Bake Sale Murder (A Lucy Stone Mystery, #13) by Leslie Meier

Bake Sale Murder (A Lucy Stone Mystery, #13) Reviews

• 
  James

  Bake Sale Murder is the 13th book in the Lucy Stone Mysteries, and it's a solid edition in the series. Lucy and her gal pals need to raise more money for local charities, and they decide to return to their roots from over a decade ago - throwing a bake sale. Except, all the usual friends are too busy and staying away from carbs and sugars. So, they lure in Lucy's new neighbors from a nearby development. Each of the new women has an aggressive or weird personality, and soon, one of them dies. Toss in one of Lucy's daughters getting caught up in high school drama and the a hazing practice with the football team, and everyone's on edge. A second death occurs, and Lucy decides to step into her investigate role another time. She almost gets knifed herself but is saved by an unlikely person. Enjoying the series much more now that it's less divisive, but I am curious to see what happens over the next 15 books as we go from 2002 to 2022.
• 
  Kat

  Ah, another fun Lucy Stone mystery. Lucy is wrangling some pesky new neighbors on her street who can’t seem to leave well enough alone, as well as anonymous letters to the Pennysaver and a Bake Sale that will leave anyone who’s ever had to sit through a PTA meeting in stitches. And of course, wherever Lucy goes, there’s always a murder to investigate. I loved that this one was set in Tinker’s Cove (my favorite books in this series are) and liked seeing all the familiar town characters as well as the everyday problems of conflict with friends and controlling bake sale partners as Lucy also has to solve the case. And the parts with Libby the lab and her tendency to eat everything except Lucy’s homemade dog biscuits were fun 😊. One of my favorites in the series!
  
  Please excuse typos/name misspellings. Entered on screen reader.
  
• 
  Readaholic Jenn

  One of my favorite Lucy Stone mysteries.
• 
  Jenn

  First, the positive: I got this one free from Amazon. Apparently it's the 13th in a series, but it doesn't feel like that. I loathe reading book out of order. And while this does feel like a series book, it doesn't, at all, feel like I've missed anything by just reading this book. I mean, Lucy's just meeting a lot of her neighbors! Anyway, this one was also very readable and kept me interested right until the end. I didn't see it coming as far as the culprit either.
  
  Now, the negative: Lucy's kind of a dumbass. She stumbles into all sorts of situations that she shouldn't be in and she can't manage her time well. Her daughter's distraught about something and makes her drive an hour out of her way to pick her up and yet she doesn't demand answers at all. Sue is a hateful bitch with no apparent redeeming qualities as a friend. The entire town, including Lucy's husband, doesn't seem to care that the football team is being hazed, including harassing the cheerleaders, one of which is Lucy's daughter, as long as the team is finally winning games. Also, was there another reason why the brother came to town? Because he never actually talked to anyone. His part seemed thrown together and unnecessary. Also, what was the deal with Mimi's husband? That was never really explained either.
  
  *SPOILERS* In the end, no one seemed to care why the hazing was going on. There was never any explanation on what the coach thought it would accomplish or any punishment for the kids who went along with it. The book could do with some better proofreading for continuity also. At least twice, the author makes a point of saying that Mimi's older than her brother. Yet in the report in the paper in the end, Mimi's listed as a few years younger than her brother. Also, how the hell would Bonnie make the brother drink the alcohol? How would she get close enough to him to get him to do it either? I mean, all reports were that he ran from anyone and everyone that got near him.
• 
  Lauri

  Another exciting romp with mom-turned-reporter, Lucy Stone! This one deals with the changing times we all must face eventually. Idyllic small town, Tinker's Cove, now has bullying, sexual harassment, homelessness, teen suicide attempts, and - well, multiple murders! Lucy is on the case trying to get to the bottom of some reported football team bullying when all hell breaks loose! As much as we want everything to stay the stay, change comes to us all.
• 
  Andrea Guy

  There's something special about Lucy Stone mysteries. This is the 13th in the series. This story mixes small town life with a cozy mystery. Unlike a lot of authors with long lived series, I find that Lucy Stone is still fresh, and her characters a progressing on with their lives. Things aren't at a stand still in these books. Lucy's son Toby is engaged, her daughter is away at college. The neighborhood is changing. That's what sets up the stage for the murder.
  
