When the scarecrow seems suspicious, the neighbors look downright vampiric, and guests begin to disappear into the fog, Finn Dockrey finds Halloween in Pelican Shores includes anything but a treat-free evening!
Pelican Shores becomes a chilling backdrop under the Halloween moon, as the townspeople prepare for the neighborhood Haunted Crawl and Progressive Dinner. With spooky decorations, themed dinner stops, costumes, and eccentric neighbors, Pelican Shores is ready for a frightfully entertaining evening. But what begins as a festive evening takes a dark turn at the very first stop when a scarecrow is revealed to be a corpse! Because there isn’t much to go on, the Crawl is allowed to continue. However, guests start to vanish mid-course as thick fog rolls in and the night spins into a tale of suspense, vampire rumors, ghostly sightings, and plenty of suspicious behavior.
What Makes This Installment Worth Stirring into Your Cauldron:
Finn Dockrey’s warmth and intuition, combined with her community trust, make her a detective by nature, and once again she is driven by the need to know the truth. While Finn has always proved to be observant, resourceful, and determined to find logical explanations, her disbelief in this installment is really tested, while everyone around her seems ready to blame the strange happenings on ghosts and other supernatural possibilities. With everything going on, each chapter holds a new layer to the mystery, and Finn still tries to keep a cool head in all the chaos. I love how Bessie Barr structured this mystery around the dinner crawl, shrinking the suspect pool and increasing the tension house by house. The plot unfolded perfectly, with clever red herrings, impossible disappearances, a host of quirky suspects, and zero predictability that made me keep guessing from the first chapter. The pacing is brisk, the tension palpable, and the resolution was satisfying, keeping me engaged and entertained until the very last page. Nothing was what I thought, and I didn't even come close to solving any of the curveballs this author threw. The supporting cast is as fantastic as ever, and the team really steals the show. From Birdie’s free-spirited energy and Beau’s clue-sniffing nose to Queen Bean’s judgmental supervision, there were moments in Bessie Barr’s intriguing writing that glued me to the pages and often made me giggle. Even the relationship with Pace is woven perfectly into the mystery, adding depth without taking away from the mystery. Then there is Dick Campese...Finn mentions that Dick is a lot, and she isn’t kidding. He's an incredibly intense character who makes me roll my eyes in practically every scene. Dick hosting an HOA House of Horrors at his home for the Haunted Crawl? EPIC! It was yet another moment in Bessie Barr's intriguing writing that had me giggling. I love that this installment has plenty of incredible charm and gigglesome moments. But it wasn't just Dick's home that was perfectly transformed. Bessie Barr did a phenomenal job creating each stop along the Haunted Crawl with its own wonderfully moody and atmospheric vibe. The settings capture the essence of Halloween, making every stop feel like part of the festivities while adding another layer of mystery and suspense. The coastal fog, spooky decorations, ghostly rumors, and colorful neighborhood characters make Pelican Shores a delightful place to spend Halloween... even if things get a little deadly! Complete with maps of Pelican Shores and bonus recipes, Death and the Ghost of Pelican Shores is a wonderful small-town escape.