Mistletoe Murder

Lucy Stone is a busy mother of three who also works the late phone lines for a local mail order business. But despite her busy life and the fact that Christmas is around the corner, when she finds her boss dead in the parking lot at work, she can't resist investigating.

I enjoyed this book. It was not as Christmasy as I thought it would be but it was fun. I like that she has a family. She is a really normal sort of person who is just really observant. I like her husband. It had some of the same problems many first books have. You have to meet all the characters and establish the setting. That can sometimes take away from the mystery. But Lucy and company are so much fun I know I will be reading more in the series.

What a great look at small-time life in down-East Maine. Leslie Meier does such a nice job of capturing everyday life, whether that’s working in a call center, everyone in a small town knowing one another, or covering childcare for your neighbors when there’s been an accident. In this first book of the Lucy Stone series, when Lucy witnesses a death outside her call center, she goes on the hunt for more clues. This book was a bit heavier on the murder and a little lighter on the mistletoe, but it was still quite the enjoyable read, and a great mystery that kept me guessing up until the end.

Please excuse typos/name misspellings. Entered on screen reader.

Lucy’s life is is just one hectic day after another as Christmas is drawing ever closer. She has a part time evening job, takes care of three kids and her husband, runs the household, is getting ready for Christmas, and is expecting her mother and Bill’s parents for Christmas. That would certainly be more than enough for anyone, but the icing on the cake is Lucy finding a dead body in a parked car. This is the first novel in the series, and it’s a nice introduction to the many books that follow. My main complaint is that there are too many deaths for a cozy mystery. This includes two totally unnecessary deaths of animals. On the positive side, Lucy and her family and friends are all interesting characters. The solution of the show more mystery a pretty good one. And the series does improve as it goes on. show less

To help make ends meet, homemaker and mother of three Lucy Stone works the evening shift at Country Cousins, the mail order company that employs the majority of the residents in her small Maine town. Preparations for Christmas begin to take their toll on Lucy. Feeling drowsy in the middle of a late evening shift, she steps out into the parking lot, hoping the fresh air will revive her long enough to finish her shift. She hears a car motor running -- unusual at that time of night -- and, following the noise to its source, discovers company owner Sam Miller in his car with a hose running from the tail pipe through one of the windows. Is it suicide or murder? Who would want Sam dead? His brother and co-owner of the company? His show more discontented wife who is eager to leave small-town Maine? The creepy manager, George Higham, who appears to gain influence in the company after Sam's death? Through a combination of local gossip and old-fashioned snooping, Lucy finally manages to work out the identity of the killer.

This is the first book in the Lucy Stone series, and it shows. The mystery was not well-plotted, and there were plenty of holes in the story. Last year I read a Christmas novella from much later in the series and really enjoyed it, so I have hope that the writing will improve. I do like Lucy and her family, and I'll try another book or two in the series before I give up on it. show less

It is a rare cozy mystery where there author creates an intelligent and somewhat believable way to get their protagonist investigating the crime at hand....and this isn't one of them.

Which is not to say that this wasn't a fun and enjoyable book, but as a mystery...well, it was a good family story set at Christmas time.

The author's strength really was more with the characters, the season and the way of life the main character lived. The mystery was very light, and the solving of it mostly done off stage and felt more like an afterthought.

Some of the side characters, Miss Tilly and Mrs. Miller look like they could be fun and the book was enjoyable enough that I would be willing to read more in the series. Just don't expect a challenging show more story. show less

Lucy Stone is a working mother and I mean a working mother. By day she takes care of three children, at 5 she heads to work at the Country Cousins mail order facility were she has a shift until 1AM. One night needing a breath of cold air, Lucy finds the company founder dead in his car with the engine running. Since she is in at the beginning of the crime, Lucy proceeds to dig searching for the solution to this murder. The holidays are used as a backdrop for this cozy mystery and the family interactions and seasonal characteristics only blend the story together so that small parts make the whole entertaining and delightful.

This was my last read of 2018. Book 1 of the Lucy Stone Mystery series was written 20 years ago. It is still a lot of fun to read. I really liked the look into her job at a call center for a mail order company. Although this book takes place around Christmas, it didn't seem really Christmasy to me. I felt this was a solid cozy mystery and a good start to the series.