Mistletoe Murder (A Lucy Stone Mystery #1)

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Mistletoe Murder (A Lucy Stone Mystery #1)

by Leslie Meier

3.62 · rating details · 553 ratings · 66 reviews

As if baking holiday cookies, knitting a sweater for her husband’s gift, and making her daughter’s angel costume for the church pageant weren’t enough things for Lucy Stone’s busy Christmas schedule, she’s also working nights at the famous mail-order company Country Cousins. But when she discovers Sam Miller, its very wealthy founder, dead in his car from an apparent suici...more

Mass Market Paperback, 234 pages

Published by Kensington Publishing Corporation

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Dec 03, 2008

Alice rated it

Shelves: mystery, holiday

I did not find any of the characters in this book very likable at all. Their interaction with pets is callous at worst and indifferent at best. The story was somewhat engaging, but I just cannot stand the characters, especially Lucy Stone and her incessant whining. Yes, it is Christmas and there is a lot to do. Yes, you have kids and there is a lot to do. Yes, you have a job and there is a lot to do. Yes, there is a lot to do. Get over it!

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Sep 03, 2011

Susan B rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: mystery

The first of the Lucy Stone mysteries, set in the fictional seaside town of Tinker's Cove, Maine, takes place at Christmas. Lucy is mom to three, wife to Bill, and telephone operator for the community's biggest employer, Country Cousins.

When Lucy finds her employer, Sam Miller, dead in his car, what looks like suicide is murder. But who would want to kill the company's likable boss? Though Lucy is busy enough with Christmas preparations, she can't resist doing a little investigatin...more

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Dec 24, 2008

Ms. J Johnson rated it

Shelves: mystery

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. There was very little "mystery" in this book at all. The main character's life (in a mystery) shouldn't overshadow the mystery. In this case, the main character's life overwhelmed and smothered the mystery and left it for dead. Lucy finds a dead body on page 14 and another on page 194, but in between it's all about her getting ready for Christmas, having Christmas at her house, the lull in business at work after Christmas and, quite frankly, she's complaining through it all. We hav...moreThere was very little "mystery" in this book at all. The main character's life (in a mystery) shouldn't overshadow the mystery. In this case, the main character's life overwhelmed and smothered the mystery and left it for dead. Lucy finds a dead body on page 14 and another on page 194, but in between it's all about her getting ready for Christmas, having Christmas at her house, the lull in business at work after Christmas and, quite frankly, she's complaining through it all. We have to read all about her mother being depressed because Lucy's father died 6 months earlier, Lucy's father-in-law being intimidating, how much Lucy's got to do to get ready for Christmas, and people getting laid off from their jobs right before Christmas - none of which furthers the plot. These elements weren't incorporated into the mystery - they're all you read about. Between the pages of 14 and 194, there is little to no mention of the "mystery" at all. Her cat gets purposely strangled somewhere in there and I have yet to figure out how that furthered the plot of the book. She tries to help out a family in poverty and her husband tells her not to because the reason they live in poverty is that they don't want to work "like the rest of us". She goes back anyway and a man ends up shooting and killing his own dog because the dog was chasing Lucy. Again, I don't see how people killing pets furthers the plot of the book. There are several paragraphs devoted to Lucy making a sandwich. In the end, Lucy accidentally stumbles on the solution to the "mystery". All in all, this has got to be one of the worst books I've ever finished and I wouldn't have finished it if I hadn't signed up for the 50 book a year challenge (if it had been any longer, I wouldn't have finished it). It was tedious and boring. I read the book because I really liked the Lucy Stone short story in Candy Cane Murder. I'm assuming that there are better Lucy Stone books, but I doubt that I'll take my chances on them. I really regret that I wasted my money on this one.(less)

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Dec 28, 2009

Rose rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: mysteries

I picked up this book -- along with a Christmas Poirot title that I'd never heard of before -- out of the mystery section at work after going hunting for a Christmas mystery story. The final "Monk" season has left me in a mystery mood when it comes to my fiction-tastes at the moment, and given how firmly I'd managed to get into the Christmas spirit this year, I wanted to find a decent novel that would combine the two for me.

"Mail Order Murder" -- which is now publ...moreI picked up this book -- along with a Christmas Poirot title that I'd never heard of before -- out of the mystery section at work after going hunting for a Christmas mystery story. The final "Monk" season has left me in a mystery mood when it comes to my fiction-tastes at the moment, and given how firmly I'd managed to get into the Christmas spirit this year, I wanted to find a decent novel that would combine the two for me.

