Death and Sweets (A Pumpkin Hollow Mystery Book 4)

Author:    Kathleen Suzette

Genre:     Mystery

Paperback; Digital Book

ISBN #:    9781719854085

Independently Published

136 Pages

$7.99; $2.99 Amazon

August 22, 2018

⭐⭐⭐

Sweets can be deadly and when local bakery owner Stella Moretti becomes the next victim in Pumpkin Hollow, Mia Jordan is on the case.  Can she and her boyfriend, Officer Ethan Banks, find the killer before there's another victim?  Sweets can be deadly all right, but that's the way the cookie crumbles...

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Mia Jordan moved back home after ten years away and not being able to decide what to do with herself.  Now she's settled back into Pumpkin Hollow again, living on her own and working in her family's candy store.  She also has a new boyfriend in the form of Officer Ethan Banks, whom wasn't very nice to her in school but has turned out to be very nice indeed...

Once morning while passing Stella Moretti's bakery, she finds the door ajar and the lights off.  Calling for Stella, she finds her dead with a bullet wound to the chest.  Yes, the woman was cantankerous to everyone and hated Halloween, but she didn't deserve to die.  Now Mia and Ethan are back looking for a killer, and Mia doesn't want to believe it might be anyone she knows, but she also knows finding out could get her killed...

This is the fourth book in the series and I have been reading them because it's the Halloween season and I like to 'read the season.'  While I have enjoyed the books thus far, I am beginning to dislike Mia.  She seems to have a 'holier than thou' attitude to others.  I do agree that you shouldn't speak ill of the dead, but it's not her place to correct anyone who does.  It is not her place to make others feel guilty for having the feelings they do.  Maybe people should correct her for her attitude a few times and it will change.  Just sayin'

Anyway, the other thing that bothers me is the fact she mentions how Boo is her cat, but she allows him to live outside?  What kind of cat caretaker is she?  Cats that live outside have a shorter life span and catch more diseases.  Cats are easy to care for, and being inside they are happier, given enough toys and places to scratch and climb.  I've been a pet owner (cats, dogs, fish, turtles, birds, etc. -- you name it, I've probably owned it) all my life, and all my cats have been indoor cats and lived to ripe old ages.  This always bothers me in books, but I won't ding the author for it; that would be unfair.  This one is just my opinion.

Anyway, while Mia is looking for suspects, the victim's husband Vince is at the top of the list, since he doesn't seem to be mourning his wife very much; but there are others, including Stella's sister Daisy, who wasn't happy about Stella purchasing the bakery and then not participating in the Halloween season.  But did either of them have a reason strong enough to kill Stella?  Mia doesn't know, and neither does Ethan.  But both of them are pursuing the matter...as well as pursuing their new relationship with each other, which is moving along nicely.

When we come to the end of the book and discover the murderer, the clues were all there all along, but you need to look for them and read the words.  While I didn't think it was a strong enough reason for murder, who knows what goes on in the mind of a killer?  Still, this was a quick read and I will probably continue with the series.

https://www.amazon.com/Death-Sweets-Pumpkin-Hollow-Mystery/dp/1719854084/ref

Goodreads:    https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4314958088

More on Kathleen Suzette's Books:    https://www.fantasticfiction.com/s/kathleen-suzette/

Chocolate Covered Murder (A Pumpkin Hollow Mystery Book 3)

Author:    Kathleen Suzette

Genre:     Mystery

Paperback; Digital Book

ISBN #:    9781718099005

Independently Published

162 Pages

$8.99; $2.99 Amazon

August 10, 2018

⭐⭐⭐

When local businessman, Greg Richardson, is found murdered in the haunted house, the rumors of a curse on the town fly.  Can Mia Jordan squelch the rumors before the tourists get wind of them?

Mia and Officer Ethan Banks are on the case to solve the murder and they'll do everything they can to find the killer.  Mia befriends a stray black cat and the romance between Mia and Ethan is heating up.

