**I was given a copy of this upcoming book from Kensington Press via NetGalley in exchange for a fair, honest review**

Food and cocktails columnist, Hayley Powell is gearing up for Halloween (and Pumpkin Spice season!!!) in Bar Harbor, Maine when she discovers her wayward ex-husband, Danny, is back in town. While the treat is her kids getting to spend time with their dad, she wonders what tricks are behind his sudden visit. When Danny's moonshine brewing Uncle Otis is discovered dead in the local cemetery and shady mobsters appear in town, Hayley finds herself once again trailing after a killer.

Death of a Pumpkin Carver is the 8th book in the Hayley Powell Food and Cocktails series. It is not necessary to read this series in order, but it might be advisable in order to be familiar with all of the characters and situations. I haven't read any of the other books in this series yet, and I was able to follow the plot just fine. But, now I want to read the rest of this series so I know what led up to some of the situations between characters in this book! I've already ordered book 1! :)


This book was a delightful mix of humor, Halloween fun, and murder mystery. I liked how Hollis included columns written by the main character telling anecdotes and stories from Hayley's life, followed by fall theme recipes for all sorts of different foods and cocktails. I'm definitely going to try the pumpkin soup recipe!

The mystery and several sub-plots are well written and interesting. The story kept my attention throughout. Fall is my favorite season, and I am a sucker for all things pumpkin, so I loved the recipes included in this book! This is the first cozy I've read that included cocktail recipes! I love it when culinary cozies include recipes for more than just desserts. Death Among the Doilies includes recipes for main courses, desserts and cocktails. All pumpkin/fall themed recipes! Love it!

The cover art for this book is delightful! :)

All in all, a fun read! It made me really look forward to fall (pumpkin spice!!!!!)

Lee Hollis is the pen name for writing duo, Rick Copp and his sister Holly Simason. Find out more about their books at http://www.leehollismysteries.com/ Death of a Pumpkin Carver has a release date of August 30th, 2016. ( )

Hayley Powell is the office manager and a columnist at a newspaper in Bar Harbor, Maine. She's created a decent life for herself and her two kids, Gemma and Dustin, after her divorce from her husband, Danny. But when she shows up home one night, she sees two carved pumpkins on her doorstep and knows that they couldn't have been done by anyone else except Danny. Knowing he must be with his drunkard of an uncle, Otis, she heads out to the cabin in the woods and finds them both.

Danny insists he's changed and is just there for a visit, and wants to spend time with them. Knowing her ex, she's naturally suspicious and doesn't believe a word of it, but she allows Danny to temporarily disrupt her life anyway -- while waiting for the ball to drop. When Otis is found dead in a graveyard, it's soon apparent he's been murdered. It's also apparent that Danny's the main suspect when Otis's money is found missing, and even though she doesn't believe he's guilty, she needs to figure out who is before he winds up in prison.

But more things are going on behind the scene: Hayley and her co-worker Bruce Linney have gone to see a reclusive horror author, but are told by his assistant Shane that he's ill and can't see anyone. Disappointed, they tell him they'll try again but Hayley becomes suspicious (again) when he puts them off. Then she finds out that Dustin's friend has written a horror novel and submitted it to the reclusive Norman Cross; her ex-boyfriend and Gemma's employer, veterinarian Aaron, has a new girlfriend who's an attorney named Crystal who also apparently hates Hayley on sight and Gemma's having problems at work with her co-worker; and to top things off, Danny's crazy ex-girlfriend Becky shows up in Bar Harbor insisting she wants him back. Couple that with two shady men following her and Danny around town, and you have what is a very interesting Halloween...if Hayley can live to see it...

This is the eighth book in the series, and while I wasn't enamored of the previous ones, I have to say that I really enjoyed this book. There's plenty of action that didn't take place with Hayley and her friends sitting around getting plastered (which was my main problem, since all they did was drink).

This time out we have a real mystery to dig through, with plenty of threads that are twisted throughout, and watching them come together is quite intriguing. We also have a bit of a teaser here that gives us an indication of what will happen in future books, but I'm not going to give it away.

