by Cynthia Chow & Sandra Murphy

This week we have a pair of Halloween mystery books for your enjoyment (one is actually a book with 3 novellas in it)-Halloween Cupcake Murder by Carlene O’Connor, Liz Ireland, and Carol J. Perry and Catch Me If You Candy: A Bakeshop Mystery by Ellie Alexander. Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win copies of both books, with links to purchase them at the end of each review–you may not see the links if you have ad blocker on.

Halloween Cupcake Murder by Carlene O’Connor, Liz Ireland, and Carol J. Perry
Review by Sandra Murphy

Halloween Cupcake Murder by Carlene O’Connor

The Galway Halloween Mystery Tour is a few days away. Tara Meecham is on the hunt for spooky, weird items to either use as décor or to resell in her shop, Renewals, an architectural salvage shop. You might think Halloween is an American tradition but the city of Galway disagrees. It’s lit up orange with all the spooky trimmings. One of the items she finds is a small painting titled Cave of the Cats. When the seller wraps the painting, he also offers a postcard from Galway Bakes Grand Opening—Free Cupcake! She’s told to email the address on the card and in the body of the email, put the number of her postcard—thirteen.

It’s just a chance to get a free cupcake until someone tells her on Halloween that the Cave of the Cats is a portal into the Underworld.

With murder and mayhem, strange people who want the painting, the puzzling cupcake, and mysterious meetings, Tara is getting more than she bargained for this Halloween.

O’Connor writes the Irish Village mysteries (9, reviewed here in KRL), Christmas Cocoa Murder with Maddie Day and Alex Erickson, Christmas Scarf Murder with Maddie Day and Peggy Ehrhart, Home to Ireland books (2), and A Kerry County Mystery (2).

Mrs. Claus and the Candy Corn Caper by Liz Ireland

Have you ever wondered what Santa’s helpers do in the off season? One headliner story in the Herald was an elf who found a potato shaped like a walrus in his greenhouse. A robbery is big news. What was stolen? Candy corn, a large shipment of it.

Mrs. Claus is from the States and is introducing new activities for Santaland. Some work out better than others. Rumors ran rampant with talk of shady characters offering candy corn in the protective darkness of alleyways. Shop owners tried to replicate the candy corn but had no concept of the triangular tricolored sweets. Dash, owner of Dash’s Candy and Nut Shoppe, made his candy corn look like tiny ears of corn.

Wink Jollyflake used to work at the Silver Bell Bakery but made a sudden switch to Chestnut’s Cake Emporium, to the shock of everyone. When Wink turns up dead, Chestnut is a suspect along with Bell, owner of the Silver Bell. Mrs. Claus has to find the killer and get the Halloween festivities back on track. After all, her reputation, and Santa’s, rests on its success.

Liz Ireland is the author of four Mrs. Claus mysteries, Mrs. Claus and the Santaland Slayings reviewed here in KRL. For a mystery combined with spooky goings on and a lot of humor, this will have you laughing and reaching for tiny candies.

A Triple Layer Halloween Murder by Carol J. Perry

You can expect chaos in the town of Salem, Massachusetts when Halloween rolls around. Lee Barrett is a program director and sometimes field reporter for WICH-TV, the local cable channel. During October, it can be bumper to bumper traffic with parking at a premium, so she’s glad to live close enough to the station that she can walk to work.

When Patrick Duncan, owner of Pretty Party Bakery, goes missing during this busy season, it sets off alarm bells. Who knew an “on the scene” live feed about a cat in a tree could be a clue to finding the missing man? Aliens and orange goo only add to the mystery

Will Lee, with the assistance of a reporter friend and her beau, police detective Pete, find the missing man in time to save Halloween? The cat knows more than she’s telling.

The recipe for Patrick Duncan’s triple layer Halloween cupcakes is included. Be sure to buy extra orange and chocolate Reese’s Pieces—some for the cupcakes and some to snack on while they bake!

