~ BOOK REVIEW TOUR ~ Halloween Is Murder ~ by Carolyn Arnold
Title:
Halloween is Murder
Author: Carolyn
Arnold
Genre: Cozy
Mystery
Hosted by: Lady Amber’s
PR
Blurb:
Beware
of all that goes bump in the
night…
Sean
and Sara McKinley are excited about the haunted house they’ve set up as a
Halloween charity fund-raiser, but things take a ghoulish turn when the
reporter covering their story is found dead. With the media keeping mum about
how she died, Sara’s curiosity is piqued, and she convinces Sean to take on the
investigation through their PI
firm.
But
this case is not without its challenges. The police are actively investigating
it, as well, and it’s not even clear that the woman was murdered. It will take
a little cloak-and-dagger, dress-up, and finesse for the McKinley’s to get to
the bottom of it, but they aren’t the kind to give
up.
As they
troll for leads and work through the skeletons in the reporter’s closet, they
unearth a few suspects, but they’ll need to carve out the whole truth if
they’re going to find her killer. If they do so fast enough, there might even
be time for a little
trick-or-treating.
I really enjoyed this story, and the mystery behind not
only who murdered this reporter (or even IF she was murdered), or who could
have even wanted to. They started out
with absolutely no clues – especially being a PI firm not working with the
police, so they had no evidence to work with either. The building up of the clues to the case, and
what did or didn’t happen was impressive and believable – especially when they occasionally
admitted that they were running on assumptions that they would have to prove
later, rather than stating assumptions as fact, which is usually a big pet
peeve for me when I read mysteries. I
also like that although they didn’t directly work with the police, it wasn’t a
competition – largely because they were former officers themselves. They were open and honest with the police in
everything they did every step of the way, without obstructing the police
investigation – sometimes another pet peeve of mine that didn’t happen.
There were so many different options, and so many
different directions, that I never even had a clue that the answer to “who done
it” was anywhere near what it turned out to be.
It’s not often that I’m kept guessing, and this author did a great job
in doing so.
I would say the only negative for me – which is
definitely a personal preference – is that I didn’t feel much connection to any
of the individual characters. Not even
the main characters. I liked them, but I
didn’t feel like I really knew them, or that I was there with them experiencing
their day-to-day life along with their PI life.
There were small parts that hinted towards things about their lives, but
not enough to feel attached to them or their relationships. This is a short read, so it is possible that
those things were left out to keep it short.
But again, this is more of a personal preference. If you are looking for a straight mystery,
and are in it more for solving a mystery than really knowing the players, you
definitely won’t be disappointed.
Now that I have read one book in one of what appears to
be many series’ written by this author, she definitely has my attention, and I
am very intrigued and interested in reading many more in the future!
CAROLYN
ARNOLD is an international bestselling and award-winning author, as well as a
speaker, teacher, and inspirational mentor. She has four continuing fiction
series—Detective Madison Knight, Brandon Fisher FBI, McKinley Mysteries, and
Matthew Connor Adventures—and has written nearly thirty books. Her genre
diversity offers her readers everything from cozy to hard-boiled mysteries, and
thrillers to action
adventures.
Both
her female detective and FBI profiler series have been praised by those in law
enforcement as being accurate and entertaining, leading her to adopt the trademark:
POLICE PROCEDURALS RESPECTED BY LAW
ENFORCEMENT™.
Carolyn
was born in a small town and enjoys spending time outdoors, but she also loves
the lights of a big city. Grounded by her roots and lifted by her dreams, her
overactive imagination insists that she tell her stories. Her intention is to
touch the hearts of millions with her books, to entertain, inspire, and
empower.
She
currently lives just west of Toronto with her husband and beagle and is a
member of Crime Writers of Canada and Sisters in
Crime.
Author
Links:
Website
- http://carolynarnold.net/
Twitter
- https://twitter.com/Carolyn_Arnold
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/AuthorCarolynArnold
And
don’t forget to sign up for her newsletter for up-to-date information on
release and special offers at http://carolynarnold.net/newsletters.
Buy
Links:
Amazon:
http://amzn.to/2xQh9V1
Amazon
Universal: http://amzn.to/2xQhR4u
Chapter
8
STUCK BETWEEN A GRAVE AND A
TOMBSTONE
SARA’S HEART RATE TICKED UP a
few notches at Marie’s assured conclusion that someone had killed
Chloe. She could feel Sean staring at her, but she refused
to look at him. She knew that his eyes would be telling her not to get attached
to investigating this case. Besides, he had said they could look into Chloe’s
death more, which hadn’t been a commitment, she knew, but she’d taken it as his
word. Even a little investigating was a step in the direction she wanted to go.
And just because she had a gut feeling about Chloe’s death didn’t mean she’d
lost all objectivity.
“Why do you think someone killed
her?” Sara asked.
“It’s just… None of this feels
right.” Marie picked at her purse strap, its fabric frayed and threads poking
out. Probably a nervous habit of
hers.
Sara gave Marie the once-over.
For someone who lived in a nice neighborhood, Marie’s clothing and accessories
didn’t speak of wealth. It also didn’t seem Chloe’s sense of style was a trait
her sister shared.
“And why doesn’t it
feel right?” Sean, a skeptic if ever there was one,
pressed.
Sara looked over at him. It
didn’t seem to matter how long they worked together; he would never fully cave
to the weight she put on intuition.
So much for rubbing off on the
people you spend the most time
with…
“The police talked to me at
length,” Marie said, “but they didn’t ask the types of questions I would have
expected if they were treating it as a
murder.”
“Like what?” Sara
asked.
“I thought they would have asked
who would have had reason to kill her, for one.”
“We spoke with Jackson—” Sean
started.
“Yes, I know,” Marie cut in.
“That’s how I got your
information.”
“Then you know that he was held
for questioning.”
Marie nodded. “I do, but he
didn’t think they grilled him very hard,
either.”
There was only so much law enforcement
could do without cause. Still, they could have held Jackson for longer than the
time it had taken them to question him. By law, they had up to twenty-four
hours to hold him without filing a formal
charge.
“And Chloe’s health was
excellent. We have no history of disease or people just—” Marie averted her
eyes “—dropping dead in our family. Our grandparents lived into their eighties
on both sides. Now, our parents are both dead, but they were in a car
accident.” She added the latter part quickly.
“Do you have any other
siblings?” Sara asked, though she only remembered reading that Chloe had a
sister.
Marie shook her head. “It was
just…” She cupped the sides of her face and pinched her eyes shut. Tears
squeezed out from the corners, falling down her cheeks without apology.
A knot balled in Sara’s chest,
and she took a shallow breath. She was getting too caught up emotionally—again.
And taking on the grief of others wasn’t healthy. At least so far with this
case, she’d managed to stuff the feelings deep down inside. But she’d be lying
if she said she didn’t fear that one day they’d bubble to the surface all at
once.
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