"Mail Order Murder" -- which is now published under the alternate title "Mistletoe Murder" (our library has the original hardback copy) -- was the book I chose to start with, and in hindsight I wish I'd just skipped directly to the Poirot.

"Mail Order" had some neat possibilities to it -- a down-to-earth, fairly human main character, named Lucy; an intriguing murder being stumbled onto within the first few pages; and some human issues (Lucy's father died six months ago and her mother is still trying to cope) to keep the story from falling into All Plot No Character realms. I liked Lucy, and I liked the little town of Tinker's Cove (I'm a sucker for small town stories, because small towns fascinate me), and her friends and family and co-workers. But I didn't like them _enough_, possibly because, with the exception of Lucy and her mother, they were all pretty two-dimensional. Some two-dimensional characters are alright, if you're going for background people -- but _everyone_ Lucy interacted with remained two-dimensional. There wasn't much _talking_ in this book, either, and what conversations there were often didn't ring true. And, as much as I enjoyed reading about Lucy struggling to get ready for the Christmas season (I WANTED a Christmas book, after all), there was very little attention paid to the mystery. Lucy has one suspect the whole time, until suddenly she works out another, but the groundwork and clues for Suspect #2 all come in near the end of the book. For being a mystery novel, very little time is spent on the mystery.

And I might have been okay with that, too -- if there had been rich character development to back it up. (Many of my favorite "Monk" episodes have the most implausible mystery plots; I like them for the rich character development that comes out of the fantasy mystery.) But there wasn't. The book kept me just entertained enough to make it to the end (it wasn't long, anyway; under 200 pages), and while the last page made me smile, it was probably the first real emotion I'd had while reading the book (apart from a honest emotional scene between Lucy and her mom earlier).

"Mail Order" is probably the first cozy mystery I've ever read (I'm a huge fan of the mystery genre, but I'm just now starting to really broaden my horizons when it comes to reading it!). I had some misgivings going into "Mail Order," simply because I wasn't certain that the cozy genre was going to be for me -- I wondered if it would be TOO tame. I'm not one of those people who thinks a Story is only worthwhile if it's hardcore and 100% Gritty Realism (I'd still be a "Torchwood" fan if that was the case), but I also get frustrated with pure popcorn wherein everything is _so_ light and fluffy that no one, from the author to the reader to the characters themselves, can take anything seriously.

I didn't enjoy this one with any great enthusiasm, but I'm willing to suspect that it was this particular book, and not the cozy genre, that's at fault. My brother's girlfriend gave me a lovely Christmas present of the first Maisie Dobbs book, and I'm looking forward to giving that one a try in a bit.(less)

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Oct 26, 2011

Andrew Williams rated it

This marked my first diving into what is mostly referred to as 'The Cozy Mystery,' what is a cozy mystery you might ask? Oh, you know already? Okay then. For anyone who doesn't, a cozy mystery is a mystery novel that usually fulfills the following requirements: the lead character tends to be a female, who isn't taken seriously by the police, she uses her life experiences as her key to solving the crimes, the town is small, and murder "isn't the kind of thing that happens here," though ...moreThis marked my first diving into what is mostly referred to as 'The Cozy Mystery,' what is a cozy mystery you might ask? Oh, you know already? Okay then. For anyone who doesn't, a cozy mystery is a mystery novel that usually fulfills the following requirements: the lead character tends to be a female, who isn't taken seriously by the police, she uses her life experiences as her key to solving the crimes, the town is small, and murder "isn't the kind of thing that happens here," though by the 8th or 9th book in the series you start to wonder. A big example, and possibly the first, is the Miss Marple series by Agatha Christie.

Anyway, having picked up a few Joanne Fluke novels, I noticed she wrote an anthology of sorts with a woman named Leslie Meier, so I picked up this one because one, it didn't seem like too hefty of a read, I'm a sucker for a murder mystery, and I love Christmas time. So sue me.

Having now read this novel, I can definitely say, Lucy Stone is no Miss Marple, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. We are introduced to her right off the bat and she appears, in most senses of the term, to be an average middle America homemaker. Husband, three kids, nice house, well respected in the community, and works the second shift at a local call center for a mail order magazine. As this is the first book, I naturally imagine things will change and evolve, and as the series now has over 10 books in it, I can definitely see where things can get shaken up.

