Book Review: Trick Or Treat Murder

Author: Leslie Meier
Title: Trick Or Treat Murder
Publisher: Kensington Books
Publish Date: Oct 1, 1997
Buy: Amazon
Book Blurb: Haunted-house parties and ghostly galas. . .grinning pumpkins, mayhem and murder. It's going to be one heck of a Halloween for Lucy Stone and Tinker's Cove. . .

It's October in Maine, and everyone in Tinker's Cove is preparing for the annual Halloween festival. While Lucy Stone is whipping up orange-frosted cupcakes, recycling tutus for her daughters' Halloween costumes, helping her son with his pre-teen rebellion, and breast-feeding her brand-new bay, an arsonist is loose in Tinker's Cove. When the latest fire claims the life of the owner of the town's oldest house, arson turns into murder. . .

While the townsfolk work to transform a dilapidated mansion into a haunted house for the All-Ghouls festival, the hunt for the culprit heats up. Trick-or-treat turns deadly as a little digging in all the wrong places puts Lucy too close to a shocking discovery that could send all her best-laid plans up in smoke. . .

Review: This is my first Lucy Stone novel...needless to say, it isn't the first in the series, it is the 3rd. Oh well. I really liked Lucy's character and her family and friends. This is the first cozy series I've read where the heroine was married and had a family.

The murder in this story is tied to a string of arson in Tinker's Cove.

I really liked the way Lucy went about looking for the killer. I also liked that she didn't really solve the mystery in the usual sense. She has a lot of suspects, Dr. Mayes, the victim's husband, Krissy the owner of the new gym, who was having an affair with Dr. Mayes and the gas station owner, who is more than a little bit crazy.

This story was so colorful and Tinker's Cove is a New England town, and it is Halloween. Lots of fun autumn things going on here to make the story a delightful read.

My only huge gripe is when Lucy is in the hospital at the end, a victim of another fire, and no one is at the hospital with her. No one? Not a single family member? That doesn't seem right? Oh and she just walks right out? I don't think so. Not even in the late 90s would that happen. I can't imagine her feeling up to walking out of a hospital after suffering the smoke inhalation she must have had.

This was an enjoyable introduction to the series, and I'm definitely going to be making this a series that I'll keep reading. I like Lucy, Bill and her kids. Fun times!

Rating: 4 flowers