Chocolate Covered Murder

Lucy Stone #18

by Leslie Meier

It's frigid in snow-covered Tinker's Cove, and Lucy is fighting the winter blues--and her widening waistline. No one in their right mind would vacation in Maine this time of year, but to boost the economy, the town is launching a travel promotion for Valentine's Day. As a reporter for the Pennysaver, Lucy is assigned a puff piece on upscale Chanticleer's Chocolates, and its deliciously handsome owner, Trey Meacham.

Soon Lucy discovers there's another tantalizing tart behind the counter. Sultry store manager Tamzin Graves is only too eager to serve her male customers. Leaving a throng of jealous women in her wake, it's almost no surprise when Tamzin turns up dead, her body covered in chocolate. . .

Could a bitter ex-wife be behind the crimes? Or a candy shop competitor? There's no sugar-coating the truth, and as Lucy closes in on the culprit, she may find herself locked in the clutches of a half-baked killer. . .

"I like Lucy Stone a lot, and so will readers." --Carolyn Hart

"Fast-paced. . .intriguing." --Publishers Weekly

"An enjoyable story." --RT Book Reviews

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fiction, Cozy, Audiobook, Holiday, Contemporary

257 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 1, 2012

About the author

Leslie Meier lives in Braintree and Harwich (Cape Cod), Massachusetts. She is the creator of 'Lucy Stone', a reporter and amateur sleuth in the fictional seaside village of Tinker's Cove, Maine.

Reviews

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

I highly enjoyed CHOCOLATE COVERED MURDER! 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.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chocolate Covered Murder, the 18th book in the Lucy Stone Mysteries, was enjoyable. It had all the right aspects from a few potential killers to fun side stories. But it also was too obvious this time... there weren't enough red herrings or details on the various new characters to get deep into the story, and I found myself easily predicting each scene's end results. A fun read tho, and I'm now 2/3 complete with the ~30 book series (lots of in-between novellas are included in that count).

[✨ Gramy ✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

..
Chocolate Covered Murder (A Lucy Stone Mystery Series Book 18) Kindle Edition
. . . by Leslie Meier (Author)
Length: 257 pages


It's frigid in snow-covered Tinker's Cove, and Lucy is fighting the winter blues--and her widening waistline. No one in their right mind would vacation in Maine this time of year, but to boost the economy, the town is launching a travel promotion for Valentine's Day. As a reporter for the Pennysaver, Lucy is assigned a puff piece on upscale Chanticleer's Chocolates, and its deliciously handsome owner, Trey Meacham.

The descriptions of the freezing temperatures in the environment caused me to feel goosebumps. It definitely made me count my blessings. It confirms that I made a very wise decision in moving further south to avoid that nasty, cold, and icy winter season.


Soon Lucy discovers there's another tantalizing tart behind the counter. Sultry store manager Tamzin Graves is only too eager to serve her male customers. Leaving a throng of jealous women in her wake, it's almost no surprise when Tamzin turns up dead, her body covered in chocolate. . .

Lucy is not only the star reporter in town, but she has a knack for being close when trouble strikes - whether it be murder, drugs, or whatever. And in this book, there are two murders, that she just happens upon after the fact.


Could a bitter ex-wife be behind the crimes?

Or a candy shop competitor?

There's no sugar-coating the truth, and as Lucy closes in on the culprit, she may find herself locked in the clutches of a half-baked killer.

This was a very entertaining cozy mystery that included a red herring, twists, turns, and lots of internal dialogue. Lucy is able to keep calm in the center of danger and relies on instinct to keep her safe.

The tale was a clean and wholesome stand alone. However, if the series is read in order, you will have the opportunity to observe the growth and changes within the heroine's immediate family members.

About the Author
Leslie Meier is the New York Times bestselling author of over twenty Lucy Stone mysteries and has also written for Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine. She is currently at work on the next Lucy Stone mystery. Readers can visit her website at www.LeslieMeier.com
..

[Hannah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Bleh. Just not my thing. Abandoned on page 103.

I spent two hours trying to get through this, so I'm going to go ahead and count it read...after all, I got further than the novella length.

