Halloween Cupcake Murder

by Carlene O'Connor, Liz Ireland, Carol J. Perry

Overview

From Galway, Ireland to Salem, Massachusetts, all the way up to the North Pole, a trio of Halloween mysteries from USA Today bestselling author Carlene O’Connor, Liz Ireland, and Carol J. Perry prove that the spookiest season knows no international borders–and neither do cupcakes!

HALLOWEEN CUPCAKE MURDER by CARLENE O'CONNOR
With Galway’s Halloween Mystery Tour only a few days away, Tara Meehan is scouring the town’s curiosity shops for spooky decorations to draw tourists into her architectural salvage store. But when a stranger appears in her shop bearing a cryptic cupcake and an ominous message, Tara suddenly finds herself tangled in a mystery with ancient Gaelic roots, but very modern—and very deadly—consequences . . .

MRS. CLAUS AND THE CANDY CORN CAPER by LIZ IRELAND
Christmastown is pulling out all the stops for their Halloween celebration, planning a huge carnival with rides, games, and a candy corn-themed bake-off! But the sweet theme stokes the bitterest of rivalries amongst the elves, until tragedy strikes at Santaland’s newest bakery. The only clue is a cupcake, leaving Mrs. Claus to sort through tricks and treats as she races to unmask a Halloween fiend . . .

A TRIPLE LAYER HALLOWEEN MURDER by CAROL J. PERRY
Every October, Salem plunges into a month-long celebration of Halloween and WICH-TV’s Lee Barrett can’t wait to cover the festivities. But rumors swirl after a wealthy bakery owner goes missing—and his beloved cat, Cupcake, is found—under mysterious circumstances. Now, amid Salem’s wicked revelry, Lee must conjure clues to reveal the missing millionaire . . . or the truth about his disappearance . . .

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781496740267
Publisher:	Kensington
Publication date:	08/22/2023
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	225,668
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 8.40(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Carlene O’Connor is the USA Today bestselling author of the acclaimed Irish Village Mysteries, the County Kerry Novels, and the Home to Ireland Mysteries. Born into a long line of Irish storytellers, her great-grandmother emigrated from Ireland filled with tales in 1897 and the stories have been flowing ever since. Of all the places she’s wandered across the pond, she fell most in love with a walled town in County Limerick and was inspired to create the town of Kilbane, County Cork, the setting of her Irish Village Mystery series. She is a member of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime, and currently divides her time between New Mexico and the Emerald Isle. Please visit her online at CarleneOConnor.net.

Liz Ireland is the author of many works of women's fiction, romance, and mystery. She also writes under the names Elizabeth Bass and Liz Freeland. Like her character April Claus, Liz spends too much time in concert bands. Originally from the United States, she now lives on Vancouver Island in British Columbia. She’s currently working on the next Mrs. Claus mystery. Visit her at LizIreland.Wordpress.com.

Carol J. Perry was born in Salem on Halloween Eve. She is the bestselling author of the Witch City Mysteries and the Haunted Haven Mystery series as well as a number of young adult novels. She and her husband Dan live in the Tampa Bay area of Florida with a black Lab. Visit her at CarolJPerry.com.

Editorial Reviews

08/11/2023

Don't touch that cupcake—at least, not until Halloween. Amateur sleuths investigate when cupcakes become the weapon of choice in this collection of cozy novellas. In Carlene O'Connor's "Halloween Cupcake Murder," Tara's first Halloween in Galway, Ireland, involves a dead shop owner whose face is smeared with a cupcake and a group calling themselves the Samhain Six, who ask her to join them. April Claus brings a new holiday and trouble to Santaland in Liz Ireland's "Mrs. Claus and the Candy Corn Caper," set during a candy corn—themed Halloween bake-off. A stolen shipment of the candy and the murder of a baker elf keep Mrs. Claus busy. In "A Triple Layer Halloween Murder" by Carol J. Perry, Lee Barrett, program director for WICH-TV in Salem, MA, rescues a cat up a tree but has no idea that the cat, Cupcake, belongs to a rich bakery owner who has disappeared. Lee uses her new skills in scrying to investigate the case. VERDICT The three cozy writers successfully exploit the deadly-cupcake theme in entertaining mysteries that will appeal to readers looking for a holiday treat.—Lesa Holstine

Library Journal

2023-07-13
A trio of Halloween-themed stories all featuring deadly cupcakes.

O’Connor’s American heroine Tara Meehan’s search for Halloween decorations for her architectural salvage shop in Galway leads her to a curiosity shop, where she buys a painting that might provide a motive for murder. When Tara finds the shop owner dead, possibly poisoned by a Halloween cupcake, she’s both witness and suspect and must turn sleuth to extricate herself from a dangerous situation before she can enjoy an Irish Halloween. Ireland spins a Halloween fantasy set in Santaland, with Mrs. Claus herself as the sleuth who uncovers a murderous plot. A baking contest featuring candy corn causes a run on the product as bakers practice for a chance to win. When star baker Chestnut leaves the Silver Bell Bakery to open his own shop, taking Wink Jollyflake with him, the owner of Silver Bell is furious. After Jollyflake is found dead with a half-eaten candy corn cupcake by his side, rumors run wild, and Mrs. Claus decides that investigating herself is the only way to find the killer and keep Santaland’s Halloween festival on track. In Perry’s tale, TV station program director and part-time reporter Lee Barrett and her policeman boyfriend live in witchy Salem, Massachusetts, where the owner of the Pretty Party Bakery has gone missing, and his cat, Cupcake, has to be rescued from a tree in front of the house Lee shares with her aunt. Lee’s human interest story about the cat plunges her into an investigation of the missing man, who has plenty of enemies despite his famously yummy triple-layer cupcakes.

Three different takes on Halloween and cupcakes that range from the historical to the fanciful.

Kirkus Reviews