"With just a few days left before Halloween, everyone at Howard Academy is anticipating the guaranteed sugar high they'll experience from gorging on Harriet Bloom's famous marshmallow puffs. The private school's annual costume party revolves around the headmaster's assistant and her seemingly supernatural batches of gooey goodies. So, it's a shock when Harriet's elderly neighbor is suddenly found dead with the beloved dessert in his hand. In a snap, police start questioning whether Harriet modified her top-secret recipe to ...
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"With just a few days left before Halloween, everyone at Howard Academy is anticipating the guaranteed sugar high they'll experience from gorging on Harriet Bloom's famous marshmallow puffs. The private school's annual costume party revolves around the headmaster's assistant and her seemingly supernatural batches of gooey goodies. So, it's a shock when Harriet's elderly neighbor is suddenly found dead with the beloved dessert in his hand. In a snap, police start questioning whether Harriet modified her top-secret recipe to include a hefty dose of lethal poison... Melanie knows her tenured colleague would never intentionally serve cyanide-laced puffs to a defenseless old man. But as explosive neighborhood gossip reveals a potential culprit, it also brings her closer to sealing her own doom"--
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PLEASE NOTE, WE DO NOT SHIP TO DENMARK. New Book. Shipped from UK in 4 to 14 days. Established seller since 2000. Please note we cannot offer an expedited shipping service from the UK.
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New. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 192 p. A Melanie Travis Canine Mystery. In Stock. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Brand New, Perfect Condition, allow 4-14 business days for standard shipping. To Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. protectorate, P.O. box, and APO/FPO addresses allow 4-28 business days for Standard shipping. No expedited shipping. All orders placed with expedited shipping will be cancelled. Over 3, 000, 000 happy customers.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
PLEASE NOTE, WE DO NOT SHIP TO DENMARK. New Book. Shipped from UK in 4 to 14 days. Established seller since 2000. Please note we cannot offer an expedited shipping service from the UK.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
New. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 192 p. A Melanie Travis Canine Mystery. In Stock. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Brand New, Perfect Condition, allow 4-14 business days for standard shipping. To Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. protectorate, P.O. box, and APO/FPO addresses allow 4-28 business days for Standard shipping. No expedited shipping. All orders placed with expedited shipping will be cancelled. Over 3, 000, 000 happy customers.
Howard Academy is getting ready for their annual Halloween costume party complete with the headmaster's secretary's marshmallow puffs. Harriet Bloom has been providing the treats for years and she even shares them with her neighbors. Everyone looks forward to these delightful puffs of marshmallows. But this year the treats appear to be the vehicle used to poison her elderly neighbor, Ralph Penders. So while everyone knows Harriet wouldn't poison anyone the police have confiscated all the puffs made for the party.
Melanie is worried Harriet may be convicted of a crime she didn't commit so she agrees to collect the marshmallow puffs from Harriet's neighbors while trying to find out more about Mr. Penders and who may have wanted him dead. But not everyone is anxious to answer her questions. She may have even put herself on the killer's radar sealing her own howloween fate.
I do love visiting Melanie, Sam, Davey, Kevin, Aunt Peg, and all their dogs. Faith is truly a special poodle, I love her empathic nature and the way she helps with Melanie's students. I also love the relationship between Sam and Melanie. They truly are a perfect match and their love just shines in every interaction. Aunt Peg played a smaller role in this story but she does play a huge role for a special family. Almost all the characters Ms. Berenson creates are genuine and true to life. Even the dogs each have their own personalities, strengths, and weaknesses. Of course, she has to create a few people as suspects with questionable traits but she gives them layers to work through to reach their motives. I will say my heart was touched by the elderly victim and his circumstances.
I really enjoyed the Halloween theme as a background to the mystery. While Kevin tries to decide on a Halloween costume and she continues to work with her students Melanie divides her time up to include questioning likely suspects. The author blends it all together with a balanced hand. She drops the clues and inserts twists like the pro she is. I found myself leaning toward a certain character but it sure was fun to follow Melanie along step by step as she honed in on the killer and proved me right.
You really can't go wrong with any book in this series. All are well-plotted and written. The characters are easy to become invested in too. The author does write each book to be read on its own so you can jump in anywhere. Howloween Murder was a fun and entertaining read perfect for this time of year. It was a howling good time.
Kristina
Oct 14, 2020
An entertaining cozy mystery!
Howloween Murder by Laurien Berenson is A Melanie Travis Mystery novella. This was a fun tale to read. Melanie Travis and Halloween equals a delightful murder mystery. Melanie Travis is looking forward to Howard Academy's annual Halloween party where everyone devours Harriet Bloom's marshmallow puffs. Unfortunately, there will be no sugary treats this year after one of Harriet's neighbors dies after eating one of the fluffy delights. It seems that someone added a little cyanide to that batch which puts Harriet at the top of the police departments suspect list. Melanie gets an appeal for help from Aunt Peg and Harriet. Melanie ends up visiting each of Harriet's neighbors to ask questions while retrieving the pans of marshmallow puffs. Howloween Murder can be read on its own for those new to the series (I highly recommend reading all the books). I thought Howloween Murder was well-written with developed characters and a heaping helping of humor. Melanie's youngest son, Kevin is quite a charmer and enough energy for five kids. He has yet to settle on a Halloween costume which means there will be rushing around at the last minute unless decisive action is taken. Melanie meets Harriet's neighbors and gets a variety of responses. I enjoyed following the mystery. I had my list of suspects and collected the clues which allowed me to make a guess at the guilty party's identity. I then waited to see if I was right or way off base. I had a howling good time reading Howloween Murder. There is a recipe for Harriet Bloom's marshmallow puffs (minus the cyanide). Howloween Murder is a ghostly good time with a costume conundrum, poisoned puffs, nosy neighbors, a poodle problem, and Halloween hi-jinks.
