Mischief Nights are Murder by Libby Klein

Introduction

It’s getting to be that time of year again! It’s almost Fall which means I’m diving into my Fall and Halloween themed books. I received a review copy of Mischief Nights are Murder by Libby Klein from Netgalley and I started reading it the other week when we had a couple of cool days. It really got me in the mood for Fall!

About the Book

Poppy McAllister discovers that gluten-free Halloweens can scare up another case of murder in latest installment of this delightful culinary B&B mystery series!

Poppy is none too pleased when her B&B is coerced into participating in the Cape May Haunted Dinners Tour during Halloween season. Though her knack for finding dead bodies has given the place a spooky reputation, the Murder House is a completely undeserved nickname. At least it used to be . . .

While Poppy wrangles with some guests who can’t stop squabbling with each other—including a paranormal researcher, a very quirky pet psychic who freaks out her portly Persian, and an undercover tabloid reporter eager to catch her staff in a lie—one of them winds up facedown in a plate of tiramisu. And now she has bigger worries than getting her house TP’d . . . (from Amazon.com)

My Thoughts

I’m pretty much obsessed with the world that Libby Klein has created in her Poppy McAllister series. The story may take place in the real town of Cape May, New Jersey but the characters and the drama surrounding them are all wildly made up, and in a wonderful way.

In this book Poppy is trying to prepare for the Cape May Haunted Dinners tour that her bed and breakfast has gotten roped into participating in. It’s not exactly ideal timing because she has a lot going on, but with the help of her staff they may be able to get through the Halloween season unscathed.

But when someone turns up dead at her first night’s dinner, the police are called in and all of the B&B’s guests are acting peculiar. Now to be fair, some of them are just peculiar on a normal day. But others may be hiding secrets, including one person’s motive for killing a seemingly prestigious guest.

When I say this book had me laughing out loud, I am not exaggerating. I loved how as the guests starting filling up the bed and breakfast, Poppy just grew more and more exasperated by the odd characters that kept popping up. And the fact that her supposed tech company that she booked was not what it seemed had me rolling.

Some of the best scenes were the different conversations going on between characters. I loved the love/hate relationship going on between Poppy and the cop Amber. And when it came to Poppy dealing with a testy employee named Joanne, it was more of a hate/hate relationship. But all of the dialogue was so funny and clever.

My only critique is that while it was a very good mystery and very well thought out, there were a lot of characters to keep track of. There were the regular characters, all of the bed and breakfast guests, as well as everyone involved with the ghost tour at the different inns and hotels around Cape May. I had to keep a mental tally of who was who.

But although it could be tricky at time, that’s part of what made the murder interesting to solve.

This was a really fun book to read and now I’m in the mood for some Halloween candy! But I’m very similar to Aunt Ginny in that I can devour a bag of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups within the blink of an eye, so I guess I’ll wait a few months before I stock up on the goodies for trick or treat.

If you’re in the mood for a good Halloween cozy, look no further! I found Mischief Nights are Murder to be a really fun and cozy read.

xo Marian