A Catered Halloween (Mystery with Recipes) [Mass Market Paperback]

Isis Crawford (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2009 | Series: Mystery with Recipes

With the promise of a hefty commission and some valuable word-of-mouth for their catering business, A Little Taste of Heaven, sisters Bernadette and Libby Simmons agree to cater the charity haunted house being staged at the old Peabody School. But when wealthy socialite Amethyst Applegate is found dead in the haunted house, Bernie and Libby wonder if a murderer might also be lurking about Peabody's gloomy halls...While almost everyone Amethyst ever met might have a motive for killing her, not everyone had access to the Peabody School. All Bernie and Libby know is if they don't solve this mystery soon, they might become the next stars in a real-life horror flick...

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In Crawford's fun, well-plotted fifth culinary cozy to feature Bernadette and Libby Simmons (after 2007's A Catered Valentine's Day), the sisters cater a fundraiser for the Longely, N.Y., volunteer firemen that includes a high-tech haunted house, formerly the Peabody School. In a room evoking the setting of Poe's The Pit and the Pendulum, the severed head that rolls down some stairs and lands at Libby's feet proves to be real. The victim, Amethyst Applegate, had been a student years earlier at the Peabody School, where another student at the time, Bessie Osgood, died under suspicious circumstances. Is Bessie's ghost still haunting the place? Aided by their father, Sean, the town's retired police chief, Bernie and Libby discover that Amethyst, a notorious home wrecker, had no lack of enemies. A selection of delectable seasonal recipes rounds out the volume. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

"Fun...well-plotted.... A selection of delectable seasonal recipes rounds out the volume." --Publishers Weekly"

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Kensington Books; Reprint edition (September 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0758221932
• ISBN-13: 978-0758221933
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #366,812 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars superb catered amateur sleuth, September 3, 2008

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Catered Halloween (Mystery with Recipes) (Hardcover)

Amethyst Applegate receives a blackmail letter from deceased Bessie Osgood, who died years ago when they attended school together. Unshaken Amethyst plans to take care of the blackmailer as she took care of Bessie.

The Simmons sisters, Libby and Bernie, owners of A Little Taste of Heaven, are ecstatic to cater the Halloween festivities at the Peabody School, a place rumored to be haunted. Businessman Mark Kane is going all out to include construction of a haunted house with high tech special effects that a Hollywood horror move would envy. Everyone is stunned when they see a torso on a table with the severed head of Amethyst nearby.

Finding the killer will not prove easy as everyone has a motive to murder the universally loathed Amethyst whose list of enemies exceeds the Longley phonebook. Libby thinks she sees the ghost of Bessie, but rationalizes that her imagination got the best of her rather than her intuitive powers. Bob Small who is working at the haunted house has a strong reason to kill Amethyst because he spent jail time due to a stunt she pulled. Inez Colley hated the female abomination for stealing her husband and her wealth by seducing and blackmailing her weak spouse. Zachary Timberland held Amethyst culpable for ruining his daughter Zoe. The list goes on. However, the police arrest Bob as he is the only one with opportunity. The Simmons siblings think otherwise so with their father along they investigate the murder of an odious witch.

Isis Crawford outdoes her usual superb catered amateur sleuth novels with A CATERED HALLOWEEN as ghosts and Libby's visions enhance a whodunit in which the townsfolk, the sisters, and the readers agree beheading is befitting the odious ogress. The two sisters are total opposites yet best friends as each is always there for the other. Due to Libby's paranormal skills they feel obligated to unmask the real killer as they believe strongly the cops got the wrong person. With euphoric ghosts and plenty of eccentric suspects toasting the killer, solving the case of the murdered witch may prove a recipe for failure for the Simmons, but catered entertainment for series fans.

Harriet Klausner

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Kind of forgettable, October 30, 2009

By 

Rushmore (CHICAGO, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: A Catered Halloween (Mystery with Recipes) (Mass Market Paperback)

It wasn't till I was nearly done with this book that I realized I had read A Catered Christmas, another book in the series.

I have trouble engaging with these characters. I can't get a picture of them in my head. Are Bernie and Libby in their 20s, 30s, 40s? We get so few insights into their relationship. The interplay between their dad Sean and Marvin, the guy who drives him around (also dating one of the sisters - I forget which), is much better developed.

I know plot is important in mysteries, maybe more important than characters, and the plot in this one is fine. It's not hard to read, and Libby and Bernie are likeable enough. I feel kind of bad about it, but this writer just doesn't draw me in. There are several mystery series set in the world of catering, restaurants, tea shops, etc., that have memorable characters and appealing sleuths. This one just doesn't do it for me. Sorry.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A CATERED HALLOWEEN, February 12, 2011

By 

chag (iowa) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Catered Halloween (Mystery with Recipes) (Kindle Edition)

This was one of the worst ebooks I ever bought. There are so many discrepancies I wanted to scream! I believe this book was not copied to ebook from the actual pages of the book. I cannot believe the author would make so many silly errors. For example, the main characters are discussisng the murder at 10pm on a Tuesday night and one of them looks out the window and sees a small child in a Halloween costume skipping along the street holding her mother's hand. It's awful (and this is one of many) Very disappointed.