Book Review: Wicked Witch Murder

Author: Leslie Meier
Title: Wicked Witch Murder
Publisher: Kensington
Publish Date: Sept 1, 2010
Buy: Amazon
Book Blurb: With planning the town's annual Halloween Party, the drought wreaking havoc on her garden, and her brood of four children, Lucy Stone's got her hands full this fall. As the air turns crisp and the trees blaze red and gold in the tiny town of Tinker's Cove, Maine, a newcomer arrives who seems to suit the Halloween season. Diana Ravenscroft has just opened Solstice, a charming little shop featuring candles, crystals, jewelry, and psychic readings. But after an unnervingly accurate reading by Diana, Lucy starts to get more than a little spooked.

Then there's the dead body Lucy finds, way up on one of the old logging roads behind her house. The deceased is identified as Malcolm Malebranche, a seemingly harmless magician who worked at children's birthday parties. When it turns out that Diana knew the murder victim, Ike Stoughton, a prominent local businessman, starts a campaign against Diana, blaming 'the witch' for everything from the unseasonal dry spell to his wife's illness and his pumpkins' lack of plumpness. But Lucy's not so sure that Ike himself is innocent. Still, as the town Halloween party approaches, Lucy's more concerned about the costume competition, pin-the-nose-on-the-pumpkin, and baking three dozen orange cupcakes and Beastly Bug cookies. But as the October moon rises, a killer plans a lethal celebration of his own and Lucy's the guest of honor.

Review: I love holiday themed books, so I around Halloween I started to read this one. Flash forward almost a month and I'm finally finishing this one.

Wicked Witch Murder, is a pretty ho hum story as far as cozy mysteries are concerned. The plot has great potential with  a new resident and witchcraft and of course a religious crazy that doesn't believe in medicine and thinks that witch craft is evil.

There could have been a good witch hunt theme going on here, but it barely got off the ground.

The murder happens early on and the victim is connected with Diana, but then the focus of the story seems to shift away from that area and more to Diana and the crazy Stoughton clan, which weaves in a lot of the witchy details. Although I have to say, I find it hilarious that small towns have all these cute little specialty stores. I mean, a witchcraft shop?

Needless to say Lucy's daughters are friends with Ike's daughter and they are also experimenting with Wicca, which causes a multitude of problems

I've read several of the Lucy Stone mysteries, and Lucy is probably one of my least favorite cozy mystery heroines. It's something about her personality that gets a little annoying. She has a condescending way about her.

There were so many things going on in this story. But the Ike Stoughton part of the story line was annoying, especially when things wrap up at the end. A person that was that religious and held those kind of convictions would not change that quickly or even try to.

This was probably my least favorite of the Lucy Stone novels. Everything was disjointed here and even with the death at the beginning didn't seem connected with the rest of the story, though it is, it just doesn't feel like it was even important at all.

Rating: 2 flowers

Book Review: Chocolate Covered Murder

Author: Leslie Meier

Title: Chocolate Covered Murder

Publisher: Kensington

Publish Date: Dec 31, 2012

Buy: Amazon

Book Blurb: 

Between a cutthroat dessert contest and her daughter's new job at the fanciest chocolate shop Tinker's Cove has ever seen, Lucy Stone is on a steady diet of tempting treats! But with a killer on the loose, and Valentine's Day around the corner, there may be nothing sweeter than revenge. . . It's frigid in snow-covered Tinker's Cove, and Lucy is fighting the winter blues--and her widening waistline. No one in their right mind would vacation in Maine this time of year, but to boost the economy, the town is launching a travel promotion for Valentine's Day. As a reporter for the Pennysaver, Lucy is assigned a puff piece on upscale Chanticleer's Chocolates, and its deliciously handsome owner, Trey Meacham. But when a local fisherman drowns suspiciously, Lucy's certain her investigative skills could be put to better use. . .

Everyone is shocked when Fern's Famous Fudge loses its status as "Best Candy on the Coast" to Chanticleer's pricey newfangled confections. And Lucy soon discovers there's another tantalizing tart behind the counter. Sultry store manager Tamzin Graves is only too eager to serve her male clientele--who find her as mouthwatering as her beef-jerky-spiked truffles. Leaving a throng of jealous women in her wake, it's almost no surprise when Tamzin is the next to turn up dead, her body covered in chocolate. . .

Could a bitter ex-wife be behind the crimes? Or a candy shop competitor? There's no sugar-coating the truth, and as Lucy closes in on the culprit, she may find herself locked in the clutches of a half-baked killer. . .

Review: I have a love/hate relationship with Lucy Stone. I've read a few and I've had mixed feelings about them, but this story caught my eye, and I was really pleasantly surprised when I finished the last page.

When I first started reading this series, I expected something like the Hannah Swensen series, and when I found out it wasn't going to be that way, I was a little disappointed. Like the Hannah novels, you do get a fun cast of characters from Tinker's Cove, but where as Hannah is a single girl with a business, Lucy is a parttime

This story was more lively with two rival candy makers and two dead bodies, and truth be told, Lucy didn't seem to be investigating more as she was there to watch things unfold.

