by Cynthia Chow

Details at the end of this post on how to win a copy of Trick or Deceit, along with a link to purchase the book where a portion goes to help support KRL and indie bookstore Mysterious Galaxy.

As New York’s Celebration Bay’s event coordinator, Liv Montgomery has spent the last year helping the town transform itself seamlessly from one holiday to the next. Liv’s latest tourist-attracting assignment is helping Celebration Bay usher in Halloween, with the main attraction being its first-ever haunted-house contest. Unfortunately, the winning entry is not only vandalized, it also acquires one very real corpse! With local businesses relying on the success of the seasonal festivals and the mayor panicking about bad publicity, the responsibilities of her job spur Liv on to investigate when she would normally rely on the police. Further resting on her shoulders is the impending visit of Jonathan Preston, a wealthy philanthropist who will determine the outcome of a grant benefiting their new community center. What Liv is unable to control is the unexpected trio of male chaperones suspicious of Jonathan’s intentions toward both the town and Liv herself.

Should the Museum of Yankee Horrors fail to open in time, the runner-up Monster Mansion will become the official Celebration Bay Haunted House and earn the ten-thousand-dollar prize. This makes Ernie Bolton the town’s number-one suspect, although it seems that Lucille Foster had no problem alienating her neighbors due to her family’s wealth and her own less-than-discreet indiscretions. As Liv fights her attraction to the security specialist she employs, and tolerates the teasing near pigtail-pulling juvenile antics of the local newspaper owner, Liv finds that the most trustworthy male in her life may be her beloved Westie.

Freydont very skillfully introduces fully developed, distinct characters, making them irresistible to readers. Liv continues to be a capable and engaging heroine, and readers will sympathize with her exasperation at her well-meaning but overprotective friends. Celebration Bay truly comes alive in this latest in the series, and the author perfectly captures the gossipy nature of this insular town that seems a world away from Liv’s recent Manhattan past. Readers will anxiously await the next holiday commemorated by Celebration Bay and its eccentric residents.

To enter to win a copy of Trick or Deceit, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line “Trick,” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen October 10, 2015. U.S. residents only. If entering via email please include your mailing address, and if via comment please include your email address.

Check out other mystery articles, reviews, book giveaways & short stories in our mystery section.

Click on this link to purchase this book and a portion goes to support KRL & indie bookstore Mysterious Galaxy:

Trick or Deceit

Cynthia Chow is the branch manager of Kaneohe Public Library on the island of Oahu. She balances a librarian lifestyle of cardigans and hair buns with a passion for motorcycle riding and regrettable tattoos (sorry, Mom).