This was a quick fun mystery. The second book in The Halloween Booshop Mystery series. While the first book is my favorite, this one was still a good quick read for fall and Halloween lovers. The setting in a Halloween-themed town is one of my favorite aspects of the series, along with the main character.
Thank you to Kensington Publishing and Netgalley for this ARC.

Mayhem at a Halloween Wedding is the 2nd-installment in Emmeline Duncan's Cozy Halloween Bookshop Mystery series. These books are set in the quaint town of Elyan Hollow, Oregon, where it's Halloween 365-days a year. Our protagonist is Bailey Briggs, who has taken over her family's well-loved local bookstore, Lazy Bones Books.

In this 2nd-book, Bailey's college friend, Raven, has planned a Halloween-themed wedding for herself and her partner, and there's no better place to pull off her signature spooky style than Elyan Hollow. Bailey is committed to the hilt, both with being a bridesmaid in Raven's wedding, and assisting with the prep for Elyan Hollow's annual Halloween festival. She needs everything to go smoothly if she wants to save her sanity.

Sadly, it does not.

Fellow bridesmaids, Ivy and Harmony, who also happens to be the sister of the bride, are both absolute nightmares. Demanding and rude, these girls are pushing Bailey and her best friend, Colby, to their limits. When Ivy is found dead mid-bachelorette party, as the women are attending the Halloween parade, Colby is immediately considered a suspect. The two had been witnessed in a few heated arguments prior to the murder.

Bailey knows that there is no way Colby would actually kill someone, but now she needs to prove it.

I had a lot of fun with this latest installment to the Halloween Bookshop Series. I love the small town vibes of this series, and the MC, Bailey, as well as her canine companion, Jack, are really growing on me. It would be hard to beat a setting of a town where it's always Halloween. That's like literally my aesthetic. I read this one so quickly, in under 24-hours, because I was hooked into the wedding party drama.

It was honestly the most judgmental and negativity-fueled wedding weekend I've ever experienced, and I've been to a lot. Even I was getting stressed. I'm not sure how any of these women survived. Ivy and Harmony were the pits, but they weren't the only ones sus as heck. I loved trying to guess who had taken Ivy out, and whether or not it had been related to the wedding. I had no clue how anyone could have pulled it off. The Halloween costumes everywhere added another layer to the confusion at the time the crime was committed, and I liked that unusual aspect.

Additionally, I do just want to note, IMHO, this 2nd-installment shows a lot of improvement over the 1st-book in writing and the mystery plotting itself. The 1st-book was good for me, but I did have some issues with it. This one, I really didn't have any issues. I was completely invested in the mystery and also, am enjoying the trajectory of Bailey's character arc. I truly hope there's another book. I'd love to see more of these mysteries.

Thank you to the publisher, Kensington Cozies, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I would recommend this to any Cozy Mystery Reader who loves a small town atmosphere, as well Halloween!!

I want to love this series--a town that celebrates Halloween all year? A bookstore owner as main character? Sign me up!

Only ... yeah, don't sign me up. Somehow, Elyan Hollow is actually hollow, no seasonal ambience. The bookshop owner is a shallow idiot, and her friends (of which there are far too many doing far too many unimportant but endlessly-described things) are even worse. I know it's the going thing in a cozy to add in cutesy details, which is fine, within reason. Paragraphs devoted to your dog's grooming schedule? Too much. I also realize that in a cozy, it's very white-hat versus black-hat, but Ivy, the victim in this book, was barely a bitchy blip on the screen before she was killed, so I didn't really care if her murder was solved, or about the wedding that it was supposedly interrupting. Which it didn't. She was maid of honor, but the wedding (god, the wedding details, ugh) went forward as planned.

I don't know how I managed 1,225 eye rolls in one 250-page book, but there you have it.

This is my second disappointment out of a two-book series, and hopefully the lesson has been learned so I don't put myself through this again next year.

A Spooky Wedding complete with murder.

It’s Halloween, in the most Halloween friendly town of Elyan Hollow, Oregon where the season of Halloween lasts all year. Protagonist Bailey Briggs is helping her college roommate Raven plan her perfect, Halloween themed wedding. Because she’s a Elyan Hollow native, Bailey’s been doing more than a typical bridesmaid job of helping planning the wedding. And now that the big day is getting close, she finds that she’s also having to run interface between Ivy and pretty much everyone else, especially Raven’s sister Harmony and Bailey’s friend and fellow bridesmaid Colby.

Things go from bad to worse, however, when, during the annual Halloween parade a bomb goes off and then Ivy is found dead. And from worse to worser (worst?) when the police suspect Colby as the killer. Naturally, it’s up to Bailey to clear Colby’s name and save the wedding.

