Christmas Cookie Murder

The story takes place in Tinker's Cove, Maine and features Lucy as reporter for the town's paper and an amateur sleuth, this time the victim is a young woman rumored to be the reason for the breakup of the marriage of the town's dentist and his wife. Did the good doctor do it? The police think so and arrest him. But suspicion also hovers over the head of the good doctor's wife, who had been overheard to mouth vile thoughts toward the deceased. Add to this a growing concern over the use of alcohol by local teens, the influx of hard drugs into the tiny coastal town, a police chief whose ideas and attitudes come into direct conflict with just about everyone and Lucy has a lot to ponder and solve. And how she solves the mystery is quite by blunder.

Several years ago, a friend gave me this book to read and I have enjoyed all of Lelie Meier Lucy Stone Mystery books. This is one of my favorites. A great treat for the Holidays! Thank you, Kim Sessions Mesa, Arizona

After reading the very disappointing Back to School Murder, I was a bit hesitant to try another Leslie Meier mystery. I needn't have worried. This one was excellent. While the mystery plot was a bit weak, with the solution a little too easy to find for our intrepid detective, the rest of the book more than made up for this. The characterizations were strong, and the small-town aura very seductive.An excellent installment in this series.

Leslie Meier should never stop writing! She's brilliant!

The quiet town of Tinker's Cove, Maine is a place where everyone knows everyone else's business and doors or cars are never locked. It is Christmas time, but newspaper reporter Lucy Stone struggles with the season's spirit after an overflowing toilet drowned her cookie party. Lucy likes the newest female resident, Tucker Whitney, an assistant at the daycare center.Before Lucy can truly pursue a friendship, Tucker is found strangled to death. All the townsfolk know that Tucker was having an affair with Steve Cummings, who was separated from his wife Lee. The acting police chief arrests Steve for murder, but even his wife strongly feels her spouse is incapable of performing the act. Lucy begins to snoop, which lands her into more trouble than she ever has been in before and she knows trouble with a capital T.The Lucy Stone mysteries are reminiscent of the Jessica Fletcher TV series even though the heroine of Tinker's Cove is much younger. The towns are similar with their respective residents interchangeable. However, Lucy Meier places her own special mark on each novel as readers have a refreshing opportunity to meet each character. CHRISTMAS COOOKIE MURDERS is simultaneously the most humorous yet melancholy of the all the books. By pulling off such a dichotomy inside an intriguing who-done-it, Ms. Meir demonstrates her writing abilities that turn this amateur sleuth into a fine novel.Harriet Klausner