Susan Henshaw is the local amateur sleuth of the small town of Hancock. While visiting the library on Halloween morning she literally stumbles across a dying man, which brings to her notice that the new police chief is an old friend who is happy to have Susan along for the investigation. A second murder the same day fills Susan's house with strangers and gives her more suspects to check out.

This is a easy, fluff read, something I would categorize along with all the culinary mysteries that have flooded the market, with one big difference: I liked this one. It has it's flaws. The main character is often a doormat and the phrase "I don't understand" is used too much. Many points of the story turn on the fact that nobody knocks on a door before entering. Yet I liked the characters and I liked that a married mother of teenagers, Susan, has a wandering eye when it comes to the police chief. ( )

Since there was a Halloween Party going on at the library, when Susan Henshaw stumbled across a man with a knife sticking out of his chest, she thought it was a Halloween prop. But the man was murdered, and he's not the only victim, talk show host Jason Armstrong is also murdered. Jason's wife doesn't want to stay in the house where her husband was murdered, so Susan invites her to stay at the Henshaw house. Rebecca accepts and soon Susan's house is full of houseguests. Susan grows tired of her trying company and since she considers herself to be an amateur detective, she decides to investigate the case herself.

I've recently discovered Valerie Wolzein's books and enjoy her Josie Pigeon series, but I found "All Hallow's Evil" to be a bit of a disappointment. One of Wolzein's strengths is her character development and while Susan is well written, as are some of the minor characters such as librarian Marion Marshall and next door neighbor Amy Ellsworth, other characters such as Susan's husband, Jed, and Rebecca Armstrong are bland and boring. What really ruins this book, however, is the editing. At one point, Susan makes a lunch date for 12:30, tells her husband, shows up for lunch and is upset that she has to wait until 12:30, and later her husband says he didn't know she had a lunch date. At another point, she drives Rebecca to the police station, then asks for a ride home, presumably leaving her car at the police station, yet her car is in the driveway the next day!

Although there were many things I didn't like about this book, I have enjoyed the Josie Pigeon series and am willing to give the Susan Henshaw series another chance. Hopefully the other books have better editing. ( )

September 5, 1999
All Hallows’ Evil
Valerie Wolzien

An old book of mine, rediscovered at Mom’s. Susan Henshaw series, kind of like Jane Jeffry – suburban housewife / mom / sleuth.

A strange man is found stabbed to death in the town library after a children’s Halloween party, and Susan finds the body. Then, while everyone’s trying to figure out who this corpse is exactly, the husband of a local celebrity – a morning talk show host – who lives in the quiet CT town is also murdered, right on the front porch of their very opulent Victorian home. Details seem to keep leading Susan back to the library, and the slimy, snotty librarian Charles Grace.

It’s okay. Three stars maybe, if I were rating it. I always love anything with Halloween flavor in it. ( )