by Cynthia Chow & Darci Hannah

This week we have a review of another Halloween mystery, along with a fun Halloween/food guest post by Darci Hannah which includes a perfect recipe for Halloween. Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win a copy of the book and a link to purchase the book from Amazon.

Murder at the Pumpkin Pageant by Darci Hannah
Review by Cynthia Chow

As much as Beacon Bakeshop owner Lindsey Bakewell appreciates the Halloween season and the town’s Halloween Bash celebrations, she’s at her limit with the pranks and trick-before-treats shenanigans. Waking up every day to find a different horror movie icon hanging outside of her lighthouse home has gotten old, especially since she already has the in-house ghost of Captain Willy Riggs haunting the tower. Not sharing Lindsey’s sentiment is her best friend Kennedy Kapoor, who is doing everything she can to promote the Beacon Harbor Halloween Bash’s Pumpkin Pageant. That’s why she is thrilled with the publicity-attracting appearance by The Ghost Guys, who plan to investigate the lighthouse ghost for their Travel Channel show. Lindsey didn’t even know that her new assistant baker Teddy Pratt had the reality television experience that initially led to their interest, as she was far more concerned with his stellar baking skills.

Before their arrival and the planned pet costume pageants that will take over their town, Lindsey hopes to put an end to the continued immature pranks plaguing her lighthouse bakery. Connecting with frequent Teacher of the Year Leslie Adams was a part of her plan, at least until a livestreamed Ghost Guys investigation manages to capture their discovery of her body hanging in the lighthouse. Kennedy was also live podcasting the event at the time, which ensures that she will be demanding to be a part of the investigation and enlisting Lindsey’s very reluctant help. The arrivals of a bestselling author and TikTok wiccans who have their own Witchtok platform only add to the confusion, especially when Leslie’s pampered poodle Trixie also goes missing. Now that Lindsey has Halloween treats to bake, a murder to solve, a dog to find, a break-in, and rumors of a shipwreck treasure floating around the small Michigan town, it is sure to be the scariest season of all time.

In this fourth Beacon Bakeshop mystery series, readers are taken through a very fun Halloween adventure that immerses readers into the world of paranormal investigators, social media witches, and lighthouse ghosts. Kennedy Kapoor is definitely in this novel a LOT, with her obsession to become a social media sensation taking center stage in both the plot and her life. There’s a surprisingly emotional resolution for her character, and it will be fascinating to see if and how she grows as a result. It feels only natural that modern day witches have evolved to become influencers, as the effect social media has on the young does seem magical. As much as this is a Halloween-centric mystery, it also charms with the continued presence of Lindsey’s oversized pooch and pumpkin-spiced recipes. This is the perfect spooky-lite novel for readers looking for a funny and clever mystery to cozy up with during the Fall season.

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).

Fall Baking
By Darci Hannah

There’s just something about fall that inspires the amateur baker in me. Maybe it’s the cooler temperatures, or the changing of the leaves, or the fact that pumpkin spice coffee creamer (my guilty fall pleasure!) is readily available in the supermarkets. Whatever it is, those first signs of fall inspire me to start flipping through my cookbooks and recipe journals looking for heartier meals and treats to serve my family. Pumpkin is definitely one of my favorite fall ingredients to bake with. Lucky for me, I was asked to write a Halloween mystery for my Beacon Bakeshop series. Naturally, I jumped at the chance.

Darci Hannah

As any mystery author will tell you, setting, plot, engaging characters, and a good twisty-turny mystery are essential to writing a good cozy mystery. However, one of the challenges when writing a culinary cozy mystery series like the Beacon Bakeshop is coming up with delicious sounding recipes to pepper throughout the books that will have readers not only salivating, but looking forward to trying a couple once the book is done. I take the recipes in my stories very seriously. This is because I’m writing about my dream bakery (a bakery in a lighthouse on the shores of Lake Michigan!) and I want it to be just as special and mouthwatering to read about as it would be if one were visiting a real bakery called The Beacon Bakeshop. Therefore, loving everything pumpkin and pumpkin spice, and getting the opportunity to write a spooky Halloween mystery, (I love a good ghost story!) naturally I pulled out some of my most favorite fall treats for my main character Lindsey Bakewell to serve in her bakery. And I’d love to share one of my favorite recipes from the book with you.

I hope you enjoy reading Murder at the Pumpkin Pageant. It’s a Halloween treat for your imagination as well as your tastebuds!

Pumpkin Scones with Maple Glaze
Prep time: 15 minutes. Cook time: 20 to 25 minutes. Makes 8 servings.
Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup (one stick) cold butter, cubed
½ cup pumpkin puree
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup heavy cream
½ cup chopped pecans (optional)
Maple Glaze:
1 ¼ cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon heavy cream
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
¼ teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. In a large bowl mix the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Using a pastry blender or a fork, cut in the cold butter until small pea-sized crumbs form.
In a smaller bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, pumpkin puree, egg, vanilla extract, and the heavy cream. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and mix until the dough is moist. (If the dough is too sticky, add more flour one tablespoon at a time.)
Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface. Shape the dough into a 9-inch circle that is approximately 1inch thick. Using a floured knife, cut the dough into 8 even pieces. Transfer the scones to the prepared baking sheet, spacing them 2 inches apart. Cook for 20-25 minutes or until done. Scones should be crispy on the outside and soft in the middle. Remove to a cooling rack.
In a small bowl, whisk the glaze ingredients together. Once the scones have cooled, top each scone with the maple glaze. Let the glaze set, then enjoy!

To enter to win a copy of Murder at the Pumpkin Pageant, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line “pageant” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen October 21, 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 went up this week.

You can use this link to purchase the book. If you have ad blocker on you may not see the Amazon link. You can also click here to purchase the book.

Darci Hannah is the bestselling author of the Beacon Bakeshop Mystery Series, the Food & Spirits Mystery Series (to be released in 2024), the Very Cherry Mystery Series, and two works of historical fiction, The Exile of Sara Stevenson, and The Angel of Blythe Hall. Darci grew up in the Midwest and currently lives in a small town in Michigan with her husband and two dogs. Darci is a lifelong lover of the Great Lakes, a natural wonder that inspires many of her stories. Passionate about family, dogs, food, baking, history, books, lighthouses, laughter, good conversations, coffee, and the paranormal, Darci feels especially blessed to have found a way to combine her interests in the stories she writes. It brings her great joy to be able to share them with you.
Connect with Darci at darcihannah.com. Instagram: @authordarcihannah. Facebook: Author Darci Hannah. Twitter: @darci_hannah. YouTube: @darcihannah878. You can even listen to Darci and her sons on The Motherboy Podcast @ rss.com/podcasts/motherboy

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.