Vampires, Bones and Treacle Scones

Liss MacCrimmon Mysteries #7

by Kaitlyn Dunnett

Halloween is approaching and newlywed Liss MacCrimmon Ruskin is tapped by the Moosetookalook Small Business Association to organize a community fundraiser. Liss throws herself into plans to turn an abandoned mansion into a “haunted house.”
There are already all kinds of scary stories about the old Chadwick place, which was most recently owned by Blackie O’Hare, a mob hit man from Boston. There are even rumors of buried treasure on the premises. Unfortunately, work on the haunted house is plagued by a series of minor mishaps and by the disappearance and reappearance of various objects. And then, to Liss’ horror, the fake skeleton she’s acquired for a special effect is replaced with a real body—and it’s someone she knows…

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Halloween, Fiction, Cozy, Holiday, Vampires

288 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Kaitlyn Dunnett is a pseudonym used by Kathy Lynn Emerson, author of the Mistress Jaffrey Mysteries, the Face Down Mysteries featuring Susanna Appleton, 16th century gentlewoman, herbalist, and sleuth, the Diana Spaulding 1888 Quartet, and the award-winning How to Write Killer Historical Mysteries, plus an assortment of other books.

As Kaitlyn she writes the Liss MacCrimmon series set in Moosetookalook, Maine and the Deadly Edits series set in rural Sullivan County, New York.

She is a member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime and other professional organizations and blogs regularly with Maine Crime Writers.

Reviews

[Elliott · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the part that took place leading up to Halloween. I wish more of the book took place during/around Halloween. I really don't have much more to say?! I kind of lost steam halfway through, but I did enjoy Liss and her snooping. I like that her cop connect is a female friend, not a boyfriend.

[Meg Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted a fun, fall book to read and this was a new title I noticed. It stuck out to me because of the creative title and colorful cover. It is part of an established series, but that did not detour me from reading it. It was a cute, quaint, and easy read. I also liked it because it included a murder, but it was not scary or freaky. It had the intrigue without the creepy, Stephen King factor. In any case I enjoyed the book, not enough to read the others in the series, but enough that I do not regret reading it. In the future I will probably read Kaitlyn Dunnett again, but for now I am onto other authors.

[Ana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liss' plans for a Halloween Haunted House in an abandoned mansion go awry when she finds a body on Halloween morning. Worse of all, it's her cousin Ned, black sheep of the family, who was supposed to be in jail. At least they keep the kids from seeing the gruesome scene. But there are all these questions: How and when did Ned get out of jail? Who killed him? Who has been stealing items from the mansion? Is there truly a buried treasure? And why is Boxer Snipes, youngest of the town's troubled family, volunteering to help out?

[Tracy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had such a great lead up as a Halloween-themed book (and perhaps less so as a murder-mystery one). Halloween being my favorite holiday, I always love to see different authors' takes on its approach/aftermath. Dunnett, as mentioned, had a great lead up: a spooky, old, semi-abandoned mansion was to be the setting for the town's upcoming Halloween Haunted House. In spite of its many locked doors, deadbolts and consficated sets of extra keys, someone was still getting in somehow and moving things, like props and dummies and tubs that were to be used for apple bobbing. The heroine, Liss, her husband Dan, and her cop friend Sherri eventually discover a secret tunnel that's still accessable from the old mansion's basement, and block it off, thinking this is going to solve the problem of intruders and "pranks".

So, up to the point of the actual day (Halloween) when this Haunted House was supposed to open for business, I was completely with the story. I thought it was fun, and I thought that maybe, even though I'm really not a fan of cozy mysteries, that I would be able to enjoy this one anyway. (And this is the first book in this series that I had ever read, so I wondered if things might be weird if earlier books in the series were recalled.) And I did, up until a little after page 100 or so, when Liss finds her cousin Ned dead in the mansion. (Her cousin who was supposed to be in prison and who had, apparently, in some earlier novel, tried to kill her. Of course.)

