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Lucy Stone #1
Mistletoe Murder
As if baking holiday cookies, knitting a sweater for her husband's gift, and making her daughter's angel costume for the church pageant weren't enough things for Lucy Stone's busy Christmas schedule, she's also working nights at the famous mail-order company Country Cousins. But when she discovers Sam Miller, its very wealthy founder, dead in his car from an apparent suicide, the sleuth in her knows something just doesn't smell right.
Taking time out from her hectic holiday life to find out what really happened, her investigation leads to a backlog of secrets as long as Santa's Christmas Eve route. Lucy is convinced that someone murdered Sam Miller. But who and why? With each harrowing twist she uncovers in this bizarre case, another shocking revelation is exposed. Now, as Christmas draws near and Lucy gets dangerously closer to the truth, she's about to receive a present from Santa she didn't ask for--a killer who won't be satisfied until everyone on his shopping list is dead, including Lucy herself. . . "Lucy Stone is an endearing sleuth."
--Dorothy Cannell
Taking time out from her hectic holiday life to find out what really happened, her investigation leads to a backlog of secrets as long as Santa's Christmas Eve route. Lucy is convinced that someone murdered Sam Miller. But who and why? With each harrowing twist she uncovers in this bizarre case, another shocking revelation is exposed. Now, as Christmas draws near and Lucy gets dangerously closer to the truth, she's about to receive a present from Santa she didn't ask for--a killer who won't be satisfied until everyone on his shopping list is dead, including Lucy herself. . . "Lucy Stone is an endearing sleuth."
--Dorothy Cannell
222 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1993
1254 people are currently reading
11238 people want to read
About the author
Leslie Meier
65 books2,026 followersLeslie Meier lives in Braintree and Harwich (Cape Cod), Massachusetts. She is the creator of 'Lucy Stone', a reporter and amateur sleuth in the fictional seaside village of Tinker's Cove, Maine.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 798 reviews
December 24, 2024
I loved this delectable little Christmas Goody - and, all the mildly-described mentions of murdering aside, it gave me that wonderful warm and fuzzy Holiday glow inside.
And we all need that as the weather turns colder!
We all have dreams. I dreamed of going to Frisco. Lucy Stone dreams of having more money with which to support her little hand-me-down family.
After all, she has brains and a pair of capable hands - and, you know, Hubby’s pay check doesn’t go far in these hard economic times!
So she’s got a night job, after a long day of housework and kids.
And me - my experience came from MUCH less practical - and downright Dumb, workaday daydreaming.
When I was 17, I wanted to go to Frisco to be with the Hippies. No joke! But it WAS 1967, the Summer of Love!
I worked at the Greater Victoria Water District on the West Coast that summer...
My wonderful Dad knew one of its execs from his childhood - who was the father of Thomas Homer-Dixon, famous author of the epochal and highly influential The Upside of Down.
A good book for our viral times, cause when bad things happen, hard-working folks can turn them into GOOD things.
Though I didn’t work too hard that summer.
Anyway...
It was the Summer of Love, and Haight-Ashbury.
All that summer, as we motored through the vast coniferous watershed, cleared brush, and kept the area clean and safe, we crew members would hear on our beat-up truck radio the liberating sounds of psychedelic music.
And me, of course, I wanted to visit Frisco with my hard-earned workaday cash stash!
Practical, huh?
Well, when I counted my savings at the end of the summer, I AT LEAST reckoned that by dropping in (and dropping out?) at Haight-Ashbury I would blow it ALL!
So, I thought, AT LEAST I can visit Seattle! And I did.
BOR-ING. But since then I always saved money, like Lucy.
At least I did some shopping for school clothes. The PREPPY look was cool then. Oh well….
The industrious heroine of this tale, though, hales from the other coast.
But Lucy Stone works hard AND SAVES.
Along with feeding and lovingly nurturing her young family, with her full-time night job - taking phone-in orders for a large local company, a major Maine outdoors retailer, she can JUST pay the bills.
Sorta like I realized in my thirties when I started to knuckle down.
