It’s back to school time in the peaceful Maine town of Tinker’s Cove, and for mother-of-four Lucy Stone, it isn’t a moment too soon. But trouble at the local elementary school soon has the sometime crime-solver juggling family, job, and night classes with another mystery to solve. And it starts with a bang. A bomb goes off with the noon lunch bell, but not before all the kids are safely evacuated, and Carol Crane, the new assistant principal, is hailed as a hero. But days later, Carol is found murdered, and everyone is stunned when the most popular teacher at the school is arrested for the crime. However, not everyone is buying the open-and-shut case, including Lucy Stone, who senses there’s more to things than meet the eye. It soon becomes clear that Lucy is flirting with danger, as sizzling secrets and explosive surprises provide a primer for the most diabolical of motives. Hot on the trail of a clever killer, the dedicated mom and seasoned sleuth must harness the courage and cool aplomb to uncover a crime that just might give her an education in the fine art of murder.

Ever since local developer Fred Stanton and his wife, Mimi, built five modular homes next door to Lucy Stone’s farmhouse, life hasn’t been the same. With Mimi complaining about everything from the state of Lucy’s lawn to another neighbor’s lovable dog, quaint Tinker’s Cove, Maine, is now entangled in cul-de-sac politics and backstabbing. And when Mimi doesn’t show up for her shift at The Hat and Mitten Fund bake sale, the scent of burnt sugar leads Lucy to a shocking discovery: Mimi, face down on her kitchen floor, with a knife in her back. While the police start their investigation, reporter Lucy gets busy writing up the murder for The Pennysaver–and following a few leads of her own. Lucy knows the women in her neighborhood didn’t like Mimi, but they certainly didn’t want her dead… did they?

The whole town of Tinker’s Cove is looking forward to the celebration marking former librarian Julia Ward Howe Tilley’s ninetieth birthday. Lucy Stone, Miss Tilley’s closest friend, dreamed up the party idea–at about the same time she decided she’s not getting old without a fight. Noticing crow’s feet and a potential jelly belly, she’s resolved to exercise more and purchase some heavy-duty wrinkle cream, asap! That sounds like a plan–until Lucy realizes her daughter’s fourteenth birthday bash, a coed sleepover, may turn her hair white overnight. What was she thinking when she agreed to let Sara have the party? Obviously she wasn’t thinking about the hormonal rampages of young teens. On her mind, instead, was the shocking death of Sherman Cobb, the town’s oldest attorney, an apparent suicide. His law partner, however, thinks Sherman was murdered. Poking about in Sherman’s papers, Lucy turns up an intriguing tie between the dead man and Miss Tilley. Meanwhile Miss Tilley’s own past has come back to haunt her in the form of a mysterious niece named Shirley and a biker great nephew named Snake. Soon no one can get to see the elderly librarian because the brash, bossy Shirley says she’s “failing.” Is Miss Tilley in grave danger? Will Sara’s party turn out to be a scandal? Now, as a killer’s ruthless plan rushes toward a conclusion, Lucy needs answers fast–or else she and Miss Tilley won’t live long enough to make a wish and blow out the candles on this year’s birthday cake…

Although Perry, the earl of the house, and his sister, Poppy, are surprisingly accommodating to their jetlagged guests, Lucy feels uneasy after a fallen portrait sparks talk of a deadly family omen. But real trouble begins when a body, bludgeoned by the chapel’s gold-plated reliquary, is found in a hidden, sealed off room. Considering the weapon and the clandestine location, Lucy wouldn’t be shocked if the murder was an inside job. Was the victim trying to make off with the family riches before meeting his end? Lucy must keep her ear to the ground and mind time-honored traditions-no matter how unusual, because Lucy has a hunch that the killer has been in her company all along.

Lucy’s getting very annoyed that her husband Bill and his friend Evan have been working seemingly nonstop on their potentially prize-winning pumpkin catapult. But when the day of the big contest arrives, Evan is nowhere to be found – until a catapulted pumpkin busts open the trunk of the Dodge. Amid the pumpkin gore is a very deceased Evan. Bill is on the hook for the Halloween homicide, so Lucy knows she’s got some serious sleuthing to do. With each new lead pointing her in a different direction, Lucy sees that time is quickly running out. If she wants to spook the real killer, she’ll have to step into an old ghost story…

