Mother’s Day Murder: a Lucy Stone Mystery

by: Leslie Meier

Published by: Kensington Books

Reviewed by Kathy Perschmann

Lucy and her devoted husband Bill live in the small Maine town of Tinker’s Cove, where Lucy works as a reporter for the small-town newspaper, The Pennysaver. They have four children: Toby, married with a new baby; daughter Elizabeth away in college; Sara, a freshman in high school, and youngest Zoe is in fifth grade.

Lucy and her daughter-in-law Molly are honored by their family at a Mother’s Day brunch at the Queen Victoria Inn. There the family witnesses a very public altercation between Bar (Barbara) Hume and Tina Nowak. It seems Bar is demanding her family’s special table, where the Nowaks are already seated, eating. This is just one more spat for the two totally dissimilar women. Bar is a Republican, anti-abortion, gun-shooting conservative, and Tina is a liberal Democrat, prochoice, anti-gun.

Both women have teenage daughters. Heather and Ashley actually are friends, popular in school, good students, and accomplished athletes. When Lucy’s daughter Sara is asked to the prom by popular senior Chad, the girls go after her, targeting her with nasty text message rumors. When Lucy and Molly are coming home from a gift day at the spa, they pass Tina and her husband Lenny playing tennis, and witness Tina being shot, as a figure in white with blonde hair flees the scene. Could it have been Bar? It turns out that her gun was the murder weapon.

Bar’s husband Bart is a surgeon and secret womanizer. Tina’s husband Lenny and her daughter Heather seem oddly numb after the murder, fueling rumors that he was involved, hiring someone. Lucy decides to help investigate in her role as reporter, interviewing Bart and Lenny, and Bar in jail, but coming to no obvious conclusions. Then Bart’s receptionist Amanda, his rumored mistress, is killed in an odd car accident. Lucy is trying to track down Bart for a comment, and can’t find him. The school calls, saying Sara is missing from third period, and when she leaves work and finds Lenny also received a similar call, the two go in search of their missing daughters. Will they find them in time?

The joys and travails of being a mother are highlighted in this disturbing and tragic small-town tale.

Armchair Interviews says: A 5-star cozy that will keep you reading on for all the wonderful characters…and more.