Does she have time for any sleep? If so, she’ll get even less when a string of Holiday murders hits a bit too close to home!
While not a professional sleuth, Lucy DOES stick her nose more often than not into other people’s mysterious mistletoe double-dealings...
And, careless of the risk, SOLVES each mystery in a snap using clues from local gossip.
Lucy was a new heroine for me, but I intend to make her a regular reading friend.
A Cozy Mystery with lots of Christmas flavour, this series has won me over!
And Eminently Practical...
Like I try to be...
NOW.
And we all need that as the weather turns colder!
We all have dreams. I dreamed of going to Frisco. Lucy Stone dreams of having more money with which to support her little hand-me-down family.
After all, she has brains and a pair of capable hands - and, you know, Hubby’s pay check doesn’t go far in these hard economic times!
So she’s got a night job, after a long day of housework and kids.
And me - my experience came from MUCH less practical - and downright Dumb, workaday daydreaming.
When I was 17, I wanted to go to Frisco to be with the Hippies. No joke! But it WAS 1967, the Summer of Love!
I worked at the Greater Victoria Water District on the West Coast that summer...
My wonderful Dad knew one of its execs from his childhood - who was the father of Thomas Homer-Dixon, famous author of the epochal and highly influential The Upside of Down.
A good book for our viral times, cause when bad things happen, hard-working folks can turn them into GOOD things.
Though I didn’t work too hard that summer.
Anyway...
It was the Summer of Love, and Haight-Ashbury.
All that summer, as we motored through the vast coniferous watershed, cleared brush, and kept the area clean and safe, we crew members would hear on our beat-up truck radio the liberating sounds of psychedelic music.
And me, of course, I wanted to visit Frisco with my hard-earned workaday cash stash!
Practical, huh?
Well, when I counted my savings at the end of the summer, I AT LEAST reckoned that by dropping in (and dropping out?) at Haight-Ashbury I would blow it ALL!
So, I thought, AT LEAST I can visit Seattle! And I did.
BOR-ING. But since then I always saved money, like Lucy.
At least I did some shopping for school clothes. The PREPPY look was cool then. Oh well….
The industrious heroine of this tale, though, hales from the other coast.
But Lucy Stone works hard AND SAVES.
Along with feeding and lovingly nurturing her young family, with her full-time night job - taking phone-in orders for a large local company, a major Maine outdoors retailer, she can JUST pay the bills.
Sorta like I realized in my thirties when I started to knuckle down.
Does she have time for any sleep? If so, she’ll get even less when a string of Holiday murders hits a bit too close to home!
While not a professional sleuth, Lucy DOES stick her nose more often than not into other people’s mysterious mistletoe double-dealings...
And, careless of the risk, SOLVES each mystery in a snap using clues from local gossip.
Lucy was a new heroine for me, but I intend to make her a regular reading friend.
A Cozy Mystery with lots of Christmas flavour, this series has won me over!
And Eminently Practical...
Like I try to be...
NOW.
December 7, 2011
I thought this might be a nice cozy little mystery for the holidays, something easy but pleasant to read when there are so many outside distractions going on. And it might've been okay, but I'll never know, because I'm not going to finish it. This is why (don't worry, not really a spoiler): Less than 50 pages in, the main character Lucy is driving home and sees the body of her dead cat near her driveway. Her attitude about it is offensive and annoying to an animal lover such as myself. She doesn't even get out to check on the cat, just makes an "oh well" type of comment, and ponders finding the kids a little Christmas kitten. Then her husband "drops the cat into the grave" that he dug. UGH. The author must have a similarly cavalier attitude towards animals to have written such a scenario. I find this appalling, and just don't care enough about the book to bother finishing. I did try for another 40 pages or so, but the cat thing had already ruined it for me.
