YULE LOG MURDER by LESLIE MEIER Lucy Stone is thrilled to be cast as an extra in a festive period film...until the set becomes a murder scene decorated in blood and buttercream icing. Returning to her role as sleuth, Lucy dashes to restore peace to TinkerÄôs Cove, unwrap a cold-hearted criminalÄôs MO, and reveal how one ornate yule-log cake could possibly cause so much drama. DEATH BY YULE LOG by LEE HOLLIS Hayley PowellÄôs holidays arenÄôt off to a very merry startÄînot only has her daughter brought Connor, an infuriatingly perfect new beau, home to Bar Harbor but a local troublemaker has been found dead with traces of her signature yule-log cake on his body. LOGGED ON by BARBARA ROSS Realizing she canÄôt make a decent B?ªche de No?´l to save her life, Julia Snowden enlists the help of her eccentric neighbor, Mrs. St. Onge, in hopes of mastering the dessert for Christmas, but soon she must save her neighbor from becoming the next BusmanÄôs Harbor resident to meet a not-so-jolly fate.
When the bewitching Diana Ravenscroft comes to quiet Tinker's Cove and opens Solstice, a quaint little shop offering everything from jewelry to psychic readings, Lucy Stone writes her off as eccentric but harmless. Even after Diana gives her a disturbingly accurate reading, Lucy can't help but befriend the newcomer. But not everyone in town is so enchanted. And when Lucy stumbles upon a dead body near her home, she can't shake the feeling that something ominous is lurking in the crisp October air... Convinced Diana is an evil witch, prominent businessman Ike Stoughton blames her for a series of recent misfortunes, including Lucy's gruesome discovery and his own wife's death, and rallies the townsfolk against her. But after Lucy learns the murder victim was a magician and close friend of Diana's, she starts to wonder who's really stirring up a cauldron of trouble. By Halloween, her suspicions lead her to a deadly web of secrets-and a spine-chilling brush with the things that go bump in the night.
It's Valentine's Day in Tinker's Cove, and while the cupcakes Lucy's baking for her children will have pink frosting and candy hearts, her 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 plunge her into a terrifying confrontation with a conniving killer...
Besides the annual Turkey Trot 5K on Thanksgiving Day, Lucy expects the approaching holiday to be a relatively uneventful one-until she finds beautiful Alison Franklin dead and frozen in Blueberry Pond.
No one knows much about Alison, except that she was the daughter of the wealthy investor Ed Franklin and struggled quietly with drug addiction. Police blame her death on an accidental overdose, but Lucy can't understand what terrible forces could have led the privileged woman to her watery ruin.
Alison's funeral service is just as puzzling. Many believe Ed's young-and very pregnant-new wife, Mireille, divided the family, leaving Alison to wither on the vine. Did Mireille truly adore her stepchild as Ed claims, or did she pit father against daughter for personal gain? As a state of unrest descends on Tinker's Cove, Lucy is thrown into a full-scale investigation. Now, in a race against time, Lucy must beat the killer to the finish line-or she can forget about stuffing and cranberry sauce.
Tinker's Cove, Maine, has a long history of Thanksgiving festivities, from visits with TomTom Turkey to the annual Warriors high school football game and Lucy Stone's impressive pumpkin pie. But this year, someone has added murder to the menu, and Lucy intends to discover who left Metinnicut Indian activist Curt Nolan dead-with an ancient war club next to his head.The list of suspects isn't exactly brief. Nolan had a habit of disagreeing with just about everybody he met. Between fixing dinner for twelve and keeping her four kids from tearing each other limb from limb, Lucy has a pretty full plate already. So what's a little investigation? But if she's not careful, she may find herself served up as a last-minute course, stone-cold dead with all the trimmings...
The locals in Tinker's Cove are busy planning haunted-house parties and ghostly galas, and Lucy Stone is whipping up orange-frosted cupcakes, recycling tutus for her daughters' costumes, helping her son with his pre-teen rebellion, and breast-feeding her brand-new baby. But amid the fun, something really scary is going on: An arsonist is loose, and when the latest fire claims the life of the owner of the town's oldest house, arson turns into murder.While the townsfolk work to transform a dilapidated mansion into a haunted house for the All-Ghouls festival, the hunt for the culprit heats up. Trick-or-treat turns deadly as digging in all the wrong places puts Lucy too close to a shocking discovery that could send all her best-laid plans up in smoke...
With three kids underfoot, a fourth on the way, and an oppressive heat wave bearing down, homemaker Lucy Stone is hardly enjoying an idyllic summer. But her preoccupation with swelling ankles, Bavarian cream doughnuts, and sewing sequins on ballet-recital tutus gives way to dread when she learns her waistline isn't the only thing that's recently vanished.The strange disappearance of a retired dance instructor has the tiny coastal town of Tinker's Cove, Maine, in a tizzy-which turns into terror when a notoriously cantankerous shopkeeper is slain right on Main Street. Now Lucy's up to her bulging belly in suspects and red herrings. Eluded by a cold-blooded killer, with her due date looming and the temperature soaring, she figures something has to break soon. With any luck, it won't be her water...
Not many people knew Old Dan Malone. The grizzled barkeep's social circle was limited to the rough-hewn lobstermen who frequented his bar. But when Dan's body is found bobbing in the icy harbor, Lucy Stone makes getting to know more about Old Dan a priority. Rumors abound: Old Dan conned a winning lottery ticket worth five grand from a local musician, Old Dan stiffed a handyman for repair work done to the bar. The confusion is compounded by the arrival of Dylan Malone, Old Dan's brother. Was Old Dan killed by someone he'd cheated or someone he'd loved? While Lucy can't be sure, one thing is abundantly clear - the stage is set for a murder mystery with a killer ending!
As Tinker's Cove buzzes over a town-wide silver-wedding anniversary bash, Lucy is reminded of her nuptials and ponders the whereabouts of Beth Gerard, her strong-willed maid of honor. Although the two have lost touch over the years, Lucy would never have made it down the aisle without Beth, so she decides to reach out. It only takes one phone call for Lucy to realize that a reunion will happen soon...at Beth's funeral. Beth, who was in the process of finalizing her fourth divorce, had a reputation for living on the edge-but no one can believe she would jump off a penthouse terrace in New York City. The more Lucy learns about Beth's rumored plot to scandalize her former husbands, the more she suspects one of them committed murder. Summoning her friend's impulsive spirit, Lucy scours New York from the Bronx to the Brooklyn Bridge in search of the killer. With each ex dodgier than the last, it's not long before Lucy's investigation leads her to a desperate criminal who will do anything to get away...
After the annual parade of Christmas presents in Tinker's Cove, Maine, has ended, Lucy Stone and her daughter Elizabeth are ready to ring in the new year in style. Elizabeth has won mother/daughter winter makeovers in Manhattan from Jolie magazine! But the all-expenses-paid trip is bound to have some hidden costs-and one of them is murder.After arriving at the magazine's offices, meeting their fellow makeover candidates, and being treated to a fashion show, Elizabeth is enamored of the extreme outfits and stick-thin models-while Lucy's having some misgivings. The pampering is nice and the glamour of haute couture is bizarrely fascinating, but bitterness and aggression lurk behind the hipper-than-thou façade. And things turn downright ugly when self-absorbed fashion editor Nadine Nelson falls mysteriously ill and dies. Lucy can tell that backstabbing, rumors, and cliquishness have stirred up some bad blood at Jolie over the years. But this Manhattan murder mystery hits too close to home when Elizabeth gets rushed to the hospital with symptoms disturbingly similar to Nadine's-and Lucy to dress down a killer before the ball drops in Times Square...