Lucy is a part-time reporter. She's more concerned with her body image than spending time with her husband, though she says she has a happy marriage. Her primary method of getting clues is through her job at the paper. She doesn't like her boss and is continually making snide comments about her coworkers. She loves to gossip with her neighbors, and they have little good to say about anybody.

The writing is shabby and the description haphazard. For example, we see her dog three times before finding out it's a Lab. But we get a blow-by-blow of what's on tv when she's talking to her husband while she worries about her dieting. And there's a lot of telling this, telling that, which further slows what action there is. Plus, winter tourism and snow and chocolate and diets and expensive chocolate and daughters getting jobs and winter tourism and snow and fudge and Oh! Wonder if Max was actually murdered? And winter tourism and not liking her boss and smarmy rich people and snow and ...

That was all I could take. Seriously? Where is my mystery?

Overall, I found Lucy to be often discontent and I really, really wanted to actually have a mystery.

Not recommended.

[M.L.D. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this up mostly because I wanted to read a Valentines Day themed mystery, so, perhaps unsurprisingly, was disappointed. Not much mystery here: the culprit is obvious, as is the motive. I was actually surprised that the motive was relatively mundane. It would have been so much cooler if they had been injecting the chocolates with oxycontin, building up a drug addict clientele, instead of just doing run-of-the-mill drug-dealing.

And, also, if your wife should happen to be a held-at-gunpoint-hostage, please do not, once she's allowed to go home, tell her that she needs to get home and cook your meatloaf dinner. WHAT THE EVERLOVING F***.

[Bekah · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm pretty sure you need to be a member of the Red Hat Society to enjoy this.

[Briar's Reviews · Rating 2 out of 5]

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.

[Alannah Davis · Rating 1 out of 5]

Flabby to nonexistent characterization. Inconsistent storyline. Boatloads of comma splices that wouldn't make it past my high school English teacher. Hell, they didn't even make it past ME. Is the economy really so bad that Kensington Publishing can't spring for a proofreader? This book reads like a first draft.

The mystery itself could have been interesting, but it was surrounded by characters I didn't care about and an unlikable sleuth. In the first half of the book, mom/reporter of newspaper puff pieces/amateur sleuth Lucy Stone whines about her weight ad nauseum. She wants to lose her muffin-top in time for a Valentine's day dance and says "I'm on a diet" so many times, I want to scream, "I get the point already!" After the dance, Lucy doesn't mention diet again.

Inconsistencies are everywhere. For instance, in one paragraph, Lucy feels up-in-arms about having to drive and putting her footprint on the environment. Then she gets over it and goes on her merry way. Nowhere else in the book does it mention that she's the least bit interested in environmental causes, or getting a hybrid vehicle, or riding a bicycle in the warm weather, or anything else. In another scene, a character goes through something that is seemingly of importance to the mystery. It's never mentioned again.

And what does Leslie Meier have against overweight women and older women, anyway?

To the best of my knowledge, this is the first Lucy Stone mystery I've ever read. I can say with relative certainty that it will also be my last.

[Robin Loves Reading · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Cozy Reader Lady · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Chocolate Covered Murder (Lucy Stone #18)" by Leslie Meier is a little Valentine's Day Themed. Lots of chocolate talk. Unfortunately, for about 75% of the book Lucy is hyper focused on her weight and being on a diet. It's more annoying than it usually is in these books. Then it flips to a focus on the illegal drug epidemic that's been in the US the last couple of decades.

Lucy is one of the only ones to think the death of a local man while ice fishing is suspicious until a second death happens that's equally odd. However, the second one is for sure not an accident or natural. As usual Lucy gets the culprit to pretty much fall in her lap but at least this time she had some back up right away. It just took a man to tell the cops pretty much the same thing she told them.