November 15, 2023
MISTLETOE MURDER is such a fun cozy mystery and a great look at small-time life in down-East Maine. Leslie Meier does such a nice job of capturing everyday life, whether that’s working in a call center, everyone in a small town knowing one another, or covering childcare for your neighbors when there’s been an accident. In this first book of the Lucy Stone series, when Lucy witnesses a death outside her call center, she goes on the hunt for more clues. This book was a bit heavier on the murder and a little lighter on the mistletoe, but it was still quite the enjoyable read, and a great mystery that kept me guessing up until the end.
May 18, 2022
I've read all the Hannah Swensen Mysteries by Joanne Fluke, so I thought I might enjoy the Lucy Stone collection by Leslie Meier; they've published a few mini-novellas together in a single book over the years. Similarly, I love books set in Maine, and after reading a few series written by Barbara Ross and Lea Wait, I noticed this one again... I read one of the mini-novellas a few years ago and thought it had potential, but it was mid-series so I hadn't been fully up to speed. I read this debut in the series and unfortunately had mixed feelings.
First, it was published prior to 2000, when books weren't very PC... I'm totally okay with that, as I balance the time something was written with the intent of the author, prior to making judgment. That said... references to homosexuality and people with mental or physical disabilities were definitely abundant and not handled very well. Perhaps the author's journey into subsequent books will correct the language and tone. It wasn't outright rude, but definitely showed a very narrow-minded view without a single character ever trying to show a more mature point of view. That's where I get frustrated with authors; it's good to have characters with views or personalities or situations that not all readers will agree with, but there should be a balance. Maybe an intro to the book that explains why it was written in such a way, or another character chastising the uninformed people saying rude things. Meier did none of that in this book, but I'll read a few more before casting judgment. And if it turns out the writer also believes these awful things she puts in the books, well... that's her prerogative and I will stop reading the books. But I want to be fair and give them a chance.
All that said, Lucy is a great character. I liked the mystery and that she has children she cares for. The scenes with her mother and family at Christmas were touching. And I think she's got lots of potential to become a great investigator. On the flip side, some side plots were dropped, a few clues weren't explained at all, and the ending kinda came from nowhere without a strong enough explanation. I waffled between a 2 and 3 on this one, yet I walked away with a generally positive feeling and some hope, so I am going with the 3 this time. Will try another one later this month.
First, it was published prior to 2000, when books weren't very PC... I'm totally okay with that, as I balance the time something was written with the intent of the author, prior to making judgment. That said... references to homosexuality and people with mental or physical disabilities were definitely abundant and not handled very well. Perhaps the author's journey into subsequent books will correct the language and tone. It wasn't outright rude, but definitely showed a very narrow-minded view without a single character ever trying to show a more mature point of view. That's where I get frustrated with authors; it's good to have characters with views or personalities or situations that not all readers will agree with, but there should be a balance. Maybe an intro to the book that explains why it was written in such a way, or another character chastising the uninformed people saying rude things. Meier did none of that in this book, but I'll read a few more before casting judgment. And if it turns out the writer also believes these awful things she puts in the books, well... that's her prerogative and I will stop reading the books. But I want to be fair and give them a chance.
All that said, Lucy is a great character. I liked the mystery and that she has children she cares for. The scenes with her mother and family at Christmas were touching. And I think she's got lots of potential to become a great investigator. On the flip side, some side plots were dropped, a few clues weren't explained at all, and the ending kinda came from nowhere without a strong enough explanation. I waffled between a 2 and 3 on this one, yet I walked away with a generally positive feeling and some hope, so I am going with the 3 this time. Will try another one later this month.
December 30, 2015
3 1/2 stars... Definitely a fun and fast paced mystery. Lucy Stone was tolerable in this one, not as much "Mary Poppins on speed" which I appreciate. I enjoy these mysteries, they are light and easy to read. Last book of 2015 for me!
July 29, 2019
…
This is a cookie-cutter cozy mystery. It is based on Lucy Stone's view of her life, vaguely interrupted by finding the owner of the company that she is employed by murder. Consequently, the book specifies her day-to-day life, a lack of sought after mentions about the clues pertaining to the murder, and not much compulsion to complete the book.
