All Hallows' Evil

Susan Henshaw #4

by Valerie Wolzien

Get in the Halloween spirit with a scintillating surburban mystery starring housewife Susan Henshaw--from the author of We Wish You A Merry Murder. For Susan Henshaw, the trick is that somebody murdered talk show host Jason Armstrong. The treat would be finding out who. And all the clues point to his "grieving" widow.

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Halloween, Cozy, Holiday

256 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published August 23, 1992

About the author

Valerie Wolzien is the author of the Susan Henshaw suburban mysteries and the Josie Pigeon seashore mysteries. Ms. Wolzien lives in an old house overlooking the Hudson River. She loves to hear from readers and can be reached online at valerie@wolzien.com.

Reviews

[Bev · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's Halloween and the ghosts & goblins are out and about. And so are the monsters and....murderers. While a children's Halloween party is going on in the children's section, an unknown man is stabbed to death at the back of the nonfiction area. Susan Henshaw is looking at the cookbooks when she notices the body slumped against the wall. At first she thinks he's just a Halloween prop, but then he lets out a groan, looks at her briefly, and she realizes she's watching a man die. A second body, also stabbed, is found on his front porch--but this man isn't unknown. He is Jason Armstrong, the celebrity host of a popular morning talk show. Jason's wife, Rachel, is so upset and doesn't want to be home alone, so Susan and her husband invite her to stay at their house, little realizing the media circus they're about to become the center ring for...

When a homeless man confesses to the murders, Susan doesn't believe he's guilty and can't believe her old friend Police Chief Brett Fortesque is taking the confession seriously. She's quite sure that something fishy is going on at the library and that it's nothing to do with the homeless. She just doesn't realize how many dirty little secrets are hidden among Hancock's quiet citizens. But which secret drove a killer to stab these particular men?

So...this wasn't terribly good. The amateur detective solves this by pure inspiration, apparently. Stopping in the middle of thinking about where the first body lay and just shouting, "Brett! I know." Boom. Haven't really gathered any clues. Haven't really gotten anybody to talk about the mystery at all. But, hey, we know who did it. Oh, and the whole bit about having Rachel stay at Susan's house and the television folks creating havoc? I'm thinking that was supposed to comic relief or something. If so--it wasn't. It was just plain annoying. As was the nosy neighbor, Amy Ellsworth. And, for the record, the motive is bizarre and makes zero sense--even when s/he explains their reasoning (if you can call it an explanation) I know the killer winds up being a tad on the paranoid side, but even paranoidal killers have a certain logic. The logic may make sense only to them, but there is usually a credible logic once you look at things from their point of view. Here, the killer says they had to kill the first man because "he knew too much." There is no evidence whatsoever that the victim knew anything at all about the secrets our killer is hiding or that the killer found them anywhere that might lead them to believe the man had discovered anything. The man had been in the library exactly one time and that was the morning he got killed. When exactly was he supposed to have found out what he "knew"?? The second murder makes even less sense. You kill somebody that knew who this unnamed person was so that someone else will be blamed for both deaths??? And the person you have all lined up for the frame-up has zero reason to kill either of them and especially not the second one. I'm sorry, but I'm just not buying what you're selling. I actually do like the lead character but I wish she worked a little more logically. If I hadn't needed this book for challenges, I don't think I would have finished it and I most likely won't pick up another in the series. ★ and 1/2. (rounded up here)

First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting portions of review.

[Cozybooklady · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of my favorites in the series.

[Gale Penton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am loving this his series. Great characters and mystery

[Amy Webster · Rating 4 out of 5]

A refreshing foray into cozy mysteries. Although the hero does accidentally discover the body, she doesn't do anything stupid or that she was told not to do. She has a family and relatively normal reactions to her friends and neighbors, but she doesn't toss them out on their heads or spend pages second guessing her life choices.

Now, the story wasn't the most complex and the reveal of the killer really wasn't that surprising, but given the characters it was well written and a fun read.