After this point, I felt like the plot fell apart for me. I didn't get the Halloween payoff I was hoping for, and I was now in the middle of weird family character stuff that made the plot feel awkward for me. Plus, how many more times, I wondered, were they going to refer to the "Moosetookalook Scottish Emporium", or just "Moosetookalook" for that matter? Yes, it's a cutesy name for a town but do you have to beat the reader over the head with just how darn cute it is? *eye roll gif here*

The other things that bothered me were all the sentimental cliches and phrases, and stereotypical stock characters. Dolores, the nosy busybody who knows everyone's business; Stu, the curmudgeon whose main interest/focus in life is to be a huge grump 24/7; Boxer/Teddy, the kid from the wrong side of the tracks whose last name (Snipes) puts everyone on edge. These characters didn't seem like they could be real people in real life.

[Yvensong · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first Liss MacCrimmon mystery I've read. I was looking for a cozy mystery at the library and saw this on the shelf. I liked the title (I'm a real Halloween fan) and the book cover, so thought I'd try it out.

It was an enjoyable read, and even though I've never read any of the previous books in the series, I felt I got to know the MC pretty well. The setting is well-detailed, making it easy to "see" the various places the MC frequented, especially the mansion that is essential to the story.

I was unsure why the author chose to have so much time pass by. So much of the story takes place before and on Halloween, then suddenly months skip by. It made the pace feel off. I had the "mystery" figured out pretty quickly, which only added to the pace feeling off.

I really enjoyed one of the side characters introduced in the story. Boxer Snipes was a mystery, himself, worth following.

[Kristi | Hidden Staircase | · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute mystery to read around Halloween. This mystery centers around a creepy old house and rumor of buried treasure. Liss ends up in the middle of a murder, but stays true to her word and for the most part keeps out of the police investigation, this book felt a bit slower than the last two In the series, but I enjoyed the characters and the small town at Halloween.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was about a third of the way through this book when I realized that (so far) it was a murder mystery without a murder. And I had been interested the entire time I was reading. Of course, the body showed up shortly thereafter. If I could I would visit Moosetookalok on my way to Three Pines in Canada. If only they were real!

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was really bored with this book. It took a lot to get through it. I would like to have heard more descriptions on Halloween and the town and homes surroundings. This didnt work for me.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this one probably the best of the series. Enjoyed the Boxer character and hope to see more of him in future.

[Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun cozy mystery series with likable main characters and interesting mysteries. The main character Liss runs an emporium of Scottish gifts and finds herself often involved in helping to solve murders.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute Halloween-themed mystery! I would like to read more in the Liss MacCrimmon series.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best one yet!

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yes, I continue to put myself through the agony of reading this series. Usually books in this series take me only a couple of hours to read. This one took me a few days. I just could not work with the writing of this one. It seemed jittery/disjointed to me--scenes jumped from one to another (then it was three days later...). The story started 6-8 weeks before Halloween. Then it's Halloween. All of a sudden four or five months had passed. On the plus side, I finally got to know what happened to a character from the first book. (There was no epilogue-type wrap-up to let us know what had happened after that mystery had been solved. We were left hanging.) And, there was a timeline of sorts given for the stories to date. This is the seventh book in the series--one a year, but in finding out what happened to the character from book 1, we find that only two years had passed in fictional time. (Then, weirdly, I read the preview of the next book and more than 5 and a half years had passed since the first book???) Oh well... (Sadly, yes, I will be reading the next. Why, I don't know.)

[Cozybooklady · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hidden rooms and hidden secrets will leave you guessing!

This is the first book I've read in this cleverly written series. I loved the title and the cover art work was beautiful. I love anything and everything Halloween so this book was on the top of my wish list.
Liss is a fun character who is very determined to investigate who is pranking her and her haunted house. The residents of Moosetookalook (what a fun name) are sure it's just kids hanging out at the old Chadwick house, but when Liss stumbles over a body (not Napoleon Bony-parts) she doubts the neighborhood kids are responsible.
This book was laugh out loud funny and even though I haven't read any previous books, the story flowed so smoothly that I found myself picking up on the characters as if I've known them for a long time.
I plan on reading all the other books in this witty series. This is a spooky 5 star book!

