Genre: Mystery
Trade Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #: 9781516110483
Lyrical Press Publishing
208 Pages
$15.95; $7.49 Amazon
October 6, 2020
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While the first hints of autumn grace Boggy Creek, Florida, Gia misses the colorful harvest traditions she left behind in New York. On a scramble to make new fall memories -- and promote her irresistible pumpkin spice waffles -- things take a dark turn when she gets roped into the Haunted Town Festival, a spooky celebration held on deserted farmlands. The desolate area conjures plenty of eerie vibes at night, but Gia and her best friend, Savannah, are nearly firghtened to death upon the discovery of the event organizer's body buried in the nearby woods. More alarming, the rumor mill says the woman's shady dealings may have egged someone into sending her to an early grave. Now, there's no shortage of creepy clues to feast on as Gia and her pals try to stop a killer with a very scary appetite...
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Gia Morelli owns the All-Day Breakfast Café in Boggy Creek, Florida. She's been invited to participate in the annual Haunted Town Festival -- which means she'll be given a table to display her wares, and better yet, she gets a house to decorate in the spookiest fashion she can think of. She says she doesn't have the time, but when her friends and employees urge her, offering to help and even appear as part of the scares, she says yes, knowing the proceeds all go to the animal shelter.
When she and Savannah go out to the farmlands to look at their house, they're supposed to meet Barbara Woodhull, one of the organizers. But when Barbara doesn't show up, and Savannah finds Barbara's phone, they're wondering where she is. But Barbara's best friend Genevieve 'Genny' Hart meets them, she doesn't know where Barbara is. But after showing Gia her 'house', Gia and Savannah hear police sirens. It seems Barbara has been found dead in a shallow grave, and now there's a killer on the loose.
Gia vows to stay out of the investigation, not having ever met Barbara. But when one of her friends gets involved and is attacked, all bets are off. Gia tries her best to stay away, but things keep niggling at her, and even though she doesn't willingly put herself in danger, her only thought is to keep Savannah safe. But even that might be harder when things escalate, and the killer knows she's on the trail...
This is the fourth book in the series, and a very good entry as such. It takes place in the autumn, which is perfect for this time of year (I love to 'read the season' as it were), and the story line is quite interesting. I like the idea of several smaller haunted houses instead of one, and you can choose which ones you want to go to. This tale shows how far Gia's come since she moved to Florida: she's made good friends who will all go out of their way to help her when she needs it, and are even excited to be part of the festival with her.
My only complaint is that while I know Hunt is now the police chief, I don't understand why he can't spend more time with her. Police chiefs all over the country are married with families, and don't just take a moment here and there for their significant others. I'd like to see a little more progress in this area. But I digress...
The story pulls us in from the beginning, and when we start to learn more about Barbara, it seems she wasn't much of a nice woman after all. Still, it leaves the fact that she's been murdered and now the police have to figure out by whom. It doesn't help that Genny's friend Kayla is doing all she can to badmouth both the police and Barbara, and her relationship with Genny seems more of a domineering one than a friendly one. Gia wonders about this, but isn't able to get Genny alone to talk with her.
When things start heating up, Gia discovers a key clue to the murder, even as that clue brings with it something else that isn't pleasant to her. When the murderer is discovered, I knew who it was earlier in the book, but that didn't deter me at all from enjoying this mystery (I read a lot of these); and I found it intriguing how the author put everything together. The pieces fell in place naturally, and while there weren't really a lot of red herrings, it didn't matter; the story itself was taut and enjoyable.
I have to say that this is probably my favorite of all the books in this series and I look forward to the next. (There are also some delectable recipes in the back that are perfect for this time of year, if you want to try them.) Highly recommended.
More on Lena Gregory's Books: https://www.fantasticfiction.com/g/lena-gregory/
Such a cute cover.
ReplyDeleteI've not read anything by this author.
Thank you for sharing.
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