Customer Reviews

Bake Sale Murder (Lucy Stone Mysteries, No. 13)

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Lucy Stone's neighborhood has changed. Instead of her nice quiet street, now there's a new subdivision nearby with a loud motorcycle riding teenager.

Lucy and her friends, Sue, Pam, and Rachel begin working on the Hat and Mitten fund. They decide a bake sale, like they used to hold, would be a great fundraiser. Lucy volunteers to call everyone to get donations of baked goods. Unfortunately she finds that she hasn't kept up with everyone and they're all busy doing something else and unable to bake anything.

So they decide to include the new neighbors in the subdivision to help with the bake sale. New neighbor Chris Cashman decides to take over. Lucy's fine with letting her take over, but it puts a real strain on her friendship with Sue as she'd always been the leader before. Chris decides they should make low-carb snacks, sell bottled water, and even make some dog treats. They're going to have a taste test to decide which recipes are the best for the sale.

The date of the taste test Mimi Stanton doesn't show up. Lucy is dispatched to check on her and find out if she needs any help. Unfortunately Lucy finds Mimi in her kitchen with a large knife in her chest.

Who could have killed her and why? Lucy sets out to figure out who did it since she doesn't think the person the police arrested is the killer.

I love this series. Lucy is such a fun character. She's very involved with her kids, friends, and community. Her involvement gives her credibility in investigating, plus it sets up the secondary story line. I really enjoyed this book. I highly recommend it.

This installment in the Lucy Stone series was excellent. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Tinker's Cove is growing and new subdivisions and people are arriving.

The hat and mitten fund needs money. Lucy, Pam, Sue, and Rachel decide to have a bake sale. This was an interesting part of the book. It was typical how things change in communities and "new blood" should be brought in to help as often as possible.

These new people bring new situations to Tinker's Cove including murder. The author does an excellent job with this book. She weaves a story about teen issues and coping with home and career into her usual mystery. You will enjoy this book.

I'm a huge Lucy Stone fan, however, the last couple of books in this series, IMO, haven't been as good as some of the others...until now.

Lucy Stone is back, and this book is a great addition to the series. It's well-written...there's a lot of red-herrings, some nicely placed clues, and the killer is introduced early in the book. As a mystery lover, you can't ask for much more.

This time out, Lucy has new neighbors, and one who is quite the little troublemaker. Early on, she is found dead, and Lucy investigates the murder, and eventually discovers who the murderer is.

BAKE SALE MURDER is a great addition to this series. I loved the addition of the new characters, and I hope they will appear in the next Lucy Stone Mystery. I also loved the recipes that are included at the back of the book.

Honestly, I'd have given this book 10 stars if it were an option.

I've never read books by this author but decided to give this book a shot when it was offered for free. While the story was not what I normally prefer to read, it was readable and engaging enough to pull me through to the end. That being said, several things bothered me with this book.

1. I did not like nor could I believe how Lucy and her husband reacted when they discovered how their daughter, Sara, and other cheerleaders were being sexually harassed by the football players during trips to and from their football games. Lucy seemed to be concerned initially when she found out but when her husband told her that the girls needed to develop thicker skin, she seemed to let it go.

2. Her daughter started to become physically ill before going to school and instead of digging deeper to discover the cause, Lucy decided not to question her in fear of pushing her daughter away. I've never heard of any parent taking this approach in a situation but maybe they are out there.

3. I thought Sue's behavior at the barbeque was very childish. I couldn't get into the scene at all because she went from an adult hosting a nice barbecue to a small child throwing a temper tantrum.

4. The ending was very rushed in my opinion. After I finished the book, I felt that the killer had been sitting comfortably on the other side of the country then came back to the story at the end just to say "Aha, it was me all along!" It just didn't flow very well with the rest of the story.

If you're looking for a light, somewhat entertaining read, you may enjoy this book but if you are looking for something a little more realistic, I'd try something else.

Welcome Back Lucy Stone.

After a long line of less than stellar books, the Bake Sale Murder has taken us back to earlier, superior Lucy Stone mysteries.

Lucy Stone isn't happy. Instead of living on a nice quiet road that she's used to, a little subdivision has sprung up next to her, including one obnoxious motorcyle riding teenager who spends as much time reving up his machine as he does riding it.

Lucy and her friends, Sue, Pam and Rachel start working on the Hat and Mitten fund. A bake sale seemed like a good idea to raise funds, until she starts calling her friends for baked donations and realizes she hasn't kept up with them for awhile as everyone is involved in activities which make it impossible for them to bake anything.

So they decide this would be a good time to get to know the new people in the subdivision and get some baked goods for the sale at the same time. Bonnie Burhart, wife of the new guidance counselor at school. Willie Westwood, wife of the new vet. Frankie LaChance a divorced mother and Chris Cashman mother of Pear and Apple. Unable to attend the first meeting, Mimi Stanton, wife of the subdivision developer and mother of motorcyle riding Preston.