[Kaitlyn Dunnett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Blatant self promotion here. Vampires, Bones, and Treacle Scones is out today in paperback. Still available in hardcover and ebook. I know I shouldn't say it as the author, but I really love this book. I had fun with it (always important) but I was also able to use fiction to make an unfair real-life situation come out right. This is an upbeat book, despite the requisite murder. Eccentric characters abound. How could they not in a place called Moosetookalook, Maine.

[Kyrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much better than the last few, and while Liss still hasn't learned not to go to out of the way places on her own, she's getting better.

It starts around Halloween, but doesn't end until the next spring. Honestly, the title is pretty tenuously tied to the tale. I figured out most things long, long before Liss did, but that didn't take away from the story.

I like the addition of new family members (no not babies).

All in all, it's light, but fun reading.

[Vicki Cook · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't enjoy this one as much as other books in the series. If it had stayed around the Halloween season that would have added to the appeal but it jumped from October to several months later. Also the kid - Boxer - got on my nerves.

[Theresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liss is head of the Moosetookalook All Hallows Festival committee, and planning for the all day and evening Halloween event is going well, especially after getting permission to use the abandoned Chadwick Mansion on the outskirts of town as a haunted house feature. All the planning and vignettes are set, well except for things mysteriously disappearing and reappearing, the the doors being unlocked when they are supposed to be locked. Except while making a final check before opening to the public, Liss discovers the corpse of her jailbird cousin Ned in the parlour. What follows is a murder mystery that is tied to hidden treasure, possible blackmail, hidden treasure and crooks hiding in plain sight.

It was fun, especially the descriptions in the first half of the book of the Halloween festival arrangements. It was especially fun as the abandonned Chadwick mansion features in a later mystery in the series set 5 years after the events in this cozy, which I happened to read first. Nice to fill in some of the background that was hinted at but not disclosed in it. I found the ultimate conclusion a little bit fantastic. Our amateur sleuth Liss is a bit irritating as well -- constantly being too squeamish and timid while continuing to insist on both investigating and going into danger.

I really enjoyed that this was a cozy Halloween mystery that had zero paranormal elements.

[Kristin Rose 🌹 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had checked this book out of my library before Halloween. I wanted some spooky books to read, and this was on display in the fall section and the cover caught my eye- absolutely adorable. For some reason I kept putting off reading it, reading the other books I checked out, and renewing this one. I finally read it. It wasn't all bad, but it wasn't what I expected. It's part of a series but not super hard to follow along. There were only a few things I didn't know about since I didn't read the other books. I thought this would be more about Halloween, based on the title and the cover, so I was a little disappointed. It was only about Halloween for a short time in the beginning. The rest of the book is about solving a mystery. It was kind of a slow read, didn't exactly hold my attention but I finished it. The ending was decent. I wouldn't really read the entire series but I may read the Christmas one that came over after this. Over all I would give this book 3 and a half stars.

[Holly Stone · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liss is back this time married and along with her husband she goes looking at an abandoned mansion to use for a Halloween venue for the annual Moosetookalook Halloween Festival. She heads up the planning committee along with a few young people and some town business people. When she goes out to check on the property she finds not the skeleton she had borrowed but a real life dead body and she knows him it is her cousin Ned MacCrimmon Boyd and he has definitely been murdered....Who has done it and why are there holes dug in the basement floor...are the rumors about buried treasure in the old mansion true??and has someone found it and is willing to kill to keep the find secret??? Join Liss and a whole cast of characters young and old as she tries to unravel this latest whodunit

[Linda C · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liss MacCrimmon Ruskin, recently married and owner of the Scottish Emporium in Moosetoolalook, ME, is head of the All Hallows Festival committee. A local abandoned house with a criminal past owner and rumors of treasure is perfect for the haunted house event. Mysterious lights, objects disappearing and reappearing, secret rooms and passages make it perfect until on Halloween itself a body turns up. Cute cozy mystery, perfect for the season. Not interesting enough to go after the rest of the series ,but a good read.

[DaShannon · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love cozies. I love that they are usually under 300 pages so a brief fun read between the literary ones I usually read. I love all the different settings but this one was just not interesting enough. Maybe because I started with the 7th one and I lacked background. I think Moosetookalook could be a cool place but we really don't see much of it. I picked this book up because the cover is adorable! It just isn't enough for me. It takes too long to get to the story and doesn't fill in the small cozy community details I like.

