One of the things I always look forward to later in the year are the holiday themed Cozy Mystery releases. This upcoming October we’re going to have a really great crop – too many to cover in one post! So today I’ll just be discussing the five Halloween and other “fall harvest” themed mysteries that will be coming out in October.
First will be the next entry in the Murder, She Wrote Mystery Series. The Ghost and Mrs. Fletcher, written by Donald Bain, Renée Paley-Bain, & “Jessica Fletcher”, will be the 45th in the series, and once again will star the famous television detective/murder mystery author, Jessica Fletcher. When a crusty old local carpenter dies after a premonition that his time is near, Jessica will need to use her now-long years of mystery writing and detecting to put a so-called spirit to rest >>> or determine the specter’s true nature. Donald Bain also writes the Margaret Truman Capital Crimes Mystery Series.
Next up will be Ghost of a Potion, the third entry in Heather Blake‘s Magic Potion Mystery Series. When local architect Haywood Dodd dies before making a big announcement at a costume party, his ghost goes to local magic potion seller and medium, Carly Bell Hartwell, for help. She’ll need to discover his true killer, not only for Dodd and her own peace of mind, but also to clear the current suspect >>> her boyfriend’s mother. Blake also writes the Wishcraft Mystery Series, starring a wish-granting witch, as well as the Lucy Valentine Mystery Series (starring a matchmaker with the ability to find lost objects) and the Nina Quinn Mystery Series (starring a Landscaper) under the pseudonym Heather Webber.
The next Cozy is Sheila Connolly‘s A Gala Event, the 9th book in her Orchard Mystery Series, a Fall Harvest themed mystery. Orchard owner Meg Corey is looking forward to the end of the harvesting season more than ever since it will let her focus more on planning her upcoming wedding, but when former convict Aaron Eastman returns to town, he manages to talk her into helping clear his name by investigating a now 25 years old case of arson. Connolly also writes the Museum Mystery Series, starring a museum fundraiser, the County Cork Mystery Series, starring a Bostonian living in Ireland, the Relatively Dead Mystery Series, starring a woman who sees ghosts, and finally (as Sarah Atwell) the Glassblowing Mystery Series.
What Halloween would be complete without a resident skeleton? The Skeleton Haunts a House is the third book in Leigh Perry‘s Family Skeleton Mystery Series. This series stars Georgia Thackery and her live-in, skeleton-possessing ghost friend, Sid. Sid enjoys Halloween as an opportunity to get out of the house without freaking people out, so he doesn’t mind disguising himself as a dog to attend a local Halloween party. But when a (second) corpse turns up, he and Georgia will need to solve the murder quickly to avoid Sid’s own existence becoming known! Leigh Perry has also written extensively under the name Toni L.P. Kelner, and under that name is the author of the Where Are They Now? Mystery Series, the Laura Fleming Mystery Series, and she is also the editor to multiple mystery anthologies.
The last of our Halloween themed Cozies is Kathi Daley‘s Ghostly Graveyard, the 17th in her Zoe Donovan Mystery Series. In this entry, Zoe will discover a body across the grave of a local legend, one who began a hundred year old tale that is still told in the area today. Kathi Daley also writes the TJ Jensen Paradise Lake Mystery Series, starring a high school teacher and coach, the Whales and Tails Mystery Series, starring the owner of a bar/bookstore/cat themed lounge area, and the young adult Seacliff High Mystery Series.
As always, you can see these Halloween themed mystery books (and many, many more!) on the Halloween page on my site:
Another month gone by already! It is almost to the point in San Antonio when I can start looking forward to reasonable temperatures (<90 degrees – probably in another three or four weeks)! If it weren’t for my daughter coming home for a few weeks in September (before moving up to the D.C. area), I’d really be looking forward to October because the weather usually breaks around here by then.