Lucy Stone

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The whole town of Tinker's Cove is looking forward to the celebration marking former librarian Julia Ward Howe Tilley's 90th birthday. Lucy Stone dreamed up the party idea - at about the same time she decided she's not getting old without a fight. But Lucy realizes her daughter's 14th birthday bash, a coed sleepover, may turn her hair white overnight. 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.

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.

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.

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.

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. 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, facedown 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.

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.

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.

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...

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.

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.