MAIL-ORDER MURDER As if baking holiday cookies, knitting a sweater for her husband’s gift, and making her daughter’s angel costume for the church pageant weren’t enough things for Lucy Stone’s busy Christmas schedule, she’s also working nights at the famous mail-order company Country Cousins. But when she discovers Sam Miller, it's very wealthy founder, dead in his car from an apparent suicide, the sleuth in her knows something just doesn’t smell right.
Although it can be entertaining, it is not exciting enough to compel me, the reader, to keep turning pages to get a taste of more morsels of details.
After reading more recently published works of romance, mystery, and paranormal - I have discovered that the more recently published works provide the reader with a more 'instant-gratification' than the previous books used to. So combing through this book and its mundane diatribes of what consisted of the daily life of the heroine, i was left with my jaw hanging open.
Taking time out from her hectic holiday life to find out what really happened, her investigation leads to a backlog of secrets as long as Santa’s Christmas Eve route. Lucy is convinced that someone murdered Sam Miller. But who and why? With each harrowing twist she uncovers in this bizarre case, another shocking revelation is exposed. Now, as Christmas draws near and Lucy gets dangerously closer to the truth, she’s about to receive a present from Santa she didn’t ask for--a killer who won’t be satisfied until everyone on his shopping list is dead, including Lucy herself…"Lucy Stone is an endearing sleuth."
I used to enjoy this type of material immensely, but now it seems monotonous. I don't know if I am in a mood or if my tastes are changing,
.
This is a cookie-cutter cozy mystery. It is based on Lucy Stone's view of her life, vaguely interrupted by finding the owner of the company that she is employed by murder. Consequently, the book specifies her day-to-day life, a lack of sought after mentions about the clues pertaining to the murder, and not much compulsion to complete the book.
MAIL-ORDER MURDER As if baking holiday cookies, knitting a sweater for her husband’s gift, and making her daughter’s angel costume for the church pageant weren’t enough things for Lucy Stone’s busy Christmas schedule, she’s also working nights at the famous mail-order company Country Cousins. But when she discovers Sam Miller, it's very wealthy founder, dead in his car from an apparent suicide, the sleuth in her knows something just doesn’t smell right.
Although it can be entertaining, it is not exciting enough to compel me, the reader, to keep turning pages to get a taste of more morsels of details.
After reading more recently published works of romance, mystery, and paranormal - I have discovered that the more recently published works provide the reader with a more 'instant-gratification' than the previous books used to. So combing through this book and its mundane diatribes of what consisted of the daily life of the heroine, i was left with my jaw hanging open.
Taking time out from her hectic holiday life to find out what really happened, her investigation leads to a backlog of secrets as long as Santa’s Christmas Eve route. Lucy is convinced that someone murdered Sam Miller. But who and why? With each harrowing twist she uncovers in this bizarre case, another shocking revelation is exposed. Now, as Christmas draws near and Lucy gets dangerously closer to the truth, she’s about to receive a present from Santa she didn’t ask for--a killer who won’t be satisfied until everyone on his shopping list is dead, including Lucy herself…"Lucy Stone is an endearing sleuth."
I used to enjoy this type of material immensely, but now it seems monotonous. I don't know if I am in a mood or if my tastes are changing,
.
October 23, 2014
I did not find any of the characters in this book very likable at all. Their interaction with pets is callous at worst and indifferent at best. The story was somewhat engaging, but I just cannot stand the characters, especially Lucy Stone and her incessant whining. Yes, it is Christmas and there is a lot to do. Yes, you have kids and there is a lot to do. Yes, you have a job and there is a lot to do. Yes, there is a lot to do. Get over it!
March 13, 2016
Having read half of the book a day ago, I tarried before reading it again the next day. In the morning, I had a barbed insinuation aimed at my by our cleaning lady. To my annoyance I had much difficulty in shrugging off the zinger. I was feeling down and cranky. I was only when I took up this book to read the other half that the self awareness got tempered. Then it hit me...I was missing reading. It gave me a Wolverine like healing ability. I'm thankful to authors like Leslie Meier to bring so many ideas encased in books like these. So very soothing. I'm grateful. Thanks.
