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A Nick Williams Mystery #5
The Perplexed Pumpkin
Friday, October 23, 1953
"Nick! You and Carter have to throw a party for Halloween this year! It's on a Saturday, after all!"
Grudgingly, Nick agrees to be the less-than-amiable host to what turns out to be a bizarre event that will long be remembered by everyone who attends...
When the party is obviously going to be much bigger than Nick & Carter expected, they begin to realize something mysterious is brewing under their very noses. Down in their own basement, as a matter of fact.
A two-timing girlfriend, a locked door, and an unexpected visit from the F.B.I. are just some of the clues that begin to add up to a particularly perplexing Halloween.
So, come on you ghosts and ghouls, witches and warlocks, put on your Halloween best for you have been invited to a memorable evening at 137 Hartford Street in San Francisco on Saturday, October 31, 1953.
Come on in and join the party.
If you dare...
This is a novella of just over 13K words... Boo!
"Nick! You and Carter have to throw a party for Halloween this year! It's on a Saturday, after all!"
Grudgingly, Nick agrees to be the less-than-amiable host to what turns out to be a bizarre event that will long be remembered by everyone who attends...
When the party is obviously going to be much bigger than Nick & Carter expected, they begin to realize something mysterious is brewing under their very noses. Down in their own basement, as a matter of fact.
A two-timing girlfriend, a locked door, and an unexpected visit from the F.B.I. are just some of the clues that begin to add up to a particularly perplexing Halloween.
So, come on you ghosts and ghouls, witches and warlocks, put on your Halloween best for you have been invited to a memorable evening at 137 Hartford Street in San Francisco on Saturday, October 31, 1953.
Come on in and join the party.
If you dare...
This is a novella of just over 13K words... Boo!
80 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 30, 2016
27 people are currently reading
41 people want to read
About the author
Frank W. Butterfield
123 books106 followersFrank W. Butterfield, not an assumed name, loves old movies, wise-cracking smart guys with hearts of gold, and writing for fun.
Although he worships San Francisco, he lives at the beach on another coast.
Born on a windy day in November of 1966, he was elected President of his high school Spanish Club in the spring of 1983.
After moving across these United States like a rapid-fire pinball, he currently makes his home in a hurricane-proof apartment with superior water pressure that was built in 1926.
While he hasn't met any dolphins personally, that invitation is always open.
Although he worships San Francisco, he lives at the beach on another coast.
Born on a windy day in November of 1966, he was elected President of his high school Spanish Club in the spring of 1983.
After moving across these United States like a rapid-fire pinball, he currently makes his home in a hurricane-proof apartment with superior water pressure that was built in 1926.
While he hasn't met any dolphins personally, that invitation is always open.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
October 26, 2021
A delightful novella, part of the Nick Williams Mystery series from author Frank W. Butterfield. Nick shares my distaste for Halloween, but with the help of his hunky ex-fireman husband Carter and their gang of friends and co-workers, manages to uncover not one, but two crimes. I really love this cozy mystery series. Already started book 5.
February 25, 2019
Holiday short. Probably doesn't make a lot of sense outside the context of the series.
Just saying.
Just saying.
October 23, 2017
This short novella was fun to read. It was well written and kept my interest through the entire story. I wish the author had shared all the clues instead of keeping a lot of them secret until the end of the story. It was an interesting story and I would read other stories in this series.
April 11, 2017
This is the 5th book ( actually a novella) in the Nick Williams mysteries. This story is very short and we watch our romantic duo getting ready for Halloween festivities. Nick & William get talk into throwing a Halloween party. We watch the fun begin. Also, Mr Denial ( guess who) is making wedding plans and I doubt Nick & Carter will be invited to this disaster. I won't say more other than it's a good read.
January 1, 2017
The Perplexed Pumpkin was so good, I nearly missed my flight. I was so wrapped up in the story, I never heard them announce the boarding of my plane. Nick and Carter’s world really sucks you in.
For a book this small, there sure is a lot going on—incidences that tweak your emotions left and right, while piquing your curiosity the whole way.
Bravo Mr. Butterfield! Bravo!
For a book this small, there sure is a lot going on—incidences that tweak your emotions left and right, while piquing your curiosity the whole way.
Bravo Mr. Butterfield! Bravo!
December 29, 2016
A Hallowe'en novella from our favorite gay superhero
The Perplexed Pumpkin
By Frank W. Butterfield
Four stars
This novella is set at Hallowe’en in 1953, and continues the developing saga of Nick Williams, the richest gay man in America, and his ex-fireman lover Carter Jones.
But saga isn’t the right word, because these books all feel intimate and neighborly. Despite the troubles that Nick and Carter encounter, Nick is nothing less than a gay superhero, and manages to save the day while making life better for LGBT people – long before initials were ever conceived for the fractured community in which I live.
The crux of this juicy little book is a Hallowe’en part that Nick’s office manager Robert wants to co-host with his new boyfriend, Joe. As the party preparations get increasingly complex, Nick begins to worry.
The great joy of this series is Frank Butterfield’s attention to detail, and his strict adherence to optimism. He captures the language and the style of the 1950s, but he gives Nick the ability to conquer any and all obstacles thrown at him by the homophobic world, from the police to the newspapers. He also gives us a beautiful, loving relationship in Nick and Carter, and sets them as the exemplar for the embattled little community they are building in San Francisco.