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Mia Jordan returned home after college when she couldn't settle on what she wanted to do with her life.  Now she's living at home and once again working in her family's candy shop.  But since she's been back, there have been a couple of murders which she helped solve, and she's just starting a romance with Officer Ethan Banks, so she has that to look forward to.

She lives in Pumpkin Hollow, California, which celebrates Halloween all year round.  While there are some citizens who want it to end, the majority of those living there are happy with it, since they get a lot of business from tourists who travel there.

But once again murder rears its ugly head when local businessman Greg Richardson is found dead in the haunted house, stabbed with a spear from one of the exhibits.  With no actual suspects but plenty of rumors as to might have wanted him out of the way, Mia and Ethan set forth to find another killer -- and hope this won't hurt the town's tourism, or the killer won't strike again...

This is the third book in the series and I am reading them because I am "reading the season" as it were.  So far, this is the weakest link.  The murders are occurring a couple of weeks from each other, so it seems that every citizen in the town is either going to become a victim or a killer.  Space them out!  It will make the series more interesting.

Also, I get that Mia and Ethan are becoming close, but in this book she's one step away from being a stalker.  You will have to read the book to understand what I am talking about, but if I were Ethan, I'd be worrying about it.

Also, police officers DO NOT allow citizens to "tag along" when they're interviewing suspects or witnesses, or investigating murder scenes.  This should have been stopped in the first book, but it wasn't.  Now she goes everywhere with him, and it's beginning to look like she's an officer, too.  Mia needs to go to the academy if she keeps this up.  Just sayin'

At any rate, this was an easy read and I liked the addition of the cat, but to keep it safe it should be made an indoor cat only.  The story line was interesting and the writing was fine, and I am glad that another issue was finally resolved.  When the killer was discovered it wasn't that much of a surprise to me, but I do read a lot of these, so there's that.  All in all, it was a quick read that can be read in a couple of hours, and I will probably read the next in the series.

https://www.amazon.com/Chocolate-Covered-Murder-Pumpkin-Mystery/dp/1718099002/ref

Goodreads:    https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4303973362

More on Kathleen Suzette's Books:    https://www.fantasticfiction.com/s/kathleen-suzette/

Murderously Sweet (A Pumpkin Hollow Mystery Book 2)

Author:    Kathleen Suzette

Genre:     Mystery

Paperback; Digital Book

ISBN #:    9781983101335

Independently Published

172 Pages

$8.99; $2.99 Amazon

June 6, 2018

⭐⭐⭐

"I knew when the mayor tried to end the Halloween season he was up to no good," I said to Ethan.  But I didn't know he was going to end up dead."

Someone is trying to sabotage the town of Pumpkin Hollow and when the mayor turns up dead, Mia Jordan is on the case to save the town and catch a killer.

When rumors of a curse spread through town, Mia must head them off before they destroy the town's reputation as a family-friendly tourist destination.

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Mia Jordan helps her mother run the family's candy store in Pumpkin Hollow, a small town in northern California.  She's also trying to save the town's tradition of celebrating Halloween year round, and has the support of most of the shop owners, even though the mayor opposes it.  But when she goes to a corn maze with her maybe-beau Ethan, a police officer in the town, she trips over the body of the mayor.  Now there's another murder in town, and Mia has to find a way to keep tourists from figuring it out.  It doesn't help that some people are spreading the rumor of a witch's curse, and it only makes things more difficult.  But will the killer stop at the mayor, or try again?

This is the second book in the series, and since the first was shorter, I thought I'd catch this one and see what Mia is up to next.  Like the first, the characters are the same, and we get to know a little bit more about them, which is nice.  (I would like to know what Mia's father does for a living, though; right now he's just wallpaper in the series).  Anyway, when the unpopular mayor is murdered, it seems the only ones mourning him are his widow and brother-in-law.  Everyone else seems to be glad of him, which makes finding the murderer a tough job.  Even the police are finding it difficult.

