Trick or Treat Murder

Ultimately, it was an OK murder mystery with some OK twists and turns and conclusions...
but there were some MAJOR flaws... and if those flaws had been, er, done away with... well, what I'm really trying to say is that I think the author actually has potential. Though I don't know if she'd ever realize it, since this formula makes her successful enough...

Major Flaw #1: it's a book called Trick or Treat Murder, yet the murder does NOT happen on Halloween or surrounding any Halloween-related activity. in any way. whatsoever. Rather, the murder happens in the days leading up to Halloween, so ya know, it's being investigated around Halloween time. Which I don't think is enough. But maybe even that could have been if there was more Halloween show more in this Halloween book. Instead, it's like, they're getting ready for this big Halloween party, and that's supposed to be enough? Where're all the descriptions of all the Halloween decorations all over the neighborhood, the candy being purchased, the costume-planning, the Halloween activities, buying pumpkins, carving them, etc. etc. etc. So, I thought that was a MAJOR let down.

Major Flaw #2: This is the first Leslie Meier book I've read, so maybe this is just what these books are about, but it's NOT about a detective lady, even an amateur detective lady, solving mysteries. It's about a housewife with a bunch of kids, too much time on her hands, and a busy-body attitude. She likes to "investigate" things with not only NO authority to do so, but while being told NOT to do so by the authorities AND while receiving threats. While she has kids. I mean, that's incredibly careless, dangerous, and frankly stupid. Plus, she's not terribly bright. She comes to weird sudden conclusions ... surely crafted to lead the reader astray, but they're not even convincing. Oh! He was having an affair? It MUST BE HIM. I mean, with no other evidence, it's such a WEAK conclusion to draw. All of the various theories are so weakly manufactured, that the reader is, instead of trying to solve a mystery, just waiting for the *right* clues to be "conveniently" dropped on her lap. This, while the main character runs around in circles like a chicken with her head cut off, making grand accusations and essentially ignoring death threats to her and her family. AND THEN? Yeah, this book is more about the trials and tribulations of a housewife with 4 kids, one of which is a brand new baby, than it is about solving a mystery. In particular, it's about nursing, working out, and making 12 dozen cupcakes. Which I can assure the author does NOT take an entire week. Not to mention that the cupcakes that were made earlier in the week would be nice and stale by the time they were eaten.

Major Flaw #3: You've GOT to be kidding me on the husband. He's ridiculously 2-dimensional, which would be fine if he wasn't such a major character with such a major role. From where I'm sitting, he seems like a bit of an arrogant, distant a$$, but for some reason, Lucy Stone ("detective") worships him. And there's quite a bit of hero-worship going on here, which was eye-rolling for me, but might be nice for some people who want to fantasize about... this kind of guy? I don't know. I feel like, he must have been written this way because some people find that attractive....

So yeah. Some major problems. BUT it was enjoyable enough and read quickly enough, once you got past page 125 or so... It was nice to read a "Halloween themed" mystery at Halloween, even if it wasn't Halloween'y enough. I'd recommend for people who don't mind the off-topic murder mystery and who don't find reading about a new mom's "milk falling" off-putting...

Two and a half stars... but 3 on cites w/o halves. show less

Lucy is juggling too many balls, and one - or more - is sure to come crashing down on her. Author Leslie Meier does a great job of depicting the life of a new mom who also has three older children. Since her husband is busy with his own work, the brunt of the household chores falls on her. And she also has a hard time saying no when it comes to volunteering her time and efforts for her community. It’s almost Hallowe’en, and an arsonist is loose, plying his tricks around the town. And he seems to have Lucy in his crosshairs. The mystery is a good one, but much of the interest in the story comes from watching Lucy cope with the struggles life presents her. It’s a dangerous time for the town generally, and for Lucy specifically. This show more book is early in the series, and the books just keep getting better as they go on. It’s best to read them in order and watch the kids grow up. show less

There’s an arsonist on the loose in Tinker’s Cove, Lucy has a new baby at home, cupcakes to bake, and Halloween costumes to figure out. I always love this series for its look into life in small-town coastal Maine and everyday family life. Lots of funny town council meetings (think Gilmore Girls), exercise classes, haunted house decorating, pumpkin patches and hayrides, and Lucy tracking down trouble. And cupcakes. Oh, the cupcakes! This one was interesting as far as the murder plot went and kept me guessing all the way to the end!

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

The plot: Lucy Stone, mother of four, begins snooping around her Maine village looking for clues after a friend's remains are discovered in a burnt home. There have been several historic buildings burned recently and Lucy suspects her friend's estranged husband is behind it.
The reality: This book was written by someone who uses the terms "sock hop" and "fanny". There is very liitle violence, which is fine as I prefer cozies, but Meier managed to gross me out anyway by describing the color of Lucy's mucous when she coughs up, having her lick the blood from a wound and, several times, having her change her baby's diapers as other characters are eating. Eeeeww. And what's with the constant breast-feeding in public? Whatever the situation, show more Lucy Stone whips them out. If it had happened once, to remind the reader that this is a woman with a newborn, I could have forgotten it. But it was on one page after another. And did we need to have the descriptions of how Lucy's breasts felt all along the way, according to how long it had been since the baby had last nursed. I also had to stop and re-read the passage when Lucy paid the babysitter for watching her four children for the night, one of whom was the newborn with an ear infection. Ten dollars. I know this book was written in 1996, but stil, ten dollars?
Though I finished it, I lost my patience halfway through this book. The story was more focused on Lucy's baby than a mystery. I flipped to see how many pages this would go on for (268) and that's when I saw the author 's photo on the inside back cover. At first I was appalled to see a woman with a Moe haircut leaning into her hand with an "Aw, shucks!" expression, but then I realized that the picture explained the whole never-been-far-from-home tone of the book. show less

An arsonist is at work in the small town of Tinker's Cove, Maine. Just before Halloween, a summer resident dies in a fire in her supposedly empty home, conveniently for her philandering husband. Could the fires be covering up murder? Or does the arsonist have a different purpose in mind? Mom of four Lucy Stone fits some sleuthing into her already hectic schedule.

The culprit wasn't difficult to spot, although the author did provide several plausible suspects. For the most part, the situations that allow Lucy to snoop arise naturally. Rather than going out of her way to look into the fires, she takes advantage of the opportunities that arise as she goes about her daily activities. Lucy and her family make pleasant companions when I'm in show more the mood for something cozy. I'm just getting started with this series, so I have several more holiday treats in store for me. show less

In all fairness, I don't tend to like cozy mysteries. Usually, though, they don't go so far as to bug me. This one was pretty irritating. Not only was the MC's casual sleuthing completely unbelievable, but most of the characters were borderline annoying. The writing hasn't aged well, either.

October in Tinkers Cove, Maine isn’t just fall colours. For Lucy Stone it means getting things ready for her kids’ trick or treating and the big Halloween party at the Ezekiel Hallet house. It also becomes a time of arson in a small town of old historic buildings.

Someone is setting fire to some of the old historic buildings. They may be vacant and in bad shape, but that is no reason to destroy them in a community that values their history and has laws regarding the preservation of the properties. Or is it?

Lucy can’t avoid a mystery, even if she is toting Zoe, her offspring, pretty much wherever she goes. There is the frequent need of diaper changes and nursing that can’t be ignored, even when Lucy is sleuthing.

This cozy series show more is fun to read in small doses, for me. A quick read, and good break, if I am reading a more complicated book. That comment doesn’t mean that there is a lack of puzzlement of figuring out who-dunnit. show less