Customer Reviews

Christmas Cookie Murder: A Lucy Stone Mystery (Lucy Stone Mysteries)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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

Christmas Cookie Murder is a pleasant way to spend a weekend. Nothing too deep or profound, the book filled the bill nicely for me when I wanted a fast and fun read.

This was my first glimpse into the life of Lucy Stone, and I find now I should go back to book 1 and advance from there, for I think that I've missed out on much of the backstory of her life and family.

The story takes place in Tinker's Cove, Maine and features Lucy as reporter for the town's paper and inveterate 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 fluke.

Even though this is my first Lucy Stone mystery, I have the rest in my ToBeRead pile and look forward to learning more about Lucy and Tinker's Cove.

This was an easy, fun read for me, I tend to read very serious books ( my last was HUBBERT'S PEAK: THE IMPENDING WORLD OIL SHORTAGE) so I found this novel very refreshing. CHRISTMAS COOKIE MURDER is perhaps the second murder mystery I ever recall reading. I thought the story line and characterization were excellent, and I see that Leslie Meier has used the character Lucy Stone five times previously, obviously a well developed character and fine tuned indeed. The writing style used here is homey, very relaxed.

As a man I enjoyed reading of the bickering a group of women are capable of, with their petty squabbles and jealousies, I suspect that Leslie Meier may have a keen insight into women's minds that few men do. Also, much of the book centers around Christmas and families and normal everyday events, and of course a perplexing murder, all told I found this a charming novel, definitely worth reading.

It deeply pains me to not be able to give this book 5 stars. This is the 6th book in the series, and I have given flawless, dazzling, 5-star reviews to the other 5 books. "Trick or Treat Murder" was the best; "Mistletoe Murder" (also known as "Mail Order Murder") was one of the best. The other 3 were also wonderful, cozy books.

This book is flat and lacks charm. I found no coziness; I don't like the way Lucy unnecessarily lashes out at her son near the beginning of the book. I no longer like Elizabeth or Toby. They have grown up to be insensitive brats, and Bill is also a jerk.

The title and cover art gives a promising anticipation; however, the book inside does not fill the bill of the beautiful outside appearances.

The one would-have-been cozy scene was ruined by a toilet water leak; Lucy compared the drugs in town to the colonies of insects in her attic (if she has insects in her house, I sure don't want to know about it - that takes away from the potential coziness). So after reading this book, I had no cravings for the wonderful Christmas cookies that are on the cover.

This series was one of my very favorite series. I highly sung its praises. However, I did not find the warmth and coziness in this book that I found in the other 5. If this had of been the first book of this series that I had read, I definitely wouldn't have bothered to read a second one. But because the first 5 were so good, I will read the 7th one, "Turkey Day Murder", and I'm hoping it will be a warm cozy. I hope it will be as good as the Halloween book.

Bake those cookies, wrap those presents, trim the tree, then play the holiday music, get comfortable and curl up with Lucy Stone. An enjoyable escape read.As the mother of four sons, and living in a small town I always enjoy a Lucy Stone mystery and Christmas Cookie Murder once again hit the spot.

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.

This Christmas installment starts off with a bang when Lucy hosts the annual cookie exchange. (Hint to people with kids: always be careful when entertaining.)You will have to read what happens.
Joanne Meier does a good job describing her kids and family life. It is very believable.
In all the other books in this series, Lucy is the one who discovers the murder. In this book she didn't. Lucy more than makes up for the excitement at the end with an exciting ending. This book won't disappoint you.

In the 6th book in the Lucy Stone mystery series, Christmas has become overwhelming for Lucy once again. One of her favorite traditions of the holiday season, the cookie exchange, doesn't seem like such a good idea this year. Between friends moving away, a divorce, and cancer, it does not appear that the "cookie exchange regulars" will be in the mood this year. Determined to push through, Lucy gives in and invites new friends to the cookie exchange. But, this group is not as cohesive as the last. One member brings MADD pamphlets to be distributed, and another confesses that her son has been arrested for drunk driving. When an argument breaks out over a recipe that two members brought, Lucy knows there is more to the story. She quickly learns that Lee Cummings and her husband Steve are going through a messy divorce. Tucker Whitney, having brought the same cookies as Lee, is the other woman involved in the divorce. And when Tucker ends up dead the day after the exchange, Lucy begins to realize that the town is hiding many secrets...and someone is willing to kill to keep them.

Like a previous book in the series, Tippy Toe Murder, this book involves a serious issue in society. This time it is drug use. Drugs even affect Lucy's own family, and it becomes clear that the Stone family isn't always as perfect as they seem. I like that fact that Lucy and her family are real. Other cozies oftentimes show unrealistically "perfect" children that willingly do chores, get good grades, and don't misbehave. Lucy deals with school issues, college applications, and drug use by a family member in this latest installment. She juggles family life with a part time job, shopping for the holidays, and keeping her family fed. For some readers, these aspects of her life may seem boring. However, I love the fact that Lucy has a life that many moms can relate to.

If you enjoy the Jane Jeffry series by Jill Churchill, give this series a try.

The first book in the series is called "Mistletoe Murder". Enjoy!

Other reviewers here have given a good feel for the setting and plot of this lightweight mystery about a small town housewife/mom who dabbles in crimesolving. I found it pleasant, but uninspired- one scene has her serving tuna sandwiches and tomato soup to her family, which kind of sums up the diet we're offered - lacking in imaginative ddetail, witty dialogue, or unususal characters - everyone and every conversation is mundane to the extreme, yet is oddly comforting in its familiarity.

I have read all of the Lucy Stone Mysteries and can't wait for the next one to be published. Once I picked one up, I had to read the entire series.