Perry also writes the Haunted Haven mysteries (2) and Witch City series (12).

****
With three stories, about a hundred pages each, readers will find a healthy dose of Halloween spirit. Be sure to check out their full length books for more good reads.

Sandra Murphy lives in the shadow of the Arch in St. Louis Missouri. She’s editor for Peace, Love, and Crime: Crime Stories Inspired by the Songs of the ’60s, with twenty-two cozy stories. She also edited A Murder of Crows, twenty-one stories featuring animals and crime (no animals were harmed). She also writes for magazines, newsletters, and the occasional guest blog. Both anthologies are available at the usual outlets, print or ebook.

Catch Me If You Candy: A Bakeshop Mystery by Ellie Alexander
Review by Cynthia Chow

In the Shakespeare themed tourist-attracting town of Ashland, Oregon, locals are preparing for the fall Oregon Shakespeare Festival with an over-the-top street parade and extraordinary Halloween costumes. Torte bakeshop owner Juliet Montague Capshaw is in the midst of preparations for their trick-or-Torte pastry-filled Halloween bags, and she’s thrilled to be introducing her stepson Ramiro to his first experience of their exuberant celebrations. Even pets are getting involved in the activities since the parade grand marshal and contender for a lead role in the next Oregon Shakespeare Festival play is King George, an adorable and admittedly regal Pug. Every star has a rival though, and in this instance, it’s his understudy Pippa, a pampered Poodle whose owner Jax is the epitome of a ruthless stage mom. George’s owner Marcia also happens to be part of Jules’s mother’s mahjong group, who bring along their own gorgeous and unique sets. Their friend Janet proudly debuts new antique pieces she recently purchased, but it’s notable less for the stunning dragon designs than it is for the ominous threat inside.

After a dragon-costumed body is found slumped outside of the Torte bakery, Jules can’t help but feel that the threat and the murder are related. So of course, when the body turns out to be that of renowned dog trainer Anton Dudley, it has her believing that the theater may truly have become a dog-eat-dog world that resulted in his murder. Purple dyed canine sabotage and a dognapping further heighten the threat level surrounding the animal-centric production, with multiple suspects who just happen to include family friends. Luckily the Torte bakery is in the safe hands of barista extraordinaire Andy and their talented chefs, allowing Jules to investigate the ruthless puparazzi,a dog-hating casting director, and the origins of the mysterious mahjong set.

Seventeen books in this series remains as fresh as the first by introducing new future paths for characters while also delivering many satisfying endings. Even though Jules doesn’t spend as much time in the Torte Bakeshop as she (and readers) might want, her staff more than capably produce mouthwatering treats while she and Carlos cook up chef-worthy comfort meals for one another in their home kitchen. It’s always a treat to prepare for the Halloween season through a mystery that celebrates the holiday with enviable costumes and decorations, but this is truly a novel that can be enjoyed any time of the year. Even those unfamiliar with mahjong will be intrigued by the history and designs of the game, which has grown in popularity as it engages a new generation of players. Romance, tantalizing descriptions of food preparations, and of course a fun mystery with theater-obsessed characters make this another enjoyable entry in a reliable cozy series.

To enter to win a copy of both mysteries, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line “halloween” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen October 14, 2023. U.S. residents only, and you must be 18 or older to enter. If entering via email please include your mailing address in case you win. You can read our privacy statement here if you like.

Check out other mystery articles, reviews, book giveaways & mystery short stories in our mystery section. And join our mystery Facebook group to keep up with everything mystery we post, and have a chance at some extra giveaways. Also listen to our new mystery podcast where mystery short stories and first chapters are read by actors! They are also available on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, and Spotify. A new episode goes up next week.

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).

Disclosure: This post contains links to an affiliate program, for which we receive a few cents if you make purchases. KRL also receives free copies of most of the books that it reviews, that are provided in exchange for an honest review of the book.