A ghost hunting investigation, a dead body dressed as a clown and to top it off, it's Halloween. What else can happen to Lindsey Bakewell and her bakery/lighthouse? When you have your own lighthouse ghost - lots!

Lindsey is back baking delicious pastries, solving mysteries and loving her life in Beacon Harbor. She's a an amateur sleuth with the rowdy canine, Wellington by her side. I enjoyed reading about her BFF Kennedy's desire to make podcast history and I admit, I was a little creeped out by the ghost hunting - in a good way. It's the perfect read for those who are in the mood for a Halloween mystery!

I received an ARC from NetGalley and the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Darci Hannah has set the scene again for an engaging cozy mystery filled with fun, romance, hijinks, fashion, holiday festivities and more. Lindsey, Rory, Wellie, and the team!

Thank you Net Galley for providing this book and allowing me to read it in advance. I was unable to personally get into this book but that is the power of reading. There’s books for everyone. I know someone else will adore it!

Rounded to 4.5 stars.

CONTENT WARNING: murder, mention of an inappropriate relationship between an adult and a minor, grief, violence

I’ve been a fan of this series since getting an ARC of book 1, and have been eagerly following Lindsey’s adventures, or more accurately, misadventures, ever since. Besides, she comes with a super-lovable crew: a sweet yet goofy Newfoundland named Welly (short for Wellington), a super hot former military boyfriend named Rory (or Sir Hunts a Lot depending on who you ask), a ride or die best friend named Kennedy who is a social media influencer and podcaster, a police officer named Tuck who is dating Kennedy, and her parents—Ellie is a former model who now has a fashionable clothing store catering to women and their dogs and offering matching clothes.

If you’re going to read this series, the one thing you should prepare yourself for is a rumbly tummy. Lindsey is a total foodie, and isn’t just a talented baker, but she’s also an incredible cook. She makes all kinds of food and treats throughout the story, and there’s also some recipes at the back of each book, and somehow she makes everything sound incredible, even things I do not like at all. So don’t read this on an empty stomach or when you’re eating something bland and boring.

After helping to solve three murders in the little town of Beacon Harbor, Lindsey is ready to enjoy the Halloween festivities and bake up a storm. But things don’t quite work out that way. First, Lindsey keeps finding pre-Halloween pranks around the lighthouse. Then, Kennedy informs her that they’ll be hosting an episode of a professional ghost-hunting show in her haunted lighthouse on Halloween. Finally, the episode goes awry and ends with the discovery of a real body hanging from the tree outside of her lighthouse.

Now, Lindsey is roped into solving yet another murder with the help of her trusty crew and the help of Officer Cutie Pie (aka Tuck). The mystery is well-plotted, with a bunch of red herrings to throw readers off the trail and make it difficult to pinpoint the real culprit. I was surprised by who it turned out to be, although they were my second choice for murderer. And the way the different pieces of the mystery were revealed over the course of the story until they could all be put together still didn’t help me figure it out on my own until everything was laid out for me.

This book was medium-paced but stayed consistent for the whole story until the end when things sped up a bit. I found it easy to stick with and flew through this entire book faster than I was expecting to, but I didn’t mind, other than the fact that I’m going to have to wait just a bit longer for the next installment (and there better be another because I’m not ready to let these characters go yet). The story is a fun one, and I especially loved the banter between the main character and her little circle of friends. Now that Lindsey and Rory are an item, and Kennedy and Tuck are too, they mess with each other just like regular couples who hang out all the time do, and it was fun to read. This is just another hit in a series full of them, and I’m looking forward to more in the Beacon Bakeshop!

In this offering of Darci Hannah's A Beacon Bakeshop Mystery series I think the story passed a little beyond the stage of a 'fun, cozy' mystery. There is a darkness in the death that was unnerving to me. I enjoy all of the characters, and suspend my beliefs to enjoy the Lighthouse's resident ghost, which normally adds a cozy charm. In this case a truly nice person was a brutal victim and it kind of got to me. The many elements of the mystery were masterfully addressed and resolutions were somewhat satisfying, but there was a lot of heartache to deal with in 'Murder at the Pumpkin Pageant.' I look forward to more.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

During a live podcast and ghost hunt of the haunted lighthouse in which she lives and works, Lindsey Bakewell is horrified when a dead body is found hanging from a nearby tree. The victim is a high school teacher who Lindsey recently befriended. Lindsey, along with a few of her family and friends, poke around the victim’s life to not only find the killer but the victim’s missing dog. As she conducts her amateur investigation, Lindsey realizes that there is a lost treasure in the mix and the history of her lighthouse played a role in the current events. Lindsey has to outrun the Grim Reaper if she’s going to bring the murderer to justice.

