Valentine Murder

Title: Valentine Murder

Author: Leslie Meier

Publisher: Kensington Mystery - A Partners in Crime Mystery

Copyright Date: 1999

Print Date: January 2000

ISBN: 1575664992

Pages: 248

Series: 5th in the Lucy Stone mystery series

Book Description (from back cover):

It's Valentine's Day in Tinker's Cove. And while the cupcakes Lucy Stone is baking for her children will have pink frosting and candy hearts, Lucy's thoughts aren't centered on sugary sentiments. She's barely arrived at her first board meeting of the newly-renovated library when Bitsy Howell, the new librarian, is found dead in the basement, shot only minutes before story hour was to start. The agitated board members assume that Bitsy was killed by an outsider, until Detective Lt. Horowitz arrives on the scene and announces that the killer is among them.

Lucy was already aware that Bitsy's uppity big city ways rubbed some people in Tinker's Cove the wrong way. But she has a hunch that motives for the librarian's violent death run a lot deeper. From Hayden Norcross's elegant antique shop to Corney Clark's chic kitchen, Lucy relentlessly snoops into the curious lifestyles and shocking secrets of Tinker's Cove's most solid citizens — secrets that will plunge her into a terrifying confrontation with a conniving killer...

Comments:

A Lucy Stone Mystery set around the library. How interesting. Really rather scary actually. What happens if I finally get a job in a library and I have to work with a board like that? ::shudders::

Anyway, each chapter is headed by a line from a fairy tale, fable, nursery rhyme, or other classic childhood tale. Some stories, like The Gingerbread Man lead two chapters and others only one. It was interesting not only identifying the story from the line given, but also seeing how the story fit whatever was happening in the chapter.

I do have to say the story didn't revolve around Valentine's day as much as her other books do with their holidays. The victim has scattered valentine crafts around her when she's discovered and the story technically takes place around February and Valentine's Day, but there isn't much else tying the story to the holiday.

Anyway, I've read the two stories following this one, and intend to read more...