Review: A Curse for Samhain by Dahlia Donovan

I received an advanced review copy of this book for free from the publisher via the LibraryThing Early Reviewers Program. This did not affect my opinion of the book in any way.

Series: The Skeleton Crew #1
Publisher: Hot Tree Publishing
Published: August 2024
Pages: 138

Synopsis

Welcome to the Skeleton Crew. Bring your knitting needles and a good, strong brew.

Gender fluid, autistic vampire Hyde Snodgrass runs Between the Leaves—a cosy village book store. Their life revolves around books, all things autumnal, and the two cats who rule their world. The shop also plays host to a weekly knitting group called the Skeleton Crew.

When one of the leaders of the village coven fails to show up for the weekly knitting meeting, Hyde finds themselves investigating a horrific murder side by side with their long-term crush, Teresa Vega.

Suspicion immediately falls on other members of their group. Hyde and Teresa struggle to find answers to the growing list of questions. It’s made all the more difficult when the killer has them in their sights.

Can working together spark the romantic flame within them?

Will they solve the mystery before death comes too close?

My Thoughts…

Despite my best intentions, I haven’t been very good at following through on my goal to read more books in theme with spooky season this year. Of course, I’ll still try to do so after tonight but I really wanted to share at least one Halloween-themed read this year, so enter A Curse for Samhain!

This queer fantasy cozy mystery is a delightful quick and easy read, which was perfect to get that light spooky, witchy feeling while also being really fun. The story is told in alternating POVs, following Hyde – a genderfluid autistic vampire who runs the village bookstore – and his neighbour Teresa – a witch with a taco bus (not truck!). I really enjoyed the characters and their relationship and budding romance. There is so much diversity in this book and it refreshing for once to read about an accepting community, where every resident does their bit to make others feel welcome and boundaries are clearly communicated and respected.

Of course it isn’t all blissful as there is still a murder mystery to deal with. This is the part that worked slightly less well for me, as it seemed to remain very surface-level and was resolved far too quickly. Granted, this is a cozy mystery set in a very small village so it’s not as if there could be many suspects and a really intricate mystery, but I was still left wanting a little more depth and structure to it than there actually was. That being said, I really liked the depiction of grief and the way the deceased’s life is celebrated by the village community.

Overall, this was a pleasant read with a lot more potential than was realised here. It would work well for readers looking for a quick and easy read featuring diverse characters and a quirky, accepting small community, or as a palate-cleanser between tough reads, but might leave anyone looking for a more compelling mystery unsatisfied. I’ll look forward to returning to this world with the next book though, to see where the author will take their characters next.