The Skeleton Haunts a House is perhaps the most provocative cozy mystery I've read. There's more detail to the violence, more willingness to engage with unsavory topics, and even a criticism of the tendency of cozy readers (myself very much included!) to gloss over the murders because the victims are usually unpleasant people who are easily dehumanized and deemed as deserving of murder. I can see this being a polarizing book for a lot of cozy readers, but it worked for me.

Although Perry doesn't include queer characters on the page, she does make it clear that her characters casually accept queer people, which I loved. I think this is the first cozy I've read that even mentions trans people existing. That made me so happy, because although I think this is changing and will continue to change, there is a tacit implication that queer people are inherently uncozy. Both Leigh Perry here and Jenn McKinlay in her Library Lover's series are (as far as I know) straight writers challenging that notion, and that definitely contributes to my loyalty to them.

Other pros are the inclusion of more of Georgia's family, the fun Halloween festival/haunted house setting, and a twisty mystery that I thought I had figured out multiple times but eluded me in the end.