MURDER AT THE PUMPKIN PATCH is a fun cozy mystery with a paranormal aspect. I enjoyed the haunted lighthouse and the frequent “appearances” of Captain Willy. Lindsey is a strong protagonist and she has a great supporting cast. The murder weapon was very unique and the motive was intriguing. There were plenty of suspects and red herrings that will keep the reader guessing until the end.

This is one of my favorite cozy mystery series, and this latest book did not disappoint at all. When a town's beloved teacher is found hanging from a tree in the lighthouse yard, what is Lindsey, Rory, and Kennedy to do but investigate! Lots of fun, some wow moments, and a nice little twist at the end. Truly love reading these books and I am already looking forward to the next in the series. Highly recommend.
I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

baker, bakery, coffee-shop, cozy-mystery, ex-SEAL, family, family-dynamics, festivals, ghosts, gossip, lighthouse, local-law-enforcement, Michigan, murder, murder-investigation, mysteries, Newfoundland-dog, podcaster, pranks, read, recipes, scuba-diving, secrets, small-business, small-town, verbal-humor*****

Very atmospheric!
Lindsey is a wealthy New Yorker who had a meltdown and decided to buy a decommissioned lighthouse near where she spent summers with her grandparents in their bakery. She is an excellent baker as well, so the she opened a bakery/cafe and has acquired a friend who is ex-SEAL/barrista/SCUBA teacher for Great Lakes shipwrecks.
This time it is another festival but it turns grim when a favorite teacher is murdered and the suspects are all friends
I enjoy this series and this book is a very good read.
I requested and received an EARC from Kensington Books via NetGalley. Thank you!

Murder at the Pumpkin Pageant is the fourth title in her Beacon Bakeshop Mysteries and a good addition to the series. It's a fun Halloween cosy mystery with its usual mouth-watering baked goods.

It's adventure package from start to finish, a Halloween prank gone wrong, murder, a lost treasure and the usual haunted lighthouse that might just hold an important secret. The murder plot was well done and a long list of suspects. I was surprised at the reveal in the end.

It ends with a cliffhanger, the perfect opening for the next book. Very nice!

Prepare for a whodunit rollercoaster ride - a short list of strong suspects with motive and a shocking twist at the end. Although the finish brings about a little sadness and pending change, I can't wait to return to Beacon Harbor.

One of the cutest cozy mysteries I have read, I loved the Halloween setting! I loved the cover of this books, that what drew me to wanting to request this book.

Lindsey Bakewell, owner of Beacon Bakeshop, was happily in full on Halloween baking mode. However, she was concerned by some spooky pranks being played on her/her business. When famous fiction writer, Jordy Tripp, told Lindsey every sleepy village has secrets worth killing for little did she know how true that would be.

The lighthouse setting is appealing and incorporating the shipwrecks of Lake Michigan into the story added an interesting sidelight. With its solid cast of characters and well-written story, this cozy mystery has a lot to offer. Thanks to Kensington Books and NetGalley for an ARC. The opinions expressed are my own.

I am usually not into paranormal cozy mysteries, but this one I was totally into .Lindsey. Rory, Kennedy and Tuck are the amateur sleuths and they are very good. Lindsay lives at the lighthouse and she also has a bakery there. There is someone pranking her by hanging different things in the old oak tree plus there is a ghost in the lighthouse. On Halloween night Kennedy has the ghost people there to fill the ghosts from the lighthouse and that is where the murder takes place. Just see how it goes. A VERY GOOD PARANORMAl cozy.

Darci Hannah's Murder at the Pumpkin Pageant is the fourth title in her Beacon Bakeshop Mysteries. All of Beacon Harbor are ready for Fall and the annual Pumpkin Pageant. Lindsey Bakewell and her bakery staff are busy making all things pumpkin. Unfortunately, Lindsey's lighthouse is being plagued by pranksters who keep hanging horror character effigies in her tree and trying to break into the lighthouse to see Captain Willy, the lighthouse ghost. Things become much more serious when her friend Kennedy's ghost hunting podcast goes awry and a real body is found hanging in the tree. Red herrings, plot twists and several suspects lead to convoluted sleuthing by Lindsey and her friends as they try to find the murderer. Well written and intense. Good addition to the series. Looking forward to #5! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Wow. Wow. Wow. This one has so much going on that it's hard to decide where to start. Halloween at Beacon Harbor, Michigan, may never be the same.

Let's see. What do we have here? Ghosts. Goblins. Pranksters. Costumes. Pirates and Princesses. clowns. Dogs in costume. And, oh, let's not forget the Grim Reaper. We've also got Ghost Hunters, a haunted lighthouse, missing poodle, viral videos, witches, foraging, crystals, pumpkins, and, oh, yes, a dead body. But, this particular dead body seems to have been murdered twice, just to add to the puzzlement and fears of the town.

