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Lucy Stone #15

Mother's Day Murder

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Two of her four kids may be out of the nest, but Lucy Stone knows only too well that mothering is a lifetime commitment. At least she gets to kick back and enjoy a fancy Mother’s Day brunch with her brood—that is, before the festivities are interrupted by a nasty scene courtesy of Barbara Hume and Tina Nowak. Opposites in every way, the only thing these mean moms have in common is the need to best each other at every turn, using their teenage daughters as pawns in elaborate games of one-upsmanship

Even after witnessing the women’s claw sharpening rituals, Lucy never expects to see actual blood spilled—until Tina is shot dead on the public tennis court. Now Lucy is determined to unravel the close-knit knot of suspects. But when the threads threaten to entangle one of her own, Lucy will come face-to-face with a killer who has a thing or two to learn about motherly love…

234 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

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About the author

Leslie Meier

66 books2,060 followers
Leslie Meier lives in Braintree and Harwich (Cape Cod), Massachusetts. She is the creator of 'Lucy Stone', a reporter and amateur sleuth in the fictional seaside village of Tinker's Cove, Maine.


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Displaying 1 - 30 of 172 reviews
Profile Image for Luffy Sempai.
783 reviews1,088 followers
May 1, 2022
This is the 2nd reread this year that got a 5 star rating from me. I wish that I could give 5 stars to first time reads, but if that is not going to happen anytime soon I'd better talk about this book. I have been enjoying a Renaissance of sorts in the way I've been writing good reviews, but here I've come up empty. There is only so much leeway one has with variety, especially given that I don't have most words in the English language at my beck and call.

This loss of inspiration has coincided with my cracking on my diet. Hope that is only correlation. O oreo where art thou? Anyway, Mother's Day Murder is a very good read, and it is for me the best 5 star read from me not to get a 4.00 average rating on Goodreads. This book seemed suspiciously a routine job from the author, Leslie Meier. But it turned out very well. I do not know the writing process that led to books like this, but something must be special about this book. It is readable.

Lucy Stone is a journalist at the Pennysaver, and those days at the office I could do without. nothing of interest happens there. Even when there are scoops to be covered we get Lucy shifted aside for the owner to take commands of the case. The stint as a journo is just a way to derive sympathy for Lucy. Most things occurring in this book leads to sympathy for her. These days at work may have been occupying more space in the books in the series that got a lesser score.

I think that what makes the book tick and breathes life into it is the humanising of Lucy. The cast surrounding her have enough depth to gift a depth of her own to the main character. Her life is continuous. We see her getting older as the series progresses. The sore point is that she and her family eat way too much to stay with a flat stomach, and Lucy's husband is so ripped that I'm surprised they don't have him on the cover. Remember that oreo joke I made before? Foreshadowing, ladies.

