by Cynthia Chow
Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win a copy of A Catered Costume Party, and a link to purchase it from Amazon, and an indie bookstore where a portion of the sale goes to help support KRL.
Despite the disappearance of his wife just three weeks ago, Darius Witherspoon has no intention of cancelling plans for his catered Halloween costume party. As seen in the first chapter, Darius’s refusal to cancel the celebration isn’t exactly a stoic honoring of Penelope Witherspoon’s favorite holiday, as he was the one who swung a pipe at her head and pushed her body into the river. That makes Darius’s dramatic hanging at his own party an improbable suicide, especially when he leaves money and a note asking the Simmons sisters to investigate what happened.
Bernie and Libby Simmons had initially only been hired as caterers for the costume party, but their track record at getting involved in multiple murders, including one the previous Halloween, makes another investigation probable. Vehemently disagreeing with this concept is Chief of Police Lucas “Lucy” Broadbent, who has his own reasons for wanting the case shut down and declared a suicide. The sisters’ father Sean Simmons, the former police chief, prefers to believe that the simplest solution is the most probable one, although he may be distracted by his new girlfriend, Michelle. She may not be able to cook, and her new business makes her a rival and the nemesis of Libby and Bernie, but Michelle’s appeal to men is otherwise undeniable. It’s probably healthiest for Libby and Bernie to focus their enmity on Lucy and the uninvestigated murder, but that becomes sketchy when they find another body, bribe their way into a Manhattan apartment, and end up locked out on the roof of the very building where Darius met his demise.
The relationship between Bernie and Libby is the foundation of this mystery series, which in this thirteenth entry continues to be an entertaining delight. They still know exactly which buttons to push to get the other riled, but they’ve also reached a level of maturity where they at least hesitate before pressing it. Perhaps having a common enemy helps to unite their ire, Sean and Michelle’s romance may be showing cracks but no real sign of slowing down. The sisters’ boyfriends make brief cameos, placing the focus on the women’s highly energetic investigative pursuits as they spur the other on. Humorous dialogue and a plot that zigs when the reader thinks it will zag ensures for a read full of banter and quirky commentaries on society.
To enter to win a copy of A Catered Costume Party, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line “catered,” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen October 21, 2017. 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 & mystery short stories in our mystery section.
Use this link to purchase the book & a portion goes to help support KRL & indie bookstore Mysterious Galaxy:
You can also use this link to purchase the book on Amazon. If you have ad blocker on you may not see the link:
Disclosure: This post contains links to an affiliate program, for which we receive a few cents if you make purchases using those links. 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.
What a great review! I love Isis Crawford’s books and really enjoy Bernie & Libby and their Dad. I would love to win A Catered Costume Party.
I can’t believe I haven’t read cozies by Isis Crawford. Sounds like a winner, & added to the top of my tbr list! Thanks for the chance to win A Catered Costume Party.
I have not read this author, but this sounds great! I’d love to read it! Thanks for this opportunity!
I love this series and look forward to this Halloween themed mystery.
I love Halloween and this book just screams HALLOWEEN! Thank you for hosting Isis Crawford and her book on your blog. robeader53(at)yahoo(dot)com
what a great cover! Thanks for the review.
kckendler at gmail dot com
Thank you for the chance.
Great review thank you, this sounds very good Penney
Sounds complicated, but interesting! New author to me.
kpbarnett1941[at]aol.com
I’ve enjoyed a few of Iris Crawford’s books. I like books that have costume parties so this is right up my alley. Thank you for the chance. pgenest57(at)aol(dot)com
This looks fun.
raineybird at yahoo.com
Sounds like a great book–I’d love to win it! legallyblonde1961@yahoo.com
Have never read anything by this author, would love to read! parkeremma2003 at yahoo dot com
Sounds like fun, we always enjoy the addition of recipes to a story. Thanks for the chance to win a copy. crs(at)codedivasites(dot)com
Great review! I love this series!. Would really like to read “A Catered Costume Party”. Thanks for the chance.
diannekc8(at)gmail(dot)com
I very much enjoyed this review & can’t wait to get back into this series.
I would love to read and post reviews for the author! ptclayton2@aol.com
WOW! This sounds like such a fun read. Love holiday stories.
jawdance@yahoo.com
Sounds like a fun read and good way to try a new author to me!
We have a winner!