October 30, 2021
Great start to an amazing series. I love Lucy and her friends, family and her town. Leslie Meier is an marvelous author.
December 10, 2021
Homophobic, sexist, misogynist, ageism, ableism, and fat phobic. Oh and as I am reminded by other reviews: animal abuse. I don't recommend this book to anyone. If I had a physical copy I'd chuck it in the recycling.
December 11, 2016
3.5 stars. A solid cozy mystery. But....the killing of both a cat and dog for no good purpose lost this book a star and a half. I will likely read more in the series at some point.
December 1, 2023
I love this slice of life story of a stay-at-home mom sleuth and her family. It shows life with three kids and a husband very accurately. But Lucy is not just a great wife and mom, she is also a very curious person and that gets her into some difficult circumstances sometimes. I like this first book in a series that is now 30 years old. The holiday setting just adds to the story.
Lucy Stone is a stay-at-home mom with a husband and three kids. Her life is full and when you add a job to earn some extra cash for Christmas, things just get more complicated. She works nights and sacrifices sleep in order to do all the thongs her family needs for the holidays. Her job is on the phone order desk for mail-order company Country Cousins, the major employer in her small town in Maine.
Lucy is taking a break to get some fresh air when she discovers the body of one of the company's owners dead in the parking lot. At first it looks like a suicide, but Lucy knows it isn't and just can't help herself when she starts her own investigation in addition to everything else going on in her life.
Not everything is as it appears in the life of Sam Miller and Lucy is like a bloodhound on the trail of all the secrets in his life. She has an ally in her friend and police officer until they get too close to the truth and the murderer determines that their little investigation has to end and takes steps to end them.
Lucy Stone is a stay-at-home mom with a husband and three kids. Her life is full and when you add a job to earn some extra cash for Christmas, things just get more complicated. She works nights and sacrifices sleep in order to do all the thongs her family needs for the holidays. Her job is on the phone order desk for mail-order company Country Cousins, the major employer in her small town in Maine.
Lucy is taking a break to get some fresh air when she discovers the body of one of the company's owners dead in the parking lot. At first it looks like a suicide, but Lucy knows it isn't and just can't help herself when she starts her own investigation in addition to everything else going on in her life.
Not everything is as it appears in the life of Sam Miller and Lucy is like a bloodhound on the trail of all the secrets in his life. She has an ally in her friend and police officer until they get too close to the truth and the murderer determines that their little investigation has to end and takes steps to end them.
November 14, 2015
I felt the callousness of the main character to be a constant distraction. Many parts of the storyline were so shallow where a more thorough author would have expanded to make it more interesting (not to mention more believable).
December 24, 2008
There was very little "mystery" in this book at all. The main character's life (in a mystery) shouldn't overshadow the mystery. In this case, the main character's life overwhelmed and smothered the mystery and left it for dead. Lucy finds a dead body on page 14 and another on page 194, but in between it's all about her getting ready for Christmas, having Christmas at her house, the lull in business at work after Christmas and, quite frankly, she's complaining through it all. We have to read all about her mother being depressed because Lucy's father died 6 months earlier, Lucy's father-in-law being intimidating, how much Lucy's got to do to get ready for Christmas, and people getting laid off from their jobs right before Christmas - none of which furthers the plot. These elements weren't incorporated into the mystery - they're all you read about. Between the pages of 14 and 194, there is little to no mention of the "mystery" at all. Her cat gets purposely strangled somewhere in there and I have yet to figure out how that furthered the plot of the book. She tries to help out a family in poverty and her husband tells her not to because the reason they live in poverty is that they don't want to work "like the rest of us". She goes back anyway and a man ends up shooting and killing his own dog because the dog was chasing Lucy. Again, I don't see how people killing pets furthers the plot of the book. There are several paragraphs devoted to Lucy making a sandwich. In the end, Lucy accidentally stumbles on the solution to the "mystery". All in all, this has got to be one of the worst books I've ever finished and I wouldn't have finished it if I hadn't signed up for the 50 book a year challenge (if it had been any longer, I wouldn't have finished it). It was tedious and boring. I read the book because I really liked the Lucy Stone short story in Candy Cane Murder. I'm assuming that there are better Lucy Stone books, but I doubt that I'll take my chances on them. I really regret that I wasted my money on this one.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 14, 2021
This book is supposed to be a cozy mystery. However, there's hardly any mystery; 90% of the book is Lucy complaining about how much she has to do before Christmas, her mother's depression, her father-in-law being a jerk, etc. If all of the "mystery" parts were put together the book would only be about 15 pages; most of it is fluff. The big reveal of the mystery was anticlimactic and tepid, at best. Also, the attitudes that are portrayed in this book toward women are outdated; however, the attitudes they display towards pets are simply atrocious. This will be the only Lucy Stone mystery book I read.
