atmospheres, and creating a murder for the heroines to solve. The short books are well-plotted with a quick pace, yet the stories never feel rushed.

Each author brings their individual styles and strengths to their novella, from Leslie Meier tackling social issues, to the humor and wit imbued by Lee Hollis, to the strong character development and descriptive voice embraced by Barbara Ross. Each of their strengths has a hand in creating stories that captured my attention and kept me glued to the pages all the while adhering to the theme of the title. Another aspect I enjoy about the annual cozy mystery novella trilogy published by Kensington, is that each story is short enough to finish in one evening without feeling the need to stay up half the night to find out the conclusion. Of course, if you have time on your hands, you’ll want to gobble up the entire book all at once while munching on trick-or-treat goodies!

Barbara Ross and Lee Hollis are known for adding tempting recipes to their books, and Halloween Party Murder is no exception. With several tempting Halloween treats mentioned on the pages, be prepared to be hungry and be sure to check out the Halloween-themed recipes included.

This is a great storyline with well-crafted characters. I truly enjoyed reading Halloween Party Murder. This is a must read!

Halloween Party Murder by Leslie Meier, Barbara Ross, and Lee Hollis contains three fun Halloween themed novellas. Halloween Party Murder by Leslie Meier, Death of a Halloween Party Monster by Lee Hollis, and Scared Off by Barbara Ross are the three novellas. Each novella relates back to a series written by that author (A Lucy Stone Mystery, A Hayley Powell Food & Cocktails Mystery, and A Maine Clambake Mystery). The three stories go well together with all of them set in Maine and involving a Halloween Party. I enjoyed reading all three Halloween-themed stories. Lee Hollis’ was intriguing as it was a closed room mystery. It has Hayley Powell trying to figure out which of her guests could have committed murder. Halloween Party Murder by Leslie Meier picks up where Haunted House Murder ended. A haunted house turns deadly. Scared Off has Julia’s niece calling for help when a sleepover ends up with an out-of-control party. The police arrive to find the homeowner’s renter dead in the backyard. All three books are well-written with great characters and steady pacing. It is fun catching up with the characters from these entertaining cozy mysteries. These are three fun Halloween treats. Halloween Party Murder contains three spooktacular tales that have Halloween hijinks, mysterious murders, a creepy clown, startling screams, troubled teens, problematic party, and three stellar sleuths.

4.5 Stars ⭐️ - Top Pick

This book is actually a collection of three novellas: Halloween Party Murder by Leslie Meier, Death of a Halloween Party Monster by Lee Hollis and Scared Off by Barbara Ross. The three stories go well together. All three are set in a small town in Maine and involve a Halloween party. All can be considered cozy stories with the crimes solved by a female, amateur sleuth. I enjoyed all three stories and overall, this is an excellent collection of short mysteries.


I’m most familiar with Leslie Meier’s Lucy Stone series and really liked Halloween Party Murder. Lucy is a part-time reporter for a local newspaper and her husband is in construction. Their neighbors own a large old house they want to have renovated, but offer their home for a charity Halloween party before the upgrades are made since it looks like a haunted house. There is a lot of fake blood and gore for the party in several rooms as part of the haunted house displays to add to the party atmosphere. Then Lucy comes across a real-life scene that is anything but fun and learns you can’t really judge situations by appearances. There are a lot of serious subject packed into the novella, including drug dealing, drug addiction, abuse of women, and local politics, but at the heart it is a murder mystery with enough clues to help the reader solve the case right along with Lucy.


I have read a few novellas by Lee Hollis, but am not that familiar with the characters in Death of a Halloween Party Monster. Hayley Powell is hosting a Halloween party at the restaurant she recently opened. It’s a costume party with guests dressing like fictional movie monsters. As the party is wrapping up, one of Hailey’s best friends discovers a dead body. The solution was satisfying but not very surprising. Hayley also writes humorous columns about her life and includes recipes. The articles for her column tend to be somewhat rambling and don’t add much to the main plot. However, they are entertaining and the recipes sound good enough that I want to try a couple of them.


My favorite story of the three is Scared Off. Julia Snowden gets a call on Halloween night from her niece Page. Page goes to what she thought would be a quiet sleepover with a couple friends, but it turns into a rowdy party. The girls claim to have seen the ghost of an upstairs tenant, shortly before the woman’s body is found. Unlike in some cozies, Julia works well with the officers who are officially assigned to the case. This story is very engaging with an intricate and interesting plot, especially considering this is a novella and not a full-length book. I couldn’t wait to find out what would happen next and I was kept guessing as to the identity of the murderer. After reading this story, I am definitely interested in reading more by Barbara Ross.