I have mixed feelings about this book. On one hand, it was entertaining, which, at least for this genre, is probably the most important factor for a book.  But on the other head, it felt a bit of mess. Frequently, in cozy mysteries like this one, the goings-on of the side characters are as (if not more) important as the whodunnit piece. And while this book tried to do that, there were too many characters, meaning most didn’t have enough time on screen. I think it would have been stronger book if several of the side characters were removed - the dog groomer, for example. Rather than have every character in every book, have few characters that can grow a bit and become memorable over 3 - 4 books, and then have them stop in for a couple of pages. But, as I said above, the book was entertaining. I plan on picking up the next one in the series!

Recommended. I received a copy of this from NetGalley.com that I voluntarily chose to review.

Never a dull moment for Bailey Briggs! It was nice to return to Elyan Hollow where Halloween reigns year round, though mostly in a fun and cozy way that I would love to visit, but only if I am not the one to come across a dead body, or end up dead myself. Yes, sadly there is another murder in this book, disrupting the parade (beginning to look like maybe they should skip the parade next year!) and Bailey is on the case again! While the bookshop is mentioned, it is not the focus this time around. Except for a bit with Rex and a mysterious dollhouse that I am sure will play a part in the future. But the wedding preparations were fun, especially as it is Halloween themed with zombies in prom dress (which would be totally awesome!) You meet some nice characters, but also some nasty ones (two guesses which ones end up dead! lol) and makes the story a nice little slice of life in Elyan Hollow (especially as Bailey is excellent at finding the murderer and keeping her friends safe and out of jail, as long as they are innocent.)

It was a fun book to read, not as strong as the first one because I loved the bookshop and it took second place to the wedding in this story. Though I am looking forward to learning more about the tunnels, dollhouse, and maybe the mysterious Finn? lol

There are many All Year Christmas Town themed books but not many Halloween Themed. Well, if Halloween is your jam and you enjoy cozy murder books, this series is for you.

I am still trying to get a handle on the core cast of characters; however, the story is very character driven. There were several characters that you "love to hate". You also learn a little backstory about the family dynamic and the reason there are rifts.

There were so many suspects in this story, it felt like the game of Clue, only you knew where just not the who or the weapon until the summation gathering.

This was an all around fun read.

This was a really cute cozy mystery. I loved the Halloween vibes from start to finish. I especially loved one of the main characters having the same name as me. Jack the dog & Moriarty the cat were super cute. I loved that we got some background on Bailey’s family life. This was a quick, fun read & I will definitely look for more by this author.

This book is very much the same vibes as the first. It's a Halloween themed town and that makes it fun. There are quite a few new characters as well due to the wedding taking place. if you liked the first book, give this one a try.

After the filming of an iconic movie in their town (think Friday the 13th’s Crystal Lake), the Oregon town of Elyan Hallow rebranded itself as a year-round Halloween-themed destination site. October is still the biggest time of the year for the town though, and Lazy Bones Books bookstore owner Bailey Briggs just finished her hosting of her 2nd Spooky Season Lit Fest. That enables her to focus all of her attention on helping with the wedding of her former college roommate Raven, who has always dreamed of a Halloween-themed wedding.. Raven’s sister Harmony and bridesmaid Ivy Monroe and Harmony are less enthusiastic though, complaining about the dresses and décor when not just sniping at one another. After explosions go off during a Halloween parade and Ivy is later found dead, Bailey does wonder if she or the town is a bit cursed. This is the second year a death has occurred around Halloween but considering Ivy’s general disagreeability and lack of those in mourning, Bailey encourages Raven to continue with her plans to go through with her wedding. The one big snafu is that Bailey’s best friend Colby had several very public confrontations with Ivy before her death, resulting in Colby being called in multiple times by the police for further questioning. In order for the wedding to continue and keep her bestie out of prison, Bailey once again begins her own investigation into who wanted the maid of honor permanently removed from the ceremony.

This 2nd in the series immediately submerges readers into the town of Elyan Hallow and its many Halloween-obsessed residents. Nearly all of the stores and restaurants have Halloween puns in their names, from the HallowQueen boutique to the Ghostly Gouda cheese shop. Bailey’s 100-lb pooch Jack Skeleton is rambunctious and adorable, but it’s the newly discovered addition to her family who truly becomes her focus. It’s only been a year since Bailey first met her father, with neither she nor Rex Abbot knowing of the other’s existence. While the bestselling author is overjoyed to have discovered her, Bailey’s other half-siblings are less than trusting of his presence and motives, resulting in a traumatizing family dinner. While Ivy didn’t have her fans, it’s really Harmony who’s being a bridesmaidzilla and openly declaring her disdain for all of Raven’s choices and everything Halloween. Fortunately for Spooky Season fans though, there is an abundance of enthusiasm from the rest of Elyan Hallow to add charmingly descriptive details celebrating the day before Samhain. This is the perfect read for everyone who loves mysteries, a cozy small-town setting, and of course, Halloween.

