Halloween House Murder

by Chris Colmenero

Halloween House Murder
A Thriller Novella
When Betty discovers a man organizing dog fights, she takes matters into her own hands and gets sweet revenge. And while life should be simple as she hosts a Halloween charity party at her mansion, everything goes terribly wrong because her mansion is haunted. How could things go right when the mentally unstable are in charge?
Betty the Butcher might be a kind murderer, but she can mutate into your worst nightmare at the drop of a hat.
The reader met Betty the Butcher in the author’s other book, Christmas Market Murder, but Halloween House Murder is a standalone book. Don’t let the charming book cover fool you—this novella is sprinkled with evil that’s unsuitable for children yet filled with fall holiday cheer!
This book does not have detailed descriptions of animal abuse.

Betty the Baker! Betty the Butcher! Betty is back!
This is a standalone book, but the author highly recommends reading Christmas Market Murder first.

Genres: Halloween

236 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 21, 2024

Reviews

[Chris Colmenero · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m reviewing this book because some of my fans have not been able to find this book on Goodreads. I hope this helps 😃

[Hot Mess Book Lover · Rating 2 out of 5]

"... Betty is crazier than a bag of roly-polies on meth."

It is okay at best.The book I read had potential, but there were several factors that affected my overall rating and review. Firstly, the formatting seemed off, with centered text and excessive spacing, as if a High schooler was trying to reach a page count for their essay. The writing itself felt rudimentary, although there was a highlight in a chapter from Rudolph's point of view. However, the constant shift between first and third person narrative was distracting and took away from the story.

While the book can be read as a standalone, it heavily referenced another book, "Christmas Market Murder," to the point of irritation. Additionally, crucial details were withheld due to references to the previous book, which I found to be in poor taste. Furthermore, it took more than halfway through the book to reach anything related to Halloween, which was a significant disappointment given the premise of the story.

Overall, the book was an okay and quick read, but it failed to fully deliver on its potential.

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

Halloween House Murder

This book is adorable. I absolutely love the main character's passion for animals.

Betty the Baker really makes me rethink my love of pies, peanut butter, and apparently face cream.

This is adorably spooky book.
It's got enough of the Halloween horror you're looking for, without any of the awful stuff that you don't want to read.

[Devon Strickler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marvelous

I loved the multiple povs! There were times I snickered only to have my jaw hit the floor. Love this book and Christmas Market Murder. Can't wait for more . Read if you dare

[Megan Leprich · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh boy, where do I even start with this book? This was one of the worst books I've ever read. It read so clunky as it switched back and forth between 1st and 3rd point of view, which I understand the author did to reiterate information but for how short this book was I didn't need things constantly repeated. The amount of times the phrase "as mentioned" was said drove me nuts. Another thing that irritated me was the authors obvious disdain for skinny people. Her characters were described as hefty, fat, big-boned and was basically talking smack on white people, especially if they had money, which her fat main character obviously had plenty of. Also, why this book is titled what it is when the main character is absolutely obsessed with Christmas is beyond me. And all of the twists, big and small, sucked. All in all though the writing is what really made me dislike, this book. I feel like a 2nd grader could have written a better story.
I could continue to rip this book apart but I'll stop and just highly recommend not wasting your time reading this like I did.

[Sarah Corkrean · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to love this book but it was difficult to read. I felt like it was all jumbled up. My favorite part of the book was Rudolphs chapter. Loved the characters but didn't care for all the references to the other book.

[Monica UpstateBookB*tch · Rating 1 out of 5]

The Halloween Murder House was a rollercoaster of a read and not in a good way. The story jumped around so much it was hard to stay engaged. The main character, Betty, flipping between first-person (talking directly to the reader) and third-person narrative felt clunky and pulled me out of the story. That inconsistency was a huge turn-off for me.

The writing itself also felt immature—more juvenile than I expected for a thriller/mystery. While it had some cozy thriller/mystery vibes, it didn’t quite hit the mark there either. And don’t even get me started on the Christmas stuff! I know it’s part of the plot, but it was just too much for a book marketed as a Halloween mystery. That’s more of a personal issue, but it definitely affected my overall experience.

