Time to make the donuts! Time to make the donuts! Every morning when my alarm goes off at three a.m. that ridiculous soundbite from that old Dunkin’ Donuts ad competes for space in my head along with a loud buzzing noise. It’s annoying. I spring awake in the darkness and smack the alarm into silence. The alarm, unfortunately, is also a signal to my giant Newfie, Wellington, that it’s morning and time for his first round of cookies… and a walk along the beach, of course. However, one look at his happy puppy dog face, and I know that Welly, unlike me, isn’t encumbered with the ridiculous sing-song earworm about making the donuts. The irony is that I really do have to get up and make the donuts, and the muffins, and the sweet rolls, the pecan rolls, and the coffee cakes, because my name is Lindsey Bakewell, and around this town, my name is synonymous with the Beacon Bakeshop, my bakery. The coolest part about my bakery, besides the delicious coffee and scrumptious baked goods, is that it’s located in a historic lighthouse. 

Unfortunately, my lighthouse is haunted.
Unfortunately, it’s also Halloween.

Yet most unfortunate of all is that for the better part of the month I’ve been waking up only to find life-sized ghouls hanging from the branches of my oak tree. If I thought the donut jingle was bad, it’s nothing compared to bumping into Freddy Kruger at three-thirty in the morning while trying to walk Welly.

Ghouls aside, I’m excited about Halloween. Fall baking, in my humble opinion, is every baker’s dream. There’s nothing like a warm apple cider donut rolled in cinnamon-sugar, or a fresh, delectable pumpkin scone with a maple glaze. And who can resist a pumpkin spice latte? Not this girl. Heck if pumpkin spice was a perfume, I’d be wearing it. My mom, Ellie Montague Bakewell, a former 80s supermodel, might not agree. But she cannot deny that she loves Halloween too. In fact, Mom and my best friend Kennedy Kapoor, (Mom’s business partner at the Ellie & Co boutique) are hosting a Pumpkin Pageant, at Beacon Harbor’s Halloween celebration. All one needs to do is wear a costume and march in the parade. Better yet if you wear matching costumes with your pet you get extra points. My boyfriend, Rory Campbell (a hunky former navy SEAL), and the rest of my crew at the Beacon Bakeshop are planning a special Halloween costume surprise that is sure to delight my mom if not the rest of the village. I can’t say what it is, but I’m excited. Of course, poor Welly is being roped into our group costume as well. Thank heaven I’ve made plenty of pumpkin Beacon Bites, our dog-friendly biscuits, to encourage cooperation and good behavior.

Although I believe I’ve prepared as best as I can for Halloween, I can’t explain it. I feel nervous. I feel like a shoe is about to drop at any minute. Then Kennedy comes bursting though the bakeshop door with what she believes is great news.

“You’re not going to believe this, Linds. I’ve invited the Ghost Guys from Travel Channel to do a livestream ghost hunt right here, in the lighthouse, on Halloween night, and they’ve agreed! Isn’t that fabulous?”

Oh no, I think. That’s not fabulous at all, especially for Captain Willy. But what can I do? Ken’s my best friend, and she’s really excited about this.

“Okay,” I tell her. “Why not?”

Kennedy’s happy. Yet deep in the marrow of my bones I feel a storm coming.

Murder at the Pumpkin Pageant, A Beacon Bakeshop Mystery Book #4
Genre: Cozy
Release: July 2023
Format: Print, Digital
Purchase Link

The latest installment in Darci Hannah’s delicious Beacon Bakeshop Mystery series set in small-town Beacon Harbor, Michigan, featuring a baker heroine who lives in the local lighthouse with her beloved Newfoundland dog, Wellington.

Lindsey prefers to keep her bakeshop’s Halloween decor light and autumnal, rather than gruesome and ghoulish. But everyone knows her lighthouse home is haunted. Some intrepid teens have even tried to break in to witness the resident ghost themselves. Dreading Halloween night, Lindsey reluctantly allows her influencer and podcaster best friend, Kennedy, to host a live ghost hunting investigation in the lighthouse, conducted by a professional team. Protective of her ghost, Lyndsey is understandably nervous about what they might uncover . . .

The segment is uneventful—until things take a terrifying turn. The team freaks out. As Kennedy joins the mad dash outside, she bumps into what looks like the prankster teens’ creepy clown costume hanging from a tree. But when Lindsey’s dog, Wellington, begins to whine, they make a grim discovery: the clown is no dummy. It’s a corpse.

Now Lindsey and company will need to keep their cool if they want a ghost of a chance to solve the murder—and see another Halloween . . .

About the author
Darci Hannah is the bestselling author of the Beacon Bakeshop Mystery Series, the Very Cherry Mystery Series, The Exile of Sara Stevenson, and The Angel of Blythe Hall. Passionate about food, family, dogs, history, books, lighthouses, laughter, good conversation, coffee, and the paranormal, Darci feels especially blessed to have found a way to combine her interests in the stories she writes. It brings her great joy to be able to share them with you. Connect with Darci at darcihannah.com and on Instagram: @authordarcihannah.

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