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Few things in life are as picture perfect as Christmas in Maine--until murder dampens the holiday spirit. It must be something in the eggnog . . .

EGGNOG MURDER by LESLIE MEIER
When a gift-wrapped bottle of eggnog--allegedly from the Real Beard Santa Club--proves to be a killer concoction for a Tinker's Cove local, all Lucy Stone wants for Christmas is to find the murdering mixologist who's stirring up trouble.

DEATH BY EGGNOG by LEE HOLLIS
Food and cocktails columnist Hayley Powell has never cared much for Bar Harbor's grouchy town librarian, Agatha Farnsworth. But after the Scroogy senior has a fatal--and suspicious--allergic reaction to supposedly non-dairy eggnog, it's up to Hayley to ladle out some justice.

NOGGED OFF by BARBARA ROSS
Julia Snowden's tenant Imogen Geinkes seems to be jinxed. First, her poorly named "Killer Eggnog" gives all her co-workers food poisoning at the holiday party, then her boyfriend's body shows up in Julia's moving truck as she's headed back to Busman's Harbor. Now Julia has to get moving to catch the cold-hearted culprit.

352 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published October 24, 2016

505 people are currently reading
2839 people want to read

About the author

Leslie Meier

66 books2,063 followers
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.


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Displaying 1 - 30 of 300 reviews
Profile Image for Kat.
Author 14 books604 followers
October 22, 2023
EGGNOG MURDER was a wonderful collection of cozy mystery novellas by Leslie Meier, Lee Hollis and Barbara Ross with a Christmas theme. Eggnog featured in each murder mystery. In the first, which I particularly enjoyed, reporter Lucy Stone has to track down the culprit after a bottle of eggnog turns out to be deadly. Also, her daughter Elizabeth is home from France for the holidays and with a full house at the Stone residence and everyone forced to share sleeping corners, sibling fights abound. This one was super-funny and extremely well written, a perfect combination of mystery and funny Christmas and family scenes. I always love seeing Maine and Nantucket books when Santa arrives by boat!

Trigger Warnings:
Profile Image for James.
Author 20 books4,371 followers
July 21, 2025
This is a collection of 3 short novellas from 3 different authors. I've previously read and reviewed Nogged Off by Barbara Ross, and I'm not that far along yet to read Eggnog Murder by Leslie Meier; however, it was time to read Death By Eggnog by Lee Hollis. It was a very clever story and great way to get to know her world of Hayley Powell Food and Cocktails Mysteries, set in Bar Harbor, Maine. We've heard bits and pieces from the mean elderly Agatha Farnsworth, and this time, the woman meets her maker. I enjoyed the potential culprit paths, but the truth was delicious. Perfect 45-min read for a Sunday afternoon!
Profile Image for Anissa.
999 reviews324 followers
December 27, 2022
This trio of stories ​is tied by eggnog, murder and Maine. As with the other, I've read, I was actually here for the Lee Hollis story. I did enjoy the other two (Nogged Off by Barbara Ross was really good).

In Death by Eggnog (the Lee Hollis, Hayley Powell Mystery story), the harridan town librarian Agatha Farnsworth is killed with a dose of dairy in a glass of eggnog at the Restaurant Association Dinner. The maker of the eggnog, had been engaged in a long-running feud with Agatha (honestly, nearly everyone in town is in some sort of feud with Agatha because she's so combative) and so is suspected of purposefully poisoning Agatha instead of just an innocent mistake. It's a neat little mystery and I did figure out partly who did it but the why eluded me for a bit. I also have to admit to being surprised Agatha had dire food allergies but didn't travel with an EpiPen. There were lots of foibles, heartwarming moments and laughs along the way as well. There were neat recipes that I will be trying and of course, that gets points from me.

The third story (Nogged Off) was pretty fast-moving and I have to give it credit for really holding my attention as the clock ticked down to Christmas and I was being pulled in several directions. When I had to put it down, I was thinking about the mystery. I did figure things out and loved how the guilty were revealed. I enjoyed all the Christmas trimmings in this story and family traditions. The recipes didn't really tempt me but I liked reading them just the same. I read a short in this series before but this is the one that sold me on the series and I definitely will read more. This one gave me a new crossword word: cardsharp: aka cardshark; regional variance.

I read this through Kindle Unlimited. Recommended.
Profile Image for Jody McGrath.
383 reviews58 followers
October 15, 2016
This collection is three short stories all featuring eggnog. All of the stories come from current cozy series, so some of the characters and situations will be familiar to readers. I will preface my review by letting you know I have only ever read the Leslie Meier series before.


Story#1 :: Eggnog Murder by Leslie Meier
When a bottle of eggnog, supposedly from the Real Beard Santa Club poisons a woman with a nut allergy, it is shown that the eggnog was made with cashew milk instead of dairy. The Santa Club does not make a version without dairy. Was this just an accident of not labeling a bottle correctly or was it murder? Lucy is determined to find out and have a fantastic Christmas, while her entire family is home.