Mia is still wondering, though, and looking for clues.  But will she come up against a killer or find them and turn them over to the police?  Since the town is still divided on the will-they or won't-they get rid of Halloween traditions, anyone could have murdered the mayor.  Sifting through business owners as the main suspects, Mia isn't making herself popular, either.  She's also deciding if she wants to pursue a relationship with Ethan, who was her bane in junior high, but doesn't ask him why he did what he did.  Hmmm...

I will say that I knew who the murderer was the minute they stepped on the page.  I was wondering when Mia would figure it out, but she eventually does, as we all know she would.  Unfortunately, there was still something about the book that bothered me, and readers will eventually know what it was.  The ending was fine and I will probably read the next in the series.

https://www.amazon.com/Murderously-Sweet-Pumpkin-Hollow-Mystery/dp/1983101338/ref

Goodreads:    https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4287265434

More on Kathleen Suzette's Books:    https://www.fantasticfiction.com/s/kathleen-suzette/

Candy Coated Murder (A Pumpkin Hollow Mystery Book 1)

Author:    Kathleen Suzette

Genre:     Mystery

Paperback; Digital Book

ISBN #:    9781983100765

Independently Published

140 Pages

$7.99; $2.99 Amazon

June 6, 2018

⭐⭐⭐

"Hazel Martin is the meanest woman in all of Pumpkin Hollow," I said.  Everyone knew it.  But I may have said it one time too many, because when she turned up dead, the police were looking at me.

Mia Jordan has just moved home after being gone ten years, and when she discovers a neighbor has been murdered, it casts a shadow on the town's year-round Halloween theme.  Can Mia find the killer and save the town's Halloween celebration before it's too late?

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Mia Jordan has returned home after ten years away at college, chasing degrees.  She has the degrees, but still doesn't know what she wants to do with her life.  So she's working in her family's candy store, along with her mother.  Unfortunately, she also has to deal with cranky customers, including Hazel Martin, the meanest woman in town, and the Jordans' next-door neighbor.  Hazel hates Halloween, which is ironic since she lives in Pumpkin Hollow, a town that celebrates the holiday year-round.  She also spends her time reporting infractions of all the neighbor's to the HOA board, which keeps her pretty busy.

Mia also learns that the town wants to do away with the Halloween celebrations, so she attends a council meeting and stands up against it.  But when the mayor tells her there's no budget for it, she has to figure out a way to keep it going, with the help of the townspeople who have shops dedicated to the holiday.

But after a long day at the store, Mia and her mother return home and Mia notices something is wrong with Hazel's home.  There's a scarecrow on the porch, and Hazel wouldn't do that.  Upon closer inspection, Mia sees that it's not a scarecrow -- it's Hazel.  Now there's a murderer on the loose, and with Mia wondering if she and her mother are suspects, she's out to find out who killed the woman -- and hopes she's not next on the list...

This is the first book in the series, and I wanted to read something that had to do with Halloween, so this is why I chose it.  The story was cute enough, and the plot was decent, but this is a pretty short book, and you can't really 'know' the characters in a short book.  However, since I wanted to find out the killer, I pressed on.  I also wanted to know if Halloween would be saved in the town, too.

Well, I got the answer to one of the questions, but not the other.  It seems the author has given us a bit of a cliffhanger -- which I detest -- and we have to read the next in the series to find out the answer.  I don't really mind, since I had planned on reading it anyway, but I've always felt that cliffhangers are a bane to the reader, and let's face it, the author could have added several more pages and finished that, too, but chose not to.  So I will reserve judgement and just rate the story I've read.

https://www.amazon.com/Candy-Coated-Murder-Pumpkin-Mystery/dp/1983100765/ref

Goodreads:    https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4286834768

More on Kathleen Suzette's Books:    https://www.fantasticfiction.com/s/kathleen-suzette/