As a reporter for the Pennysaver, Lucy is assigned a puff piece on upscale Chanticleer’s Chocolates. But when a local fisherman drowns suspiciously, Lucy’s certain her investigative skills could be put to better use. Everyone is shocked when Fern’s Famous Fudge loses its status as ‘Best Candy on the Coast’ to Chanticleer’s pricey newfangled confections. And Lucy soon discovers sultry store manager Tamzin Graves is only too eager to serve her male clientele. Leaving a throng of jealous women in her wake, it’s almost no surprise when Tamzin is the next to turn up dead, covered in chocolate. Could a bitter ex-wife be behind the crimes? As Lucy closes in on the culprit, she may find herself locked in the clutches of a half-baked killer…

Everyone dreams of a picture-perfect small-town Christmas, but when murder is in the cards, some holiday greetings are addressed to kill…

Christmas Card Murder by Leslie Meier
In the midst of holiday home renovations, Lucy Stone accidentally unwraps a murder mystery decades in the making when she discovers an old Christmas card with a nasty message belonging to one of her farmhouse’s previous residents. The case may be colder than a New England Christmas, but Lucy’s determined to sort it out before Santa comes to town.

Death of a Christmas Carol by Lee Hollis
The Island Times Christmas soiree gets off to a scroogey start when Hayley Powell, Mona Barnes, and Rosana Moretti receive a Christmas card from the town flirt, Carol Waterman, who threatens to run off with one of their husbands! The ladies chalk it up to an imprudent prank…until they find Carol mistletoe-up under her tree…

Death of a Christmas Card Crafter by Peggy Ehrhart
Slay bells ring when the body of Arborville High School’s beloved art teacher (and annual Christmas card designer), Karma Karling, is discovered on the first day of the Holiday Craft Fair. Now, Pamela Paterson and the Knit and Nibble crew must swap swatching for sleuthing in order to put a Christmas killer on ice.

Lucy normally loves planning for the holidays, but this year, Tinker’s Cove has fallen on hard times. With so many residents struggling, Christmas festivities are a luxury some can’t afford. But the story’s not so bleak at Downeast Mortgage, whose tightfisted owners, Jake Marlowe and Ben Scribner, are raking in profits from everyone’s misfortune. Half the town is in their debt, so when the miserly Marlowe is murdered, the mourners are few and the suspects are many. Scribner believes Marlowe’s ghost has come to warn him of his own demise, and when he starts receiving death threats, Lucy wonders if there’s more to the omen than the ravings of a bitter old pinchpenny. Can Lucy solve the case and deck the halls before the killer strikes again?

For Lucy Stone, the best thing about Christmas in Tinker’s Cove, Maine, has always been the annual Cookie Exchange. But the usual generosity and goodwill are missing from this year’s event, which turns out to be a complete disaster. Petty rivalries and feuds that have long been simmering finally come to a boil, leaving a bad taste in the mouths of many guests, including Lee Cummings–who accuses Tucker Whitney of stealing her recipe for low-fat, sugar-free cookies. But the icing on the cake is when Tucker is found strangled in her apartment the following morning. Who could’ve wanted Tucker dead badly enough to kill her? Despite all of the ingredients for danger, Lucy sets out on the trail of a murderer and soon uncovers a Christmas secret best left wrapped.

Known for its cheerful staff and elaborate annual Easter Bonnet Contest, the Heritage House senior center regularly attracts new residents and positive press. But once the town’s retired librarian, Miss Julia Tilley, checks in to recover from an illness, Lucy sees a side of the facility that isn’t quite so perfect and pristine. And the place may soon be making headlines for different reasons following an unexplained disappearance… Lucy can’t fathom how Agnes Neal could go missing from assisted living over a silly Easter bonnet contest or why few seem concerned as signs point to foul play. A retired journalist with an independent mind, Agnes had an eye for detail and little interest in conforming to catty cliques or rules set by her caretakers–traits that threatened some and angered others… While police stall the investigation without answers, Lucy realizes backstabbing has no age limit when alarming parallels bloom between her daughter’s college frenemies and social circles at Heritage House. Gathering clues as flimsy as a half-eaten milk-chocolate bunny, Lucy must discover what happened to Agnes–before her own story becomes another springtime tragedy left unsolved.

Lucy Stone has always loved covering the annual Easter egg hunt for the Pennysaver. Hosted by elderly socialite Vivian Van Vorst at Pine Point, it’s a swanky event where the eggs are as likely to contain savings bonds as they are jelly beans. But when Lucy arrives, a man dressed as the Easter Bunny emerges, only to drop dead moments later. Lucy discovers the victim is VV’s grandson, and soon learns that not all is as it seems at idyllic Pine Point. Always a social butterfly, VV has been skipping lunch dates with friends, and her much-needed donations to local charities have stopped with no explanation. Maybe she’s going senile, or maybe her heirs are getting a little too anxious to take over her estate.

