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NEW YEAR'S EVE MURDER
by Leslie Meier
Kensington, November 2005
250 pages
$22.00
ISBN: 0758206992


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

There is a considerable body of a dozen Lucy Stone cosy mysteries tracing the development of her family as she solves various murders. The books mostly have titles referring to anniversaries and this one is such an example.

Lucy and Elizabeth, her daughter, are removed from their normal small town surroundings of Tinker's Cove, Maine, to participate in a mother and daughter makeover in New York in the days between Christmas and New Year.

The fashion magazine has given prizes of makeovers to such duos from different parts of the USA. The other makeover winners are suitably diverse and the details of the exhausting processes are fascinating.

Lucy's normal domestic round, even if she didn't become involved in mysteries, is a punishing one as she has a job and a sizeable family so she is disappointed when the New York experience proves not to be the pampering relaxing experience she had expected!

The backstabbing staff members at the magazine provide exciting background to every process of the makeovers as they feud and complain. The editor is rude and dictatorial and her staff respond to the unpleasant atmosphere. This particular fictional magazine shows it as a rather extreme example of the dysfunctional and provides a good plot setting.

The culmination is the death of a fashion editor. Lucy investigates, as is her wont, but her mind is distracted by the illness of Elizabeth with similar symptoms to those suffered by the dead woman. The suspects are numerous but Lucy, spurred on by the need to discover the cause of her daughter's illness, navigates her way through the murky magazine back currents to a solution.

I have read one previous adventure of Lucy which was heavily loaded with domestic detail in Maine and found this book an interesting change with good information on New York's cultural scene as well as the beauty business. The story is indeed a well-plotted one.

Reviewed by Jennifer S. Palmer, March 2006

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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