{"id":26235,"date":"2020-08-28T08:04:15","date_gmt":"2020-08-28T12:04:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/?p=26235"},"modified":"2022-10-11T16:58:58","modified_gmt":"2022-10-11T16:58:58","slug":"review-howloween-murder-by-laurien-berenson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2020\/08\/28\/review-howloween-murder-by-laurien-berenson\/","title":{"rendered":"Review \ud83d\udd0d Howloween Murder by Laurien Berenson"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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As the town of Greenwich, Connecticut, counts down to a spooky celebration on October 31st, a horrifying murder leaves Melanie Travis pawing for clues in a hair-raising game of trick-or-treat . . .<\/strong><\/em><\/span>
\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/span>
With just a few days left before Halloween, everyone at Howard Academy is anticipating the guaranteed sugar high they\u2019ll experience from gorging on Harriet Bloom\u2019s famous marshmallow puffs. The private school\u2019s annual costume party revolves around the headmaster\u2019s assistant and her seemingly supernatural batches of gooey goodies. So, it’s a shock when Harriet\u2019s elderly neighbor is suddenly found dead with the beloved dessert in his hand. In a snap, police start questioning whether Harriet modified her top-secret recipe to include a hefty dose of lethal poison . . .<\/span>
\u00a0<\/span>
Melanie knows her tenured colleague would never intentionally serve cyanide-laced puffs to a defenseless old man. But as explosive neighborhood gossip reveals a potential culprit, it also brings her closer to sealing her own doom. Because on an evening ruled by masked revelers, bizarre getups, and hidden identities, Halloween might just be the perfect opportunity for a cold-hearted killer to get away with murder once again\u2014this time sending a nosy, unsuspecting sleuth to an early grave!<\/span><\/p> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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Release Date:<\/strong> Aug 25, 2020
Series:<\/strong>\u00a0A Melanie Travis Mystery
<\/em>Book:\u00a0<\/strong>26
Publisher:<\/strong> Kensington
Price:<\/strong> $9.99<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

Melanie Travis<\/strong> is having a strange day at work. First she helps a fellow teacher at the Howard Academy in Connecticut see that there really isn\u2019t<\/em> a ghost in the school\u2019s attic. Then she finds herself comforting the usually unflappable school secretary, Harriet Bloom. Harriet is a suspect in her neighbor Ralph\u2019s murder who died after eating poisoned Halloween marshmallow treats that Harriet baked for him. Both Harriet and Howard Academy\u2019s headmaster convince Melanie to investigate to clear Harriet\u2019s name and save the school\u2019s reputation.<\/p>

Howloween Murder <\/strong>is the twenty-sixth book in this dog-centered series. This installment would definitely stand alone for new readers wanting to give the series a try. Most of the books in the series take place at least partially at a dog show. There are no dog shows in this book, but there are some touching scenes with one of Melanie\u2019s poodles, Faith, and a shy student of Melanie\u2019s.outspoken Aunt Peg has limited involvement in this book and is on her best behavior when she is. There are a few scenes with Melanie at home, but not as many as usual.<\/p>

Although facts about poodles are worked into the story, the focus of the book is the investigation into the murder of Ralph Penders. Melanie does a great job uncovering details that the police department can\u2019t. I wasn\u2019t surprised when it was revealed who was behind Ralph\u2019s death since I had figured it out before Melanie. However, I like both the human and the canine characters in this series, so I enjoyed the book. The school\u2019s big Halloween party is fun and will get you in the mood for Fall. There is even a recipe for the infamous chocolate marshmallow treats at the end of the book. Although this isn\u2019t the best in the series, returning fans will enjoy the story. The book is also a good introduction to the series for new readers, especially dog lovers, who will want to go back and read prior books in this well-written series.<\/p>

