Posts
Wicked Witch Murder by Leslie Meier
(A Lucy Stone Mystery)
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corp.
ISBN: 978-0-7582-2929-8
Price/Pages: $24.00/298
Available at Borders, Barnes and Noble and Amazon
Description from Goodreads:
With planning the town's annual Halloween Party, the drought wreaking havoc on her garden, and her brood of four children, Lucy Stone's got her hands full this fall. As the air turns crisp and the trees blaze red and gold in the tiny town of Tinker's Cove, Maine, a newcomer arrives who seems to suit the Halloween season. Diana Ravenscroft has just opened Solstice, a charming little shop featuring candles, crystals, jewelry, and psychic readings. But after an unnervingly accurate reading by Diana, Lucy starts to get more than a little spooked.
Then there's the dead body Lucy finds, way up on one of the old logging roads behind her house. The deceased is identified as Malcolm Malebranche, a seemingly harmless magician who worked at children's birthday parties. When it turns out that Diana knew the murder victim, Ike Stoughton, a prominent local businessman, starts a campaign against Diana, blaming 'the witch' for everything from the unseasonal dry spell to his wife's illness and his pumpkins' lack of plumpness. But Lucy's not so sure that Ike himself is innocent. Still, as the town Halloween party approaches, Lucy's more concerned about the costume competition, pin-the-nose-on-the-pumpkin, and baking three dozen orange cupcakes and Beastly Bug cookies. But as the October moon rises, a killer plans a lethal celebration of his own and Lucy's the guest of honor.
Then there's the dead body Lucy finds, way up on one of the old logging roads behind her house. The deceased is identified as Malcolm Malebranche, a seemingly harmless magician who worked at children's birthday parties. When it turns out that Diana knew the murder victim, Ike Stoughton, a prominent local businessman, starts a campaign against Diana, blaming 'the witch' for everything from the unseasonal dry spell to his wife's illness and his pumpkins' lack of plumpness. But Lucy's not so sure that Ike himself is innocent. Still, as the town Halloween party approaches, Lucy's more concerned about the costume competition, pin-the-nose-on-the-pumpkin, and baking three dozen orange cupcakes and Beastly Bug cookies. But as the October moon rises, a killer plans a lethal celebration of his own and Lucy's the guest of honor.
My Review:
I participated in a Fall/Winter Mystery Challenge last year that made me read mysteries taking place around the holidays. You could pick from Autumn/Halloween to Valentine's Day. I chose Leslie Meier's murder mysteries because they were appropriately titled with Holiday names. I started with Back to School Murder, Trick or Treat Murder, Turkey Day Murder, Christmas Cookie Murder and so on and so forth. They were all fun and super easy to read, not leaving me much to "review". But I was left with a good feeling and silly new series to read when I was in the mood for something light.
Well, no challenge this year but I have been in the mood for a cozy mystery to gear me up for Halloween. This one is brand new and fits the bill completely! Lucy dives into the drama of having a witch in town and the bad things that start happening to her friends and neighbors.
Rating: 4 stars/6 stars
Do not expect a hard boiled murder mystery, nor a completely fluff cozy. I was impressed with this one a bit more. Leslie Meier has improved her stories, her character development of Lucy and the other town characters. I really liked it! Recommended for a Halloween cozy! I would probably start with her Trick or Treat Murder since it's really early on in the series and you get to know Lucy a bit more and see how she's grown.
Happy Reading and as always, thanks for stopping by!
red headed book child
5 comments:
Every now and again, it's great to have a really nice and light, fun read -- whether it's a mystery or other type of fiction, it feels good to throw the old serious books to the side for a day or so and just have fun! This one sound great to get into the mood for Halloween!
Sounds like fun :-) I love mysteries but I've never come across these ones! I agree - sometimes you just need something light ;-)
Sounds cute :) Thanks for the honest review. You have me wanting a Halloween read now :)
Do you think these should be read in order or no? I think it would be fun to read the ones that correspond to the specific holidays, but I'm weird about reading books out of order, lol. I do have the very first one of this on my TBR.
I saw this at the Friends of the Library Bookstore for one dollar the other day and I almost got it but put it down. Now I'm wishing I had.
Post a Comment