Eggnog Murder: When a gift-wrapped bottle of eggnog proves to be a killer concoction for a Tinker’s Cove local, all Lucy Stone wants for Christmas is to find the murdering mixologist who’s stirring up trouble. Death By Eggnog: Food and cocktails columnist Hayley Powell has never cared much for Bar Harbor’s grouchy town librarian, Agatha Farnsworth. But after the Scroogy senior has a fatal-and suspicious-allergic reaction to supposedly non-dairy eggnog, it’s up to Hayley to ladle out some justice. Nogged Off: Julia Snowden’s tenant Imogen Geinkes seems to be jinxed. Her poorly named Killer Eggnog gives all her co-workers food poisoning at the holiday party. Now Julia has to get moving to catch the cold-hearted culprit.

Between her family and her reporting duties for the Tinker’s Cove, Maine Pennysaver, Lucy Stone could use a break. So when a friend tells her about a trip to England sponsored by Winchester College, she jumps at the chance for a girls’ getaway. But when the professor leading the tour dies mid-flight after an asthma attack, Lucy’s glad she packed her sleuthing skills. In London, Professor Quentin Rea, a ladies’ man and former flirt of Lucy’s, arrives to take over the tour–and she finds that while his hairline has receded, his amorous intentions have not. And as Lucy notices some peculiar behavior and uncovers some surprising connections–and then another tour member dies–she winds up in a daring scheme to find a mastermind of murder…

When her part-time reporting gig gives Lucy the opportunity to attend a Boston newspaper conference, she looks forward to the vacation from domestic bliss. But upon leaving Tinker’s Cove, she quickly discovers that alone time can be kind of… lonely. But when Luther Read, head of a nearly bankrupt newspaper dynasty, suddenly drops dead, Lucy discovers something to take her mind off of being lonely. Murder, for instance. Lucy vows to investigate and can’t help wondering if her name will end up on a byline or in an obituary.

Tinker’s Cove is abuzz with excitement when Norah, the queen of daytime TV, comes to town and selects Lucy and her pals to be featured in her ‘Women Who Make a Difference’ episode. In recognition for their charitable work, the ladies and their husbands are awarded a dream vacation in Paris, complete with classes at Le Cooking School with renowned pastry chef Larry Bruneau. But their bon voyage is cut short when Lucy discovers the chef in a pool of blood on the second day of class… If she’s going to enjoy her vacation, she’ll have to unpack her sleuthing skills and clear her name. But will she be able to track down a killer more elusive than the perfect macaron?

Tricks and treats keep the Halloween spirit alive in coastal Maine. But this year the haunted house theme is getting carried a little too far . . . HAUNTED HOUSE MURDER by LESLIE MEIER Newcomers to Tinker’s Cove, Ty and Heather Moon have moved into a dilapidated house reputed to be a haven for ghosts. Now strange noises and flickering lights erupt from the house at all hours and neighborly relations are on edge. And when a local boy goes missing near the house, it’s up to Lucy Stone to unravel the mystery of the eccentric couple and their increasingly frightful behavior. DEATH BY HAUNTED HOUSE by LEE HOLLIS For the past two years, the house next door to Hayley Powell has sat abandoned after the owner died under mysterious circumstances. The Salinger family has recently taken possession of the property, but the realtor behind the deal has vanished-after a very public and angry argument with Damien Salinger. If Bar Harbor’s newest neighbors are murderers, Hayley will haunt them until they confess. HALLOWED OUT by BARBARA ROSS With its history of hauntings and ghost sightings, Busman’s Harbor is the perfect setting for Halloween festivities. But when a reenactment of a Prohibition-era gangster’s murder ends with a literal bang and a dead actor from New Jersey, Julia Snowden must identify a killer before she ends up sleeping with the fishes. There’s nothing like home sweet home in this trio of Halloween tales . . .

Learning is an adventure in Ms. Frogbottom’s class because she’s got a magic map–one that takes her students all over the world to battle mythical monsters no one believes are real. All Ms. Frogbottom has to do is take out the map, tap a country, and–SHAZAAM!–off they go to a place somewhere far far away. When Ms. Frogbottom whisks the class away to Egypt, they not only come face-to-face with a mummy but also have to solve the riddle of his ancient curse! Bestselling and beloved author Nancy Krulik ingeniously approaches geography in a new way as the kids in Ms. Frogbottom’s class learn about the places they visit while fighting, fleeing, or, in some cases, rescuing monsters.

