Beardsville (a small town in Vermont, New England) is known to be somewhat crazy every year around Halloween. The story starts off at a restaurant (Sandy's Place) when someone finds a knife with a message written in blood pinned to the wall which says "You all will pay". Some people think it's a prank. Lauren Kent is not so sure. Lauren is the town's only building contractor and is currently working on Beardsville's Haunted House. She's a single mom with a thirteen-year-old son named Jason. The newcomer in town, handsome Sam Burdett (a true crime reporter) is also concerned. He is currently living at the old Addison Place, which some townspeople believe to be haunted. Sam asks Lauren if she could help him fix up the old house and Lauren agrees. As time goes by more pranks are happening all over town, some of which are becoming more and more dangerous. Is it just some kids having fun or something more sinister at work in this small town?

I really enjoyed this book. I found Lauren's work on the Haunted House interesting and the Beardsville Halloween festivities, parades, etc., a lot of fun. Sam was a nice hero. I liked how he got on well with Lauren's son, Jason. I liked the small town setting with its interesting characters/suspects. The book wasn't very spooky, more of a mystery.

This was a good book to read around Halloween. ( )