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful entertaining listening 🔰😀

Another will written romantic thriller adventure mystery novel in the Liss MacCrimmon Series book seven with lots of interesting will developed characters good 👍and bad 👎guys and girls. The story line is set in the western mountains of Maine where the murder of Liss cousin leads to time spent by Liss and colleagues racing to find clues to the killer. The killer is caught and life returns to normal. I would recommend this series to anyone who reads mysteries. Enjoy the adventure of reading or listening to books 📚 2021 🏡

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good story/adventure of Liss's. A few more unbelievable happenings... Exciting!!

Liss MacCrimmon's Scottish Emporium is thrilled to be organizing Moosetookalok, Maine's, Halloween fundraiser. But the abandoned Chadwick mansion might be too perfect a setting for a creepy old haunted house, especially when a very real-looking body with puncture-marks on the neck is added to the decorations. Asking who kilt the deceased brings up everyone from the undead to real estate agents to horror writers. But Liss had better watch her back, because the killer is much closer then she thinks!

[Alina · Rating 5 out of 5]

---Synopsis---
When Liss MacCrimmon and her husband Dan decide to transform the abandoned Chadwick mansion into a haunted house for the All Hallows Festival in Moosetookalook, Maine, they recruit teenagers to help with the props and special effects. The Chadwick mansion has a reputation for crime and hidden treasure. The house was recently owned by mobster Blackie O’Hare, who apparently buried his ill-gotten gain on the property.

However, despite the mansion’s reputation, Liss and Dan are horrified to find an actual corpse in the front room. The body belongs to Liss’s troubled cousin Ned, who had recently served three years in prison for manslaughter. Could a local teenager be the culprit or are the residents of Moosetookalook biased against the boy because of his family’s unsavory reputation?

---Thoughts---
There were several points in the story when I was a bit creeped out by the Chadwick mansion. I thought that Dunnett did a good job with the suspense and world-building. There was also a lot of heart in this novel. Liss constantly tries to check the biases in her community. I hope to see more of Boxer in the coming books.

Although much of the story takes place after Halloween, I still felt that this was a Halloween cozy because the plot revolves around a corpse found in a haunted house. Of course, a cozy mystery cannot contain the same level of fear and creep of a horror novel, so I was not bothered by the fluffy nature of the story. If you are looking for a good fall read with a solid mystery, I recommend Vampires, Bones, and Treacle Scones. The story worked for me.

-For more cozy mystery reviews, check out my blog Cozy Mystery Reads

[Kristi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually liked this book in the series much better than I liked the last two. I found Liss to be much less annoying and there were no other characters annoying like her mother was in the last book. This gives me hope for the next book in the series, which I was considering not reading if this one wasn't great. I still feel no chemistry between her and Dan, I don't see them as a married couple, but I can get past that.

[Amanda Gilles · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was looking for a "Halloween" theme story and have been reading mystery series lately. I thought this might get me into the spooky spirit and it did-at least the exposition and start of the rising action. But the setting moves on to the point where the climax is well into the spring. I get the initial crime/murder took place in Halloween and no realistically it would not be solved within such a short time but would have liked more of a Halloween time frame.

[Misha Mueller · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are so many cozy series with too many authors into quantity over quality. It’s nice to read a well-written story. With characters who behave like real people. And a mystery which unfolds over a reasonable time.

I haven’t read anything by Dunnett before, altho I skimmed the second book in another series by her. After reading this I’m glad I recommended getting Deadly Edits series at my library.

[Elsbeth Magilton · Rating 3 out of 5]

My toxic trait is starting paperback mystery series in the middle. I didn’t care much about most of these characters, but again I think it’s because I started with book 7. That said, the Scottish emporium was a charming little store and the mystery was well crafted. I couldn’t guess the killer immediately, but some of the obvious reveals were in there. It also has depressingly little to do with treacle scones.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Synopsis sounded interested but I found the story drug out. Liss plans a Halloween Haunted House in an abandoned house only the night of Halloween, she finds a dead body on the couch. The rest of the story is about Liss solving the murder even though her friend works for the police department. Maybe I am being too critical. This story just wasn't for me.