That leads to by second big pet peeve of this book. The men in this book are so misogynistic, especially Bill. If Lucy asked him for anything slightly out of his comfort zone he'd put up a big fuss about it, refusing to do it or if he did, do it with a lot of complaining. Yet, he expected her to do everything he wanted. He even told her she had a meatloaf to make him when he picked her up after a hostage situation she was just traumatized in. Some books I really dislike Bill, and Lucy for how she just takes this all from him.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another classic Lucy Stone mystery - I love the continuing relationships and character development of the Stone family and residents of Tinker's Cove. Just when you think there can't possibly be another murder in this small coastal town in Maine, Ms. Meier does it again! A+

[Mayda · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Kim j · Rating 3 out of 5]

I will be glad when I am finished with the next book in this series NOT because I enjoyed them. That's what I get for buying cheap books. Lucy did not do any investigating and it was all the same complaints about kids, being fat, traditional husband, and friends that never change. It's like being in a time warp of the dominant husband in a little town and the barefoot pregnant women who have no say. I do not think this is uplifting for women and perhaps a downgrade from where we have come and where we are trying to go. I am in no way saying that staying at home to raise kids is bad. Lucy is not a stay at home mom but it's her values and low self esteem that bother me.

[Kristen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sometimes for me, a book can be like creamed corn: I get it for no reason except that I see it on the shelf and want something to chew on. this book is like that, and also like creamed corn, it's cloyingly sweet with not much substance. This book is bland, but in an almost comforting kind of way.

That said, what kind of mystery book has the sleuth looking for clues without giving any hints for a keen reader to catch? The killer just kind of appeared in the last bit and then confessed to everything. Snoozeville.

[Carla · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read several Lucy Stone mysteries, all out of order and enjoyed these quick stories. This one was a tad different. It seemed to have some mature, adult content. It is not over the top, but there are naughty chocolates and a female murder victim, posed in a sensual way and covered in chocolate. Just an FYI for some that this might offend.

It is winter in Tinker's Cove, and in order to boost the economy, the town is launching a travel promotion for Valentine's Day. As a reporter for the Pennysaver, Lucy is assigned to write an article about the award winning chocolate shop, Chanticleer's Chocolates, and its owner, Trey Meacham. Everyone is shocked when Fern's Famous Fudge loses its status as "Best Candy on the Coast" to Chanticleer's pricey newfangled confections. When Lucy goes to the store for her article, she meets store manager, sexy and sensual Tamzin Graves. She seems a bit too eager to serve her male clientele. But when a local fisherman drowns suspiciously, followed by Tamzin, Lucy uses her investigative skills to see if she can solve the crimes.

This was not my favourite Lucy Stone mystery. Lucy was very down on herself in this book. She was worried about her weight and doubted her husband. She didn't do a lot of investigating, just asked a lot of questions. There were a few clues and red herrings dropped throughout the book, but I did figure out the perp before the reveal. If you are a fan of this series, you will probably enjoy meeting up with Lucy, her family and friends as well as the townsfolk once again.

[Brinley Bowen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really think this is going down as one of my favorites in the series!! Sex, drugs, and rock and—err, chocolate!! GREAT read!!

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute cozy mystery set in Tinker's Cove. I enjoy reading about Lucy Stone and watching her kids grow up as the series progresses. Lucy is always in the middle of a murder investigation while trying to live her life in a small town where everyone knows each other.

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun read! I enjoyed reading about newcomers to Tinker's Cove who stir up both good and bad feelings to the residents of the village. The entire plot takes place in familiar places that I know and enjoy. The ending is okay, but not unforgettable. As usual, I loved observing the daily occurrences in the Stone household!

[Tarissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

This volume of the Lucy Stone series felt like it had a lot more mature, adult content than others do. I guess because it's about Valentine's Day, and everything has to be all about “romance”... It starts out with “naughty” chocolates, and builds until there's plenty of other “mature” stuff going on – and it includes a killer posing the female victim's naked body, among other things.

Now, I just couldn't believe that Lucy uttered suicidal words about half-way through the book – when the situation definitely needn't call for that extreme kind of thought, even if it was a partial joke. It made me feel like I must have missed something, if she felt that bad about life. And then... after we get through the climax later on (which did make my heart thump a little louder, to be sure, as Lucy's life hung in the balance)... oh no, she felt totally fine with life at that point. Okay... And then there's that little tidbit at the end of the story that certainly does not feel like it was written by a woman at all, based on a little discussion between Lucy and her husband concerning dinner... too weird. One other thing, there is mild foul language.

But there's the end of my rant(s).

