Reviewed By Liz

ISBN 0-7582-0701-8

Bake Sale Murder is a Lucy Stone mystery and is set in Tinker’s Cove, Maine. Lucy is a wife, mother, and reporter for the small town Pennysaver paper, and is helping organize a bake sale to raise money for the Hat and Mitten fund. She has enlisted the help of her new neighbors, including an unpleasant woman named Mimi, who has made a lot of enemies in a short period of time. Mimi is found murdered the day of the bake sale with her cookies still in the oven.

In addition to coping with the bake sale and Mimi’s murder, Lucy is trying to uncover a story for the paper that has to do with the anonymous notes that keep turning up at the paper – they say that the older high school football players are hazing and torturing the younger players. But no one is talking, including Lucy’s cheerleader daughter. Lucy needs to find the source of the letters or some one who will go on the record about the hazing before the situation gets out of control.

I like the character of Lucy Stone. She is a harried working mother and comes across as very believable. Her job at the paper gives her a good reason to go poking into things, but she isn’t too obnoxious about it. The description of her relationship with her teenage daughter and her attempts at soliciting information from her seem very real and something most parents will relate to.

However, I do wonder what is happening with her youngest child. There are long stretches during which it is not clear where the child is and who is taking care of her. Unlike adults, eight year old characters can’t just be left to their own devices, they need to be accounted for. This lack of information is noticeable because Lucy is spending so much time with her older daughter and you can’t help but wonder…

Bake Sale Murder is very “back loaded.” The murder happens pretty far into the book and the vital mystery clues are left for the very end. There is a lot of character exploration, but not a lot of action or mystery. If you don’t mind a slow start and prefer good characters to mystery, this is a good book for you.

Favorite character? Ted, Lucy’s boss. Did I guess it? No. Will I read another? Maybe. I have read several of Meier’s other books but her style isn’t my favorite.

Mystery Book Reviews by Liz at http://reviewedbyliz.com ©2007

Available at Amazon