HAUNTED HOUSE MURDER by Leslie Meier, Lee Hollis, and Barbara Ross is the third anthology book the three talented authors have teamed up for. With three Halloween-themed novellas to provide short, goosebump-worthy reads, each author spins tales based on their much-loved characters from their long-enduring series. As you would expect, each novella has different characters and much different storytelling styles.
Leslie Meier writes a soft mystery intertwining a social issue. I like how she uses the grandson of the protagonist, Lucy Stone to increase the suspense. Lee Hollis takes the reader back in time to when the protagonist, Hayley Powell, has her young children at home. Halloween, especially when kids are involved, tends to not be quite so scary. Still the author manages to insert references to old-school horror movies and characters that had me chuckling. Barbara Ross ramps up the spookiness factor with a ghost tour in which she relates local ghost stories of Busman Harbor. As a longtime fan of the Maine Clambake Mystery series, I appreciated the peek into a different view of the town’s history and setting. I also appreciated her tale adhering to the title of the book by including a murder and not just a mystery. Despite the short novella length, Ms. Ross manages to make the story feel full length with good character development, a crime, great settings and Halloween flavors, and a complete resolution.
There are a few recipes included in HAUNTED HOUSE MURDER. I couldn’t wait to make Livvie’s Pumpkin Bread recipe provided by Barbara Ross. I loved that this is a recipe the author made for her own children throughout their childhood, and for good reason. Tender and moist, this pumpkin bread is full of warm spices that enhance the pumpkin. I appreciate that the recipe uses whole wheat flour and doesn’t use as much vegetable oil as some recipes I’ve tried. I’ll be making this yummy bread again and again for my own granddaughters, especially as autumn and Halloween approaches.
Amazon Synopsis
Tricks and treats keep the Halloween spirit alive in coastal Maine. But this year the haunted house theme is getting carried a little too far . . .
HAUNTED HOUSE MURDER by LESLIE MEIER
Newcomers to Tinker’s Cove, Ty and Heather Moon have moved into a dilapidated house reputed to be a haven for ghosts. Now strange noises and flickering lights erupt from the house at all hours and neighborly relations are on edge. And when a local boy goes missing near the house, it’s up to Lucy Stone to unravel the mystery of the eccentric couple and their increasingly frightful behavior.
DEATH BY HAUNTED HOUSE by LEE HOLLIS
For the past two years, the house next door to Hayley Powell has sat abandoned after the owner died under mysterious circumstances. The Salinger family has recently taken possession of the property, but the realtor behind the deal has vanished—after a very public and angry argument with Damien Salinger. If Bar Harbor’s newest neighbors are murderers, Hayley will haunt them until they confess.
HALLOWED OUT by BARBARA ROSS
With its history of hauntings and ghost sightings, Busman’s Harbor is the perfect setting for Halloween festivities. But when a reenactment of a Prohibition-era gangster’s murder ends with a literal bang and a dead actor from New Jersey, Julia Snowden must identify a killer before she ends up sleeping with the fishes.
A special thanks to Barbara Ross for providing one winner with a hardcover copy of HAUNTED HOUSE MURDER. Contest ends Sunday, September 8, 2019 at 11:59 pm PST and is limited to U.S. residents. Please use the Rafflecopter box located below to enter. The winner will be announced on this page and on Cinnamon & Sugar’s Facebook page, as well as notified by email (so check your spam folder!)
In the story, Julia's sister, Livvie, makes this pumpkin bread for the people on the Halloween Haunted House tour. In reality, it's a recipe I often made in the fall for my children when they were young. Made with canned pumpkin, it is simple and practically foolproof.
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2/3 cup canned pumpkin
- 1/3 cup molasses
- 1 cup whole-wheat flour
- 3/4 cup white flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon cloves
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (F).
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Beat eggs and sugar together.
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Add oil, pumpkin, and molasses. Mix well.
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Add rest of ingredients and mix until well blended.
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Pour into a greased 9x5x3 loaf pan. Bake for 50 minutes.
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Cool in pan for 10 minutes then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
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I was provided an advance copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Does Young Frankenstein count? “Could be worse. Could be raining.”
We just watched The Burb’s the other night. It isn’t really Halloween themed but it would be good to watch around Halloween.
Can’t wait for the opportunity to try Livvie’s Pumpkin Bread. Sounds heavenly!
I’d love the opportunity to read “HAUNTED HO– USE MURDER” by Leslie Meier, Lee Hollis, and Barbara Ross. Know each author so know it has to be fabulous.
You just have to love the Addam Family movies. They bring back great memories of when I was a kid and thinking how neat Thing and Uncle Fester were. 🙂
My favorite holiday themed movies are Hocus Pocus and of course, The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. Thanks for the chance! I love reading all these authors!
My favorite Halloween-themed movie is Hocus Pocus.
My favorite Halloween-themed movie is Hocus Pocus,
I like to watch the movie Halloween. I really enjoy Hocus Pocus.