August 14, 2024
Lucy Stone is working nights at a mail order company. When the owner is killed in the parking lot, she begins to piece together gossip to find the killer. I like the characters, but the plot was slowed down so much in the first half by every day life (Lucy is a married mother of two), that I was bored. Things did pick up in the second half.
Read my full review at Carstairs Considers.
Read my full review at Carstairs Considers.
December 26, 2016
Cozy mystery, neither was it slow nor was it a page-turner. Good for mindless reading but I wasn't really sold on this book.
December 15, 2017
I am a big fan of cozy mysteries and this one really hit the spot for the genre, and for a pleasant holiday read. I'm excited for the next installment (although a little intimidated because there are SO MANY books in this series!!!).
January 14, 2023
⭐️⭐️⭐️ -Audiobook
December 9, 2023
This is the first book of (as of this writing) 21 others in this series. It is a good, solid first book that is not without some flaws. It is a true cozy in the sense that it is not bloody, it focuses not only on the murder but the protagonists family and life in general.
Some reviewers have complained about a section of the book that deals with the death of a cat and the procurement of several kittens. While I too was upset about the treatment the author gave to the dead cat, I came to realize that we are talking a book written more than 20 years ago (written in 1991) and the fact that Mainers are a tad more stoic about these sorts of things. It did not make this okay with me, but I understood it better.
I will defiantly be reading more of these books. They are quick read, almost pop-corn reads and I can't wait to see if the author grows as a writer and how the Stone family grows too.
Some reviewers have complained about a section of the book that deals with the death of a cat and the procurement of several kittens. While I too was upset about the treatment the author gave to the dead cat, I came to realize that we are talking a book written more than 20 years ago (written in 1991) and the fact that Mainers are a tad more stoic about these sorts of things. It did not make this okay with me, but I understood it better.
I will defiantly be reading more of these books. They are quick read, almost pop-corn reads and I can't wait to see if the author grows as a writer and how the Stone family grows too.
June 30, 2018
I feel the author crossed the line, that makes a cozy mystery cozy, when she let a pet die. Perhaps if she handled it differently it wouldn't have been so bad, but I found it callous and unfeeling.
There was too much going on that had nothing to do with anything, and I got bored. I understand the first book in a series may be a little slow, so the author can set up the characters, but that's not what this was. I put the book down and forgot about it, then today I was looking for something to read on my Kindle and there is was. It bothers me to have an unfinished book, so I finished it off. It did pick up at the end.
I would have given it more stars if it didn't have so many fillers, and honestly, I can't get passed the cat incident.
There was too much going on that had nothing to do with anything, and I got bored. I understand the first book in a series may be a little slow, so the author can set up the characters, but that's not what this was. I put the book down and forgot about it, then today I was looking for something to read on my Kindle and there is was. It bothers me to have an unfinished book, so I finished it off. It did pick up at the end.
I would have given it more stars if it didn't have so many fillers, and honestly, I can't get passed the cat incident.
December 27, 2022
When the founder of the mail-order company Lucy Stone works for is found dead in his car of an apparent suicide, Lucy’s instincts tell her that it was murder. Secrets start to come out and the danger for Lucy increases as she investigates on her own to find the person responsible.