Meier wastes no time establishing the main murder of the novel, with the death being discovered in the first chapter by our intrepid hero Lucy. We discover that Sam Miller, one of the main people behind Country Cousins, the mail order magazine Lucy works at, has been discovered dead in his car, with a tube running from the exhaust to the window. Lucy immediately calls for help and the situation is taken over by the police. As the book is called Mistletoe Murder, things are naturally not what they seem.

The book definitely plays off the gossipy nature of the women in the town. The town is immediately buzzing with news and theories regarding Sam's death, as he was a well liked, well respected member of the community. Lucy finds herself caught in the middle, due to her being the one who discovered his death, and immediately starts forming her own theories about who would have killed him and why.

Throughout the book we are slowly introduced to the supporting cast of this town, including her circle of friends, police officers, her husband, her children, her recently widowed mother, as well as her In-laws, and Meier uses the Christmas setting to weave it all together pretty well.

The book is not without it's flaws, some of the story choices seem confusing and the pace can be a little off, and the juggling act between murder mystery and family Christmas holiday can get a little uneven at times. Some of the characterization is a little strange, and sometimes a little cliche' but everyone manages to have a unique voice. That said, I found myself pulled into the novel regardless, and heavily interested in the outcome. The twists may not be of the Christie caliber, but Meier pulls off a few surprises that definitely kept me guessing as to who our culprit was.

All in all, I think this was a very good first installment. We get a pretty clear set up of who our character is, what she's about, and how she operates, and the mystery itself is pretty compelling. It's by no means a perfect novel, but it's obviously written by someone who has a passionate grasp on mystery story telling, and I'll definitely be checking out the next Lucy Stone adventure. (less)

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Sep 08, 2010

Grey853 rated it

Shelves: cozy, holiday, mystery

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jun 27, 2010

Kate rated it

The actual story in this book is only 202 pages (the rest of the book is TWO sample chapters and a lot of other nonsense to make it look thicker), but it took me forever to get through this. This book was about 90% filler and MAYBE 10% mystery. The main character really only does one thing in her "efforts" to solve the mystery, and the ending doesn't tie everything up, and that was disappointing, considering how little there even was to explain. The logic in this book was also mind num...more

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Jan 26, 2009

Renee rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: mystery-cozy

This is the first in Meier's series about Maine housewife Lucy Stone (though Meier's story in Candy Cane Murder precedes it by about a decade). In a lot of ways it's better than the first of hers that I read (New Year's Eve Murder) back in 2006; then again, this time I wasn't trying to fill in holes left by prior books.

The only thing that was slightly disappointing was that Meier didn't really give the reader the chance to catch hidden clues and play along. Then again, I think Meier ...more

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Mar 14, 2011

Jennifer rated it

Shelves: owned

This is more like 1.5 stars. There was nothing particularly wrong with the story, I just didn't like it. It reminded me of a less fun Stephanie Plum story. I did not develop any feelings about any of the characters, and I was disappointed that none of the clues pointed to the murderer. We spent the whole story searching for clues and any good mystery would have had some that pointed to the murderer so that when we finally figured it out we could have looked back and realized that the clues were ...more

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Apr 11, 2010

Lindsay rated it

· review of another edition

Out of all the Lucy Stone series that I've read, the Christmas ones are the best. But I also love Christmas. This is the first book the in Lucy Stone series and the characters are just as loving in this one as they are in the newer books. Lucy is a mother of 3, works for a call center, and is busy, busy, busy. She's kind of the type of person I would have wanted to be. Get married to a sweet guy, have a family, live in Maine, solve mysteries. Maybe that's why I like these series so much. I'm not...more

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Dec 06, 2011

Nairabell rated it

Shelves: christmas, cozy-mystery, read-in-2011, 5-star

Lucy Stone is struggling to get ready for Christmas. Along with working at Country Cousins and raising three children, she's baking holiday cookies, knitting a sweater, making her daughter's Christmas costume and preparing for visiting relatives. Then Lucy stumbles across Country Cousins founder Sam Miller dead in his car from an apparent suicide. Lucy can't believe a man so successful would take his own life so she decides to uncover his murderer alongside her Christmas preparations.

I...moreLucy Stone is struggling to get ready for Christmas. Along with working at Country Cousins and raising three children, she's baking holiday cookies, knitting a sweater, making her daughter's Christmas costume and preparing for visiting relatives. Then Lucy stumbles across Country Cousins founder Sam Miller dead in his car from an apparent suicide. Lucy can't believe a man so successful would take his own life so she decides to uncover his murderer alongside her Christmas preparations.