And, wow, that is just touching on some of the things you'll encounter within. Amazingly enough, as diverse and even contradictory as some sound, Lindsey Bakewell and her circle of family and friends somehow manage to bring it all together and make it make sense at the end. I can't even begin to explain how without giving away too much of the plot and, trust me, the fun is in getting to that point. Relax, though, as author Darci Hannah offers up a feast of yummy sounding fall recipes for you to make and devour as you read, plus more at the end of this roller-coaster ride. And, oh, there's also romance. Romance and dogs. You rock, Welly, and Trixie shows her loyalty to her humans, too.

Bottom line, while I couldn't wait to find out whodunit, I also didn't want this one to end. I even had a hunch as to the ultimate guilty party but, well, there were so many likely suspects that I wasn't sure until the very, very end. That ending is a wowzer, btw. If you like cozy mysteries, especially Halloween themed ones, don't miss this book. Thanks to #NetGalley and #KensingtonBooks -#KensingtonCozies for allowing me to visit Lindsey and friends again. After that surprising cliffhanger of a sort at the end, I can't wait to get back to Beacon Harbor.

Murder at the Pumpkin Pageant by Darci Hannah is book #4 in the Beacon Bakeshop Mystery series. I found this to be quite the intriguing who-dun-it. Lighthouse bake shop owner Lindsey Bakewell, her boyfriend Rory, her friend Kennedy and Kennedy's police officer boyfriend Tuck are back again working on a murder case. It's Halloween and during a ghost hunting podcast at the lighthouse a body is found hanging from a tree outside. I liked how this group worked together to find clues. The end was quite a surprise. This is an excellent series and this book is a great additino to it.

Murder at the Pumpkin Pageant is a fun Halloween cozy mystery. It has a little bit of everything, a pumpkin pageant, Halloween pranks, plenty of pumpkin recipes, cute dogs, a haunted lighthouse, a treasure that may have been lost at sea, ghost hunters, a murder, and more. The murder is nicely done (if a tad sad) with plenty of suspects. I thought I had figured out who the killer was but I was totally wrong – the end where the killer was revealed was very well done with plenty of suspense – I was reading as fast as I could to see what happened next. The book does end on a bit of a cliffhanger – it will be interesting to see what happens to some of the characters in the next book.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley.

This was my first Beacon Bakery series book - and it certainly won’t be the last. I loved it. Was a real page turner and I read it one sitting. It had everything: haunted lighthouse, murder, lost treasure and betrayal!

It is Halloween and the small community is preparing for the annual Pumpkin Pageant. Lindsey lives and runs her bakery in the old lighthouse and is cooking lots of Halloween goodies. The local teens are pranking her hanging spooky things in the trees around the lighthouse. Her best friend announces she has arranged a TV ghost-hunting group to come and film live and she will be broadcasting it on her podcast as it happens.

The night the ghost hunt occurs really spooky things start to happen and as everyone runs out of the building in terror, they literally run into a clown hanging in the tree. Only this time it’s not a prank, it is a real body, and the discovery, along with hysterical screams, has just gone live on the podcast

Lindsey and her friends get drawn into the investigation but takes a terrifying turn when Lyndsey is attacked by the “grim reaper” in her own home. The murderer is looking for something, but what is it? Who has it? And where is it?

Lots of twists and turns, and really interesting history of the area revealed, before the murderer is found. I changed my mind a few times but didn’t find out who did it until the big near death finale at the end! Phew! What an end.

I hadn’t read the other books in this series before requesting this one, but I thought I would be able to catch up quickly. I was right; I was cruising along in no time. This is a fun, cozy paranormal (not much at all) with an interesting mystery to keep you guessing. I love the idea of a bakeshop in a lighthouse. What fun! I wish we had gotten to see Rory a little more to get a better sense of him, but readers probably did in earlier books. I am now ready to read the next one in the series. Well-written, engaging, and fun. Recommend. I was provided a complimentary copy which I voluntarily reviewed.

This is such a fun series. Linsey has made an old lighthouse on the Lake Michigan shore in Michigan into a bakery. The bakery has been a hit with the town and she periodically finds herself trying to solve a murder. This murder appeared to have happened right outside her living room window so she feels an obligation to solve the murder much to the chagrin of the town’s law enforcement. The author does an amazing job describing scenery and the characters thoughts. The story moves right along and there aren’t any parts of the book that are slow. I always try to figure out the culprit and this time I had it narrowed down to two. One of them was right!!!! Anyone who likes cozy mysteries will like this series. I received an arc of this book from NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions expressed are my own.