Part-time reporter Lucy Stone doesn’t know what to expect as she arrives on a private Maine island owned by eccentric billionaire Scott Newman, only that the exclusive experience should make for a very intriguing feature story. An avid environmentalist, Scott has stripped the isolated property of modern conveniences in favor of an extreme eco-friendly lifestyle. A trip to Holiday Island is like traveling back to the nineteenth century, and it turns out other residents aren’t exactly enthusiastic about living without cell service and electricity.

Before Lucy can get the full scoop on Scott, she is horrified to find one of his daughters dead at the bottom of a seaside cliff. The young woman’s tragic end gets pinned as an accident, but a sinister plot unfolds when there’s a sudden disappearance…

Stuck on a clammy island with murder suspects aplenty, the simple life isn’t so idyllic after all. Now, Lucy must tap into the limited resources around her to outwit a cold-blooded killer–before it’s lights out for her next!

Someone may have spiked this year’s Irish coffee brew with murder!
Irish Coffee Murder by Leslie Meier
Part-time reporter Lucy Stone is writing a piece for the Courier about four Irish step dancing students from Tinker’s Cove on the cusp of making it big. But the story becomes headline news for all the wrong reasons when one girl’s mother is found dead in her bathtub. Did a stage mom take rivalry too far, or is some other motive at play?
Death of an Irish Coffee Drinker by Lee Hollis
As owner of Bar Harbor’s hottest new restaurant, Hayley Powell offers to cater the after-party for popular comedian Jefferson O’Keefe, who’s playing his old hometown for St. Patrick’s Day. But it’s no laughing matter when Jefferson keels over after gulping down his post-show Irish coffee, leaving Hayley to figure out who decided this joker had gone too far . . .
Perked Up by Barbara Ross
It’s a snowy St. Patrick’s Day in Busman’s Harbor. But when the power goes out, what better way for Julia Snowden to spend the evening than sharing local ghost stories-and Irish coffees-with friends and family? By the time the lights come back, they might even have solved the coldest case in town . . .

After returning from her father-in-law’s funeral in Florida, Lucy can almost hear the death knell of her part-time reporter job the instant she meets new hire Rob Callahan. He’s young, ambitious, and positioning himself to become the Pennysaver’s next star reporter. Adding insult to injury, Lucy only gets assigned the local St. Patrick’s Day parade once Rob passes on the story. But before beer flows and bagpipes sound, Rob becomes suspected of destroying more than other people’s careers… It’s a shock when Rob is suddenly charged with sending a corrections officer from town to a fiery death. Contrary to the evidence, Lucy seriously doubts her office rival committed murder, and she’s willing to follow that nagging hunch into the darkest corners of the community if it means shedding light on the truth. As an unnerving mystery unfolds, a strange woman reveals news that could change everything for Lucy and her family. Troubles in her personal and professional life are colliding, and Lucy comes to realize that she’ll sooner discover a four-leaf clover than confront a killer with the gift of the gab and live to tell about it.

As if baking holiday cookies, knitting a sweater for her husband, 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 suicide, the sleuth in her knows something just doesn’t smell right. Taking time out from her hectic holiday life to find out what really happened, her investigation leads to a backlog of secrets as long as Santa’s Christmas Eve route. Lucy is convinced that someone murdered Sam Miller. But who and why? With each harrowing twist she uncovers in this bizarre case, another shocking revelation is exposed. Now, as Christmas draws near and Lucy gets dangerously closer to the truth, she’s about to receive a present from Santa she didn’t ask for–a killer who won’t be satisfied until everyone on his shopping list is dead, including Lucy herself…

When Lucy Stone arrives at a sprawling French chateau with the whole family, it should be the trip of a lifetime—especially because she’s about to watch her oldest daughter, Elizabeth, marry the handsome, successful man of her dreams. But while navigating the vast countryside estate owned by her daughter’s impenetrably wealthy in-laws-to-be, the jet-lagged mother of the bride has a creeping feeling that Elizabeth’s fairytale nuptials to Jean-Luc Schoen-Rene are destined to become a nightmare. Maternal instincts are validated the moment a body is pulled from a centuries-old moat on the property. A young woman has dropped dead under mysterious circumstances—possibly at the hands of someone at the chateau—and unflattering rumors about the Schoen-Rene line and their inner circle flow like champagne. Then there’s the matter of Elizabeth’s hunky ex beau showing up on the scene as she prepares to walk down the aisle… With tensions building, personalities clashing, and real dangers emerging at the chateau, Lucy is determined to protect her family, together for the first time in years, and expose the one responsible. She’ll have to locate the culprit among a list of worldly jilted lovers and potential criminal masterminds or Elizabeth’s trip down the aisle could end in tragedy…

