Star Spangled Murder

July Fourth is coming up. Tinkers Cove, Maine usually has celebrations. But this particular year, there are issues. Lots of issues. Will the celebrations continue this year? While several citizens are worried about whether or not the celebrations will continue, other things happen. Lobster poaching, possible smuggling, neighbor disputes, chicken issues, weird people at Blueberry Pond. And also a murder. I enjoyed this book; I love Lucy. She is a fun person and a good mother (but her two oldest kids did not turn out good.) The adventure with Lucy and Sue out in the boat was funny. Elizabeth almost took away a star from this book. Elizabeth is the most heartless, compassionless, evil, despicable, hateful character I have ever known. She did something really bad in this book. (I will not say what it was, because I do not want to ruin it for those who have not read this book. Not that what she did adds anything to the book - in fact, it greatly takes away from it.) I was greatly disappointed in Lucy because she did not put a stop to it or at least come down hard on Elizabeth. She lets Elizabeth do what she wants and make a fool of herself and her entire family. I don't care how old Elizabeth is - as long as she is living in Lucy's home, she shoud not do anything so disgraceful. And the way she talks to Lucy and treats her little sisters. Something bad needs to happen to Elizabeth that makes her find religion.

Leslie Meier's description of life and characters in small-town Maine is entertaining. The dialogue between characters is interesting and often funny. She also usually manages to educate her readers a little bit about the issues that Maine faces today such as expensive heating oil, lobster poaching and the rough economy, but not in a way that drags the stories down. The author's books have been compared to "The cozy", an apt description, because her books invoke a cozy feeling. She never gets too gruesome in her murders, which in my opinion is a plus. Her writing ability, like Lucy Stone's family, grows as the years go by. If you read her entire series of books, you will get to know and like her regular characters; her family, Ms. Tilley, Barney Culpepper, best friend Sue, and more. The Star-Spangled Murder was interesting, full of conflicts, and I had no idea how she was going to wrap it up. It kept me guessing til the end. I wish she wrote more than one book a year and I'll be sure to to buy her next one as soon as it comes out.

Author Leslie Meier has done it again! I've followed each of her Lucy Stone books and this one doesn't disappoint! Same great mix of humor and mystery - this time with a July 4 theme. If you've read any of her books, you'll no doubt love this one, too. If you haven't read any, you owe it to yourself to try it, if you love the "cozy" format.

Once again Lucy Stone is sleuthing. The Fourth of July is coming. At the town selectman meeting they vote to cancel the fireworks. No one can believe it. And why? To save the purple-spotted lichen, a plant that grows mainly on rocks. The town is divided. There are protests and many letters to the editor.Then there are the naturists down at the pond. They are sunbathing nude. Pru Pratt has called for a law banning nude sunbathing. Lucy is having a hard time handling the naturists. Her boss makes her go down to interview some of them. She is appalled to find one of her own children down there sunbathing nude!Plus there is the upcoming selectman?s meeting where they will decide the fate of their dog, Kudo. He is an escape artist. This wouldn?t be so bad if he didn?t make a beeline for the neighbor?s chicken coop every time he escaped.Lucy?s son Toby and Wesley Pratt get into a fight over lobster poaching. They are both arrested. Will Toby end up in jail?Then Lucy finds Pru Pratt (the neighbor complaining about her dog?s activities) dead, the victim of murder. Out of concern that the naturists would participate in the parade, they cancel the parade. What is happening to this quiet little town?Lucy decides she?d better find out who killed Pru before one of her own family is charged.I really enjoy this series. Lucy and her family are such fun characters. They really come to life through her writing. And Tinker?s Cove is such a great town. Even with all the recent problems, I?d still want to vacation there!Leslie Meier has created such a wonderful series, I always look forward to reading the next book. I?m never disappointed. I highly recommend this book.

While Tinker?s Cove, Maine is in an uproar, Lucy Stone, a reporter for the weekly Pennysaver, is worried about her family, her dog and the schism in the town. Lucy?s canine Kudo keeps escaping from his pen no matter what she tries to keep him home. Her neighbor Pru Pratt want the dog put down because he keeps killing her chickens. To make matters worse their sons lobster fisherman Toby Stone and Pru?s Wesley get into a fight over poaching and both are arrested. The town is forced to cancel the Fourth of July fireworks because the purple spotted lichen is an endangered species that might get harmed.The town is also suffering from an influx of naturists and Pru is calling for a law to be passed to ban nude bathing. The veterans are angry that the holiday parade is being cancelled because the naturalists want to take part in the festivities and the church groups are vehemently opposed to that. On a heartbreaking note, Wesley accidentally runs over Kudo and when Lucy decides to visit Pru she finds the woman dead, the victim of murder. Now Lucy?s family are suspects because they all had a motive to kill her.STAR SPANGLED MURDER is an enthralling cozy that verges on the farcical at times especially when one disaster after another keeps on happening to the town and the folks who live there. The heroine is determined to catch the killer so she can get rid of the pesky media, makes the Stone?s good name and return to the job she quit when the editor wouldn?t let her report on Pru?s murder. Leslie Meir keeps getting better with every book she writes.Harriet Klausner