This was the only series I had any prior reading of and I thought that it was the weakest of the three. That really surprised me. The mystery is pretty non-existent, a certain memberof her family needs to be smacked upside the head, and the conclusion is ridiculous. I know it is suppose to be a lighthearted Christmas read, but even the scenes that were about family, made me want to smack people. This one was a big let-down.


Story #2 :: Death by Eggnog by Lee Hollis
Hayley is invited to the town's charity Christmas dinner fundraiser, where all of the restaurants in town offer up a delectable treat. Already complaining about the menu is the town cranky librarian, Agatha. She does not think eggnog should be served because she has a serious allergy to dairy. She makes a huge deal about this to one of the committee members, Fannie, who brings eggnog but has both a dairy and non-dairy version. Both pitchers are clearly labeled. After eating a spicy hot wing, Fannie rushes to give Agatha a glass of the non-dairy eggnog, only to have her drop dead from anaphylactic shock due to dairy. Was it an accident, did Fannie purposely get rid of a thorn in her side, or is something more sinister going on?

I really enjoyed this mystery. It was short, but the mystery aspect of the story was well thought out. I do not think that Hayley really "sleuthed" any clues. One just fell into her lap and she started guessing. The characters were well written and I wouldn't mind reading more of this series. Interspersed throughout the story are little "columns" Hayley has written with recipes. This confused the heck out of me, because I didn't understand that they were meant as an aside. I hope the publisher fixes this, so it is easier to read.



Story #3 :: Nogged Off by Barbara Ross
Julie Snowden is finally letting her New York apartment go and moving to Maine without a net. When the girl subletting her apartment has a crisis and cannot keep it, Julia packs up the whole apartment into a moving van, including the girl, Imogen, and heads home. The girl had served eggnog at a business function and made the entire office so sick they had to be admitted to the hospital. After arriving home, the moving van is stolen and when it is recovered they find the dead body of Imogen's ex-boyfriend in the back end. Who killed him, why, and what are they going to do with Imogen?

This was my favorite of the three. I really liked the characters. I have a few books in this series and they have definitely been moved up in my TBR pile. The mystery was good, even though the conclusion was sort of stupid. It didn't really affect my enjoyment of the story though.

I think that mysteries have a hard time being short stories, because it makes them have to be so simple or sort of stupid. I think the authors did a decent job of trying to get over this gigantic hurdle. Unfortunately, I think Leslie Meier struggled the most. Her writing is so character driven, that it just doesn't work condensed. I think this is a 2.5 star, but I will round up for Christmas.

* I voluntarily read an Advanced Reading Copy of this book and honestly reviewed it*
Profile Image for Fred.
570 reviews95 followers
March 7, 2020
Eggnog is a holiday drink people love or really hate.

I love Eggnog.
My love is for it’s rich, creamy, taste and choice of brandy .....or you could bourbon If you like it better.....read below...

Book divided into 3 stories
(1) Eggnog Murder
(2) Death by Eggnog
(3) Nogged Off

Death by Eggnog ending was the best chapter it’s good structure, contributions to clarity and bringing simple flow of the story.

“In a punch bowl combine your eggnog and bourbon until well blended. Add scoops of the softened ice cream and blend in. Ladle into glasses, spray some whipped cream on top, and then add a sprinkle of nutmeg on top of the cream. Cheers!”

All 3 books have subplot links to a “hazard” of mysteries not expected:
(1) Real Beard Santa club with fake stomachs? Eggnog mixtures leading to murders?
(2) Woman Antagonizing Santa husbands? Considering Boston’s Stormy South Station journeys & going to dangerous Maine’s little harbor towns?
(3) Bar Harbor Hospital’s serving “fateful” ghost pepper chicken wings by waitressed part timers to make some extra cash?
Profile Image for Sally Hannoush.
1,882 reviews27 followers
September 19, 2016
This book has three stories in it. Eggnog Murder, Death by Eggnog, and Nogged Off. I had never heard of any of these authors and was pleased I got to discover them in this book. It makes me happy to know I can visit these characters several times over in many other books.

Eggnog Murder by Leslie Meier
"The Red Beard Santa Club" was awesome because I had actually saw a convention in Tampa, FL. that had real Santas and my friend's little boy had his picture taken with all the Santas. They grew real beards and bellies and went around with special tokens of Christmas on them to give children. So I could really picture what the book was describing. I loved how involved I felt reading this book. I felt close to the characters- like I actually knew them. This story was a case of a planned murder gone wrong. Great story-telling. I don't want to say anymore and give anything away by accident. There are recipes included and a letter from the author.

Death by Eggnog by Lee Hollis
Great read! Some fun recipes are included in this book too along with an author note. I found it amusing that they mentioned Leslie Meier in this book. The food event sounds like great fun even tho it was tragic- or was it? We also get to read the food articles in the story as they would appear in the paper. I didn't see that ending coming. This was a fun read!

Nogged Off by Barbara Ross
Third story in the book. I loved the play on Imogens name."I.M.A. Geinkes. I am a jinks." Very funny. It's an inside joke you will understand once you read this story. I wouldn't miss out on this craziness. The mystery was a real shock to me. Good one! Recipes are included in this story as well as an author letter too. I enjoyed that the holiday traditions shared in the book also were real live ones the author had.