This is the first book I have read by Leslie Meier. I enjoy cozy mysteries and I think I’ll enjoy this series. Lucy Stone is practical, but determined. The series is set in a small town in Maine called Tinker’s Cove and all the people you meet in this book are delightful. Everyone knows everyone and everyone’s business. Each chapter starts off with an item number and description from the Country Cousins catalog and some of them I would have bought myself. Also, somewhere in the chapter the item, or similar item, is mentioned being used. It was kind of cool.
The mystery throughout the book is well organized and played out. There are multiple twists and some pretty funny situations that made me chuckle. The story never gets overly complicated or serious, hence the cozy mystery label. It was a nice change for me since I enjoy the real gritty mysteries. The outcome of the murder is swift, but thorough. There are no loose ends.
Lucy’s family is wonderful and I look forward to continuing the series and seeing the kids grow and see where Lucy’s sleuthing skills go.
This is the first book I have read by Leslie Meier. I enjoy cozy mysteries and I think I’ll enjoy this series. Lucy Stone is practical, but determined. The series is set in a small town in Maine called Tinker’s Cove and all the people you meet in this book are delightful. Everyone knows everyone and everyone’s business. Each chapter starts off with an item number and description from the Country Cousins catalog and some of them I would have bought myself. Also, somewhere in the chapter the item, or similar item, is mentioned being used. It was kind of cool.
The mystery throughout the book is well organized and played out. There are multiple twists and some pretty funny situations that made me chuckle. The story never gets overly complicated or serious, hence the cozy mystery label. It was a nice change for me since I enjoy the real gritty mysteries. The outcome of the murder is swift, but thorough. There are no loose ends.
Lucy’s family is wonderful and I look forward to continuing the series and seeing the kids grow and see where Lucy’s sleuthing skills go.
February 23, 2025
I won this from a goodreads giveaway and gave it a try. First and foremost when authors write animals getting hurt, especially with an "oh well" kind of attitude, that automatically gets one less star for me. Not needed. Second, this book was just a little too Hallmark murder mystery for me, which it was made in 1993 so it makes sense why. It was too cookie cutter and predictable.
April 14, 2024
This is a first book in the serie with Lucy Stone. It takes places around Christmas. I enjoyed reading this book. I like the atmosphere in it. Looking forward to read a next book in the serie.
June 28, 2010
The actual story in this book is only 202 pages (the rest of the book is TWO sample chapters and a lot of other nonsense to make it look thicker), but it took me forever to get through this. This book was about 90% filler and MAYBE 10% mystery. The main character really only does one thing in her "efforts" to solve the mystery, and the ending doesn't tie everything up, and that was disappointing, considering how little there even was to explain. The logic in this book was also mind numbing (X gets into a car accident, but X is a good driver. Thus, someone MUST have been trying to kill X!). I was also surprised to find bad language, just because the Lucy Stone book covers always look so innocent! The attitude toward animals also bothered me. I'm only giving this book 2 stars because I liked the Maine setting, and the writing at least flowed.
January 16, 2018
WHAT the heck did I just read? Did that book make any sense? NO. And the end, was tepid and wasn't that just easy to tidy that weirdo wandering [did we really need 6 sub-stories going on with the main murder one that never went anywhere?] story up nice and easy and make the one reading it go "WHAT was that" and "ARE. YOU. SERIOUS?"
I am glad that I only owned one of this series and that I do not have to read anymore. Meh. I cannot, in good faith, recommend this book to anyone.
I am glad that I only owned one of this series and that I do not have to read anymore. Meh. I cannot, in good faith, recommend this book to anyone.
November 28, 2008
this has become one of my favorite mystery authors. It was such a fun and interesting read. No slow parts at all.
January 14, 2015
I did not even finish this book as, amongst other things, I found the main character so unlikable. The best thing about the book, for me, was the cover. I really liked the illustration :)
July 1, 2018
A fun to read who-done-it mystery novel. An easy and fast reading storyline, if you like Agatha Christie mysteries you will probably enjoy it.
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