A  HALLOWEEN HOMICIDE BY TONYA KAPPES

It's spooky season in Holiday Junction and Halloweenie Festival is a hauntingly great time. Treats aren’t just sweet and delicious, sometimes they’re also deadly.

Holiday Junction really knows how to throw holiday festivals, and it goes all out for Halloween.

The holiday celebration includes a ghost walk of haunting tales, a hay ride, carnival games, pumpkin carvings and costume party. 

Violet Rhinehammer has the perfect assignment—represent the Junction Journal by attending all the fun festive activities and reporting on them.

When Violet reluctantly goes on the ghost walk, she realizes the body that fell out of the fake casket is a real one and not a prop. She knows trouble is brewing. She puts on a sleuthing costume after someone she loves becomes Chief Strickland's number one suspect in order to catch the real monster.

MY REVIEW 

What a perfect time to read this book as Halloween fast approaches. I loved the excitement in the air as the town gets ready for the festival. Violet has been invited to go on the Ghost Walk before the event starts.  The author gets us in the mood with goblins, ghosts and spooky trails. What no one expected was to find a dead body in the casket. I think I screamed when they found the poor man. I don’t know about you, but I would be running as fast as I could away from whatever was just found. 

Violet is once again in the middle of a murder mystery as she happens to be present when the body was discovered. This is where I get really interested in the  story because the author gives us clues along the way with plenty of suspects to keep readers guessing. I grabbed my journal and started jotting down notes to see if I could solve the mystery. Finding Peter dead raises a lot of questions and Violet is curious as she begins to investigate. Could the mayor have anything to do with the murder? Peter did want the mayor out of office and was campaigning for a reelection. Well I can see why some would want a new mayor. After all the mayor is a dog. Yes folks a dog is in charge and has fierce competition or is it jealously when it comes to the powerful position of being in charge of the town. The couple who own the mayor could become suspects and Violet was ready to dig into the clues. 

Violet’s mom is a hoot and her southern charm is easy to fall for. She has decided that she is joining  Violet with the investigation. Her shenanigans are funny and entertaining. Millie Kay  is by far my favorite character in the story. She oozes with enthusiasm for everything she is involved with. I laughed so hard when Millie Kay  invites all the suspects to her house along with Violet. Talk about a time bomb ready to explode. The house is in chaos as fingers point at each other and tempers start to flare. A secret about the paper is exposed and let me tell you, I think I fell out of my seat. 

I loved the interaction between Violet and Darren. I think they have a love/hate relationship at times. They are both stubborn and at times don’t communicate well with each other. I enjoyed getting to know them better and how the author explores their undeniable  attraction to each other. It does give a little realism to the story as we see these two work through their issues. I also liked how an old murder starts to play an important role in the story. As we find out, there has been a very well kept secret about a certain person who has been  in prison. Could this be the reason that Peter was killed just a few days ago? The plot thickens as I began to check my notes. 

I hope you are ready for ghosts, secrets, revenge and a taste of adventure in this latest book that highlights Halloween. I didn’t figure out the killer and  I was very shocked at the ending. I never saw this person as a suspect and how it all started such a long time ago. This is a great story that will satisfy any mystery buff. 

I received a copy of this book from the author. The review is my own opinion.

Southern Hospitality with a Smidgen of Homicide

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Tonya Kappes has written more than 175 southern cozy mysteries, all of which have graced numerous bestseller lists, including USA Today and Woman's World Book Club pick twice . Best known for stories charged with southern charm, emotion and humor and filled with flawed characters, her novels have garnered reader praise and glowing critical reviews. She lives with her husband in northern Kentucky. Now that her four boys have flown out of the nest, Tonya writes full-time in her camper! 

You can find her all over social media and at Tonyakappes.com. 

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