The characters, particularly the ones that end up dead are the most interesting, Tamzin, who is really quite a sleazy chocolate seller and Max and outdoors man that doesn't pay his bills. Both add life to the story, Tamzin with her general flirtatious sluttyness and Max, well, you felt sorry for him for a bit.

There was so much going on in this story, naughty chocolates, one of Lucy's friends getting handcuffed to the bed by a chocolate Cassanova, Trey Meacham and an elderly couple on the hunt for a perfect house.

This story had an interesting pace because there were two murders. Max died early on and Tamzin midway through. I spent a lot of the book wondering how the two killings were tied together, and even when one character was arrested, I knew that person couldn't be the killer. The cops never find the killer in cozy mysteries early on! What fun would that be if they did!

More so than anything this book mixed small town gossip with a murder mystery and the result was really quite fun and it kept you on your toes, because you really couldn't guess who did it until the book was nearly over.

All of this taking place around Valentine's Day!

One of the better Lucy Stone mysteries and you really don't need to read them all in order to enjoy them.

Rating: 4 flowers

Book Review: Valentine Murder

Author: Leslie Meier
Title: Valentine Murder
Publisher: Kensington
Publish Date: February 1, 1999
Buy: Amazon
Book Blurb: It’s Valentine’s Day in Tinker’s Cove. And while the cupcakes Lucy Stone is baking for her children will have pink frosting and candy hearts, Lucy’s thoughts aren’t centered on sugary sentiments. She’s barely arrived at her first board meeting of the newly-renovated library when Bitsy Howell, the new librarian, is found dead in the basement, shot only minutes before story hour was to start. The agitated board members assume that Bitsy was killed by an outsider, until Detective Lt. Horowitz arrives on the scene and announces that the killer is among them.


Lucy was already aware that Bitsy’s uppity big city ways rubbed some people in Tinker’s Cove the wrong way. But she has a hunch that motives for the librarian’s violent death run a lot deeper. From Hayden Norcross’s elegant antique shop to Corney Clark’s chic kitchen, Lucy relentlessly snoops into the curious lifestyles and shocking secrets of Tinker’s Cove’s most solid citizens—secrets that will plunge her into a terrifying confrontation with a conniving killer.

Review: Lucy Stone mysteries are good for a quiet afternoon. Leslie's books are shorter than your average cozy. In fact they are really about the same length as most Harlequin Romances.

I love Lucy and her family and friends. They feel like real small town people to me, when I read these books, but I have to say there are a few things that bother me, not just with this book, but with some other cozies like this.

1. How do people find other people to kill in these small towns? I mean, I've lived in a small town for all of my 37 years and there haven't been that many murders here.

2. It is 1999 and Lucy doesn't understand the internet and the web? I had my first computer in that year and I felt like I was way behind the times! What's up with that.

3. How does she get away with not turning assignments in at the newspaper. Freelance or no, a deadline's a deadline.

All these things aside, this was a really cute story. A murdered librarian. a stolen pewter tankard, and a caterer who cheats with her recipes. The clues point to so many different people and believe it or not, for as cheesy as these stories are,  you won't guess the killer. However I had a hard time figuring out what happened and to whom towards the end.

A cute fluffy read, but not one of the best in the Lucy Stone series.

Rating: 3 flowers

Book Review: Bake Sale Murder

Author: Leslie Meier
Title: Bake Sale Murder
Publisher: Kensington Books
Publish Date: Dec 1, 2007
Buy: Amazon
Book Blurb: Ever since local developer Fred Stanton and his wife, Mimi, built five modular homes next door to Lucy Stone's farmhouse, life just hasn't been the same. With Mimi complaining about everything from the state of Lucy's lawn to another neighbor's lovable dog, quaint Tinker's Cove, Maine, is now entangled in cul-de-sac politics and backstabbing. And when Mimi doesn't show up for her shift at The Hat and Mitten Fund bake sale, the scent of burnt sugar leads Lucy to a shocking discovery: Mimi, face down on her kitchen floor--with a knife in her back.
While the police start their investigation, Lucy gets busy writing up the murder for the local Pennysaver--and following a few leads of her own. Lucy knows the women in her neighborhood didn't like Mimi, but they certainly didn't want her dead...right?

   
Review: There's something special about Lucy Stone mysteries. This is the 13th in the series. This story mixes small town life with a cozy mystery. Unlike a lot of authors with long lived series, I find that Lucy Stone is still fresh, and her characters are progressing on with their lives. Things aren't at a stand still in these books. Lucy's son Toby is engaged, her daughter is away at college. The neighborhood is changing. That's what sets up the stage for the murder.

It takes awhile for the murder to take place, which some readers may have a gripe with, but Leslie let's us get to know the new people in town, as well as Mimi, her husband and two sons. That's the cozy to this mystery.

I laughed my way through the scenes where Lucy, Sue, Chris, Mimi etc where trying to decide what to make for the bake sale. This was classic small town U.S.A. Typical PTA mom poltics! It wouldn't be as funny if it weren't true.

I really liked how several other parts of the story tied things together to the murder of Mimi and the homeless man. To say any more would spoil the story.

This was a really quick read and a fun cozy with some great recipes at the end! I can't wait to try them, as well as another Lucy Stone.

Rating: 4 flowers

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