A spooky mansion lockdown mystery set at a Halloween party! Sign me up.

Krissy and Will made a fun team to solve the murder. There were plenty of twists and turns and I did not expect who the killer was! The Halloween theme was perfectly described and fun. I also loved the Christie like setup with everyone being trapped and isolated by the weather. It added to the atmosphere.

I do feel like Krissy waffled back and forth between Paul and Will a bit much but hopefully it’ll be resolved soon. It didn’t take away my enjoyment though.

Love the themed cozy and I’ll pick up the next!

Full disclosure, this is the third book in the series, but I read it out of order. Therefore, I firmly believe some of my opinions should be taken with a grain of salt. Generally speaking, with a cozy mystery, I find it best to read each installment in order. As a seasonal read, this is excellent. The town in getting ready for Halloween and the coffee shop is filled with pumpkin flavored treats in all varieties. If you love Halloween this is just fun details that Alex Erickson provides! While the book is based on the book owner and amateur sleuth Krissy Hancock very little of the book focuses on the shop. The shop more or less provides the backdrop and anchor for Krissy in the book. The murder itself happens in a mansion when they attend the town’s biggest party of the year. In a perfect whodunnit, Krissy decides to work with Officer Paul Dalton to find the killer. Lots of twists and turns appear in this novel and from it, I would like to go back and read the other two before it!

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair an honest review.

This is book 3 in the Bookstore Cafe mystery series and the first book in this series that I've read.

The mystery in this book is alright and so were the characters but I didn't really connect to the story and found myself tuning in and out and skim reading more than normal.

Maybe I need to give the series a go from the beginning to see if I can invest more with the main character to pull me into the series as a whole.

*Huge thanks to Alex Erickson, Kensington Books and NetGalley for this copy which I chose to read and all opinions are my own*

This was a nice holiday novel to help pass the time flying to a conference. This is the third installment in the Bookstore Café series. I felt like I could relate to Krissy, she was pleasant and real with some good character development. And who doesn't love it when the main character is getting in the "way" of the local law enforcement. Some nice banter between Krissy and Officer Buchannan. Great story can't wait to read the follow ups!

The note I wrote when I stopped reading without finishing: Nope. No more. I do not want to be in the head of a character who constantly puts herself down. It isn't endearing, it's upsetting. DNF.

This is the first book I've read in this series and even though I did not read this first two I was able to follow along with the characters fairly well. The mention of things that happened previously peaked my interest enough to eventually go back and read the first two. The mystery itself was interesting with the whole book mainly set in one location. I like the Halloween theme and party plot. The main character Krissy was likable and I am interested in seeing the outcome of the love triangle. Would definitely recommend this series.

I love to read cozy mysteries every so often. I love the covers and I love their catchy titles. Most are paranormal and I want a romance element to it. DEATH BY PUMPKIN SPICE isn't paranormal, but it does have some romance in it.
It's a good little mystery filled with lots of quirky characters. Krissy accepts an invitation to a Halloween party at a manor from her possible love interest, Will. Being a dark and stormy night, one of the women dressed as Marilyn Monroe is found murdered and amateur sleuth Krissy helps Officer Paul solve the mystery. The roads are now closed, so he is in charge of the crime scene.
The downside of the story is Krissy. She lacks confidence and is always belittling herself. She owns a bookstore/cafe and acted like she was destitute when she needed to put a costume together. Head-scratching here.
Another personal peeve here, this sweet yet confidence lacking woman has two love interests. Paul, the cop with whom she had one date that didn't end well and Will, a good-looking guy and seems like a nice guy. When she's with one, she think he's all that and then when she's with the other, she adores him too. I guess since I am a romance reader, I want the heroine to have tension with the "one" guy. I hate how in some mystery series there is the standard where the heroine is doing the eenie meenie between two guys and twenty books later, she is still single and wondering which one to choose while spending the rest of her life tripping over dead bodies.
To be fair, this is only the third book in the series. I did enjoy it for the most part. I would just hope that Krissy changes and becomes a stronger character. The romantic choices didn't interest me as much as watching Krissy's crime solving abilities. She has a knack.

This was a fun, cozy mystery that was a quick read.

Just because I don't care for the book doesn't mean or patrons won't. The author needs too rewrite Krissy. I've never disliked a protagonist more then her, please give this woman some self-esteem she has me wanting her to be the next victim