Review copy was received from Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Candy Apples and Clairvoyants by Danielle Garrett Narrator: Amanda Ronconi
Series: Sugar Shack Witch Mysteries #4
Published by Tantor Audio on February 18, 2025
Genres: Paranormal, Cozy Mystery
Length: 1 hours, 14 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Publisher
Goodreads
Amazon, Audible, Libro.fm
It’s Halloween night and I’ve got everything I need for a spooky good time. And by that, I mean copious amounts of chocolate and sugar, and a pile of scary movies.
But when the pumpkins have been carved and the trick-or-treaters have all gone home to count their loot, I find there’s still a spirit stirring, with a reminder from a Halloween I’d almost forgotten.
And frankly, no horror flick can top the spine-chilling prospect of time-traveling back to my high school days.
A blast to Rosella’s past for this latest Sugar Shack mystery has her in a race against time to solve a mystery before it’s too late. What a delight that Danielle Garrett keeps adding to this light, but well-developed paranormal cozy mystery.
Candy Apples and Clairvoyants is the eighth entry in a series that reads best in order for the character and relationship development. Chronologically, though, this short novella goes back to Rosella’s senior year in high school so is a prequel. The reader/listener meets familiar characters when they were much younger and still sorting out their futures and their magic.
Candy Apples and Clairvoyants is a brief minor mystery that takes place all on Halloween night at the town’s carnival-like Halloween festival. Rosella attends with her two best friends where she encounters her mean girl cousin and wonders if her boyfriend will get off work in time to join her. While there eating treats, doing the rides, and playing the games, she encounters a psychic whose crystal ball is stolen. She uses the crystal ball to channel brief visits to the beyond to her dead husband and must have the ball back by midnight or she’ll miss her chance. Rosella and her friends eagerly rush in to aid the distraught woman and she discovers how her gift (aka the curse) of speaking with animal can aid in mystery solving.
All in all this brief series entry was a fun Halloween holiday cozy mystery particularly since it showed Rosella while she and the others were still fresh and young.
Narration:
Amanda Ronconi narrated and is a familiar and welcome voice of the series.
Listen to a clip: HERE
About Amanda Ronconi
Amanda is an actress and narrator who divides her time between New York City and Upstate New York. She has a BFA from NYU where she studied at the Stella Adler Conservatory. She has performed in theaters around New York City and regionally at The Alley, Capital Rep and many productions at the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey.
Her Off-Broadway solo comedy, Shirley at the Tropicana, received critical acclaim and was subsequently featured in The New York Times. Film and TV credits include Daydream Believer (Slamdance 2001’s Best Dramatic Feature winner), The Understudy, Deadly Sins (ID Discovery), IFC’s Get Hit and Chasing Paradise. National network and regional commercials include Chase Bank, Sony and Blue Cross/Blue Shield. Her voiceover work encompasses nearly 100 audiobooks available on Audible.com. She is a member of SAG-AFTRA and Actors’ Equity.
Amanda’s new solo show, Kempner, will debut in 2016.
About Danielle Garrett
From a young age, Danielle Garrett was obsessed with fantastic places and the stories set in them. As a lifelong bookworm, she’s gone on hundreds of adventures through the eyes of wizards, princesses, elves, and some rather wonderful everyday people as well.
Danielle now lives in Oregon and while she travels as often as possible, she wouldn’t call anywhere else home. She shares her life with her husband and their house full of animals, and when not writing, spends her time being a house servant for three extremely spoiled cats.
As a lifelong reader, it was inevitable that Sophia would discover book blogs and the joy of blog reviewing.Sophia is a prolific reader and audiobook listener which allows her to experience so many wonderful books, authors, and narrators.Few genres are outside her reading tastes, but her true love is fiction particularly history, mystery, sci-fi, and romance.Though, sorry, no horror or she will run like Shaggy and Scooby.
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I love stories set on Halloween, and this sounds like fun!
Then, this is just the thing for you, Tammy. 🙂
I love this series and I have no idea how I keep missing that new titles have come out. Bummer I missed the review copy. I just picked up the last two so I can keep on top of the series.
There are so many authors and series for me to keep track of, too. Maybe the library will get a copy. The one after this one just came out for audio review with Tantor.
Being able to speak to animals would be really neat.
I think so, too. I couldn’t figure out why people were down on her for it.
Nice to get prequel with some background history on characters you love. Happy to hear this was a hit! Love Amanda Ronconi!
Yes, it was a surprise to go back to the past like this. 🙂
I skipped your review and the summary. Slowly starting this series and I’m already in loveeee
I think I loved it more with each new release. 🙂
Oh, I love seeing another Danielle Garrett fan! I binged the first six books in one of her witch series last year, and I loved it. I need to reread so I can give proper reviews.
Great review, Sophia! I cannot wait to get to this series!
I didn’t take to this series as quickly as her Beachwood Harbor Witch and Ghost series, but I love it now. Hope you get the chance at it, Angie! 🙂