Saturday, February 19, 2022

Review: Valentine Murder by Leslie Meier

 


About the Book


Genre
Cozy Mystery

Format
E-Book

Publisher
Kensington

Release Date
February 3, 2011  (originally published February 1, 1999)


Synopsis from Goodreads:

It’s Valentine’s Day in Tinker’s Cove. And while the cupcakes Lucy Stone is baking for her children will have pink frosting and candy hearts, Lucy’s thoughts aren’t centered on sugary sentiments. She’s barely arrived at her first board meeting of the newly-renovated library when Bitsy Howell, the new librarian, is found dead in the basement, shot only minutes before story hour was to start. The agitated board members assume that Bitsy was killed by an outsider, until Detective Lt. Horowitz arrives on the scene and announces that the killer is among them.

Lucy was already aware that Bitsy’s uppity big city ways rubbed some people in Tinker’s Cove the wrong way. But she has a hunch that motives for the librarian’s violent death run a lot deeper. From Hayden Norcross’s elegant antique shop to Corney Clark’s chic kitchen, Lucy relentlessly snoops into the curious lifestyles and shocking secrets of Tinker’s Cove’s most solid citizens—secrets that will plunge her into a terrifying confrontation with a conniving killer…

My Review

Lucy Stone is a part time reporter at a local newspaper.  She is excited to, also, be part of the local library’s board.  Her first board meeting doesn’t quite go as planned.  She finds the new librarian, Bitsy Howell, dead in the basement.  

Since she found the body, Lucy feels responsible to find the killer.  The police concentrate on a suspect Lucy feels is innocent.  She vows to find out the truth even though the detective in charge warns her against it.

Being a part time reporter and library board member aren’t Lucy’s only responsibility.  She has four children and a husband that require her time as well.  Lucy quickly masters the art of juggling it all as she searches for a killer.

This is the fifth book in the Lucy Stone Mystery series.  It’s been a long time since I read the fourth book.  I can’t believe I waited so long.  It’s a light-hearted, fast-paced cozy mystery.  I didn’t figure out who the culprit was until Lucy figured it out at the end.  

Lucy is a great amateur sleuth and a strong character.  There are 28 books in the series and I haven’t even made a dent, yet, but I intend to.  I’m planning to read the series in order as Lucy’s kids grow up and I want to experience the entire series.  Lucy and her family make for a sweet mystery series.



For reading challenges:

Cruisin’ thru the Cozies Reading Challenge 2022 (Holiday)
Alphabet Soup Reading Challenge 2022
Literary Escapes Reading Challenge 2022 (Maine)
The Backlist Reader Challenge 2022


Disclosure:  I borrowed this one from the Kindle Unlimited library . All opinions expressed are my own.





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