As you know, I love to read the cozy mystery genre. In reading cozies, I find that there are some amateur sleuths that I just really like. Leslie Meier's Lucy Stone is one of those characters. Sometimes she is cranky and sometimes I disagree with her, but I feel like if she was an actual person I would enjoy her company.
I mean, I like this series so much that I'll read them out of order, this is really saying something since I have a very strong preference to read a series in order. However, when it comes to Lucy Stone, I know her and the family well enough that I don't mind. What I have found is that I really like the books that take place during Winter in Tinker Cove, so I read the Winter books in the Winter and it's a comfort. The other reason I return to this series is that, especially in the first twenty or so books, the stories give me double nostalgia. Life for Lucy reminds me of when I was a kid and also the days when my kids were smaller. St. Patrick's Day Murder which is book 17, is no exception, all the double nostalgia I could want and plenty of talk of slush on the streets and cold winds blowing.
One of the things I liked about this book is that Leslie Meier added in just a whisper of magic. A mysterious crow appears in some critical moments. Also, the story is chockful of Irish folklore and some Irish History as well as an Irish Musical. So if you enjoy all things Irish, you really must read this book.
As often happens, Lucy, our investigative reporter, manages to get herself into a scrap. Now that this point, I have come to acknowledge that Lucy is the kind of amateur slueth that will put herself in harm's way. I'm not a fan of that, but it comes with the territory of this series and I've made peace with that aspect. She really needs to at least carry mace or a tazer!
I'm giving this book 4 stars, I thought the mystery was decent, I like the Irish-ness of the story and I felt that we got a nice amount of side character participation.
The first scene of this book takes place in Florida. I almost had a panic attack thinking that this book was going to take place in March in Florida. As I mentioned earlier, one of my favorite parts of this series is the time devoted to the discussion of Maine weather! Fortunately, by the next chapter, the family was home in Maine. This book takes place 9 years after the St. Patrick's Day Murder which meant that Zoe was now in College! Kids grow up so fast!
I enjoyed that Bill, Lucy's husband, was more involved in this book. In the early books, I found him pretty annoying, but overall, I've come around to liking him. Lucy and Bill are a good pair. For years I have wondered how in the world the newspaper stayed in business, and in this book, Leslie Meier secures a future for the paper and Lucy's job. Thank Goodness!
Leslie Meier continues to do a wonderful job writing kids and young adults that sound and act like actual kids and young adults. In this book, Lucy has finally come around and stopped saying "oh my goodness" how could this happen here! Which was great. Bad stuff can happen anywhere and when you are writing over 20 books in a cozy series, there is going to be more murder per capita than just about anywhere.
This book was a nice installment in this long series, and I am looking forward to reading Easter Bonnet Murder which I have a hold on from my local library.
4 Stars to Irish Parade Murder