Overall, not a fan of this one.

[CaptnSmack · Rating 2 out of 5]

Listen.. it was a book. It's was a Halloween book.
It just wasn't a good book 😅 (to me)
We followed Betty, a vigilante who targets animal abusers and throws Halloween parties. In my opinion, there was only one good scene in this entire book (it involves peanut butter 😂).
The rest of the book was fluffy, cozy stuff with a talking cat, curse words, and ads for the Phycological Thriller Facebook group. Seriously, that group was mentioned by name like 3 times, including one of their events. It was odd.
For me, the book just didn't hit the mark. Like landed so far away from the mark that it missed Earth entirely.

Many others seem to enjoy it when you look at ratings on GR, so maybe I'm just an odd duck 🤷🏼‍♀️🦆
The one scene I did like boosted my rating a bit. The cover looks cool too-ill give it that.
Overall, it's a naw.

[Crystal · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read halfway through this book and then got to a part so graphically violent, I just couldn’t continue. Definitely not my style of book.

[Mary Cunningham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Betty the Baker, (aka Betty the Butcher) always sells out of her meat pies and special face cream at holiday markets. To get the recipe for these goodies (if you dare), you MUST read this book. This is a fun book with some interesting surprises you will love.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved everything about this book.

The multiple POV were so great. There were actually parts that I was just jaw dropped.
The chapter that Rudolph wrote was so funny, he is my kind of guy. He needs a book of his own.

Betty the butcher was a very likeable killer, she was on point with who needed to be punished.
I’m so hoping for a sequel.

[Crystal garcia Garcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must read

Omg left me speechless. I couldn't put it down and that twist I didn't see it coming. Can't wait for the next book

[Lisa Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book pushed me and pulled me in all different directions. There were parts I really liked -- Betty (obviously), the haunted house party, the ghosts were great, the fall market and Betty's setup and more -- and parts I didn't like -- confusing points of view (figured it out though, then appreciated it), overly descriptive and a couple of other things but I don't want to cause any spoilers.

In the end, it didn't work for me.

[Eva Edge · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Halloween House Murder by Chris Colmenero is absolutely delicious Halloween thriller! It's such a quick read and it was so fun! I laughed out loud nearly in every chapter! A bit of a Dexter vibe just a different direction.
I liked the unusual first and third-person point of view as felt like the author was talking with us in between telling the story! It felt so cute!

I loved the characters and the interaction between them and Rudolpf, oh my, that cat was just perfect and hopefully he will get more than one chapter in the future! Probably he needs his own book?

The main character Betty - you just love her! She has such a big heart and all she wants is "everyone to get what they deserve!"

I loved the reference to the Psychological thriller reader group on FB! The way it was done was so, so good! Looks like I liked everything about this book!

This is a fun Halloween book so if you are looking for a deep psychological/horror thriller, this will not be for you, but if you want a laughing-out-loud quick read to create a spooky atmosphere - just grab the copy! You will love it!

p.s. I choose this book as a part of the Psychological Thrillers group Spooky season reading challenge

[Alix Kampen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Right off the bat this booked seemed very intriging. The authors writing style was so unique how Colmenero wrote pieces as though she were speaking to the reader in person. At first, I found these side note like tidbits very helpful throughout the read and it made me feel as though I was really getting to know the author as a person too. But once the usage of this technique at the beginning of each chapter soon became old, it broke up the story too much. Not to mention the constant referral to the previous book got annoying as well especially since this book is pegged as a standalone. From the writing style down to the bad formatting of the book itself it gave me major juvenile vibes.... dispite its extremely horrific content. I can't really describe in words how the content came across other than the author tried too hard which made it all super unrealistic. It all seemed... forced. Unfortunately this was not a hit for me.

