Kensington Book’s latest trio of cozy seasonal novellas features murders all over the world—from Salem, Massachusetts, to Galway, Ireland, and all the way to the North Pole!

Carlene O’Connor’s opening story gives the collection its title and follows the exploits of architectural salvage shop owner Tara Meehan. The American expat is looking to score a bargain at a Galway curiosity shop, particularly items she can use to spruce up her own store as the Halloween season descends on Ireland. Val Sharkey, the curiosity shop’s owner, is an enigmatic character who’s more than willing to help the niece of his good friend Johnny, not only pointing out specialty items but also signing her up for a free cupcake from a local bakery. Only the bakery doesn’t exist—and soon, neither does Val, as a killer gives the older man a ghastly send-off into the underworld.

As one of the last known people to see Val, Tara ends up being a suspect in his murder. Her efforts to clear her name lead her to a secret society known as the Samhain Six. They have an outsized interest in a unique painting she bought from Val, but surely none of them would kill to possess it, right?

Liz Ireland’s novella, Mrs. Claus and the Candy Corn Caper, combines the Christmas-themed hijinks of her Mrs. Claus series with Halloween spookiness. Our heroine, April Claus, finds herself taken aback by the sheer enthusiasm with which Christmastown has thrown itself into adopting a new holiday. One of the most eagerly embraced aspects is candy corn, which April decided would be the theme of the holiday baking contest. But with thefts and shortages hitting the local candy corn supply, April already has a headache trying to figure out who’s stealing what little they can import even before a baker working on his contest entry is murdered. Does his death have anything to do with the candy, or was it motivated by something else entirely?

The final novella in the book is A Triple Layer Halloween Murder by Carol J. Perry. It’s October in the historic town of Salem, with the town’s favorite holiday already having a firm grip on the collective imagination. Our heroine, Lee Barrett, is still a little wistful at having given up her field-reporter lifestyle in favor of working as her cable channel’s program director instead. So when she’s given the opportunity to go back to the field for a human-interest story about a cat stuck in a tree, she jumps at the chance. Turns out, though, that the cat belongs to a baker who recently went missing from his own store. With the help of her cat familiar, O’Ryan, and her own powers of second sight, will Lee be able to help find the missing man before greater tragedy strikes their town?

All three novellas are perfect for spooky season, with the Christmastown tale being one of the few acceptable comminglings of both holidays, in my opinion. I was delighted to be introduced to Tara Meehan, the heroine of Ms. O’Connor’s Home to Ireland series, having only been familiar with her Irish Village Mystery novels prior to this. And it’s always a pleasure to spend time with both April Claus and Lee Barrett as they navigate their paranormal-tinged worlds.

There was only one recipe in this volume, accompanying Ms. Perry’s entry.

Aunt Ibby’s Recipe Hack of Pat Duncan’s Triple-Layer Halloween Cupcakes

Ingredients

1 package of yellow or white cake mix

2 Tbsp orange marmalade

Tow ¼ oz. squares of baking chocolate, melted

1 can of creamy white frosting

Orange and chocolate Reese’s Pieces

Instructions

Prepare cake mix according to directions.

Put about one cup of batter into each of two small bowls. In one of them, mix in the orange marmalade. In the other mix in the melted chocolate.

Line muffin tin with twelve paper liners. Put a rounded tablespoonful of chocolate batter into each cup. Follow with a spoonful of orange marmalade batter. Finish with plain batter. Cups should be about three quarters full. Bake according to cake mix package directions.

Cool cupcakes on wire rack, then frost with creamy vanilla frosting and decorate with Reese’s Pieces.

I feel like I should have used more marmalade in this recipe, as there really didn’t seem to be much difference between the vanilla and orange layers I baked. The chocolate layer was delicious, though, and provided a lovely base for the rest of the cupcake. My kids were more interested in the Reese’s Pieces on top than in anything else—I think they were a little disappointed that the cupcakes themselves had marmalade instead of peanut butter—but more sophisticated palates enjoyed the cupcake as is. If anything, I actually removed the candies from the top of mine so I could better enjoy the rest of the dessert!

Next week, we whip up a different cupcake for a different festive season while investigating the untimely death of an entertainment manager. Do join me!

See also: Cooking the Books: Mischief Nights Are Murder by Libby Klein