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 that commitment means she gets to kick back and enjoy a fancy Mother’s Day brunch-that is, before the festivities are interrupted by a nasty scene between two moms feuding over the popularity of their teenage daughters. Even after witnessing that scene though, Lucy never expected to see actual blood spilled. But when one of the moms is found dead at the tennis court, Lucy begins to unravel the mystery and comes face-to-face with a killer who has a thing or two to learn about motherly love.

After the annual parade of Christmas presents in Tinker’s Cove, Maine, has ended, Lucy Stone and her daughter Elizabeth are ready to ring in the new year in style. Elizabeth has won mother/daughter winter makeovers in Manhattan from Jolie magazine! But the all-expenses-paid trip is bound to have some hidden costs–and one of them is murder. After arriving at the magazine’s offices, meeting their fellow makeover candidates, and being treated to a fashion show, Elizabeth is enamored of the extreme outfits and stick-thin models–while Lucy’s having some misgivings. The pampering is nice and the glamour of haute couture is bizarrely fascinating, but bitterness and aggression lurk behind the hipper-than-thou facade. And things turn downright ugly when self-absorbed fashion editor Nadine Nelson falls mysteriously ill and dies. Lucy can tell that backstabbing, rumors, and cliquishness have stirred up some bad blood at Jolie over the years. But this Manhattan murder mystery hits too close to home when Elizabeth gets rushed to the hospital with symptoms disturbingly similar to Nadine’s–and Lucy to dress down a killer before the ball drops in Times Square…

As Tinker’s Cove buzzes over a town-wide silver-wedding anniversary bash, Lucy is reminded of her nuptials and ponders the whereabouts of Beth Gerard, her strong-willed maid of honor. Although the two have lost touch over the years, Lucy would never have made it down the aisle without Beth, so she decides to reach out. It only takes one phone call for Lucy to realize that a reunion will happen soon…at Beth’s funeral. Beth, who was in the process of finalizing her fourth divorce, had a reputation for living on the edge-but no one can believe she would jump off a penthouse terrace in New York City. The more Lucy learns about Beth’s rumored plot to scandalize her former husbands, the more she suspects one of them committed murder. Summoning her friend’s impulsive spirit, Lucy scours New York from the Bronx to the Brooklyn Bridge in search of the killer. With each ex dodgier than the last, it’s not long before Lucy’s investigation leads her to a desperate criminal who will do anything to get away…

Not many people knew Old Dan Malone. The grizzled barkeep’s social circle was limited to the rough-hewn lobstermen who frequented his bar. But when Dan’s body is found bobbing in the icy harbor, Lucy Stone makes getting to know more about Old Dan a priority. Rumors abound: Old Dan conned a winning lottery ticket worth five grand from a local musician, Old Dan stiffed a handyman for repair work done to the bar. The confusion is compounded by the arrival of Dylan Malone, Old Dan’s brother. Was Old Dan killed by someone he’d cheated or someone he’d loved? While Lucy can’t be sure, one thing is abundantly clear – the stage is set for a murder mystery with a killer ending!

Lucy Stone is in the doghouse with her next-door neighbor, Mrs. Prudence Pratt. It seems that Kudo, the Stones’ misbehaving mutt, has developed a taste for Mrs. Pratt’s blue-ribbon winning chickens, as well as an escape artist’s talent for sneaking out. With the Fourth of July coming up, Lucy doesn’t want to set off any more fireworks with the crabby Prudence. Another sign that the crazy days of summer are in full swing arrives when a group of naturists–a.k.a. nudists–descends on Tinker’s Cove, skinny-dipping at the pond that borders Mrs. Pratt’s property, giving her something else to complain about. Worse still, the local lobstermen are upset about poachers, and suspicion falls on Mrs. Pratt’s husband and son. Then the July Fourth fireworks are canceled to protect a patch of extremely rare purple-spotted lichen, and Mrs Pratt is the victim of a hit and run. Tinker’s Cove is full of suspects, but none with so personal a motive as the Stones. Their feud with Mrs. Pratt has put them at risk of losing their freedom this Independence Day–unless Lucy can start things off with a bang by catching a killer…