~ Christine<\/em><\/p> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Amazon<\/a><\/span>\u00a0|\u00a0iBooks<\/span><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0B&N<\/span><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Kobo<\/span><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Google Play<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \t <\/div>\n\t \n\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As the town of Greenwich, Connecticut, counts down to a spooky celebration on October 31st, a horrifying murder leaves Melanie Travis pawing for clues in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26236,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[89,110,48],"tags":[152,223,367,404,405],"class_list":["post-26235","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-christine","category-kensington-publishing-companies","category-reviews","tag-4-stars","tag-cozy-mystery","tag-mystery","tag-recommend","tag-recommended-reads"],"yoast_head":"\nReview \ud83d\udd0d Howloween Murder by Laurien Berenson - Smitten by Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2020\/08\/28\/review-howloween-murder-by-laurien-berenson\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Review \ud83d\udd0d Howloween Murder by Laurien Berenson - 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The private school\u2019s annual costume party revolves around the headmaster\u2019s assistant and her seemingly supernatural batches of gooey goodies. So, it's a shock when Harriet\u2019s elderly neighbor is suddenly found dead with the beloved dessert in his hand. In a snap, police start questioning whether Harriet modified her top-secret recipe to include a hefty dose of lethal poison . . .<br \/>\u00a0<br \/>Melanie knows her tenured colleague would never intentionally serve cyanide-laced puffs to a defenseless old man. But as explosive neighborhood gossip reveals a potential culprit, it also brings her closer to sealing her own doom. Because on an evening ruled by masked revelers, bizarre getups, and hidden identities, Halloween might just be the perfect opportunity for a cold-hearted killer to get away with murder once again\u2014this time sending a nosy, unsuspecting sleuth to an early grave!<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/smitten-recommends-banner-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"296\" height=\"72\" \/><\/p><hr \/><p><strong>Release Date:<\/strong> Aug 25, 2020<br \/><strong>Series:<\/strong>\u00a0<em>A Melanie Travis Mystery<br \/><\/em><strong>Book:\u00a0<\/strong>26<br \/><strong>Publisher:<\/strong> Kensington<br \/><strong>Price:<\/strong> $9.99<\/p><hr \/><p>\u00a0<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Melanie Travis<\/strong> is having a strange day at work. First she helps a fellow teacher at the Howard Academy in Connecticut see that there really <em>isn\u2019t<\/em> a ghost in the school\u2019s attic. Then she finds herself comforting the usually unflappable school secretary, Harriet Bloom. Harriet is a suspect in her neighbor Ralph\u2019s murder who died after eating poisoned Halloween marshmallow treats that Harriet baked for him. Both Harriet and Howard Academy\u2019s headmaster convince Melanie to investigate to clear Harriet\u2019s name and save the school\u2019s reputation.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Howloween Murder <\/strong>is the twenty-sixth book in this dog-centered series. This installment would definitely stand alone for new readers wanting to give the series a try. Most of the books in the series take place at least partially at a dog show. There are no dog shows in this book, but there are some touching scenes with one of Melanie\u2019s poodles, Faith, and a shy student of Melanie\u2019s.outspoken Aunt Peg has limited involvement in this book and is on her best behavior when she is. There are a few scenes with Melanie at home, but not as many as usual.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Although facts about poodles are worked into the story, the focus of the book is the investigation into the murder of Ralph Penders. Melanie does a great job uncovering details that the police department can\u2019t. I wasn\u2019t surprised when it was revealed who was behind Ralph\u2019s death since I had figured it out before Melanie. However, I like both the human and the canine characters in this series, so I enjoyed the book. The school\u2019s big Halloween party is fun and will get you in the mood for Fall. There is even a recipe for the infamous chocolate marshmallow treats at the end of the book. Although this isn\u2019t the best in the series, returning fans will enjoy the story. The book is also a good introduction to the series for new readers, especially dog lovers, who will want to go back and read prior books in this well-written series.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><em>~ Christine<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/2YJMhm7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Amazon<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/books.apple.com\/us\/book\/howloween-murder\/id1512240588?mt=11&app=itunes&at=11l88k\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">iBooks<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/w\/howloween-murder-laurien-berenson\/1135276556?ean=9781496730596\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">B&N<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kobo.com\/us\/en\/ebook\/howloween-murder\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kobo<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/books\/details\/Laurien_Berenson_Howloween_Murder?id=kyTFDwAAQBAJ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Google Play<\/a><\/strong><\/p>","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26235","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26235"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26235\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26235"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26235"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26235"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}