I'd first heard of Leslie Meier from an anthology called Candy Cane Murder that she did with Joanne Fluke (a favourite cozy mystery author of mine) so I decided to try one of her novels. This was originally published in the early 1990s as 'Mail-Order Murder' and at one point in the book the suspects are referred to as the mail order murderers. There are still little mail-order snippets at the start of each chapter which at first I thought was just a cute twist, until I realised that each item related in some way to the content of the chapter and was impressed by how clever they are.

I really liked Lucy as the lead character. I can remember my mother doing hundreds of things in the run up to Christmas, as well as working, so I found her manic schedule normal. Unlike a lot of cozy mystery sleuths, Lucy doesn't abandon her own life in favour of chasing suspects but tries to fit her investigations into her already busy life. It gives the mystery a more realistic feel and the storyline is well thought-out, and full of twists and turns. There are also a few red herrings thrown in that keep you guessing, although it does come together very quickly at the end.

The other characters in the book are great - from Lucy's friends at her job to her family to the people she meets during the book. I found them all to be unique and not cliched. I particularly liked Officer Barney Culpepper who Lucy teams up with to track down the suspects. Lots of characters were introduced, so I'm hoping they get more page time in the future books.

One thing I did find a little annoying is that the sample chapters included at the end of the book are from Valentine Murder and St. Patrick's Day Murder, books 6 and 14 in the series which seems fairly odd. The latter was the most recent at the time of publication, but the former really should have been from the second book.

All in all this was a great read and I'm looking forward to reading Tippy Toe Murder.

Plot: 9/10
Characters: 9/10
Ending: 9/10
Enjoyment: 9/10
Cover: 9/10

Overall: 45/50(less)

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Dec 01, 2009

Georgiann rated it

· review of another edition

Lucy Stone took a job working nights at country cousins taking mail order phone orders. but one night when she steps out for a breath of fresh air something doesn,t seem right she hears a car motor running . she finds one of the owners Sam Miller in his car with the motor running and a hose in the drivers window with the door locked . she pulls out the hose and runs inside to call the police but what everyone thought was suicide turns out to be murder and Lucy decides to try to find out what re...more

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Apr 09, 2011

The Book Resort rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: my-library, cozy, mystery

I absolutely LOVE Leslie Meier! She is one of my absolute favorite writer's. I was hooked from the first Lucy Stone mystery I picked up (Trick or Treat Murder) & haven't looked back since.

Meier hooks you in. You just can't help but get caught up in the splendor of Tinker's Cove. Let me just say, I'd love to reside in Tinker's Cove.

Meier's characters are fun, sassy, well written and three dimensional. There have been a time or two or three... ...more

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Jan 07, 2011

Ann rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: adultery, christmas, cozy, homemaking, murder, mystery, revenge, maine

Very little of this book has to do with the murder mentioned in the title. It's really just about an overworked wife and mother, and her preparations for the holidays. Maybe a quarter of the (very short) book has anything to do with the murder - and I think I'm being generous. There was very little development or twists to the mystery, and it doesn't actually have anything to do with Christmas, which is the whole reason I read the book. There were also several details that were supposed to be a ...more

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Dec 07, 2011

Kelly marked it as didnt-finish · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011

I thought this might be a nice cozy little mystery for the holidays, something easy but pleasant to read when there are so many outside distractions going on. And it might've been okay, but I'll never know, because I'm not going to finish it. This is why (don't worry, not really a spoiler): Less than 50 pages in, the main character Lucy is driving home and sees the body of her dead cat near her driveway. Her attitude about it is offensive and annoying to an animal lover such as myself. She d...more

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Nov 01, 2011

Heidi rated it

Mistletoe Murder is the re-release of the first Lucy Stone mystery by Leslie Meier. I was feeling a little festive this October so wanted to start something with a holiday theme. This book was in a stack of books that I want to finish this year. I really liked it and enjoyed the suspense building until boom...it was finished. It came to abruptly for me but maybe that was a sign I was enjoying the book. I will look forward to reading book two in this series eventually.

Lucy Stone works ...more

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Mar 01, 2011

Paula rated it

First in the Lucy Stone series. Lucy is a wife and mother and works nights for Country Cousins, a catalog order company. One busy evening before Christmas, Lucy goes outside to clear her head before returning to her computer. She hears a motor running in the parking lot and discovers her boss Sam Miller with a hose from the exhaust to his window. It's too late to save him.

