Tis the season for trimming the tree, caroling, baking cookies, and curling up by the Yuletide waiting for Santa to drop down the chimney. But in this festive collection of holiday whodunits, murder is also paying a visit. "CANDY CANE MURDER" by JOANNE FLUKE When a trail of candy canes leads to a corpse outfitted in a Santa suit on a snowy bank, Hannah Swensen sets out to discover who killed Kris Kringle. "THE DANGERS OF CANDY CANES" by LAURA LEVINE A wealthy suburbanite takes a lethal tumble off his roof while installing a giant candy cane. Now it's up to Jaine Austen to sift through a long list of scheming neighbors with dirty secrets in their stockings to expose a murderer. "CANDY CANES OF CHRISTMAS PAST" by LESLIE MEIER Lucy Stone must learn the mystery of a glass candy cane that was found smashed to bits by a corpse's body to unlock the doors of Christmas past-and find a killer who got away with murder. Whether a gift for yourself or that special someone on your list, there's no better way to spend the holidays than with these tantalizing mysteries of murder.
Part-time reporter Lucy Stone doesn't know what to expect as she arrives on a private Maine island owned by eccentric billionaire Scott Newman, only that the exclusive experience should make for a very intriguing feature story. An avid environmentalist, Scott has stripped the isolated property of modern conveniences in favor of an extreme eco-friendly lifestyle. A trip to Holiday Island is like traveling back to the nineteenth century, and it turns out other residents aren't exactly enthusiastic about living without cell service and electricity. Before Lucy can get the full scoop on Scott, she is horrified to find one of his daughters dead at the bottom of a seaside cliff. The young woman's tragic end gets pinned as an accident, but a sinister plot unfolds when there's a sudden disappearance... Stuck on a clammy island with murder suspects aplenty, the simple life isn't so idyllic after all. Now, Lucy must tap into the limited resources around her to outwit a cold-blooded killer-before it's lights out for her next!
When her part-time reporting gig gives Lucy the opportunity to attend a Boston newspaper conference, she looks forward to the vacation from domestic bliss. But upon leaving Tinker's Cove, she quickly discovers that alone time can be kind of... lonely. But when Luther Read, head of a nearly bankrupt newspaper dynasty, suddenly drops dead, Lucy discovers something to take her mind off of being lonely. Murder, for instance. Lucy vows to investigate and can't help wondering if her name will end up on a byline or in an obituary.
Tinker's Cove is abuzz with excitement when Norah, the queen of daytime TV, comes to town and selects Lucy and her pals to be featured in her 'Women Who Make a Difference' episode. In recognition for their charitable work, the ladies and their husbands are awarded a dream vacation in Paris, complete with classes at Le Cooking School with renowned pastry chef Larry Bruneau. But their bon voyage is cut short when Lucy discovers the chef in a pool of blood on the second day of class... If she's going to enjoy her vacation, she'll have to unpack her sleuthing skills and clear her name. But will she be able to track down a killer more elusive than the perfect macaron?
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...
After returning from her father-in-law's funeral in Florida, Lucy can almost hear the death knell of her part-time reporter job the instant she meets new hire Rob Callahan. He's young, ambitious, and positioning himself to become the Pennysaver's next star reporter. Adding insult to injury, Lucy only gets assigned the local St. Patrick's Day parade once Rob passes on the story. But before beer flows and bagpipes sound, Rob becomes suspected of destroying more than other people's careers... It's a shock when Rob is suddenly charged with sending a corrections officer from town to a fiery death. Contrary to the evidence, Lucy seriously doubts her office rival committed murder, and she's willing to follow that nagging hunch into the darkest corners of the community if it means shedding light on the truth. As an unnerving mystery unfolds, a strange woman reveals news that could change everything for Lucy and her family. Troubles in her personal and professional life are colliding, and Lucy comes to realize that she'll sooner discover a four-leaf clover than confront a killer with the gift of the gab and live to tell about it.
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...
Ever since local developer Fred Stanton and his wife, Mimi, built five modular homes next door to Lucy Stone's farmhouse, life hasn't been the same. With Mimi complaining about everything from the state of Lucy's lawn to another neighbor's lovable dog, quaint Tinker's Cove, Maine, is now entangled in cul-de-sac politics and backstabbing. And when Mimi doesn't show up for her shift at The Hat and Mitten Fund bake sale, the scent of burnt sugar leads Lucy to a shocking discovery: Mimi, face down on her kitchen floor, with a knife in her back. While the police start their investigation, reporter Lucy gets busy writing up the murder for The Pennysaver-and following a few leads of her own. Lucy knows the women in her neighborhood didn't like Mimi, but they certainly didn't want her dead... did they?
Lucy Stone has always loved covering the annual Easter egg hunt for the Pennysaver. Hosted by elderly socialite Vivian Van Vorst at Pine Point, it's a swanky event where the eggs are as likely to contain savings bonds as they are jelly beans. But when Lucy arrives, a man dressed as the Easter Bunny emerges, only to drop dead moments later. Lucy discovers the victim is VV's grandson, and soon learns that not all is as it seems at idyllic Pine Point. Always a social butterfly, VV has been skipping lunch dates with friends, and her much-needed donations to local charities have stopped with no explanation. Maybe she's going senile, or maybe her heirs are getting a little too anxious to take over her estate.
'Tis the season for trimming the tree, caroling, baking cookies, and curling up by the Yuletide waiting for Santa to drop down the chimney. But in this festive collection of holiday whodunits, murder is also paying a visit. 'CANDY CANE MURDER' by JOANNE FLUKE When a trail of candy canes leads to a corpse outfitted in a Santa suit on a snowy bank, Hannah Swensen sets out to discover who killed Kris Kringle. 'THE DANGERS OF CANDY CANES' by LAURA LEVINE A wealthy suburbanite takes a lethal tumble off his roof while installing a giant candy cane. Now it's up to Jaine Austen to sift through a long list of scheming neighbors with dirty secrets in their stockings to expose a murderer. 'CANDY CANES OF CHRISTMAS PAST' by LESLIE MEIER Lucy Stone must learn the mystery of a glass candy cane that was found smashed to bits by a corpse's body to unlock the doors of Christmas past-and find a killer who got away with murder. Whether a gift for yourself or that special someone on your list, there's no better way to spend the holidays than with these tantalizing mysteries of murder.
Lucy normally loves planning for the holidays, but this year, Tinker's Cove has fallen on hard times. With so many residents struggling, Christmas festivities are a luxury some can't afford. But the story's not so bleak at Downeast Mortgage, whose tightfisted owners, Jake Marlowe and Ben Scribner, are raking in profits from everyone's misfortune. Half the town is in their debt, so when the miserly Marlowe is murdered, the mourners are few and the suspects are many. Scribner believes Marlowe's ghost has come to warn him of his own demise, and when he starts receiving death threats, Lucy wonders if there's more to the omen than the ravings of a bitter old pinchpenny. Can Lucy solve the case and deck the halls before the killer strikes again?
"...engaging..." - Publishers Weekly
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.