[Wendalynn Donnan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am reading the series to help me wind down after tough days at work. I am struck by the closeness and okey-dokeiness of having a lot of money and casually driving a Maserati. I will continue to read the rest of the books, but I will use them as a reminder that anyone can solve crimes and have awkward moments, and they do not have to be an OAP.

[chrisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a quick and enjoyable read. I am looking forward to reading more in this series.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

90's nostalgia mystery on Halloween. It took a while to get used to, the "voice" was a little out of date. Still good, if you're looking for nostalgia vibes.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Susan Henshaw, housewife turned informal neighborhood PI, must track down who killed a local newsanchor.

As always, cute story, with a decent murder mystery. Very much enjoy this series!

[Sandra L. Place · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVED this collection! Lovely Victorian feel, great, great, great writing!!!!!

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great mystery. I enjoy Susan Henshaw, her family and friends. This had some good twists.

[Robert Beveridge · Rating 3 out of 5]

Valerie Wolzien, All Hallows' Evil (Fawcett, 1992)

All Hallows' Evil was my first, and very likely last, foray into the world of Valerie Wolzien's bedroom community of Hancock, Connecticut. Not necessarily because the book was bad, or the mystery wasn't workable. It's the little niggling details that really dropped the ball here.

Amateur sleuth Susan Henshaw is at the library one Halloween day when she stumbles upon a body in the stacks. It looks like a prop, but turns out not to be. Later on, the town's newest celeb, morning talk show host Jason Armstrong, turns up dead on his own front porch. Obviously, something is not right in the town of Hancock. Susan and her sidekick Kathleeen, with a little help from the town's new sheriff, get to work trying to figure out whodunit.

All well and good, to be sure. Nothing we haven't seen and enjoyed in a passel of other mystery novels. What sets this one apart is some painful sentence construction, grammatical errors that are too consistent to be editors' mistakes, and some continuity errors that are almost painful to behold (my favorite: about two-thirds of the way through the novel, Susan gets home late. Her husband immediately jumps up and says, "Where have you been? I was worried about you?" They barely have time to get another two sentences in the conversation before Susan asks him why he wasn't worried, and he not only admits to it, but then goes on to offer up a valuable clue. Oops.)

You may be better off sticking with that passel of other mystery novels. Stylewise, the first name that came to mind when I tried to think of a comparison was Marcia Muller; if you enjoy Wolzien's work but have been bothered by the niggles above, you might want to give Muller a try. ** ½

[Drebbles · Rating 2 out of 5]

Since there was a Halloween Party going on at the library, when Susan Henshaw stumbled across a man with a knife sticking out of his chest, she thought it was a Halloween prop. But the man was murdered, and he's not the only victim, talk show host Jason Armstrong is also murdered. Jason's wife doesn't want to stay in the house where her husband was murdered, so Susan invites her to stay at the Henshaw house. Rebecca accepts and soon Susan's house is full of houseguests. Susan grows tired of her trying company and since she considers herself to be an amateur detective, she decides to investigate the case herself.

I've recently discovered Valerie Wolzein's books and enjoy her Josie Pigeon series, but I found "All Hallow's Evil" to be a bit of a disappointment. One of Wolzein's strengths is her character development and while Susan is well written, as are some of the minor characters such as librarian Marion Marshall and next door neighbor Amy Ellsworth, other characters such as Susan's husband, Jed, and Rebecca Armstrong are bland and boring. What really ruins this book, however, is the editing. At one point, Susan makes a lunch date for 12:30, tells her husband, shows up for lunch and is upset that she has to wait until 12:30, and later her husband says he didn't know she had a lunch date. At another point, she drives Rebecca to the police station, then asks for a ride home, presumably leaving her car at the police station, yet her car is in the driveway the next day!

Although there were many things I didn't like about this book, I have enjoyed the Josie Pigeon series and am willing to give the Susan Henshaw series another chance. Hopefully the other books have better editing.

