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thisandthatwithkaren's review
4.0
“ Cold Cases and Haunted Places: A Halloween Anthology” by 14 amazing authors. Some authors are new to me and others are old friends. What a great read to get ready for Halloween! A terrific collection of varying stories involving Witches, Ghosts, Reapers and their Familiars.
Haunted Tours & Evildoers
Baking witch, Imogen Banks, and her friends are celebrating Halloween with a haunted tour of the magical island of Bijou Mer. But when one of their party gives up the ghost, the tour participants all become suspects. Can Imogen catch the killer, or will this murder turn into another of the island's unsolved mysteries?
I hadn’t read any of the books previously but I enjoyed this short story about the haunted sewer tour set on the magical island of Bijou Mer. Imogen was interesting, I’m intrigued by her princely beau, and her assorted friends. I can’t wait to read Spells & Caramels series by Erin Johnson.
Reaper Madness by by Nova Nelson
Ted adores his job as Eastwind's reaper. However, a recent dearth of death has him feeling like a spare part. But when the next person passes and he goes to collect her soul, he makes a grim discovery: there's no soul to be found. Can Ted find what's lost in time to avoid a public panic?
I have not read any of the Eastwind’s magical mysteries before but I was pleasantly surprised by this story and now plan to read them.
Bohemian to the Bone by Amorette Anderson
It's Halloween in Hillcrest, and Marley and her witch sisters are planning a party! While digging through decorations, Marley uncovers a puzzling clue. Could it lead to answers about one of the town's most intriguing cold cases?
It was fun to solve a 50 year old cold case with Marley and Penny. I haven’t read any of the Hillcrest Witch Cozy Mysteries before but I will now.
Yesterday’s Fears by Sam Cheever
Some people are willing to kill to keep their sins hidden. Others are willing to die to expose them. When one of Pastor Frederick's parishioners is targeted by a killer, their only hope might come from the ether. And the good pastor knows just the ghost who can help.
I enjoyed this mystery with the ghost Joss who protects Anna. I’m not sure if I have read one of the Yesterday’s Paranormal Mysteries before or not but it was very entertaining.
Charms and Charges by Lily Webb
I am a huge fan of this series and love the protagonist Zoe Clarke! I was super excited to read this short by Lily Webb as it’s been a few months since I visited Moon Grove NC.
In this book magical sleuth Zoe Clarke unknowingly buys Adeline Craft's necklace from a paranormal pawnshop. When the necklace brings Zoe new clues of Adelines disappearance from the beyond, can she solve the case, or will she be next to disappear?
I would recommend this Halloween Anthology to all my friends that enjoy cozy mysteries. I am looking forward to the next one that comes out!
I requested and received an Advanced Readers Copy from the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Haunted Tours & Evildoers
Baking witch, Imogen Banks, and her friends are celebrating Halloween with a haunted tour of the magical island of Bijou Mer. But when one of their party gives up the ghost, the tour participants all become suspects. Can Imogen catch the killer, or will this murder turn into another of the island's unsolved mysteries?
I hadn’t read any of the books previously but I enjoyed this short story about the haunted sewer tour set on the magical island of Bijou Mer. Imogen was interesting, I’m intrigued by her princely beau, and her assorted friends. I can’t wait to read Spells & Caramels series by Erin Johnson.
Reaper Madness by by Nova Nelson
Ted adores his job as Eastwind's reaper. However, a recent dearth of death has him feeling like a spare part. But when the next person passes and he goes to collect her soul, he makes a grim discovery: there's no soul to be found. Can Ted find what's lost in time to avoid a public panic?
I have not read any of the Eastwind’s magical mysteries before but I was pleasantly surprised by this story and now plan to read them.
Bohemian to the Bone by Amorette Anderson
It's Halloween in Hillcrest, and Marley and her witch sisters are planning a party! While digging through decorations, Marley uncovers a puzzling clue. Could it lead to answers about one of the town's most intriguing cold cases?
It was fun to solve a 50 year old cold case with Marley and Penny. I haven’t read any of the Hillcrest Witch Cozy Mysteries before but I will now.
Yesterday’s Fears by Sam Cheever
Some people are willing to kill to keep their sins hidden. Others are willing to die to expose them. When one of Pastor Frederick's parishioners is targeted by a killer, their only hope might come from the ether. And the good pastor knows just the ghost who can help.
I enjoyed this mystery with the ghost Joss who protects Anna. I’m not sure if I have read one of the Yesterday’s Paranormal Mysteries before or not but it was very entertaining.
Charms and Charges by Lily Webb
I am a huge fan of this series and love the protagonist Zoe Clarke! I was super excited to read this short by Lily Webb as it’s been a few months since I visited Moon Grove NC.
In this book magical sleuth Zoe Clarke unknowingly buys Adeline Craft's necklace from a paranormal pawnshop. When the necklace brings Zoe new clues of Adelines disappearance from the beyond, can she solve the case, or will she be next to disappear?
I would recommend this Halloween Anthology to all my friends that enjoy cozy mysteries. I am looking forward to the next one that comes out!