Danny is indeed a charmer, captivating all that he comes in contact with, men and women alike (aside from Mona), and watching Hayley try to figure out why he's really there is worth the read, because with Danny comes most of the rest of the problems they endure -- including a crazy ex-girlfriend and what she does makes me glad I don't know anyone like her.

But when we come to the ending it was quite a surprise, and putting the pieces together wasn't easy (although I did have part of it early on, I had to wait to see where the rest of it was going). The climax was decent, and the ending was quite satisfactory. Recommended. ( )

I have only read a couple of books in this series, but had no trouble following the story. The "Hayley Powell Food and Cocktails Mystery" series is made up of shorter mysteries that have a lot of character development and details from the lives of the townspeople as well as a mystery. In this story, Hayley can’t imagine a worse trick than her ex-husband Danny returning to Bar Harbor just before Hallowe'en. Her kids may think it is a treat, seeing their dad, but Hayley’s determined not to be taken in by his charms, and she is always wary of his ulterior motives (usually financial troubles). When Danny's favorite uncle, Otis, a moonshiner who often samples his own goods, turns up dead in the cemetery, Hayley tries to find the killer. She is worried that Danny's proximity to their children might put them in danger.

Death of a Pumpkin Carver is fun, lighthearted, with a few serious moments but its a change from the books I've been reading lately. I wanted a cozy read and this book fits the bill nicely. This book was a delightful mix of humor, Halloween fun, family life and murder mystery. I liked the columns written by the main character telling anecdotes and stories from Hayley's life, followed by fall theme recipes for all sorts of different foods and cocktails. I am a huge pumpkin fan, (I even grow my own pumpkins to cook and puree) so I am going to try several of the recipes. If you like seasonal cocktails, there are a few in this book.

While Haley and the other characters were a lot of fun and there were a lot of humorous situations, the mystery seemed to be a minor plot in the story. It took a third of the book before the crime took place, and afterwards there wasn't much in the way of finding clues and figuring things out. The last part of the book was a lot quicker tying together all the storylines and unveiling the murderer. In the end, I was surprised at who the murderer was as well as the reason behind it. I enjoyed the humor at the end, Danny is really not very bright. I did not enjoy this one as well as some other cozies, but I will read another in the series to see how it goes.


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I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book or my review itself.

Hayley's ex-husband is back in town-and the prime suspect in a murder. Now, during the Halloween season, she must juggle writing her column and raising her children with clearing the former love of her life's name.

This is a quick read, a fun cozy mystery that hits so many of the classic cozy mystery high points-including a strong female protagonist, romantic developments, and a small town setting. Hayley is a lot of fun to take a book journey with, and I love how well she knows herself.

The mystery was a fun one, and setting it around Halloween made it even more fun. There's all the trappings that come with Halloween, including a haunted house, a horror writer, and the pumpkin carver of the title.

I was able to call most of the twists in the mystery, including some of the biggest ones.

I enjoy this series, it's a lot of fun, and Hayley is a great protagonist. I definitely could read the rest of this series at some point. ( )

This was a light, fun, and kinda silly Halloween-themed cozy mystery, the 8th book in the Haley Powell series. The author did a great job making this book feel stand-alone. I'm new to this series and felt like Haley was an old friend right away. She's very funny and likable.

Haley writes a food column for the local newspaper, and she's a divorced mom of two teenagers. When her deadbeat ex-husband Danny comes back to town, he brings trouble with him. His very odd uncle is found murdered in the cemetery, and Danny is the prime suspect.

While Haley and the other characters were a delight getting to know, the mystery itself was just okay. It took a third of the book before the crime took place, and afterwards there wasn't much in the way of finding clues and figuring things out. In the end, I was surprised at who the murderer was though.

I enjoyed the Halloween fun going on throughout the book. Haley shares lots of pumpkin-based recipes in her newspaper column too. {Borrowed from the library.} ( )