Review of Eclairs, Scares and Haunted Home Repairs by Erin Johnson

A bakehouse in the making. A dangerous ghost in the tower. Will their welcome to the neighborhood be short-lived? 

Imogen wants nothing more than to complete her sweet dream. With her adoring fiancé Hank at her side, the witch and her friends dive into renovations for their new home and soon-to-be bakery. But all their efforts seem futile when they wake to find the house eerily ripped apart all over again…

As Imogen examines her humble abode’s shady history, she discovers evidence for a malevolent spirit living inside. But with less-than-welcoming neighbors keeping a close, suspicious watch, she wonders if it’s not the dead but the living who pose the biggest threat…

Will Imogen root out the culprit, or will her culinary future collapse under the weight of an unsolved murder?

Available on Amazon and via Kindle Unlimited.

Oh no… there’s only one book left in this series!!!! Oh yay… Erin should be working on one of my next new favourite series 😉

I’ve mentioned in reviews before that one of the beauties of this series is that it more or less forms a continuous arc. Each book delivers a complete mystery with all pertinent questions resolved; and ties up at least one loose end from previous stories but I imagine the big finale and the answers to any outstanding questions await us in Book 10.

Mystery: Is the new house really haunted? And if it is, is it by the ghost of the missing and presumed dead Daichi?

The clues are well-laid out and fun to piece together. There are several suspects, all with compelling motives and adequate opportunity. The red herrings are well-placed and the pacing of the story is good. I was able to figure out the culprit before then end but there were still questions I got answered during the big reveal.

Just a reminder that this is a series best read in order as while the mystery is complete and contained in this novel, the greatest enjoyment comes from piecing bits together for the overall series arc.

The characters are just as wonderfully zany and endearing as ever. Annie finding a ‘love interest’ was just one of the cutest set of scenes. The friendship that binds this group is as strong as ever and a delight to read. Work on the house and their plans for it are pretty cool. I wonder how that will play out…?

The real growth in here is how everyone’s relationship with Horace evolves. They’re still weary of him but willing to give him a second or maybe even third chance!

Horace is probably one of my favourite cozy characters as he’s neither all good nor really all that bad. I’m interested to see what eventually comes of him.

Old friends reunite and new ones seal their bonds. I can’t wait for the ultimate unfolding of this imaginative and intriguing series.

I give this magical mystery story 4.5/5