I requested and received an Advanced Readers Copy from the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
karen_the_baroness's review
5.0
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from the Author. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.Cold Cases and Haunted Places is a Halloween Anthology of short stories by fourteen of today's leading paranormal cozy mystery writers. I am sure that you will find something that you will enjoy within this book. Below are the two stories that I have read.
Haunted Tours and Evildoers by Erin Johnson is all about Imogen wanting to celebrate Halloween with her friends and go through a haunted sewer tour. Well, it all starts fine until their tour guide dies. I have to say that it got me good. I had no clue about the killer's motive on this one. It was nice being back in Imogen's point of view and having them sort of team up with Jolene, Peter, and Daisy. The mystery was pretty cool, and I loved the tour guide's way of doing the tour. Ms. Johnson, overall did a great job on this little short read, and I loved every minute of it. I am giving it five stars.
Druid by Kirsten Weiss is a great read for a quick Halloween read. Ms. Weiss does a great job of not only including witches but other supernatural creatures in this mystery. I figured out who the killer was but not the motive or reason why the killer did it. Sadly, I fell for the red herring's motive. I am giving this one, just like Ms. Johnson's book, five stars, and recommending this whole book collection. I am sure the others are as good as these two, so yes, I am recommending it.
Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Haunted Tours and Evildoers by Erin Johnson and Druid by Kirsten Weiss. Cold Cases and Haunted Places ~ A Halloween Anthology is a fabulous collection of short stories. I hope to read the rest of them in the future.
Until the next time,
Happy Reading!
This review was originally posted on Baroness' Book Trove
Haunted Tours and Evildoers by Erin Johnson
Haunted Tours and Evildoers by Erin Johnson is all about Imogen wanting to celebrate Halloween with her friends and go through a haunted sewer tour. Well, it all starts fine until their tour guide dies. I have to say that it got me good. I had no clue about the killer's motive on this one. It was nice being back in Imogen's point of view and having them sort of team up with Jolene, Peter, and Daisy. The mystery was pretty cool, and I loved the tour guide's way of doing the tour. Ms. Johnson, overall did a great job on this little short read, and I loved every minute of it. I am giving it five stars.
Druid by Kirsten Weiss
Druid by Kirsten Weiss is a great read for a quick Halloween read. Ms. Weiss does a great job of not only including witches but other supernatural creatures in this mystery. I figured out who the killer was but not the motive or reason why the killer did it. Sadly, I fell for the red herring's motive. I am giving this one, just like Ms. Johnson's book, five stars, and recommending this whole book collection. I am sure the others are as good as these two, so yes, I am recommending it.
Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Haunted Tours and Evildoers by Erin Johnson and Druid by Kirsten Weiss. Cold Cases and Haunted Places ~ A Halloween Anthology is a fabulous collection of short stories. I hope to read the rest of them in the future.
Until the next time,
Happy Reading!
This review was originally posted on Baroness' Book Trove
justasking27's review
3.0
A fun little collection of cozy mystery novellas and short stories. As always in these collections, some were better than others. Favorites included "Change in the Tide", "Alchemy, Arsenic, & Alibis", "Girls Fright Out", and of course, "Hush Magic".
wulfwyn's review
5.0
I love when fall comes around because I know my favorite authors are going to be releasing Halloween Anthologies. I enjoy these collections so much.
In this one, I started off with Trixie Silvertale. I adore Mitzy Moon. When I saw a Mitzy short story included, I was drooling for this book. If you haven’t read any of Mitzy’s books, here’s a quick catch up. Mitzy has spent much of her childhood in foster care, making her a little rough around the edges. As a young barista, she discovers her father’s mother named her in a will. She was left a bookstore... a haunted bookstore! Her grandmother is still there in ghostly form. This relationship never fails to warm my heart. Mitzy, with help from her Ghost-ma, their cat, a wizardly attorney and a hunky sheriff, finds she is very good at solving mysteries. There might be some magical powers involved, too. I hope you enjoy the Mitzy Moon Halloween story and encourage you to look up the series.
The next story I picked featured sisters Connie and Sage and is written by Mona Marple. I love Connie and Sage. Sage is deceased but still hanging about Connie. Together they live in a magical town where Sage flirts and enjoys life after death while helping Connie solve mysteries. This story was so fun! I just love when Sage flirts! The sisters attend an author’s reading on Halloween night. Who knew the deceased author may also be a murderer? Connie, with Sage’s unique way of helping, is determined to clear her favorite author... unless he really did it! If you enjoy this story as much as I did be sure to click on the link to receive a free short story and learn more about Mona Marple.
