Showing results for "Leslie White" in Amateur Sleuth

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.

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....

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.

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.

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.

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...

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 19th century, and it turns out other residents aren’t exactly enthusiastic about living without cell service and electricity.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 expects to see actual blood spilled.

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.

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.

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.