Irish Parade Murder
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- £5.99
Publisher Description
Part-time reporter Lucy Stone isn’t about to put all her eggs in one basket during a frantic Easter in Tinker’s Cove—especially when it comes to cracking a deadly mystery . . .
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 details 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.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Early in bestseller Meier's middling 26th Lucy Stone mystery (after 2018's Silver Anniversary Murder), Lucy, a reporter for the Pennysaver newspaper in Tinker's Cove, Maine, returns from her father-in-law's funeral in Florida to discover that her boss has hired a young new reporter, ambitious, arrogant Rob Callahan. Lucy clashes with Rob, who she fears will replace her. After Rob looks into corruption in the sheriff's department and the first person he is investigating dies in a suspicious car crash, Rob is arrested for murder. Lucy's sleuthing leads her to uncover the truth about a young woman who disappeared from Tinker's Cove months earlier. Meanwhile, the dictatorial sheriff controls everything, including who can and can't participate in the St. Patrick's Day parade, and Lucy must deal with her mother-in-law, newly arrived from Florida, along with the supposed half-sister of Lucy's husband, Bill. The plot plods along for nearly half the book before the action picks up. The harried Lucy, overwhelmed by her personal and professional woes, is not at her best. Maybe it's time for her to retire.