  It takes awhile for the murder to take place, which some readers may have a gripe with, but Leslie let's us get to know the new people in town, as well as Mimi, her husband and two sons. That's the cozy to this mystery.
  
  I laughed my way through the scenes where Lucy, Sue, Chris, Mimi etc where trying to decide what to make for the bake sale. This was classic small town U.S.A. Typical PTA mom poltics! It wouldn't be as funny if it weren't true.
  
  I really liked how several other parts of the story tied things together to the murder of Mimi and the homeless man. To say any more would spoil the story.
  
  This was a really quick read and a fun cozy with some great recipes at the end! I can't wait to try them, as well as another Lucy Stone.
• 
  Luffy

  Although I'm rating this book 2/5, I can't understand the low ratings, even if I'm contributing to its low average. I'm used to my harsh rating system, which is ironic, as I'm easily pleased during the actual act of reading a book. It's just that books need to achieve something to earn 4 or 5 stars. As for this book, the story was running along familiar lines, which is unavoidable in a series of 20 books.
  
  The clearly wrong arrest of a murder suspect, the paucity of progress in Lucy Stone's investigation. The murderer revealing herself due to rising panic, acquired from watching Lucy ask about. The case was neatly tied up by showing the article of the Pennysaver, but a couple of things went unsolved, or at least unmentioned. It looks like my rating does not tally with my reading experience, but it all boils down to how the writer fills in the bits of the book that are meant to be filler.
  
  I didn't get a sense of familial dynamics that were the hallmark of earlier books in the series. The thing with this book is that, for me, both good and bad aspects are present in few times. The book being short is not a problem. I always take it as a sign of dishonesty when a writer who churns out 250 paged books suddenly spikes her output with 400 plus paged ones. Here I know what I'm getting into. So this one is good but not good enough.
• 
  Lorraine

  Lucy has new neighbours from a subdivision built where an old house had stood. Her friends want to raise money to give underprivileged kids school supplies for the coming season, and she invites them and her new neighbours to get involved. The sale is set up for Labour Day weekend at the mall. One of the new neighbours, Mimi, is scheduled to work the morning shift, and bossy Chris sends Lucy to go to her house and get her. Lucy finds her dead, with a kitchen knife stuck in her back.
  
  In a sub-story, Lucy is getting anonymous letters at the Pennysaver office reporting hazing of football players and cheerleaders. Since her daughter Sarah is a new cheerleader, Lucy is very concerned but after talking to the coach several times, nothing is revealed.
  
  This was a fast read. A couple of delicious sounding recipes at the end.
• 
  Susan

  This is a fun read from Leslie Meier. Set in Tinker’s Cove, Maine, it’s one in a series of books with the main character, Lucy Stone, your average wife and mom who also works for the local newspaper part-time. As the group of ladies that Lucy is friends with prepares for a bake sale to benefit children in their school district, Lucy stumbles upon the body of a neighbor murdered in her own home. It’s not long before Lucy is sleuthing and discovering all sorts of interesting facts from the past.
• 
  Jackie

  A good addition to the Lucy Stone series.
• 
  Jennifer

  Another fun visit with Lucy and her family. Murder strikes the neighborhood, new neighbors cause rifts, and the high school team gets out of hand. Lucy is right in the thick of things, as usual.
  
  Well written and kept my attention throughout. Enjoyed it very much.
• 
  J.P. Choquette

  Love this fun read by Leslie Meier--the first one I've read of this series but am already looking forward to diving into another. The setting is enjoyable, the characters are well portrayed and the mystery was fun.
• 
  Tabby Kat

  Lucy Stone isn't happy. Instead of living on a nice quiet road that she's used to, a little subdivision has sprung up next to her, including one obnoxious motorcyle riding teenager who spends as much time reving up his machine as he does riding it.
  
  Lucy and her friends, Sue, Pam and Rachel start working on the Hat and Mitten fund. A bake sale seemed like a good idea to raise funds, until she starts calling her friends for baked donations and realizes she hasn't kept up with them for awhile as everyone is involved in activities which make it impossible for them to bake anything.
  