I was 50% right about the guilty's identity. It was not tough to figure it out. It would have been more interesting if a person in the full possession of his or her senses to pull off some of the more savvy crimes, but that is just an observation, not a complaint. Like most good romance movies, this book has a subtle fragrance of comedy in its pages. The series has always been a hit when the dialogue between the parents and the kids are often there, but not be repetitious, or with false notes. In the end, I just did not hesitate to give the book 5 stars. This book takes the sting out of ordinary life and presents us with an ordinary family from the US. There is a mixture of details and generalisations that has been present in the best books from the last few decades. I guess there is the difference between modern books and classics. Classics get away with murder, and cosies, not so much.
Profile Image for Kat.
Author 14 books603 followers
February 3, 2024
In MOTHER'S DAY MURDER, Mother’s Day is a bit of a mess this year in Tinker’s Cove, Maine. Lucy’s family is there to celebrate, including her DIL Molly and new grandson Patrick, who has his mother a bit harried. A missing girl has been all over the news, and when her body is discovered, Lucy is assigned to cover the case. There’s also an intense rivalry going on between two intense tiger-moms in town, both of whom have super successful senior girls who may be bullying Lucy’s daughter Sarah. Lots going on in this one! It’s always fun when you read a book from nearly two decades ago and they’re talking about flip phones and MySpace and pop culture figures like Tonya Harding and Paris Hilton. 😊 This one was lots of fun. I always love the books in this series set in Tinker’s Cove the very best because we get to see all the local characters and this was a real treat. Lucy has to unravel what’s going up at the high school and with the case of the competing moms. I didn’t figure this one out until the very end… lots of twists! 5/5 stars
Profile Image for James.
Author 20 books4,367 followers
November 26, 2022
Mother's Day Murder is the 15th book in the Lucy Stone Mysteries written by Leslie Meier. Each of the books revolves around a holiday or personal/special day to someone in Lucy's family and immediate circle of friends. In this one, the focus is on mothers in Tinker's Cover, Maine. Lucy witnesses two mothers arguing over a table at a restaurant, learning that they are actually friends and sometimes enemies. They have a daughter each, too, in school with Lucy's daughter, and something is troubling them all about prom and the same boy who might ask them to attend as his date. As Lucy gets to know them each better, an accident happens and someone ends up dead. Which mother did it? Which mother died? Lots to figure out... and where do the fathers fit in too? Another good book but it was a little off-balance in terms of whether the women were friends or not - sometimes they were, sometimes they weren't. Felt a bit like a plot device in a bunch of the scenes, but still made me laugh at times.
Profile Image for Luffy Sempai.
783 reviews1,088 followers
August 11, 2020
You know, the Leslie Meier series never have drop dead gorgeous prose, but when the author is on song, she makes it up with freshness. The cozy mystery genre is a tired and cramped market. The writer here regains her lost zest, resulting in this sterling book. The latter turned out very well, and part of the reason is that a lot of events happen, none of which feels out of place.

The Stones' family nest is diminished in this book. It was still a rambunctious affair. Leslie Meier used up a lot of ink on the kidnapping, which was unsolved for much of the book, but which played a sort of supporting role, a chorus to the main theme of offenders and safety. Lucy Stone's daily routine was not so boring as a real person's. She always has something to do. Her part time job, her weekly reunion with old girlfriends, her affection for her grizzled husband and for her children fit well into this book. Her youngest child, Zoe was adorable, and will keep on being so until it will be her turn to be a freshman, I suppose.

The murder, funnily enough is the weak point. The murderer and motive are both outlandish. Lucy Stone's involvement in trying to solve the murder, for once, didn't harry the culprit in panicking and giving himself away. The guilty party was just caught red handed in a fairly humdrum way. But that, plus the odd phrase or two - curing cancer, really? - don't dampen the good work of early chapters. One of the strongest 5/5 books I've read. I wish nothing but good for the Stone family, as even when they're not trying to save the world, they still retain their charm and interest.
Profile Image for Karen.
1,148 reviews10 followers
May 12, 2024
I do not typically start a series in the middle. #mothersdaymurder is number fifteen in the Lucy Stone series. The thirtieth was just published in April 2024. I picked this book up because it was #mothersday more than anything else. I believe jumping into the middle like this confuses matters for me. For instance, I do not know how the prior fourteen novels were paced or whether these same characters of Tinker’s Cove, Maine are constant throughout.

Lucy Stone is a reporter for the Pennysaver weekly newspaper in her small town. There is a lot of drama amongst the mother-daughter relationships in this installment. A big blowup at the Mother’s Day brunch, a Mom is murdered, and another Mom is put into jail. Lucy is certainly the Mama Bear when it comes to standing up for her children. I was surprised how unsupportive her friends are regarding her daughter, Sara, being bullied by other girls at high school. Tensions run high as pressure is put on many of the teenage girls in this story to succeed.
There is also the abduction of Corrine Appleton the summer before from the nearby town of Shiloh. Perhaps I was drinking too much prosecco, but I didn’t really understand why this additional crime was included as it did not tie into the Mother murder at all.

I was disappointed in the ending. The solution came very quickly and due to Lucy’s haphazard method of running full speed into situations. Without giving things away, I did have to wonder how Sara got pulled into the ending, other than it brought Lucy along for the plot finale.

Thank you for reading!
Profile Image for Dawn.
324 reviews9 followers
May 1, 2017
I love the Lucy Stone series, but I have to say this was not one of my favorites. The majority of the book revolves around issues with Lucy's daughter that are tangentially related to the plot. The novel comes off as quite updated as it refers numerous times to myspace. Still, it's a good cozy mystery to just tune out and relax with.
Profile Image for Kathy Warren.
380 reviews4 followers
April 20, 2014
Wonderful fast read. The Lucy Stone series is charming and enjoyable. Can't wait to read the next book.
Profile Image for Robin Loves Reading.
2,881 reviews450 followers
April 9, 2019
Aaah, it is Mother’s Day and Lucy Stone is having an an enjoyable day with her family. While eating out, the nice atmosphere in the restaurant is disturbed by a woman upset that she and her family didn’t get a specific table. The woman, Barb Hume, and the woman she was sniping at, Tina Nowak, already had bad reputations. As a matter of fact, they were known ad mean moms.

When one of them is shot dead in a public place, Lucy, the ever-enthusiastic amateur sleuth, is bound and determine to getting to the bottom of things.

I am quite familiar with Lucy, as I have read each book in the series to-date. I enjoy her efforts at balancing her insatiable need to solve murders, all while being a busy housewife, mother and reporter. I enjoyed this story for the most part, and was rather saddened when the killer was identified.

This was a fast-paced read that I devoured in one sitting. The next book in this series is Wicked Witch Murder.
Profile Image for Tari.
3,627 reviews102 followers
May 14, 2018
I guess this particular mystery doesn't seem to be the typical cozy I'm used to but I won't give it bad rating just because I didn't really care a lot for the story line. It was still very well written with likable main characters. I do enjoy Lucy's every day interactions with her husband, kids, co-workers and friends. It was cute to see her and Bill as grandparents watching little Patrick. I hadn't really paid attention to that fact when I read book 20 of the series a couple of years ago. I think the subject matter of this book was just a touch deeper or more serious than I'm used to, or than it was in the other book in this series I read.

Lucy herself is a good solid character. She's a wonderful mom and grandma. Her husband seems very patient and kind. Since this was written in 2009, it just seemed like a trip down memory lane reading about people using their flip phones. I still plan to read more in this series because twice I have been surprised by the outcome. It wasn't something I ever would have thought about and I remember feeling like that when I read book 20 as well.
Profile Image for Barbara Nutting.
3,205 reviews163 followers
November 25, 2024
This is one of my favorites, good plot, and I didn’t guess the ending. As usual, the author addressed lots of social issues, under age drinking, mean girls, stranger danger and gun violence. All good points.

Phyllis hit the nail on the head when she told Lucy you are too soft on those kids. Truer words were never spoken. They treat their mother like she’s their servant, and are very unappreciative. Spoiled brats, all four of them.

Having just read a book on missing persons whose bodies were overlooked during the initial search, I found it interesting that the same thing happened with Corinne’s body. I wonder why that is? Brian Laundrie’s dead body was another example ???

FYI Ms Meier, Muslim women do not HAVE to wear chadors. Again, many poor editing errors. Doesn’t anyone proofread these books?

Profile Image for Amy.
492 reviews4 followers
January 29, 2018
A nice, fast-paced mystery for an afternoon or whatever time of day read. It appears that the rivalry between suburban moms "Bar" and Tina has finally come to a deadly end when one of them is killed on the tennis court, while Lucy and her daughter-in-law Molly witness the gruesome scene. Meanwhile, Sara, Lucy and Bill's teenage daughter, is being bullied by teenagers--including Bar and Tina's daughters. While the teenagers go through their teenage "angst", Lucy begins to question everyone's motives.

I really liked this story and the ending was quite a surprise!
Profile Image for Gretchen.
2,098 reviews
May 14, 2012
Was one of the better ones of the series. It dealt with teenage mean girls and the pressure parents put on kids.
590 reviews11 followers
December 19, 2024
I am continuing to read the Lucy Stone Mysteries in order because I love to see the developments in the lives of all of the main characters. Reading about Sara Stone and her social problems as a freshman in high school reminded me of what it was like to be in high school. Not fun! However, the mystery was enjoyable. I am finding that I am generally enjoying the contents of the books in this series more than the endings. Everything was resolved by the very end of the book, perhaps a bit too nicely. (Life is seldom that way!) I will continue to read the series because I enjoy the main characters and am interested in what happens in their lives.
Profile Image for Toby.
2,052 reviews72 followers
March 30, 2025
I am glad that I tackled this series in order — I love the chronology and the ability to “watch” Lucy’s family grow up! This was another solid installment and actually I feel like this was one of the darker books in the series, surprisingly.
868 reviews
March 7, 2025
Tina Nowak and Barbara Hume, were enemies in every way. One day Tina was shot through the heart. Guess who was charged with the murder? Read this book, it's full of surprises and parents troubles.
Profile Image for Tarissa.
1,580 reviews83 followers
July 13, 2018
Definitely an intriguing cozy murder mystery. This one may even be one of the most emotional reads from the Lucy Stone series -- perhaps because of its connection to Mother's Day, and the backstory behind a mom losing her daughter forever... along with a killer moving in one of the popular moms in town.

Note: This book contains some mild/low foul language.
Profile Image for Mayda.
3,829 reviews65 followers
May 14, 2018
Lucy is running in all directions, staying on top of her job, maintaining her household tasks, and keeping tabs on her family. And lately, her teenage daughter Sara is the one needing extra supervision. Playing fast and loose with the rules of the family, Sara finds herself in trouble and grounded, but she is also the victim of some bullying from her so-called friends. But murder trumps all other problems, and shows no respect for Mother’s Day. This well-written cozy is really a gritty account of a surprising murder. A great installment in the series, it departs from its cozy nature with the inclusion of some interesting but despicable characters. Well done.









Profile Image for Lauri.
407 reviews109 followers
May 12, 2015
I love Leslie Meier! Lucy Stone is a character that people can embrace. She's a mom, a grandma, wife, mother, friend. She worries about her children, pets, community and what to fix for dinner... At the same time she manages to solve some very twisty murders. Not a single holiday or special occasion has escaped safely yet. I really enjoy the holiday themes. I hope she never runs out of occasions!
Profile Image for Linda.
2,316 reviews58 followers
May 13, 2015
Very enjoyable Lucy Stone mystery. This one revolved around the school and Sara and the changing culture for kids. For being published in 2009 some of the technology they were referencing seemed dated to me, the myspace references in particular but this didn't take away from the story.
Profile Image for Cassie.
358 reviews14 followers
May 6, 2024
Takes ages to get into the mystery solving, feeling especially slow given how short the book is. Also feels very dated in it's language, even for publication in 2009 - "the prom" instead of prom, "going steady" for dating, "Myspace.com" instead of just myspace (to be fair, only the adults say the whole thing out), and "took a cell phone picture" instead of just "took a picture" (I dont remember any of my peers in 2009 making the distinction of what device took a picture even though cell phones were just starting to be commonplace).

I also found the POV difficult with the adults all gossiping about their teens, freaking out about the internet, struggling to get their teens to take them or safety seriously, and the jumping to worst case scenarios any time they don't hear from someone. The women are stereotypical, and the dads sound like caricatures every time they open their mouths. It's not that these aren't possibly realistic, but they don't resonate with me as someone who isn't an un-tech-savvy anxious suburban mom in the early 2000's.

I didn't care about any of the characters, and found a lot of their personalities shallow and boring, so when the mystery still hadn't picked up by 36% in I decided to DNF. It's not like there's a shortage of cozy mysteries!!
Profile Image for Mandy.
Author 2 books9 followers
May 10, 2019
I really enjoyed this one! It was perfect for this month and I loved the suspense! It kept me guessing until the end!
Profile Image for Joy Gerbode.
2,024 reviews17 followers
February 18, 2020
Not really my cup of tea ... ok mystery, the teen drama and issues don't seem to fit my idea of a good cozy, and I had trouble getting into it. I had to laugh at the two squabblers ... I have met people that I could relate that to.
Profile Image for Beverly.
3,858 reviews27 followers
January 28, 2016
Lucy Stone's family is growing up, her son Toby is now married to Molly and they have a son. Her oldest daughter, Elizabeth is attending college in Boston. She and husband, Bill , just have Sara and Zoe at home and Sara is in high school. But Lucy's life is just as hectic as ever as she balances working as a reporter at the Pennypincher, keeping up with the problems of her 3rd teenager and solving the murders of the tiny town of Tinker's Cove. This time around, it's the mother of another girl who attends the high school that is killed. It's widely known around town that the dead woman and another mother each have a daughter who is up for being the valedictorian at graduation and neither mother wants her daughter to lose. There are several overt displays of anger and bickering between the two shortly before a "blonde" figure is seen running away from the shooting at the tennis courts. Once again, Lucy struggles with being there for her family, doing the right thing and catching the killer. This is just a great series, if you like cozies, and this was a great addition to it.
Profile Image for Sue Ellen.
1,000 reviews
December 23, 2024
Not only is Lucy once again showing very poor mothering skills, the author is showing very poor editing skills. In chapter 5 Lucy mentions being told by Zoe that her other daughter is using her cell phone late at night and that she has laxatives and syrup of ipicac in her backpack. Unfortunately, that conversation with Zoe doesn't actually happen until chapter 11. Meanwhile, Lucy is allowing her 14 year old freshman daughter to date a 17 year old senior? And nobody seems concerned about another girl taking a photo of Sara in her underwear and sends it to the boys on the baseball team. They just say it's normal behavior? I realize from the references to Osama Bin Ladin that this book was written a couple of decades ago and hasn't aged well, but even back then that would have been a serious violation. And yet I keep reading the series. It's like a train wreck that you just can't stop looking at!
Profile Image for Maria Vargas.
633 reviews55 followers
December 28, 2024
So far, I think this is the best book of the series. Not only do we get to follow Lucy's reporting, trying to solve the crime but also, we get to see her more as a normal person. Sometimes authors forget to humanize their characters and this book did that somehow to perfection.

When a missing girl goes missing and her body is found some time after, you might think that's the worst that could happen. But that's not all in Tinker's Cove because the senior football players are doing all sorts of bullying and things to pressure the other players but also a pair of bullying popular girls take on Sarah is all you need to enjoy this book.

Lucy really said not on my watch and pressured the school district to investigate the football teams, she goes to the moms of the bullying girls. This time the culprit of the murder was hard to figure out even for Lucy but again the motive was a bit bizzare.
484 reviews
July 11, 2018
Mother's Day, my foot! I don't know what was going on in the author's life, but two books in a row where the underlying tension in mother-daughter. Lucy has a teenage daughter, and again, serious bullying is going on in school and Lucy seems totally incapable of dealing with any issues (this is her third child after all.) I also don't understand how she expects her children to have any manners. When she arrives home, to distracted by all her "sleuthing" to do anything but drink wine, she can't bother to say one "please" to her daughters. She doesn't pay much attention to her own family, but she does seem fascinated by rumors of cheating in other marriages. She's just getting on my nerves.
886 reviews128 followers
November 20, 2015
Reading Leslie Meier's mysteries are like going back in time... at least for me. I read a lot of "family oriented" mysteries when my children were still young and living at home. These mysteries are (for me) not the best mystery wise--I can always figure out who did it, and, I have to admit, I often find certain characters sterotyped. I also find the progress of the mystery a bit choppy.

BUT writing about friends and especially family Leslie Myeier shines. She makes the family come alive, the sweet and the bittersweet. For me, a journey back in time.
Profile Image for Cindy Grant.
4 reviews3 followers
October 7, 2018
Listened to this on Hoopla. Truly dreadful narrator. I stuck with it because I liked the main character and wanted to enjoy the New England setting. It just got stupider and stupider. The many moms in the book argued with everything the main character said, at one point telling her the outright bullying of her daughter, including texting pictures around of her changing in the locker room, were no big deal! Everyone does it! Don't be so concerned! I like cozy mysteries, but they have to make sense at least 75% of the time. This one didn't.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 172 reviews

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