What starts out as the selling of a few baked goods at the school turns into a major sale when Chris Cashman takes over. No longer a couple of brownies and cakes, they're going to produce low-carb snacks, have bottled beverages and even make home made dog treats. Chris even decides that they should all make several of their best treats and then they would all get together and have a taste test to vote for the best and then only produce them in large quantities for the sale.

Lucy is always happy to let an "A" type personality take over, but since it's usually been her friend Sue, things are a little strained as Sue has met her match in Chris.

Things don't seem as upbeat when on the day of the taste test, Mimi doesn't show up. Lucy gets sent over to find out if she needs any help. Mimi needs help, but not the kind Lucy can offer as she's in her kitchen with a large knife in her chest.

Who would have killed the developer's wife? Was it a disgruntled new home owner? Rumors were the houses weren't built that good. A jealous wife? Rumors were she might have been stepping out with someone else's husband. Or a jealous husband? Maybe the mysterious homeless person that was seen lurking around the house and living in the woods?

Lucy isn't sure, but she's determined to investigate as the person arrested by the police just doesn't seem like a killer to her.

Highlights:

Lucy Stone had been one of my favorite characters, but her last several books have been very disappointing. This one gives us back the old Lucy who is more involved with her family and friends rather than her job a the Pennysaver.

Lucy getting the prime job of making the dog treats, resulting in her two daughters Sarah and Zoe not wanting to help as anythng containing liver is disgusting.

Sue's frustrations at meeting an "A" type personality that was stronger than she was and having to take second place. They wouldn't even let her make her "Better Than Sex" brownies.

Sarah - 14 & Zoe - 9. With just two children at home the book reminds me of the first ones in the series when she had three children at home, Toby, Elizabeth & Sarah and she worked part time at various jobs.

Frankie LaChance who may dress like a bimbo but seems to be an almost perfect mother while raising her teenage daughter alone. I would like to see this character continue in future books.

No Elizabeth. Lucy's oldest daughter ruined more books than any other character. For some reason she was turned into a smart mouthed, backtalking, having to have everything her own way brat. And Lucy bowed to all her wishes. I think I wrote about this relationship in my previous reviews. She's away at college and I'm hoping she never moves back hom.

Good mystery. Lucy does some real investigating this time.

Lowlights.

Lucy's wishywashy behavior. Her daughter Sarah is a cheerleader and Lucy finds out she and the other cheerleaders are being sexually harassed by the football players while on the bus to games. (I won't get into the details,) but if my daughter told me this and the principal and coach blew me off, I'd be at a lawyer's office. Lucy does nothing except talk to them and then wonders if maybe it isn't as bad as Sarah tells her.

Bill Stone - I don't believe for one minute his reaction when he hears what has been happening to his daughter. He seems to think it's ok because the team is winning. If you'd read the earlier books you would know this would not be Bill's reaction. I think he'd be up on murder charges.

I almost didn't buy this book as I have been so disappointed in the previous ones, but I'm glad I did. I hope the future books continue to have Lucy solving the mysteries from a background of her homelife and not her job.

I expected this to be a fun mystery read. It's not. It's not nearly as light-hearted or amusing as many of the other mystery series out there. I didn't get involved with the story or the people in it. It was bland and it didn't feel like the author tried to make it flow or to engage the reader.

The characters are dull and I wasn't interested in any of them - they're just boring and or mildly unlikable (and at times stupid, not in an endearing way). All are entirely forgettable - I kept having to think if Lucy was the dog or the protagonist.

The plot and subplot were clumsy with the subplot never really being resolved or connected to the characters supposedly responsible. The core plot was disjointed and undeveloped - even for this genre. I kept reading thinking that I just needed more time to get into it and to learn about the setting, style and characters. It never happened.

I most likely won't give this author another try unless she pops up another freebie for Kindle (like this one was) as this book isn't worth paying $2 for, much less $4.47.

I've never written a review before. However, with that being said, this is one of the most boring books I've ever read. After the first third of the book I found myself speed reading the the pages to get through the stupid thing as quickly as possible. If you're a serious mystery reader, don't waste your time on this one.

Think egg whites that haven't been beaten quite enough to hold a stiff peak. Weak, without substance. I made it through to the end, but found myself wishing it was done. I'm giving it two stars instead of one because I stuck with it, but I'm not sure why I did.

As usual I thoroughly enjoyed this look in to Lucy's busy life. The plot is well crafted,quick moving and plausible (ok, as plausible as it can be for one person to be involved in several murders in a small New England town). A good evening by the fireplace for sure.

Even though mysteries aren't usually my cup of tea, I needed a light book to transition from work related reading. While I looked forward to what each chapter might bring, I kept waiting for some of the characters to redeem themselves. Lucy surrounds herself with a bunch of people that have such negative energy that I think it affected her decision making abilities to protect her daughter from harassment. The ending wrapped up too quickly and neatly compared to how long it took for the murder to take place.