Review by Booklist Review
Halloween is fast approaching, and Caerphilly's 10-day Halloween Festival is in full swing. This time volunteer extraordinaire Meg Langslow is only in charge of the Visitor Relations and Police Liaison Patrol, more commonly known as the Goblin Patrol, since Mayor Randall Shiffley hired Lydia Van Meter to run the festival. However, when fake body parts turn up in exhibits at the local zoo, followed by two murders and an attack on Dr. Smoot, owner of the festival's Haunted House, Meg assists Chief Burke with his investigation. They soon learn LARPers (live action role players) are acting out a creepy scavenger hunt in Caerphilly with a game master who may be bent on murder. With the town overrun by vampires, zombies, and other creatures of the night, Meg, the Goblin Patrol, and her grandfather's group of animal activists, Blake's Brigade, work to find the miscreants and a murderer whose crimes may be tied to old family secrets. Quirky, sympathetic characters, from Meg's large extended family to a town full of Shiffley cousins, are woven throughout this fun, humorous, atmospheric cozy.--O'Brien, Sue Copyright 2015 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Newcomers to Andrews's wacky little burg of Caerphilly, Va., may feel a bit overwhelmed by this comedy/mystery's large cast (most of whom have appeared in 18 previous series entries). Fortunately, reader Dunne provides assistance in distinguishing, say, the mayor's wife, who speaks with a chirpy hard r, from his special assistant, Lydia, whose faux perkiness can't hide her inefficiency. Mayor Shiffley sounds a bit scattered himself, as opposed to Dr. Smoot, the town's former coroner, whose orations are brimming with confidence. Smoot has a penchant for dressing like Dracula, which costs him his job, but Caerphilly's 10-day Halloween celebration has elevated his prominence and enhanced the allure of his home's conversion to a year-round haunted house, at least until a thief breaks in, which leads to a couple of murders. The series' protagonist, Meg Langslow, an ornamental blacksmith moonlighting as the head of the Halloween-festival security, is solidly down to earth, strong in mind and body, and has an appealing sense of humor, all of which Dunne manages to convey. A Minotaur hardcover. (Aug.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
It's Halloween in Caerphilly, VA, and Meg's zany family is at it again. Grandpa opens a "Creatures of the Night" exhibit at the zoo, but then a body surfaces and a suspicious fire at the haunted house has everyone in jitters. Someone definitely wants to mar the town's creepy fun, so it's up to Meg to save the festivities. This 19th series entry (after The Nightingale Before Christmas) is another winner. © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
