Death by Pumpkin Spice (A Bookstore Cafe Mystery)

These books are just plane fun to read. They keep you guessing right until the end! The name's are what caught my interest but they are good, mysterious and just fun,

Halloween murder and mayhem at a creepily-decorated mansion gave Krissy a new investigation. It's actually kinda brilliant how this author has created a series that has all the stereotypical characteristics of every cozy mystery main character all bundled into one. It's really hilarious and over the top sometimes how Krissy over-annoys and doesn't listen to authority, then she comes out a bigger-than-life hero, her ex-over-stalks and begs to be taken back, and one police officer over-punishes or over-complains/threatens to lock her up for interfering. And of course there's the potential love triangle. It took the third book to make me realize that stuff which annoyed me about the earlier books was something that was being done on purpose, so with that in mind, I think I enjoyed this book a lot more. Like I said, brilliant! It gave me a whole new appreciation for Rita being the typical nosy friend too! She did crack me up calling Krissy at the party asking about the murder.The Halloween party costumes were all pretty cool, and the mansion descriptions were great. I can see why someone in the book said it was like living in the Addams family house. I really had no idea who the killer was, so I just enjoyed going from suspect to suspect until the big showdown.

this is the third book in a great series of murder mysteries. In this story, bookstore owner and amateur detective, Krissy Handcock is getting ready for Halloween. the coffee shop area of her bookstore is full of pumpkin flavored coffee and treats. town gossip, Rita, "volunteers" her for duty at a local kids trick or treat event at the local church. Her boyfriend, Will, has tickets to the biggest party of the year. It is held at a Mansion belonging to the towns former eccentric, the late Howard Yarborough, who created it for the members of the town. so this murder mystery takes place in a creepy house full of costumed party goers, that is until someone discovers a woman, dressed like Marylyn Monroe. in a broom closest full of creepy jack-o -lanterns. it appears she was strangled to death, that means someone is a killer, and nobody knows who he is. I like in this story where, Krissy for the majority of the store has to work with Officer Paul Dalton to unmask the killer at a costume party. The novel like the others in the series has many twists and turns until the killer is revealed. it had the sane cast of interesting characters form the previous, with extras for the suspects.

This is the only story of the series I have read and I am not interested enough to read any more of them. There may be spoilers in my review.The story kept me going but the heroine is unlikable. She has anxiety about shopping for Halloween costumes but not about seeing and touching dead bodies. She has some kind of complex where she sees help from men as "being rescued like a princess." Any of the scenes that were supposed to be romantic didn't connect with me as a reader. She wavers back and forth between feelings for two different men AND has a run in with a stalker ex-boyfriend. None of the scenes about her feelings or the stalker come to any conclusion in this story. What's worse is that she doesn't mention the stalker to either of her romantic interests even though the stalker is violating a restraining order. It's not like the police weren't -right there- to help keep her safe. Why file the order if she isn't going to report his violation of it? I think the only reason that the stalker was included was so that readers would suspect him of the murder.And on to the murderer and the investigation. This chick who runs a coffee shop is apparently better abled to solve a murder than the police, but her investigative skills are lacking. She may get a bunch of information from a conversation but she doesn't relate it to the police. She picks and chooses based on a hunch. And this is how they caught the "real" murderer. Instead of reviewing notes, something she remembers about her conversations bugs her and she manages to get the police to investigate on a hunch.

So until very recently, I was a Dunkin’ Donuts district manager until I decided I could not continue to work the hours I was working, not relevant though. So I read every single book that had a coffee theme or donut theme, etc. in this genre. I enjoy these books and I’ll continue to read them even though I no longer have to worry about pumpkin spice lattes.

Very catchy ending to a all consuming story that kept you engaged throughout the whole book. Makes you want to read the next one.

Fun!!! A locked room cozy mystery at a Halloween party, with our protagonist, amateur sleuth and cafe owner-Krissy Hancock, dressed as Sherlock Holmes. Sign me up! This book is a super fun read for a festive Halloween feel. I mean the murder takes place in a room full of creepy Jack-o-lanterns, what more could you ask for? I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Story plot and characters were very simplistic. No new ideas here. Murder mystery was not a surprise. Didn't enjoy the repetitive dialogue and plot.

Characters were interesting but not well developed. In another sense, the potential romance at hand was very well developed and took away from the mystery and plot. I did not finish this as I quickly lost interest.

Charming with nice characters and a murder mystery set within the confines of a mansion where everyone is a suspect until they prove their innocence. An easy seasonal read. This is a light cozy with amateur sleuth Krissy Hancock on the case to help the cops do their job. Her insecurities are a bit annoying since they seem the main thing she thinks about. I'm not sure if I'll want to continue with this series since it's supposed to be a Bookstore Café mystery and very little has been mentioned about the store and pumpkin spice which first caught my attention had nothing whatsoever to do with the story. This was still a cute book that others may love.