~ Christine

This book brings together three wonderful authors. I love Leslie Meier and her Tinker Cover series. Following Lucy Stone and her family is always a treat. However, in this tale comes a trick. When the Moon's turn their home into a haunted house, things go well until Heather is found dead. Will Lucy be able to clear Ty before he goes to jail?
Lee Hollis brings out to Hayley Powell's party where each guest is dressed as their favorite character from a horror movie. However, when one guest is found dead, it is Hayley who must find out how and why and by whom? Will she be up to the task?
In Barbara Ross's tale, three teenage girls have a slumber party on Halloween. When high schoolers crash the party, one of the tenants is found dead in the backyard dressed as a ghost. Julie Snowden must find out who would kill.
All three stories were spooky but fun. I love when authors take part in these style books. It gives the reader three wonderful tales to read. I received a copy through Netgalley. A review was not required.

This is a set of three fun and entertaining cozy mysteries all based around their own separate Halloween Parties. The three stories all have a murder taking place at their costumes parties and the search for the suspect who committed the murders.

Book One : The Halloween Murder Party by Leslie Meir was enjoyable and nicely written although I enjoyed the next two stories much more.

Book Two : Death Of A Halloween Party Monster by Lee Hollis - I really enjoyed this delightful treat. The humor and fun factor were so entertaining and it really centered more around Halloween. I loved all the characters in this terrific little Halloween gem!

Book Three: Scared Off by Barbara Ross was again very entertaining and centered around a teenage Halloween party where the murder took place but it still was adult oriented and not too silly.

I highly recommend this set of cozy mystery stories especially with the Fall season just beginning and Halloween right around the corner. All three.stories were a lot of fun and they were a wonderful change of pace for me to take a break from the dark stories that I enjoy so much. All three books were wonderfully written with great characters.

I want to thank the publisher "Kensington Books" and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book and any thoughts and opinions expressed are unbiased and mine alone!

I have happily given a rating of 4 HAPPY HALLOWEEN 🎃🎃🎃🎃 Pumpkins!!

This was a good collection of Halloween cozy mystery short stories that I would definitely recommend trying!

I received an e-ARC from the publisher.

Haunted House Murder by Leslie Meier, Lee Hollis and Barbara Ross is a very entertaining book that contains three Halloween stories,by some of my favorite authors. Leslie Meier wrote Halloween Party Murder, a Lucy Stone mystery. Lee Hollis wrote Death of a Halloween Party Monster, a Hayley Powell mystery. Barbara Ross wrote Scared Off a Maine Clambake Mystery with Julia Snowden. I really enjoy all three authors, so this was a real treat. I love Halloween stories. Not only is this book really fun, it has three great mystery. Whether you have read these authors before, or are new to them, the stories are easy to follow. I recommend this book and all three series, for any one who enjoy cozy mystery books. 
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Halloween Party Murder is what you get in each of these three cozy mystery novellas. All three are part of a larger series: Lucy Stone Mysteries, Hayley Powell Food and Cocktail Mysteries, and Maine Clambake Mysteries.

First up, Lucy decorates a decrepit mansion for her charity. Each room is setup to replicate a famous book or painting. However, when the mansion’s owner is found dead while posing as Ophelia, Lucy hurries to solve the crime.

Next, a seemingly impossible murder occurs at a costume party in a humorous cozy mystery. Does anyone hate high school music class enough to bludgeon the teacher to death?

Finally, did the ghost of a murdered woman really fly over the heads of the guests at an unauthorized middle/high school party? Who would want to kill the victim, who is a quiet old religious lady?

All three novellas within Halloween Party Murder are entertaining and a good choice to get you in a Halloween mood. It is also a good way to find new series to dig into further. 4 stars!

Thanks to Kensington Books and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

Three novellas in cozy mystery series that celebrated the spooooky season of Halloween. All are fun and do not require you to be familiar with the series but it does add something to it if you have read them before.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an arc in return for an honest opinion.

This is a Halloween Cozy Mystery short stories collection. There are three short stories in this book. I really enjoyed the first one. I hated the second one. I really liked the last one. I found the characters to be fun, and I found the Halloween parts to be fun/funny at times. I loved the mystery parts in most of the short stories. The middle short story I just could not care about the storyline, and it could not pull me into the story. There other two I got pulled into the storyline with no problems. I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher (Kensington Publishing Corporation) or author (Leslie Meier, Lee Hollis, and Barbara Ross) via NetGalley, so I can give an honest review about how I feel about this book. I want to send a big Thank you to them for that.