Had this been my first Lucy Stone novel, I don't think I would have been too interested in continuing. As it is though, I don't mind reading one, now and then. But this volume was more of a low point in the series for me.

[Cindie Usevich · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love a good cozy mystery but this one missed the mark for me. This was the first Lucy Stone I've read, I read it for book club, and I wasn't impressed. I thought the writing was too unnecessary in a lot of places. I mean, I didn't need a whole diatribe on romance and what women think. It felt like the author was trying to fill a word quota. Also, the main character sure seems to jump to a lot of conclusions about the murderer and the crime in her attempts to solve it. I felt like half the time I was given too much information and the other half of the time, too little. I had to finish it to see who the murderer was (duh!) and why, but otherwise I would have given up halfway through the book.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another good Lucy Stone mystery, this one centering around Valentine's Day and chocolate. I enjoy that Lucy is very real and these books deal with current issues and problems. The mystery was done very well.

[Doward Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting characters & a well plotted murder made this a great read!

[Regina the Constant Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️ -Audiobook

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Back in Tinker's Cove where Lucy gets entangled in a Valentine double-homicide mystery.

What I liked about Chocolate Covered Murder:
Passage of time - I actually really appreciated that it was made clear some time had passed since the previous book. Sometimes it feels like these cozy mystery series pick up right where the last book ended and it makes me wonder why these towns continue to have residents with all this murder happening around them. This series has always seemed to progress time at a more believable pace between incidents.
The descriptions of the landscape and weather - Especially for a New England girl transplanted to (basically) seasonless Florida, the wintry scene-setting creates some excellent mental images for me. I can almost see the cheerless grey skies and the glittering ice. The only thing that I find unforgivable in this aspect is when the author lives in Massachusetts and writes about Maine, yet doesn't seem to know the difference between sleet and freezing rain. I mean, I moved out of the northeast almost twenty years ago, but after living in the ballpark of half my life up there, I definitely know the difference between the two.
The mystery itself - The pace, the little twists, the inevitable moment of peril for our intrepid reporter, the reveal, and the outcome all worked well as a whole. My interest was held and I definitely continued to be curious throughout the entire book.

What I didn't care for:
The secondary mystery - It felt entirely unnecessary, even though it fit with the overall "things aren't always what they seem" tone of the book. I never found myself all that invested in it, despite that fact that it kept resurfacing periodically.
The common drug theme - This entire series has this theme running as an undercurrent. I get that this is a national social issue that continues to plague the country, with no place immune, not even quaint small New England towns where everyone knows everyone. I always feel as if it is an attempt to make this series more "gritty" than it needs to be.
The obsession with money - Another thread woven into much of this cozy series is the financial references. How much money the characters make, what status symbols they have achieved, their financial struggles. I swear that, as much as time has passed since the inception of the Lucy Stone Mysteries, it seems as though it is a constant recession. I am certain that in the time that has transpired, there have been times of economic upturn, if not actual prosperity. I understand the financial realities of many Americans but I can't help but wonder why the natural swings in the economy are never reflected on the plus side for this series. I don't expect a small town like this to be experiencing a boom, which would seem less than realistic, but one could reasonably expect that there would be times where things were slightly less dire.

Something that jumped out at me, which I found neither notably good or bad, was that with the two murders, I was able to make an observation. One occurs very early on in the book, and while we meet the victim, it is difficult to form any real connection to them in any way. This presents a challenge as a reader because you want to care about the victim (even if it is that you emphatically dislike them!) and have some subsequent investment in justice being served in some way. With the second victim, time has been spent revealing the character's...well, character, and there is some emotion involved in their demise. It casts an entirely different color on the way I felt engaged as the reader, which was interesting to note. I know I have encountered both plot styles in the many cozy mysteries I have devoured, but I don't think I've ever really (that I can recall anyway) had the opportunity for such a true compare-and-contrast in the styles as I had in this case.

Well. Eighteen (and some odd holiday novellas) into Lucy's investigations, and I am still going strong. At one point, a character in this book says: "It's hardly the sort of thing you'd expect in a little town like this." I have to say, seems this particular character isn't all that familiar in the place they've arrived, because history points to an otherwise different conclusion about Tinker's Cove. I look forward to the next unfortunate incident to befall this tiny coastal town and the entertainment it will provide.