[Candie Holland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book #109
"Halloween Murder House" ~ Chris Colmenero
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Betty is back with a Halloween House Murder 🔪🎃 Join Brtty as she gets revenge on truly bad people and A Halloween party sure to end in Murder. #spookyseasonreads #spookyseason #Halloweenreading #halloween #booktok #booktokfyp #booksontiktok #bookish #booktoker #ilovetoreadbooks #bookrecommendations #booksworthreading #halloweenreads #pageturner #thriller #booklover #chriscolmenero #halloweenhousemurder #bettythebutcher #bettythebaker #bookstagram #booksbooksbooks #bookreviewersofinstagram #bookblogger #thrillerbooks #bookstagrammers #bookreview #bookreviewer

[Rose Wood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though this is a stand-alone book, I recommend reading Christmas Market Murder first because it is referenced many times, and I think I missed important character development. This is told in multiple pov's. It is also told in first and third person by the main character. This was very distracting for me, and I felt it took away from the story. Once I read the two huge twists, I understood more, but it was later in the book. I enjoyed the Halloween vibes and all the pet names. Even though the main character was unreliable character I liked her the most. It was a cute, quick story that was gross at times. I am definitely going to read the Christmas Market Murder.

[Bookdragon_Lady · Rating 3 out of 5]

My rating is actually 3.5⭐️

I wanted to love this as much as all those who already reviewed it. I thought the story was cute, but I felt it was all over the place. I have ADHD and can usually make sense out of most things, but this left me struggling in places. I usually love different PoVs, but I was never sure who was talking during any particular chapter. At times, it seemed the author herself was interjecting her own story, and it just left me confused. The twist was nice, but the ending felt rushed. In the end, I didn't love it (as I had hoped), but I didn't hate it either.

[Tiffani Scibilia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel like Halloweem House Murder had so much potential, but unfortunately the ball was dropped.
The concept of this story I absolutely adore, but feel like she was given a page limit and just randomly stopped and left out details. I also am not a fan of how many times Christmas Market Murder was mentioned, HHM was told to be a standalone but at the end of the day you are expected to already know details. Idk over all it didn't do it for me, felt rushed and underwhelming due to lack of any true insight into..... well I guess anything.

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved getting to know the main character Betty further. She is quite the interesting character. I recommend reading Christmas Market Murder first as it thoroughly introduces her. This book had a very big twist and I was left with questions. I know there will need to be another book because we cannot be left hanging like this. This is a great Halloween read. I won’t spoil anything, so just give it a go!

[Rachel Browning · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review of Halloween House Murder by Chris Colmenero:
This was such a creepy and suspenseful read with just the right touch of emotion woven in. The atmosphere pulled me in right away, and the story kept me hooked from start to finish—I honestly couldn’t put it down. Chris Colmenero did an amazing job balancing chills with heart, making this a perfect Halloween-season thriller. I absolutely loved it!

[Angela Doman · Rating 5 out of 5]

wow, this book was full of surprises. It’s hard to say much without revealing things but let’s just say there’s a love story, a mystery, and a cat who can write.

I love Betty the Butcher and I enjoy that she loves dogs, Christmas markets, and Halloween. There was a good twist and I think I shed a tear or two.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was good and the ending a surprise - looking for a sequel. Not as good as the other few I have read. A bit disjointed for my taste, but again, a personal preference.
There is so much fodder for continuing books. Easy read and a nice change of pace.

[Yvonne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was not impressed by the writing style or the storyline as I felt, the writing was disorganized and hard to follow. This is my first book by this author so I’m not sure if others are better. Also, I have a serious problem with talking animals in books.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Betty owns a mansion and when she hosts a Halloween charity party, everything goes wrong. Ghosts are running rampant, Betty finds out she has a half-brother, and Betty winds up stabbed with her own knife. A strange story rambles a bit, gross in parts, and uses the "f" word.

[Louise Parker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome read!

I really enjoyed this and I want more! Please let there be another book.
I very much recommend this book.

[Rhonda Ofstad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book!

Quick and easy to read. Took few hours to finish the book. The story was good and kinda fun. Enjoyed the book!

[Angel Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little gorey with a little comedy. Quick and easy read

[Malorie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Super fast read, short in length. Quirky and a little odd but entertaining

[Nicole Keegan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book! Charming and horror? Who Knew!