The Perplexed Pumpkin
By Frank W. Butterfield
Four stars
This novella is set at Hallowe’en in 1953, and continues the developing saga of Nick Williams, the richest gay man in America, and his ex-fireman lover Carter Jones.
But saga isn’t the right word, because these books all feel intimate and neighborly. Despite the troubles that Nick and Carter encounter, Nick is nothing less than a gay superhero, and manages to save the day while making life better for LGBT people – long before initials were ever conceived for the fractured community in which I live.
The crux of this juicy little book is a Hallowe’en part that Nick’s office manager Robert wants to co-host with his new boyfriend, Joe. As the party preparations get increasingly complex, Nick begins to worry.
The great joy of this series is Frank Butterfield’s attention to detail, and his strict adherence to optimism. He captures the language and the style of the 1950s, but he gives Nick the ability to conquer any and all obstacles thrown at him by the homophobic world, from the police to the newspapers. He also gives us a beautiful, loving relationship in Nick and Carter, and sets them as the exemplar for the embattled little community they are building in San Francisco.
November 11, 2018
I'm glad the author had fun writing this, but it is one of the most pointless things I've read. A huge cast of characters with no qualities, a mystery the leads have no hand in solving, and a plot that makes no kind of sense. You know I'm all about fluffy nonsense reads, but give me some humor or quirky characters or dramatic tension. Something more than rich people with perfect bodies in an imagined 1950s gay Melrose Place with a string of "and then this happened and then this happened the end."
August 10, 2024
In The Perplexed Pumpkin a few months have passed and it's a week until Halloween. Reluctantly, the guys have been talked into having a Halloween party and soon the crew hired to get the house ready, well let's just say there are some odd things about the whole thing.
For some(and I include myself here), Halloween(or October in general) is all about the horror and paranormal but once-in-a-while I like to throw in a good mystery to help honor the holiday. Perplexed is that: a wonderful tale of WTH?😉.
You got the guys being locked out of their own basement, a cheating girlfriend case, and the FBI. What could possibly be wrong with this set of obstacles? Not too mention the emotional and professional fallout from their trip to Georgia in The Laconic Lumberjack still lingers at times. Any one of these factors would throw most people's day out of whack and yet for Nick and Carter? Well it seems to be just another day at the office.
I'm not going to say much more so as not to spoil anything. Just this: Halloween has a history and habit of often bringing macabre mayhem to one's door, the macabre might be in short supply in The Perplexed Pumpkin but there is definitely plenty of mayhem afoot to give the guys yet another interesting holiday and story to relay to the reader.
For some(and I include myself here), Halloween(or October in general) is all about the horror and paranormal but once-in-a-while I like to throw in a good mystery to help honor the holiday. Perplexed is that: a wonderful tale of WTH?😉.
You got the guys being locked out of their own basement, a cheating girlfriend case, and the FBI. What could possibly be wrong with this set of obstacles? Not too mention the emotional and professional fallout from their trip to Georgia in The Laconic Lumberjack still lingers at times. Any one of these factors would throw most people's day out of whack and yet for Nick and Carter? Well it seems to be just another day at the office.
I'm not going to say much more so as not to spoil anything. Just this: Halloween has a history and habit of often bringing macabre mayhem to one's door, the macabre might be in short supply in The Perplexed Pumpkin but there is definitely plenty of mayhem afoot to give the guys yet another interesting holiday and story to relay to the reader.
November 21, 2018
It's almost Halloween and Richard and his new boyfriend Joe are having a party (at Nick and Carter's place) complete with a haunted house. Something is afoot with the party, as well as with Evelyn who lives down the street and is convinced her girlfriend is cheating. This is the shortest book so far in the series (about 80 pages) and the mystery is a bit abbreviated and introduced very late in the novella. While I enjoyed the little community of characters Nick and Carter has accumulated, this story wasn't one of my favorites in the series. But Book #6 looks interesting .....
July 14, 2019
Laugh out loud
This a short quick read that had me laughing out loud a few times. With a house decorated perfectly creepy that includes a pumpkin with a perplexed look, lol, plus all the right food, come on deviled eggs on Halloween is perfect, what can go wrong besides everything?! Well, one thing that can’t go wrong is Nick and Carter.
This a short quick read that had me laughing out loud a few times. With a house decorated perfectly creepy that includes a pumpkin with a perplexed look, lol, plus all the right food, come on deviled eggs on Halloween is perfect, what can go wrong besides everything?! Well, one thing that can’t go wrong is Nick and Carter.
March 6, 2018
I'm a big Butterfield fan but this was slight. The 'mystery' wasn't very interesting and not much else happens. Probably essential if you're in the swing of the series, but it's been a while since I read #4 and I couldn't remember who all these people were.
October 22, 2017
My first Butterfield novel and I loved it.
August 17, 2018
Cute Halloween short. Love this series.
September 4, 2018
Good, but very short and somewhat confusing plot line (at least to me).
January 30, 2019
A short (novella?) that is a bit of a change of pace after the two return from Georgia. It's Hallowe'en and...
Rather fun.
Rather fun.
February 12, 2017
Too short, but again, a delightful continuation of this series.
August 28, 2017
This was a shortie, more of a .5
Not my fav.
I think a new character was introduced, I think.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews