I love Halloween! I decorate my house, have a huge party, watch monster movies all month and most importantly, I read Halloween mysteries. Which is why I’d like to share a favorite with you.
Leslie Meier’s Lucy Stone mysteries are a favorite and she has a few Halloween themed mysteries that will get you in the Halloween spirit. One word of warning, it is a long series and I usually read in order, because the character changes, grows, and so on through the course of the series. But that being said, you could read these out of order. I’ve included what number these books are in the series so you know where they land.
Number 3 in the series – It’s October in Maine, and everyone in Tinker’s Cove is preparing for the annual Halloween festival. While Lucy Stone is whipping up orange-frosted cupcakes, recycling tutus for her daughters’ Halloween costumes, helping her son with his pre-teen rebellion, and breast-feeding her brand-new bay, an arsonist is loose in Tinker’s Cove. When the latest fire claims the life of the owner of the town’s oldest house, arson turns into murder. . .
While the townsfolk work to transform a dilapidated mansion into a haunted house for the All-Ghouls festival, the hunt for the culprit heats up. Trick-or-treat turns deadly as a little digging in all the wrong places puts Lucy too close to a shocking discovery that could send all her best-laid plans up in smoke. . .
Number 16 in the series – With planning the town’s annual Halloween Party, the drought wreaking havoc on her garden, and her brood of four children, Lucy Stone’s got her hands full this fall. As the air turns crisp and the trees blaze red and gold in the tiny town of Tinker’s Cove, Maine, a newcomer arrives who seems to suit the Halloween season. Diana Ravenscroft has just opened Solstice, a charming little shop featuring candles, crystals, jewelry, and psychic readings. But after an unnervingly accurate reading by Diana, Lucy starts to get more than a little spooked. Then there’s the dead body Lucy finds, way up on one of the old logging roads behind her house. The deceased is identified as Malcolm Malebranche, a seemingly harmless magician who worked at children’s birthday parties.
When it turns out that Diana knew the murder victim, Ike Stoughton, a prominent local businessman, starts a campaign against Diana, blaming ‘the witch’ for everything from the unseasonal dry spell to his wife’s illness and his pumpkins’ lack of plumpness. But Lucy’s not so sure that Ike himself is innocent. Still, as the town Halloween party approaches, Lucy’s more concerned about the costume competition, pin-the-nose-on-the-pumpkin, and baking three dozen orange cupcakes and Beastly Bug cookies. But as the October moon rises, a killer plans a lethal celebration of his own and Lucy’s the guest of honor.
Number 22 in the series – Halloween is coming to Tinker’s Cove, Maine, and local reporter Lucy Stone is covering the annual Giant Pumpkin Fest for the Pennysaver. There’s the pumpkin-boat regatta, the children’s Halloween party, the pumpkin weigh-in…even a contest where home-built catapults hurl pumpkins at an old Dodge! But not everything goes as planned.
Lucy’s getting annoyed that her husband, Bill, and his friend Evan have been working seemingly nonstop on their potentially prize-winning pumpkin catapult. But on the day of the big contest, Evan is nowhere to be found…until a catapulted pumpkin busts open the trunk of the Dodge, revealing a deceased Evan.
Bill’s on the hook for the Halloween homicide, so Lucy’s got some serious sleuthing to do. With each new lead pointing her in a different direction, Lucy learns that if she wants to spook the real killer, she’ll have to step into an old ghost story…
HAPPY HALLOWEEN! May all your tricks be treats!
Leslie
About Leslie Langtry
Why the hell not?
Leslie Langtry does not like to write bios. Seriously, she’s just not good at it. You’d think that after fifty books, she’d be able to pull off a few sentences, but no, she can’t. It’s very disappointing. At least her books are good, which counts, in her mind, as a win.
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