Everyone is stunned by his suicide, but was it suicide?

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Mar 19, 2009

Shelly rated it

· review of another edition

One of my favorite all time books. I see in other reviews that the writing has been called "sophomoric", but I did not find that to be the case. I read this in the same batch from the library as "Carpool" by Mary Cahill and loved both books. They are forever now entangled in my mind as going together, however.
I have read a few of the others in this series, but this one stands out for me.

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May 15, 2008

Tabby Kat rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: lucy-stone-mysteries-by-leslie-meie

Although its language is frequently sophomoric, this debut mystery introducing sleuth Lucy Stone does feature some nice plot twists. At the height of the Christmas season, Stone, an employee of Maine mail-order house Country Cousins, finds her wealthy boss, Sam Miller III, dead inside his car in the company parking lot. The police quickly determine that the popular Miller was murdered. His beautiful wife is initially a suspect, but she had neither motive nor opportunity. When two other suspects ...more

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Dec 28, 2008

Amy rated it

I zipped straight through this book and was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Lucy Stone is a very likable character, but I do have to gripe a bit about her hiking venture with a den of cub scouts. As a former cub scout den leader I know that an adult should never partake in such a venture without at least one other adult present.

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Dec 29, 2008

Kimberly rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: cozy-mystery

Book 1 in A Lucy Stone Mystery.
This was a very light, cozy mystery. The main character is Lucy Stone. She is a wife, busy mother of 3 and she also works at a call center for a mail order catalog company called Country Cousins. Even though the holiday season is busy both in her personal life and at work, it gets even more hectic when she finds one of her boss' dead in his car after a late shift. As more clues and secrets begin to come to the surface, Lucy can't help but jump in and start he...more

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Sep 17, 2010

Kimmie rated it

· review of another edition

I was glad I did not read the reviews prior to picking this one up because I really enjoyed it. I grew up in a small town so it hit home with me. The mystery was a little lacking but overall I think it was well written. I am trying to get the 2nd in the series.

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Dec 10, 2009

Glenda Ricord rated it

· review of another edition

The first in a series of cozy mysteries about Lucy Stone and the small town she lives in. The characters were established quite well and I felt as if I knew them all or someone like them. Highly recommended. Not anything too intense.

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Dec 27, 2010

Janet rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: mystery

I freely admit I’ve never read Stepford Wives, but Meier’s heorine sounds like a suitable candidate. Lucy and all her friends make knock-out cookies, hand-knit all their own gifts, sew their childrens’ pagent costumes, and deal with everything life throws at them with a cheery smile. I wanted to slap them.

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Dec 29, 2011

Sarah Krafcik-schaffer rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: 2011

Was hard at first to get into this book but by the end it grew on me. Not like most books where you figure out the bad guy at the beginning if the book. There are enough twists and turns to keep you guessing as well as just enough background on the characters to make you want to read the next one!

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Jul 29, 2011

Kalani rated it

I love how the endings of her books are always so surprising. Makes them great to read:) I finished this one in two days. I couldn't put it down. A fun holiday read!

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Jan 28, 2011

Darcie rated it

· review of another edition

Just like Joanne Fluke-- Ridiculously wholesome, but entertaining. Unlike Fluke, it isn't as easy to figure out who did it. Quick and easy.

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Dec 24, 2009

Nancy rated it

· review of another edition

It was ok, a little boring, but the murderer was not obvious. A lot of the book involved her family, which was unnecessary to the story.

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Jan 25, 2010

Sherrie rated it

After reading this book and the short story in Candy Cane Murder I've come to the conclusion that Lucy really like her liquor. It seems like she drinks a lot during both stories. But it is the holidays.

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Jul 29, 2011

Margaret added it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2009

Fun, light cozy mystery with a holiday theme, so perfect reading for this holiday week!

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About Leslie Meier

Leslie Meier lives in Harwich, Cape Cod, Massachusetts. She is the creator of 'Lucy Stone', a reporter and amateur sleuth in New England.

More about Leslie Meier...

Books by Leslie Meier

Bake Sale Murder (A Lucy Stone Mystery, #13)

Trick or Treat Murder (A Lucy Stone Mystery #3)

Christmas Cookie Murder (A Lucy Stone Mystery, #5)

Tippy Toe Murder (A Lucy Stone Mystery #2)

Back to School Murder (A Lucy Stone Mystery, #4)

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