Trick or Treat by Kerry Greenwood, a Mysterious Review.

Review: There is trouble in the Melbourne neighborhood where the Earthly Delights bakery is located, and for its owner Corinna Chapman, when a franchised competitor selling baked goods and pastries at cut-rate prices opens its doors just down the street, in Trick or Treat, the fourth mystery in this series by Kerry Greenwood.

Corinna is beleaguered with situations most out of the ordinary. Not only has this new bakery opened, leaving her with too many baked goods and too few customers, Georgiana Hope, a to-die-for tall, slender, gorgeous woman (everything Corinna isn't) has shown up and taken residence in the home of her lover Daniel. Daniel insists he has no feelings for Georgiana, but that's little comfort to Corinna. Especially when Daniel disappears for hours at a time, and won't tell her where he's been. And now a mysterious substance has been found in the flour that Corinna uses, an ingredient rumored to cause madness in those who consume it. (The good news, if it can be characterized as such, is that the new bakery is also a victim.) Closed by the health authorities to investigate its origins, Corinna turns her attention to yet another problem: people are being assaulted in the alley behind Earthly Delights. When she reopens (if she reopens?) she wants to ensure a safe environment for her customers. But there's also (and still) the mystery of why Georgiana has shown up … and the onset of Daniel's odd behavior; the two events simply cannot be coincidental.

Trick or Treat can be read as a comedic mystery or a mysterious comedy, as it has effectively combined elements of both into a winning formula. It's a first rate mystery with laugh-out-loud moments. Corinna is a bit more mellow here than in previous outings, and maybe just a tad less cynical, a decidedly favorable improvement on her character. The secondary characters, in particular the tenants of her apartment building, still retain their edge but seem less quirky, more appealing. Trick or Treat is a highly entertaining novel, and clearly the best of the series to date.

Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of Trick or Treat.

Acknowledgment: Poisoned Pen Press provided an ARC of Trick or Treat for this review.

Devil's Food
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover), May 2009
ISBN-13: 9781590584286; ISBN-10: 1590584287

Unnatural Habits
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover), January 2013
ISBN-13: 9781464201233; ISBN-10: 1464201234

Trick or Treat

A Corinna Chapman Mystery by Kerry Greenwood