I really loved the first book in the series. It literally has everything I love: a cozy town, Halloween year round and bookstore setting. Unfortunately this one wasn’t quite as good as the first. Although the Halloween theme was present, it didn’t feel as magical when centered on someone else’s wedding rather than Baileys bookstore. I also thought the character relationships was lacking in this one.

Had the mystery been top-notch this book might have been saved, but there really wasn’t a lot that would let the reader play along and led to a confusing wrap up at the end. If there is a third book, I hope we go back to the bookstore with more character growth because Halloween all the time is the dream for a cozy.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc! All opinions are my own.

I loved the first in this series and lukewarm delight in reading this one. There's some lovely parts, Jack is delightful, the setting intriguing. The mystery is a bit slow and I couldn't stand the victim nor the wedding group.
I think it's just an hiccup and there will be more exciting stories in the future.
3.5 upped to 4
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I love Halloween and anything revolving around it. This is a cute and quick Halloween mystery read that is perfect for the upcoming season!

I would suggest switching covers as Tim Burton and Disney will not take it lightly that their work from Nightmare before Christmas and A Corpse Bride being ripped.

Charming and well-paced, but a pretty notable step down from the first book in the series.

This isn’t bad as cozies go, but the first book in this series was a notably good one, packed with terrific setting and atmosphere and boasting a well-crafted mystery as well.

Here there is a lot less charming detail, far less focus on the setting (a Halloween themed town), and little content related to the protagonist’s book shop. This is frustrating because this kind of detail is the primary reason for reading cozies for many, and it was so well-rendered in the first installment in the series.

The mystery here also wasn’t great. There’s no following the clues alongside the characters, as the solve requires a frustrating info dump at the end of the book, and the victim’s story (as well as her relationship to the other characters/suspects) is boring.

If this series does continue, I hope it returns to something more akin to the five-star, atmospheric cozy first book that made me look forward to reading (and consequently be so disappointed by) the second.

If you’re craving a cozy mystery with a wicked seasonal twist, Emmeline Duncan’s Mayhem at a Halloween Wedding delivers all the eerie charm, small-town drama, and cleverly plotted suspense you could want in a Halloween whodunit.

Set in the eternally spooky town of Elyan Hollow, Oregon—where every day feels like October 31st—this mystery surrounds Bailey Briggs, a clever, grounded bookstore owner with a knack for uncovering local secrets. Between managing Lazy Bones Books during the town’s bustling Halloween festival and wrangling bridal chaos for her college friend Raven’s themed wedding, Bailey already has more on her plate than pumpkin spice lattes.

But things go from festive to fatal fast. During a bachelorette party coinciding with the town’s famous Halloween parade, a sudden explosion throws the celebration into chaos—and when the smoke clears, bridesmaid Ivy is found dead under suspicious circumstances. With fellow bridesmaid Colby—already at odds with Ivy—under police scrutiny, Bailey takes it upon herself to clear her friend’s name. What follows is a smartly paced mystery full of secrets, simmering tensions, and cleverly planted clues.

Duncan excels at blending cozy tropes (quirky townsfolk, bookstore setting, seasonal festivities) with a darker edge. The book’s strength lies in its atmosphere—imagine jack-o’-lanterns, creepy costumes, and secret grudges lurking beneath the surface of a tightly knit wedding party. The Grim Reaper costumes spotted throughout the parade add an eerie note that becomes increasingly relevant as Bailey digs deeper into the mystery.

Bailey is an endearing amateur sleuth—sharp, resourceful, and refreshingly down-to-earth. Her dynamic with the town, as well as her empathy for the bride and the conflicted bridal party, adds emotional resonance to the mystery. The book also balances multiple subplots well: family tensions, business responsibilities, and the demands of being a bridesmaid all intertwine with the central murder plot in satisfying ways.

Pros:
• Delightful Halloween-themed setting and cozy atmosphere
• Smart, capable female protagonist
• Twisty mystery with a satisfying reveal
• Great balance of humor, suspense, and small-town drama

Cons:
• Some secondary characters could use more depth
• Pacing dips slightly mid-way through as the bridal party drama takes center stage

Mayhem at a Halloween Wedding is the perfect seasonal read for fans of holiday cozies with a touch of real danger. Full of fall flair, bridal bedlam, and a dash of murder, it’s a treat—not a trick—for mystery lovers.

