Trick or Treat Murder: 01/01/22

Trick or Treat Murder by Leslie Meier is the third Lucy Stone mystery. It's nearly Halloween and Tinkers Cove is dealing with a series of fires. It's been a dry year so at first no one seems to think anything of a few old buildings catching fire. But then a beautifully restored old house is burned to ashes, killing a woman in the process.

Lucy Stone's life now is completely taken up with her children, especially her youngest who is still an infant. Despite that, she finds herself getting pulled into the mystery of the fires and the woman's death.

The entire mystery is centered around Halloween and a party being held at a historic home. An observant reader will see what the mystery is building to. They will also be able to spot who the arson/murderer is.

The odd bit of the novel is its lengthy denouement. After the inevitable event and Lucy's near death experience, there's a long section involving her recovery and some weird gaslighting by the hospital.

There's also a completely unnecessary secondary confrontation between Lucy and arsonist. The murderer would have gotten away with everything had they just left Lucy alone after she survived the fire. The ending reads like one of the more unhinged episodes of Criminal Minds.

The fourth book is Back to School Murder (1997).

Four stars

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