These are just two of the spooktacular stories you will find in this collection. I don’t want to make this super long. Other stories include a haunted tour, (I loved because I always wanted to do one of these!), by Erin Johnson, Marley is hosting a party in Hillcrest by Amorette Anderson, Anna, Pratt, Joss and Pastor Frederick are on the case to help a young man who had asked the Pastor for help in the story by Sam Cheever, Zoe buys a necklace that surprises her with new clues in an unsolved mystery by Lily Webb, Chalice sniffs out a murder while out walking around trying to figure out how to help Winslow prove her value in this fun story by Summer Prescott, Mandy and Katie go on a Halloween double date to...where else? A haunted swamp in the story by Lotta Smith, (new author to delight me), Jayce is at PaganCon, when she is approached a woman bringing news of a Druid and dark magic in the story by Kirsten Weiss, Maggie and Spencer are looking into a shipwreck and murder that is about two hundred years old in the story by Cate Dean, (I need to check out the Maggie Mulgrew series), J.L. Collins wrote an intriguing mystery about animal familiars, (another author I hadn’t read before), Shéa MacLeod shared a story from Deepwood, Oregon where the local witch is blackmailed by the sheriff! It’s to help solve a mystery but things don’t look good for Edwina. The author makes mention of a bacon-topped maple bar which is my favorite donut so she caught my attention pretty quick. The last story in the book is by an author I didn’t recognize either but the story was so delicious! What could be more fun than a girls getaway at a B&B? How about a spooky one in a haunted B&B where the owner disappears? I loved this one!
You can tell this anthology is a definite Halloween Treat. Grab it, some candles and tasty treats then settle in for some Halloween fun.
In this one, I started off with Trixie Silvertale. I adore Mitzy Moon. When I saw a Mitzy short story included, I was drooling for this book. If you haven’t read any of Mitzy’s books, here’s a quick catch up. Mitzy has spent much of her childhood in foster care, making her a little rough around the edges. As a young barista, she discovers her father’s mother named her in a will. She was left a bookstore... a haunted bookstore! Her grandmother is still there in ghostly form. This relationship never fails to warm my heart. Mitzy, with help from her Ghost-ma, their cat, a wizardly attorney and a hunky sheriff, finds she is very good at solving mysteries. There might be some magical powers involved, too. I hope you enjoy the Mitzy Moon Halloween story and encourage you to look up the series.
The next story I picked featured sisters Connie and Sage and is written by Mona Marple. I love Connie and Sage. Sage is deceased but still hanging about Connie. Together they live in a magical town where Sage flirts and enjoys life after death while helping Connie solve mysteries. This story was so fun! I just love when Sage flirts! The sisters attend an author’s reading on Halloween night. Who knew the deceased author may also be a murderer? Connie, with Sage’s unique way of helping, is determined to clear her favorite author... unless he really did it! If you enjoy this story as much as I did be sure to click on the link to receive a free short story and learn more about Mona Marple.
These are just two of the spooktacular stories you will find in this collection. I don’t want to make this super long. Other stories include a haunted tour, (I loved because I always wanted to do one of these!), by Erin Johnson, Marley is hosting a party in Hillcrest by Amorette Anderson, Anna, Pratt, Joss and Pastor Frederick are on the case to help a young man who had asked the Pastor for help in the story by Sam Cheever, Zoe buys a necklace that surprises her with new clues in an unsolved mystery by Lily Webb, Chalice sniffs out a murder while out walking around trying to figure out how to help Winslow prove her value in this fun story by Summer Prescott, Mandy and Katie go on a Halloween double date to...where else? A haunted swamp in the story by Lotta Smith, (new author to delight me), Jayce is at PaganCon, when she is approached a woman bringing news of a Druid and dark magic in the story by Kirsten Weiss, Maggie and Spencer are looking into a shipwreck and murder that is about two hundred years old in the story by Cate Dean, (I need to check out the Maggie Mulgrew series), J.L. Collins wrote an intriguing mystery about animal familiars, (another author I hadn’t read before), Shéa MacLeod shared a story from Deepwood, Oregon where the local witch is blackmailed by the sheriff! It’s to help solve a mystery but things don’t look good for Edwina. The author makes mention of a bacon-topped maple bar which is my favorite donut so she caught my attention pretty quick. The last story in the book is by an author I didn’t recognize either but the story was so delicious! What could be more fun than a girls getaway at a B&B? How about a spooky one in a haunted B&B where the owner disappears? I loved this one!
You can tell this anthology is a definite Halloween Treat. Grab it, some candles and tasty treats then settle in for some Halloween fun.
aconitecafe's review
5.0
The perfect bundle of cozy mysteries for Halloween!
It probably hurt the other authors that this book starts with my absolute favorite. (Erin Johnson) but all of the stories were spooky good.
I loved being able to check in with the characters in series that I've been reading through. These anthologies are one of my favorite parts of reading the cozy mystery genre. I can always get more of my favorite characters, plus discover new characters to dive into.
With this bundle, they pulled out all the stops, many authors I already knew and loved, plus I was able to make a good size list of authors to check out.
You're going to love this anthology if you love paranormal cozies!
It probably hurt the other authors that this book starts with my absolute favorite. (Erin Johnson) but all of the stories were spooky good.
I loved being able to check in with the characters in series that I've been reading through. These anthologies are one of my favorite parts of reading the cozy mystery genre. I can always get more of my favorite characters, plus discover new characters to dive into.
With this bundle, they pulled out all the stops, many authors I already knew and loved, plus I was able to make a good size list of authors to check out.
You're going to love this anthology if you love paranormal cozies!
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