I love all the spooky names of the different businesses in this town and the idea of a Halloween themed wedding seemed fun, until it wasn’t. Between the bride’s bratty-acting sister who was mad she wasn’t maid of honor to the murder of a wedding party member, Bailey had her hands full since she was in the wedding too, then trying to sleuth out a murder.

Once she had a good idea of whodunit, I liked that the showdown was a planned trap for the killer. It was cool how Bailey figured it out and after that, the wedding was able to go off without any issues. Wonder what’ll happen in the series next Halloween.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book provided by Kensington Cozies via NetGalley, and my opinions are my own.

I haven't read the first book in the series so there were some gaps in my knowledge, but I didn't feel like I couldn't follow the thread.

Bailey and is helping her friend host her wedding in the Halloween obsessed town of Elyan Hollow, but the arrival of the parents and the rest of the wedding party brings a lot of chaos, tension, hurt feelings, and questioning why we're friends with people in the first place, and how much we let them hold over us even years later.

When one of the bridesmaid's is murdered and one of Bailey's true friends is suspected, she decides to put her sleuthing skills to good use, and all her connections to people in her small town. Bailey is a very straightforward character (there are some on the spectrum vibes and I appreciate that it's not pointed out, she just is who she is and people love her) and doesn't utilize deception often to get what she wants. She communicates clearly without being angry or aggressive, and it makes it hard for other characters to stay mad at her even when she's pressing them about sensitive things. I'd probably be disarmed enough to tell her things too.

There's also some promising developments with her life, family, and social life that make me want to read the third book and see where Bailey's life and happiness go.

If the Hallmark Channel were to look the perfect Halloween themed small town, Elyan Hollow would be it! Heck, it would make a great seasonal series for them! But for now, we settle for the books and enjoy every page of it!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Emmeline Duncan for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for Mayhem at a Halloween Wedding coming out July 29, 2025. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I really enjoyed the first book in the series so I was excited to check this one out. I love Halloween themed books. I thought the wedding part was really interesting. I don’t think I loved it as much as the first book. But overall, I really enjoyed it. I just wanted a little more. It was on the shorter side.

"Mayhem at a Halloween Wedding (Halloween Bookshop Mystery #2)" by Emmeline Duncan has Halloween, A wedding/most of the things done that lead up to a wedding, and death. Bailey Briggs has her college friend, Raven, having her Halloween themed wedding in town. Bailey is doing quite a bit to help with the wedding and isn't even the maid of honor, yet. When the maid of honor is found dead after a explosion during the annual Halloween parade wedding plans are still on but a little shifted around.

The victim wasn't well liked by most people. However, there was a big clue that dropped that I almost missed as a clue. Honestly, I didn't really suspect the culprit mostly because they seemed to fade a bit into the background.

I have to add. I'm glad the whole Bailey actually being majority owner of the bookstore was cleared up with the obnoxious uncle in this one. He was just way too annoying and her grandpa needed to shit that down, and he does. It was a pretty entertaining little side story in this one.

There’s more to celebrate this Halloween when Bailey’s college friend Raven prepares to walk down the aisle in spooky seasonal style. As a bridesmaid, Bailey is very busy helping with wedding preparations while the annual holiday festival scares up business for her bookstore. She also finds herself playing peacekeeper between fellow bridesmaids Colby and Ivy, whose arguments add even more conflict to the already simmering tensions within the wedding party between the groom’s traditional family and the bride’s bohemian parents.
Trying to ease stress and enjoy the spirit of the season, Bailey arranges the bachelorette party on the night of the Halloween parade. Everyone agrees to join in the festivities and dress up in costume. But running into several people dressed as the Grim Reaper turns out to be a bad omen. An explosion rocks the route, causing a panic. When the smoke clears, Ivy is found dead, believed to be murdered—and Colby is questioned by police after several witnesses report the very public clashes between the two bridesmaids. Narrowing down the list of suspects to prove Colby’s innocence means Bailey will have to find a motive that drove a killer—and keep her friend’s wedding bells from becoming funeral knells . . .

This second book in the Halloween Bookshop series is well done. For those who like to know the personal life of the main character and the area that the book takes place in, this book continues where the first entry of the series left off. Bailey is building a relationship with her father and there is a lot of information about the Portland, Oregon area. The mystery itself may have a few too many characters (it feels like the author is laying ground work for the next book), but overall, it's pretty solid.
Recommended.
3.5