Book Club “Chaos at the Lazy Bones Bookshop”
For October, we chose Chaos at the Lazy Bones Bookshop by Emmeline Duncan. We were fans of the author’s other series, Ground Rules Mysteries, and thought her new series sounded like the perfect Halloween treat!
We remembered Halloweentown fondly from out childhood and thought reading about a town with a similar vibe sounded fantastic. An entire town dedicated to Halloween seems like the perfect cozy setting for a mystery.
Book
Chaos at the Lazy Bones Bookshop by Emmeline Duncan
Description:
The first in this Pacific Northwest-set Halloween cozy mystery series inspired by the real "Halloweentown!"
When Bailey Briggs takes over her grandfather’s bookshop, Lazy Bones Books, she accidentally discovers her beloved Oregon Halloween-themed town’s secret dark side…
Normally, spooky season is Bailey Briggs’ favorite time of year, and her Halloween-themed small town’s time to shine. But between managing Lazy Bones Books, working on her graphic novel-in-progress, and running the Spooky Season Literary Festival, Bailey hardly has a moment to enjoy Elyan Hollow’s spot-on seasonal vibes. Not to mention, at every turn she seems to be tripping over the contentious crew of Gone Ghouls, a ghost-hunting reality TV show currently filming around town. Bailey tries to stay focused on the Lit Festival, which is supposed to kick off Elyan Hollow’s annual Halloween Fair; instead, this year’s festival begins with a murder . . .
It’s bad enough Bailey discovered the victim, but now, as a lead suspect with some (admittedly) damning evidence pointing her way, she’s got to clear her name! With the help of her librarian friend, Colby, and Jack Skeleton, her world-class bookshop dog (and the absolute bestest boy ever), Bailey sets out to solve a murder . . .
As her investigation weaves through family secrets, professional rivalries, and town feuds, the list of suspects is growing fast . . . and unfortunately, so is the list of victims. It’s up to Bailey to keep Elyan Hollow’s haunted reputation from getting too real in this charming Halloween cozy mystery, perfect for curling up with this spooky season.
Club
Snack suggestions:
With this being a Halloween-themed book, you can’t go wrong with any Halloween treats that you want to create! We had some cupcakes and doughnuts (since we had lots of cupcakes at last year’s Halloween Cupcake Murder book club.)
With Colby and Danby’s family owning a cheese shop, we had to make sure had some cheese and crackers as part of our spread. To make it more spooky, we cut our cheese into the shape of ghosts.
There was also mention of boo-ritos in the book and we had those as our main course.
Check out Cozy Crimes’ book club questions that can be used for any mystery.
Here are our questions targeted to Chaos at the Lazy Bones Bookshop:
1. What is the significance of Halloween for the town of Elyan Hollow? How does it influence the characters and the mystery?
2. How did Bailey's family situation affect the mystery?
3. Would you visit Elyan Hollow? What was your favorite part of this cozy town?
4. There were many side characters and featured townsfolk. Who was your favorite?
5. What did you think of the murder weapon?
6. Bailey had many hobbies and was involved in many activities and events in her town. What was your favorite to read about?
7. Did you enjoy reading about the dog Jack Skellington? How does he compare to other cozy mystery canine characters?
8. What clues did you pick up on throughout the book that helped you figure out who committed the crimes and who was Bailey's father?
9. How did the characters' pasts affect the present and contribute to the mystery?
10. Did you have sympathy for the victims?
