Haunted Hayride with Murder

Erica Bloom loves everything about autumn in Otter Lake, New Hampshire: changing leaves, apple cider, cozy sweaters… and especially when she’s getting to enjoy it with Sheriff Grady Forrester. But when some local teens find a dead man’s foot, a chilling new reality comes into play. Everyone in Otter Lake knows about the Apple Witch who haunts the Honeycutt’s apple orchard—which just so happens to be Otter Lake Security’s latest job. When the foot turns out to belong to a long-gone local, it’s up to Erica to expose the identity of the killer and prove to the town (and her best friend, Freddie) once for all there’s no such thing as ghosts.

This was my first time reading an Otter Lake Mystery and Holy Agatha Christie did I have fun. The sense of humor is right up my alley. I quickly learned not to eat or drink anything after the second spit-take (and I’d only read the prologue at that point.) The story opens with a group of people sitting around the campfire, one of whom is telling the story of the Apple Witch—or at least they’re trying to, much to the displeasure of the bored teens—and it just gets better from there.

This book was 320 pages of rapid-fire jokes and outlandish situations with the quirkiness factor dialed up to eleven. (Imagine if the characters from Schitt’s Creek tried to solve a murder.) Tying the mystery to the legend of the Apple Witch was a great touch IMO. Not only does it give us lots of very funny scenes with a panicky Freddie being reigned in by the more cynical Erica, but it also makes for some eerie scenes whenever the “witch” makes an appearance. (Or maybe it’s just me? I grew up in the 80s. Cornfields are inherently creepy to me. Thanks, Stephen King.)

The murder itself is well-done, although honestly, I would have still enjoyed the story even if Wallace hadn’t been able to stump me. (And she did. I was way off.) Even though it’s only one family suspected of being involved, there were still enough twists to move the plot forward and the reader guessing as to the identity of the killer. The romance between Erica and Grady was a little thin at times, but one thing I did enjoy was the fact they actually talked to each other like adults. (Gratuitous miscommunication shenanigans are a pet peeve of mine when it comes book romances. Use your words, people.) The protagonist’s sleuthing grating on the detective’s official investigation is also a well that quickly runs dry for me, so I was pleased to read that wasn’t the case here.

A very funny read. I only wish I’d saved it for Halloween! I will definitely be continuing with this series.