[Victoria Hamel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is the 18th book in the series and was published nine years ago. I have found that with this series, you don't have to read the series in order. Lucy Stone is a favorite cozy sleuth of mine. She's a mom of four kids and who grow up during the series and lives in an old house in the small town of Tinker's Cove located in Coastal Maine. In earlier books, Lucy used to say things like "how could this happen in our quiet town, this is the sort of thing that happens in cities. (cue eye roll from me). Fortunately, by this point in the series, Lucy has realized that bad stuff happens everywhere. Her husband is around but mostly know for watching sports, working, and sometimes saying the wrong thing to his wife. This book is no exception as he tells Lucy "a few extra pounds is sexy" when Lucy is feeling bad about a weight gain.

Lucy is often crabby and frequently nosy, the nosy part comes in handy since she is a reporter at the local Penny Saver and also because there are many a murder in Tinker's Cove. I imagine it is second only to Stephen King's Derry, Maine in murders per capita.
This series is known as a cozy series, but I have found it really doesn't match up with the typical cozy conventions. As is typical for this series Leslie Meier is going to talk about heavy topics, this one deals with opioid addiction and sexual consent. There is some really outdated thinking highlighted in this book about women's behavior and fortunately, as the book goes on, Lucy does change some of her earlier judgemental inner monologues.

If you are looking for a Valentine's Day-themed book with a potential serial killer, look no further!

Much to my dismay, the book didn't include chocolate recipes--or at least the e-version from my library didn't--

[Moondance · Rating 3 out of 5]

If the cold didn't kill her, the slippery ice on the sidewalk surely would, thought Lucy Stone as she stepped out of the overheated town hall basement meeting room into a frigid Monday afternoon.

Tinker's Cove is trying to amp up tourism during the cold winter months by sponsoring a Valentine's Day promotion. Lucy is sent to pricey Chanticleer's Chocolate to interview the store for the Pennysaver. There she meets sexy manager Tamzin who later ends up dead.

I started reading this series with the last book and I still feel a bit lost with the characters. Lucy can be very hard on herself and that can be difficult to read. This installment had a bit more sexual innuendos than most cozies. That could be off putting for cozy readers. (I read a lot of PNR/UF so it doesn't bother me)

The mystery meanders a bit from a local fisherman that dies under the ice to the chocolate smeared body of Tamzin. I pretty much figured out the culprit even with the twists and turns.

I have one more book to read in the series to finish a challenge. I'll see if if catches my interest enough for me to start at the beginning to see what i have missed.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series is just so fun! It’s nearly Valentine’s Day in Tinker’s Cove, Maine, and the weather is horrible - sleet and lots of snow and very cold. A new chocolate store comes to town selling very pricey chocolates and competing against local favorite store Fern’s Famous Fudge. Her older daughters go to work at Fern’s and her youngest wants to work at the new store, but Lucy Stone doesn’t like the image projected by the woman running the new store. There are, of course, two murders to contend with as well as the Valentine Day dance and someone may be slipping drugs into their quiet little community. Next book please!

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lucy Stone is back. When Fern’s, a local institution for their fudge gets taken down in a voting competition against newcomer Chanticleer chocolate, Lucy is dispatched to write the story. She immediately doesn’t like store manager Tamsin, who seems to meet a lot of local men. However, a few things happen behind the scenes and bodies are piling up. One under the lake’s ice, and another dipped in chocolate. Will Lucy be able to solve the mystery in time to convince husband bill to take her to the Valentine’s Day dance?


Okay, I feel like she and bill have even less chemistry in this book.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this book, a new chocolate candy store comes to town, and everyone loves the chocolates. Until, that is, the flirty assistant is found dead, covered in chocolate. Lucy tries to connect this murder with another that has recently taken place, and finds herself suspecting the new store's owner. Is she right, or is he just an egotisical sexy guy?

[Barbara Nutting · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ll never look at a Hershey Kiss the same way again!! Lucy celebrates Valentine’s Day under very unusual circumstances. Love is in the air, but so is murder.

How did the cops unlock the handcuffs? Another unanswered question.