With three kids underfoot, a fourth on the way, and an oppressive heat wave bearing down, homemaker Lucy Stone is hardly enjoying an idyllic summer. But her preoccupation with swelling ankles, Bavarian cream doughnuts, and sewing sequins on ballet-recital tutus gives way to dread when she learns her waistline isn’t the only thing that’s recently vanished. The strange disappearance of a retired dance instructor has the tiny coastal town of Tinker’s Cove, Maine, in a tizzy–which turns into terror when a notoriously cantankerous shopkeeper is slain right on Main Street. Now Lucy’s up to her bulging belly in suspects and red herrings. Eluded by a cold-blooded killer, with her due date looming and the temperature soaring, she figures something has to break soon. With any luck, it won’t be her water…

The locals in Tinker’s Cove are busy planning haunted-house parties and ghostly galas, and Lucy Stone is whipping up orange-frosted cupcakes, recycling tutus for her daughters’ costumes, helping her son with his pre-teen rebellion, and breast-feeding her brand-new baby. But amid the fun, something really scary is going on: An arsonist is loose, and 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 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…

Tinker’s Cove, Maine, has a long history of Thanksgiving festivities, from visits with TomTom Turkey to the annual Warriors high school football game and Lucy Stone’s impressive pumpkin pie. But this year, someone has added murder to the menu, and Lucy intends to discover who left Metinnicut Indian activist Curt Nolan dead–with an ancient war club next to his head. The list of suspects isn’t exactly brief. Nolan had a habit of disagreeing with just about everybody he met. Between fixing dinner for twelve and keeping her four kids from tearing each other limb from limb, Lucy has a pretty full plate already. So what’s a little investigation? But if she’s not careful, she may find herself served up as a last-minute course, stone-cold dead with all the trimmings…

Besides the annual Turkey Trot 5K on Thanksgiving Day, Lucy expects the approaching holiday to be a relatively uneventful one-until she finds beautiful Alison Franklin dead and frozen in Blueberry Pond. No one knows much about Alison, except that she was the daughter of the wealthy investor Ed Franklin and struggled quietly with drug addiction. Police blame her death on an accidental overdose, but Lucy can’t understand what terrible forces could have led the privileged woman to her watery ruin. Alison’s funeral service is just as puzzling. Many believe Ed’s young-and very pregnant-new wife, Mireille, divided the family, leaving Alison to wither on the vine. Did Mireille truly adore her stepchild as Ed claims, or did she pit father against daughter for personal gain? As a state of unrest descends on Tinker’s Cove, Lucy is thrown into a full-scale investigation. Now, in a race against time, Lucy must beat the killer to the finish line-or she can forget about stuffing and cranberry sauce.

It’s Valentine’s Day in Tinker’s Cove, and while the cupcakes Lucy’s baking for her children will have pink frosting and candy hearts, her 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 plunge her into a terrifying confrontation with a conniving killer…

Already juggling four kids’ hectic schedules, a rambunctious dog, an attention-craving husband, and a full-time reporter job, Lucy Stone can’t possibly squeeze in another responsibility… or can she? There’s a big wedding coming up, and Lucy’s promised her friend she’ll help arrange the lavish event in a newly built gazebo. Too bad the groom, internet millionaire Ron Davitz, is getting on the nerves of the locals, especially after their boats were displaced to make room for his yacht. When Ron’s body is found floating in the harbor, Lucy isn’t convinced it was an accident. From the picturesque waterfront to tony Smith Heights Road, Tinker’s Cove is awash with suspects. Now, fresh from wedding planning, Lucy finds herself contemplating her own funeral as she pursues a killer who’ll do anything to keep from being unveiled…

When the bewitching Diana Ravenscroft comes to quiet Tinker’s Cove and opens Solstice, a quaint little shop offering everything from jewelry to psychic readings, Lucy Stone writes her off as eccentric but harmless. Even after Diana gives her a disturbingly accurate reading, Lucy can’t help but befriend the newcomer. But not everyone in town is so enchanted. And when Lucy stumbles upon a dead body near her home, she can’t shake the feeling that something ominous is lurking in the crisp October air… Convinced Diana is an evil witch, prominent businessman Ike Stoughton blames her for a series of recent misfortunes, including Lucy’s gruesome discovery and his own wife’s death, and rallies the townsfolk against her. But after Lucy learns the murder victim was a magician and close friend of Diana’s, she starts to wonder who’s really stirring up a cauldron of trouble. By Halloween, her suspicions lead her to a deadly web of secrets–and a spine-chilling brush with the things that go bump in the night.