  So they decide this would be a good time to get to know the new people in the subdivision and get some baked goods for the sale at the same time. Bonnie Burhart, wife of the new guidance counselor at school. Willie Westwood, wife of the new vet. Frankie LaChance a divorced mother and Chris Cashman mother of Pear and Apple. Unable to attend the first meeting, Mimi Stanton, wife of the subdivision developer and mother of motorcyle riding Preston.
  
  What starts out as the selling of a few baked goods at the school turns into a major sale when Chris Cashman takes over. No longer a couple of brownies and cakes, they're going to produce low-carb snacks, have bottled beverages and even make home made dog treats. Chris even decides that they should all make several of their best treats and then they would all get together and have a taste test to vote for the best and then only produce them in large quantities for the sale.
  
  Lucy is always happy to let an "A" type personality take over, but since it's usually been her friend Sue, things are a little strained as Sue has met her match in Chris.
  
  Things don't seem as upbeat when on the day of the taste test, Mimi doesn't show up. Lucy gets sent over to find out if she needs any help. Mimi needs help, but not the kind Lucy can offer as she's in her kitchen with a large knife in her chest.
  
  Who would have killed the developer's wife? Was it a disgruntled new home owner? Rumors were the houses weren't built that good. A jealous wife? Rumors were she might have been stepping out with someone else's husband. Or a jealous husband? Maybe the mysterious homeless person that was seen lurking around the house and living in the woods?
  
  Lucy isn't sure, but she's determined to investigate as the person arrested by the police just doesn't seem like a killer to her.
• 
  Dawn

  As Lucy Stone mysteries go, I actually feel like this one caught its footing better than any to this point. It kept me guessing right up to the reveal and Lucy's family annoyed me far less than they have in the past. I thought the dynamic of a group of women was spit on (at least in my personal experience) and I loved the neighborhood drama aspect. I did have suspicions about one of the minor storylines that I was afraid was setting up to play out in a particular way (vague in an effort to avoid any spoilers), but it ended up going in another direction and I was relieved to be incorrect. I can truthfully say that I am looking forward to Lucy's next adventure as I feel like Lucy is finally locking in on her voice. Lucky (book) 13!
• 
  Amy the book-bat

  This Lucy Stone mystery was pretty good. There were plenty of twists and turns that kept me guessing right along. I liked that I felt engaged in the story and didn't figure out "whodunit" until the end. There were quite a few new characters introduced, but it didn't seem like too much at once like in other series when a lot of new people are added. The additions made sense the way they were introduced and the way they interacted within the context of the story.
• 
  Linda

  Good mystery set in Tinkers Cove, Maine. Lots going on and Lucy was not going to stop investigating until she solved the mystery.
• 
  Beverly

  Read this one first--not my usual style but it was free from Amazon for my Kindle. Glad I did and now I need to read the whole series!!
• 
  Corinne

  The book is unfocused. You have at least 10 different threads without any logic, rhyme, or reason. I would not recommend.
• 
  Robin Loves Reading

  There is a new development of sorts right near Lucy Stone's home. Five modular homes have been built and problems played right from the outset. Whether it was a new teen and his ultra-large motorcycle, or the teen's mom Mimi Stanton's chronic complaining, well, either situation is certain to drive Lucy crazy.
  
  But, she has bigger fish to fry at the moment. School will be starting soon, and Lucy and her friends decide to set up a bake sale for The Hat and Mitten Fund. The proceeds will go towards purchasing complete school supplies for the town's young students. As a mother of four, Lucy knows that sometimes the long list of supplies can be overwhelming, so she is glad to spearhead the bake sale.
  
  Right in the midst of this newfound chaos, shockingly Mimi, the complaining neighbor, is found dead, with a knife sticking out of her back, Quite naturally, the police are on task in trying to discover who the murderer is. Meanwhile, Lucy adept in her job as a reporter, starts coverage in her paper, the Pennysaver. More than that, Lucy cannot help but to follow leads of her own. As an amateur detective, Lucy does what she does best. She snoops, asks questions, and gets herself into some pretty sticky predicaments.
  