This recipe sounds amazing and the movie I love to watch is Practical Magic. Thanks for this awesome chance.
The Wizard of Oz is my all time favorite. Though not technically a “halloween” movie. Every year it came on television right around Halloween, and every year I watched it. I collect Wizard of Oz items and last year my husband treated me to a day at the “Land of Oz” on Beech Mountain, here in NC. I wish I had lived in NC as a child when it was up and running as a theme park.
Hocus Pocus is my favorite! No Jason or Michael for me! I would love to read Leslie’s book! Thanks for the chance!
My favorite Halloween theme movie is Hocus Pocus and Its the Great pumpkin Charlie Brown. ?
I don’t watch horror movies, so I don’t have a favorite. I do like the Halloween cartoons that they have. Thanks for the giveaway!
My favorite Halloween themed movie is Hocus Pocus. How could it not be a great move with Bette Miller in it.
Yum sounds good! Love Halloween stories!
No horror movies for me. I do like the Charlie Brown shows. I love a good cozy mystery set at Halloween.
When my children were young I recorded (good old VCR days) a collection of Halloween movies for their entertainment.
Hocus Pocus is my favorite Halloween movie.
I’m not big on scary movies. My favorite movie is Hocus Pocus.
Love pumpkin bread!! I love all things Fall, including food, books and movies! ? Charlie Brown’s The Great Pumpkin and Practical Magic are two favorites for Halloween.
I love pumpkin bread/muffins! I’ll have to see if I can adapt this recipe to gluten free. Thank you.
As for Halloween themed movies, does “Practical Magic” count?
I love pumpkin bread and will be making some, soon. I got a chuckle out of the order of the book titles, with Hallowed Out being last!
Love Hocus Pocus. Its tradition to watch it at least once
My all time favorite is Halloween. I watched a documentary about the making of it and they only had a few trash bags full of leaves and they had to scoop them up and move them from scene to scene. I love it!!
I don’t have a favorite Halloween movie. Thank you for the chance to win a hardcover copy of Haunted House Murder.
My all time favorite Halloween movie is Beetlejuice.
I just love Hocus Pocus.
It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. ?
My favorite Halloween theme movie is Hocus Pocus.
I love Hocus Pocus and Great Pumpkin. I also am an Evil Dead nut.
I love High Spirits with Peter O’Toole and a lot of fun ghosts. Not Halloween themed, but a very haunted castle, whistling whiting, lots of fun and lots of laughs!
Hocus pocus is my favorite and Halloween town thank you for the recipe and the chance to win.
My favorite Halloween type movie is- Room on the Broom, absolutely adorable!!!! . Then, Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas, Hocus Pocus, Psycho, Clue, It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Transylvania 6-5000, Van Helsing, The Addams Family, Corpse Bride, Coraline, The Witches of Eastwick, Scream, Dracula: Dead and Loving It, and then there’s some older movies I like as well!. I love Halloween lol !.. The pumpkin bread looks yummy!
no favorites.
I love Halloween and Friday the 13th movies. Thanks for the chance!
My favorite is the original John Carpenters Halloween.
I enjoy Rocky Horror Picture Show.
My favorite Halloween movie is Practical Magic.
All Hallows Eve. Thanks for the chance.
I watched Snoopy’s Halloween.
Beetlejuice!! The bread looks awesome..
Hocus Pocus is a must to watch at Halloween.
The Shining
It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. The recipe looks delicious. Thank you for this chance!
We like Under Wraps, Hocus Pocus and It`s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. Thx for the chance!!
I forgot about Under Wraps I love that movie!
I have two favorite movies The Village and Nostradamus (1922 version and hard to find). However, I love to just put on the horror channel and watch whatever comes on movies and tv shows
I watch my favorites every year, Hocus Pocus, Earnest Scared Stupid, and Haunted Mansion, even though Haunted Mansion isn’t a Halloween movie, it’s close enough!!
Hocus Pocus – thank you for the opportunity
I do not have a favorite Halloween themed or horror movie. I really do not like horror movies, at least not the newer, more realistic ones. The old ones with Bella Lugosi, Lon Chaney Jr, Vincent Price, Boris Karloff are different and I will watch those. And if the Charlie Brown Movie, It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown, is shown I will watch it.
I love Beetlejuice, great review thank you
Penney
Love the recipe, Thanks
Penney
My favorite Halloween movie is Beetlejuice or any Stephen King Movie. Thanks for the chance.
Tighefan 42atgmaildotcom
I don’t have a favorite, I don’t watch many scary movies.
Hocus pocus is my favorite. I watch it with my kids at least twice a year. Last year we go to see it at our local drive-in.
I love The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. Looking forward to trying Livvie’s Pumpkin Bread and reading this! Thanks for the chance to win.
My daughter and I always loved to watch Beetlejuice! It was just a crazy movie that made us laugh!