Chocolate Covered Murder by Leslie Meier is the 18th book in the Lucy Stone Mystery series.

I've been picking up the books in this series whenever I can, and reading a Valentine's Day one close to Valentine's Day felt natural (okay, it was a little late... but it was still fun and felt in the spirit).

In this small town of Tinkers Cove, a new chocolateer (totally a real word) popped up. They sell super expensive chocolates and compete against the small town's original shoppe. This brings initial stress, but then when a local, kind man is found murdered... and then a woman who was flirting it up with her... Things get rough real fast. Throw in the tease of small-town drug use, potential infidelity with a new town flirt, and Lucy's sudden obsession with her own weight... a lot is going on.

I'll be honest, I HATED that Lucy mentions her weight almost every other page. Seriously, why did this have to be a major plot point? It felt so concerning because it didn't really have any affect on the plot. It just felt kind of fatphobic. It didn't really need to be in there at all.

The murder mystery itself was a fun read though! There's a lot of suspicion around who could do it, and the book sets itself up to keep you thinking.

Overall, the book was okay... But I have to give it two stars because of the horrible weight watching plot line.

Two out of five stars. ( )

What happens when competing chocolate shops open up across the street in small-town Tinkers Cove, Maine just before Valentine’s Day? Since this is a Lucy Stone mystery, that would be murder. With some provocative chocolatiers, first temporary jobs, the stress of small-town drug use, and of course, bad weather in Maine in February, there was a lot going on as Lucy and her friends work to solve the case. And will Lucy’s husband Bill ever cooperate and do anything she asks, let alone get dressed up for the town’s Valentine’s Day dance? A fun addition to the series.

Please excuse typos/name misspellings. Entered on screen reader.
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Lucy Stone is the mother of four, and even though a couple of her children no longer live at homes, she is a very busy woman. Couple that with her job as a newspaper reporter, and there simply are not enough hours in a day. Lucy's boss Ted has given her a frustrating assignment. It is not the serious type of article Lucy prefers working on. Finding people to answer questions is frustrating as usual for Lucy.

Par for the course, things quickly change when two people turn up dead, one of them covered in chocolate. Lucy, the ever focused amateur sleuth, starts looking for answers of her own. In usual format, Lucy knows just who to talk to in order to get to the bottom of things.

I am loving this cozy mystery series, and with this being book 18, am nearing the end. I hope Leslie Meier keeps on writing these. There are currently 27 titles and the next one is Easter Bunny Murder. ( )

Another chocolate shop has opened in town, and Lucy Stone is writing a story about it. To say its chocolates are expensive is putting it mildly - one piece is $5. Except for the new shop, things are running pretty typically in Lucy’s life. She is on a diet, her younger daughters are looking to earn a little extra money before Valentine’s Day, the weather is awfully cold, and, oh yes, a local fisherman gets tangled up in his lines and drowns under the ice. Not so typical, after all. Lucy is trying to keep up with her work as a reporter, getting the kids where they need to be, taking care of meals and the house, dealing with bills, and still finding time to be with her husband. But things really get busy when she practically stumbles over another body. This is a typical Lucy Stone cozy, filled with the characters regular readers have come to enjoy. The mystery won’t keep you up nights reading until the end, but it’s still entertaining. ( )

I've read a few books and short stories from Leslie Meier's cozy series. Set in small town Maine, there is still a lot of crime to be found!

Lucy works for the local paper, the Pennysaver. She is assigned to do a puff piece on a new business in town, Chanticleer's Chocolates, a high-end chocolate shop. It is owned by dishy looking Trey Meacham and managed by Tamzin Graves, who is nice eye candy for the male customers...and she knows it and uses it.

When Tamzin is found dead in the shop, posed in a provocative position, questions arise about it possibly being a jealous or suspicious wife or....who is the murderer?

A fun and light read with Lucy, the main character, bent on solving "who-done-it." ( )