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"Reading a new Lucy Stone mystery is like catching up with a dear old friend." - Kate Carlisle, New York Times bestselling authorIt's a nippy spring in Tinker's Cove, Maine, and so Lucy Stone can't wait to join her friend Sue at the Earl of Wickham's manor in England for the "Heads Up!" hat exhibition - even if she has to spend her entire holiday curtseying. But at Moreton Manor, privileged life isn't always tea and crumpets . . . Although Perry, the earl of the house, and his sister, Poppy, are surprisingly accommodating to their jetlagged guests, Lucy feels uneasy after a fallen portrait sparks talk of a deadly family omen. The bad vibes come in quickly - snobby Aunt Millicent and her handmaiden Harrison unexpectedly drop by for the exhibition, and meals with the family are consistently tense. But real trouble begins when a body, bludgeoned by the chapel's gold-plated reliquary, is found in a hidden, sealed off room. Stranger still, the corpse is identified as Harrison's son, Cyril. Considering the weapon and the clandestine location, Lucy wouldn't be shocked if the murder was an inside job. Cyril wasn't exactly a gentleman, and it's unclear what business he had on the property. Was the victim trying to make off with the family riches before meeting his end? Or was a scorned country squire looking to settle an ancient indiscretion for good? One thing's for sure - the criminal is privy to Moreton Manor secrets . . . To end the reign of terror, Lucy must keep her ear to the ground and mind time-honored traditions - no matter how unusual. Because Lucy has a hunch that the killer has been in her company all along, just waiting for a chance to make blueblood run red . . .Praise for Leslie Meier and her Lucy Stone Mysteries "I like Lucy Stone a lot, and so will readers." - Carolyn Hart "Leslie Meier writes with sparkle and warmth." - Chicago Sun Times "The Lucy Stone mysteries will appeal to fans of domestic mysteries." - BOOKLIST "Mothers everywhere will identify with Lucy Stone and the domestic problems she encounters." - Publishers Weekly
About the Author
I started writing in the late '80s when I was attending graduate classes at Bridgewater State College. I wanted to become certified to teach high school English and one of the required courses was Writing and the Teaching of Writing. My professor suggested that one of the papers I wrote for that course was good enough to be published and I sent it off to Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine's Department of First Stories. I got $100 for the story and I've been writing ever since. The teaching, however, didn't work out.
My books draw heavily on my experience as a mother of three and my work as a reporter for various weekly newspspers on Cape Cod. My heroine, Lucy Stone, is a reporter in the fictional town of Tinker's Cove, Maine, where she lives in an old farmhouse (quite similar to mine on Cape Cod!) with her restoration carpenter husband Bill and four children. As the series has progressed the kids have grown older, roughly paralleling my own family. We seem to have reached a point beyond which Lucy cannot age -- my editor seems to want her to remain forty-something forever -- though I have to admit I am dying to write "Menopause is Murder"!
I usually write one Lucy Stone mystery every year and as you can see, my editor likes me to feature the holidays in my books.Of course Christmas is one of my favorite times of year and my newest mystery{released September 2013} is called "Christmas Carol Murder.".I have always loved the Alistair Sims movie version of Charles Dicken's ,"The Christmas Carol",so I was excited to be able to have Lucy encounter some modern day versions of Dicken's classic characters.
In addition to the recent holiday mysteries I have written such as "Chocolate Covered Murder"{Valentine's Day}and "Easter Bunny Murder",I have written one travel mystery in which Lucy and her friends ,travel to London,"English Tea Murder".Since I love to travel I can only hope that Lucy will be able to solve some mysteries in some other cities and countries also.My husband and I did stay in an apartment in Paris this past year {big hint!}
My books are classified as cozies but a good friend insists they are really "comedies of manners" and I do enjoy expressing my view of contemporary American life.
Now that the kids are grown -- I now have four grandchildren -- my husband and I are enjoying our empty nest on Cape Cod which we share with our new very frisky kitty ,Sylvester.I am busy writing the next Lucy Stone Mystery which is due out this Spring.I do hope you will enjoy it!
