Publisher: Kensington
Publish Date: January 29, 2013
Hardcover, 256 pages
Fiction, Mystery, Cozy
ISBN: 9780758229359
A Lucy Stone Mystery #19
Fiction, Mystery, Cozy
ISBN: 9780758229359
A Lucy Stone Mystery #19
This was my first Leslie Meier Lucy Stone mystery and it won't be my last. Even though I started with book #19 I didn't see it as a problem. Yes I would have known a little more about the characters if I would have read the previous 18 books, but since this is a mystery and the books are focused on the mystery plot it wasn't too much of a problem coming into book #19 and learning the characters on the fly. I felt like Ms. Meier gives good background into each of the main characters so that I never felt lost in Easter Bunny Murder and that it felt like a stand-alone. With that being said, after finishing this one, I want to go forward with the series as new books are released and also read from the beginning of te series as well.
The plot starts as the annual Easter Egg hunt seems to be a no-go and a man dies in front of everyone on the lawn of prestigious Pine Point. Lucy, the main character of this series, is a reporter for the local paper which is just a weekly and she mainly handles features not investigative reporting, but she just can't seem to help herself and she has to get to the bottom of what is going on at the local mansion and what is happening to resident millionaire VV. This starts the book and her sleuthing. With the help of others in the town, Lucy starts to get to the bottom of things. I like this book because she doesn't seem to always be in danger like in some books. This was what I really think of as a cozy mystery. She's solving the crime, but kind of out-of-the-way. But as she gets closer and closer things get more and more interesting.
I was drawn in by Lucy and her friends and the other people that populate the town. I love small town settings, I'm from a small town. I'm familiar with knowing most everyone and having everyone know your business. I like how Lucy is proper and nice and tries to go about solving the murders in a way that doesn't hurt anyone. She's just a nice lady. I also like the slices of her family life that are shown. The mystery was interesting and it kept me guessing. By the end I was able to see the clues that were there, but I missed them when I read, so that was good. Some may find it predictable but I didn't. I found it to be a very enjoyable read.
Over the last year I have started to read more and more cozy mysteries and I am glad I got the chance to try out Leslie Meier. The Lucy Stone series has great promise for me and I look forward to reading more books in the series. Easter Bunny Murder was a strong entry in the series at least for me, but I have nothing so far to judge it against. It was an enjoyable read, fit the full bill of a cozy for me and kept me entertained for hours. I found it hard to put down and it was another book I found easy to read even with life and TV going on around me. I felt like I was right in the middle of the chaos and mystery that surrounded Lucy. I also loved the Easter theme, and Lucy's grandson Patrick, he reminded me of my boys when they were just a little smaller. Kudos to Ms. Meier on a job well done!
My Rating: 4.5/5.0
About the Book:
Lucy Stone’s on the hunt for a killer with a deadly case of spring fever…
Spring
has sprung in Tinker’s Cove, and Lucy Stone has a mile-long to-do list.
From painting eggs with her grandson, to preparing the perfect Easter
feast, to reviving her garden after a long, cold winter, she hardly has
time to hunt for a killer with a deadly case of spring fever…
Lucy has always loved covering the annual Easter egg hunt for the Pennysaver.
Hosted by elderly socialite Vivian Van Vorst at Pine Point, her
luxurious oceanfront estate, it’s a swanky event where the grown-ups sip
cocktails while their children search for eggs that are as likely to
contain savings bonds as they are jelly beans. But when Lucy arrives
with her three-year-old grandson, VV’s normally welcoming gates are
locked, and a man dressed as the Easter Bunny emerges only to drop dead
moments later…
Lucy
discovers that the victim is Van Vorst Duff, VV’s grandson, and soon
learns that not all is as it seems at idyllic Pine Point, where the
champagne and caviar seem to be running dry. 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…
As
Lucy gathers a basketful of suspects, she’s convinced someone’s been
hunting for a lot more than eggs, and she’ll have to chase the truth
down a rabbit hole before the killer claims another victim…
About the Author:
LESLIE MEIER is the acclaimed author of eighteen Lucy Stone mysteries and has also written for Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine. She is currently at work on the next Lucy Stone mystery coming in October 2013.
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***I received this book from the publisher for an honest review. I was not compensated in any other way except receiving the book for free. ***
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