[Vicki Gooding · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun book trying to decide if two separate crimes are committed by the same person, or just look the same, and how are they connected? How does any of it tie to the library? Easy and entertaining with a lot of guess work.

[jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Susan Henshaw is the local amateur sleuth of the small town of Hancock. While visiting the library on Halloween morning she literally stumbles across a dying man, which brings to her notice that the new police chief is an old friend who is happy to have Susan along for the investigation. A second murder the same day fills Susan's house with strangers and gives her more suspects to check out.

This is a easy, fluff read, something I would categorize along with all the culinary mysteries that have flooded the market, with one big difference: I liked this one. It has it's flaws. The main character is often a doormat and the phrase "I don't understand" is used too much. Many points of the story turn on the fact that nobody knocks on a door before entering. Yet I liked the characters and I liked that a married mother of teenagers, Susan, has a wandering eye when it comes to the police chief. 3.5 stars

[Jo Anne · Rating 1 out of 5]

It surprised me to learn that Valerie Wolzien has published several books, because if all her books are as poorly written as All Hallow's Evil, then she must own the company. The plot was weak; the events taking place in the book would in no way work in the real world and the ending was just lazy writing.

Two men are murdered on Halloween, one in the local library. A homeless man confesses. We never find out why he confesses. Maybe for free room and board? The reason for the two murders are weak at best.

I've never believed in stories that have the main character suddenly get hit with insight and say, "I know who did it!" This is lazy writing, as mentioned before.

The main character then gathers all the suspects, her cop buddy and some friends and they all head over to the accused's home. When the killer is informed that the jig is up, better confess, the truth comes pouring out.

If you love well-written, intelligently crafted mysteries, skip this one.

[Dharia Scarab · Rating 2 out of 5]

Since I don't normally write reviews unless I have something specific to say, here's the break down of how I rate my books...

1 star... This book was bad, so bad I may have given up and skipped to the end. I will avoid this author like the plague in the future.

2 stars... This book was not very good, and I won't be reading any more from the author.

3 stars... This book was ok, but I won't go out of my way to read more, But if I find another book by the author for under a dollar I'd pick it up.

4 stars... I really enjoyed this book and will definitely be on the look out to pick up more from the series/author.

5 stars... I loved this book! It has earned a permanent home in my collection and I'll be picking up the rest of the series and other books from the author ASAP.

[Amelia in PDX · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the 4th book in the Susan Henshaw series. I have thoroughly enjoyed this series, and how I missed this book before I don't know. Armstrongs have just finished remodeling their new home and had just moved into the neighborhood. When out trick or treating one of the neighborhood kids mention how lifelike the scene was. By this time Susan is an old hand at finding bodies, so she secures the scene and calls 911. go ahead and get this for your Halloween reading list.

[ChrisGA · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very violent Halloween. Susan finds a body in the library and then another among the Halloween decorations at a famous neighbor's plus host of strange characters and missing library books. What a nasty bunch of people live in Hancock, Conn.

[Daelith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Little trouble getting interested, but it was all right overall.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

very easy to lose yourself in..

[Sherri]

I just couldn't get into this book. I only read the first 3 chapters and it wasn't worthwhile.

[Meikoningin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Read it in the original english.

Disappointing story, not very likable characters.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Moves very quickly and I enjoyed the storyline.

[Gloria Mccracken · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad but there are better ones in this series of Susan Henshaw, an upper middle class housewife who has a knack for stumbling into mysteries and solving them.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

A middle of the road cozy.. nothing great or awful about it..I like this series, but some are definitely better than others..

[Sallie · Rating 3 out of 5]

More like a 3.5 but not quite a 4 rating. I've had this one gathering dust on my TBR pile for a long time. I always enjoy the mystery and the characters in Wolzien's books.

[Sonja · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think I'll go back and read some more of these.

[Pat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute.
Housewife solves murder.
First body found in library.