CANDY CORN MURDER (Lucy Stone # 22)
Leslie Meier
Kensington Books
August 25, 2015
I have dipped into this long-running series from time to time and Candy Corn Murder seemed like just the ticket for my Maine vacation. Lucy, a reporter for the local Pennysaver; and Bill, her restoration carpenter husband, have lived and raised four children in Tinker's Cove, Maine for over twenty years. Lucy also has a talent for finding bodies and solving murders. Neither the state police or Lucy's family is always happy about that. When Candy Corn Murder opens Lucy is delighted to have her first grandchild, Patrick, staying with them for four months while his parents are in Haiti. Having a toddler around is much more difficult than Lucy remembers, especially when the day care center head teacher thinks she knows so much more than Lucy about raising children.
Things are busy in Tinker's Cove preparing for the first annual Pumpkin Festival. The festival will include a Giant Pumpkin Growing Contest and a contest to build catapults to launch pumpkins. Bill is heavily involved both in pumpkin growing and catapult building, along with his new friend, Ev. To Lucy, Ev is a drunken layabout with hygiene problems, but for some reason Bill thinks Ev is an engineering genius. Things start to go wrong when the pumpkin considered to be a shoe-in for winner is hacked to bits and a pumpkin display is destroyed in the retail district. Then it gets worse when Ev is found bludgeoned to death in a car trunk on the day of the competition. Bill appears to be the logical suspect so Lucy must put her crime-solving skills to work.
Candy Corn Murder is a fun, fast read with likeable characters and a great setting in coastal Maine. I recommend it for anyone who enjoys a traditional "cozy" mystery. Even though the series is a long-running one, Candy Corn Murder can easily be a stand-alone. Thanks to netgalley. com and Kensington Books for an advance digital copy in return for an honest review.
RATING- 3.5 Stars
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