  Bake Sale Murder is the thirteenth book in the Lucy Stone series and it is a quick, delightful read. Whether read in or out of order, or as a standalone, each book has its own story. As usual, there is always a surprise as to who the killer is, especially when there is one murder.
  
  I look forward to the next entry in this series, St. Patrick's Day Murder, as each month I am striving to read at least one book in this ongoing series by Leslie Meier.
• 
  Phair

  As a former librarian I was familiar with Meier’s books- popular enough and always a reliable candidate for any holiday book display. I had never actually read one until my cozy mystery f2f group selected this one. Boy, I could NOT get into it! It felt like “The Real Housewives of Tinkers Cove” with all the interpersonal drama between the “townie” women and the “yuppie” newcomers with their prefab homes ruining the village vibe. My main complaint was that this story contained nothing new, nothing to learn or encourage research. I much prefer a cozy that has a “hook” like an interesting profession or hobby. Even the included recipes were only so-so. Maybe if I had read all the earlier books I’d have felt more invested in the town and characters but as a stand alone. . . boring.
• 
  Stephen Howell

  I wish that Sue would get wrote off in this series. She's not much of a friend to Lucy and I can't stand her attitude. I feel that she doesn't serve much purpose, even in the mystery that starred her and her daughter.
  
  I like the addition of many new characters. Leslie Meier does a great job of having many supporting characters without it being too confusing. And I'm also glad that Lucy has more of a backbone in this book instead of being so unsure of herself. And I'm happy that they've dialed Bill down quite a bit as well. There were a few times where I wished he would be killed off as badly as Sue.
  
  I feel that the murderer wasn't obvious right away. This is one of the best I've read in the Lucy Stone series so far.
• 
  Kristie

  I did not like the first 1/3 to 1/2 of this book but I kept reading since it was for a group read. I think Lucy is a better mom than reporter and I like her better in mom mode fighting for her kids. The mystery overall was a good one, the killer surprised me. The introduction of an entire street of characters was a bit much though, hard to keep track of which woman was married to which guy and who their kids were. I have read several books in this series out of order and Bill usually seems like a quiet guy. His outburst at Lucy seemed out of character and his attitude towards the hazing made me want to smack him. Overall, I did enjoy the story and how it wrapped up.
• 
  Nancy H

  Another entry in the Lucy Stone mystery series, this book tells the story of what happens when Lucy and her neighbors are forced into helping with a school bake sale to raise money for the school, but are suddenly surprised by the murder of a neighbor who is also on their bake sale committee. Things get complicated by their suspicions of the murdered woman's husband and oldest son, as well as other suspects who keep popping up. This is a satisfying murder mystery with a good plot and good ending.
• 
  Zelda

  As usual, I enjoyed the book and find I want to just keep reading. I have to say I like Bill less and less. The subject matters she just touched on are sensitive indeed, but I found Lucy's response to the first time she found out an issue involving her daughter lacking a lot. Maybe I just don't get small town thinking but someone would have had their head rolling if I had found out about what happened to my daughter the first time, let alone allow her to be in a position for it to happen again and to have escalated.
• 
  Paula

  Lucy has new neighbors. They have built a new housing development next door. The town is growing and Lucy doesn't like it. Her friends meet up every Thursday to see what they can do for the community. This year they have decided to have a bake sale. When Lucy calls all her regulars for help, they are all to busy so she approaches her new neighbors.
  
  I enjoyed this book. I think each book gets better and I like keeping up with Lucy's growing kids and how they are moving on.
• 
  Elida Liederbach

  In typical Lucy Stone reporting; Bake Sale Murder is a quick and fun read! Be careful who your neighbors are as Lucy soon finds out when she finds her neighbor Mimi in her kitchen murdered. The story takes us into each of the neighbors homes, lives as well as families including Lucy's and all is not what it appears to be!
• 
  Susan

  Bake Sale Murder is the thirteenth book in the Lucy Stone Mystery series. This can be read as a standalone as the author does a good job of summarizing the series so far for new readers. There is violence. This is a cozy mystery book that is perfect to read when you want to be lazy and not think (or read) of anything deep and involved.