Jody M. (jodymcgrath) - reviewed on 9/19/2016 + 110 more book reviews

* I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review *

Krissy Hancock and her best friend Vicki own Death By Coffee, a cafe and bookstore in one. When Krissy gets invited to a swanky Halloween party at a eccentric mansion by handsome Will Foster, she isn't sure if she wants to go or not. She knows she won't fit in. She wavers on her answer, because Will is really nice and she hasn't had too much luck in the dating department, so she agrees to go.

Will is great, but she already feels out of place as soon as she walks in. Everyone is so rich and decked out to the nines. The mansion is also completely Halloween themed, year around. The owner built it that way because he loved the holiday and the horror genre so much, but sadly he recently had passed on. Keeping with tradition, his widow throws the party this year in his memory.

When Krissy's long-time crush, Officer Paul Dalton, walks in with his beautiful date, Krissy knows this party cannot get worse. But when a body is found, brutally strangled, Krissy is horrified and excited. Solving mysteries is a favorite pastime of hers, much to the chagrin of Paul. With no one else to turn to, and the storm of the year seclude get the mansion from backup, Paul asks Krissy to help him investigate. Krissy's Halloween just got a whole lot better!

This is the third book in the Bookstore Cafe Mystery series, but it is the first one I have read. I really liked the mystery a lot. It reminded me of an old English mystery in a secluded manor house, even though there were over 100 people there. The mystery had some twists, but when a glaring clue is discovered, the reader can't help but wonder how Krissy can't figure it out. It becomes very obvious who the culprit is. I also really enjoyed the setting. The house was a permanent haunted mansion. I wish the author would have put more effort into incorporating that fact into the story. The eccentricities of the mansion were just a mentioned upon backdrop though. I felt like a giant opportunity was lost there.

The main character Krissy is very annoying. One minute she is full of self-doubt and needs to be coddled, then the next she is sassy and thinking she is Rambo. Someone give this girl some Lithium. She is also almost TSTL. She has no training at all, but she runs headfirst into dangerous situations, even when she knows she should get Paul. She thinks she is a great consultant, but really she is a Police lawsuit just waiting to happen. She is also an adult and business owner, but has a horrible time saying "slept with" or "had sex with" out loud. What? She isn't that young, but she is that immature. She was not very likable at all.

I am not sure if I would read other books in this series or not. It would depend on my mood. I would recommend it to cozy fans though, because it did keep my interest and they might be more inclined to like Krissy's Bipolar personality.

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