These stories really got me into the Christmas spirit.
6,726 reviews5 followers
September 17, 2023
Entertaining mystery listening 🎶🔰

This is e-book novel is from my local library with two of my favorite authors.

I love 💘 this series because it is located on the Maine coast where we would visit for lunch or dinner and shopping from our home in New Hampshire.

This is a three novella box 📦 set about family and friends relationships during the holiday season with a murder mystery thrown in. Each story is different with interesting well developed characters lots of action and misdirection leading to each conclusion.

I would highly recommend these box 📦 set novels and authors to 👍 readers of relationship holiday murder mystery novels 👍🔰. 2023 👒😀😡🏡🎅
Profile Image for Bea .
2,037 reviews135 followers
December 10, 2016
I love cozies and I'd read two of these authors before so this book appealed to me right off the bat. As it turned out, the stories by the authors I was already familiar with were pleasant, if not great, while the new to me author was a huge disappointment. Two of the stories were met the anthology's theme and also lived up to their story titles. The third one had a more peripheral eggnog connection but it was set at Christmas, and there was definitely a murder.

Eggnog Murder by Leslie Meier: It was a heavy-handed message story that took a while for various threads to come together. It did present a realistic look at challenges of having the adult children living under one for extended periods of time and there was a twist that in retrospect I should have seen but nicely done. Lived up to its title. A decent addition to the Lucy Stone series. 2.5 stars

Death by Eggnog by Lee Hollis: The worst story of the bunch. Boring story, uneven pacing, and some medical WTFery that killed any chance of respect for the heroine. It did fit the anthology theme and live up to its story title. This was my first, and probably last, story by this author.

The 'heroine' of the story sees a woman having an anaphylactic reaction and her first thought is that she should perform a tracheostomy because she saw it on TV. Her second thought is that she doesn't know how to do it and that she's not a doctor (she's a newspaper columnist). She decides to do it anyway. For better or worse however, the patient died before our alleged heroine found a knife.

What the ever lovin' f***?!?! WHY? Why wouldn't you check for an epi-pen? Offer an antihistamine? call 911? Okay, they were called but only after the anaphylactic woman dropped dead. Why the ****would you even seriously consider doing a medical procedure you saw once on TV that may or may not help and that you have no clue how to perform and you could do more harm than good? I lost all respect for our 'heroine' after that.

Oh, and it's a tracheotomy. A tracheostomy is the actual incision, not the procedure. Sorry author, you and your copy editor blew it.

1.5 stars

Nogged Off by Barbara Ross: This story had the least relevance to the theme of eggnog murder but there is eggnog and unrelated murder. The story had a few twists, good pacing and development, and held my interest. It was the best of the bunch. I actually liked this story better than the one full-length book that I've read so far in the series. 3 stars
Profile Image for Celia.
1,439 reviews248 followers
April 28, 2021
I LOVE eggnog. I decided to read a Christmas story with eggnog as its 'drink of choice'.

This is a Lucy Stone Mystery. Over the years, Meier has written about 30 of them (this is #23.5). They follow Lucy and her husband Bill from starting a family in Tinker’s Cove, Maine to present day.

Lucy is a reporter with the local Pennysaver. The receptionist there is Phyllis. Phyllis' husband Wilf has joined a new club, The Real Beard Santa Club. A gift arrives for Wilf on the back porch- an old-fashioned milk bottle decorated with red and green ribbons and a sprig of faux holly and filled with EGGNOG. Instead of letting Wilf drink this totally calorie-filled drink, Phyllis brings it to the Pennysaver Christmas Party. Someone drinks the eggnog and, you guessed it, DIES.

The clues unravel from there and as the reader follows them, the story becomes alluring. I enjoyed following these clues to their somewhat surprising conclusion.

Meier has written other books where the Stones experience various holidays. I hope to read one or two more.

4 stars
Profile Image for LORI CASWELL.
2,866 reviews328 followers
October 21, 2016
Dollycas’s Thoughts

I will start this review by saying I have read all of Barbara Ross’s Maine Clambake Mysteries, I have read many of Leslie’s Lucy Stone Mysteries and there are some screaming at me from my To-Be-Read shelf, and Lee Hollis is a new author to me. So I will start my review will Barbara’s story.

NOGGED OFF focuses on Julia cleaning out her old apartment in New York since she has decided to stay in Busman’s Harbor. When she meets her subletting tenant her quick trip to the city gets complicated. The author packed a whole wonderful cozy into just over 100 pages. The mystery takes us on quite a ride that at times was just plain crazy and so much fun to read. I love Julia and her big heart. It was fun to make another winter trip to Busman’s Harbor.

EGGNOG MURDER is set in Tinker’s Cove, Maine and within a few paragraphs I remembered all about the main characters and had no trouble jumping back into this series. I loved learning about their Real Beard Santa Club, which I now know is a real group with branches everywhere. The characters of this story drew me right in and I realized I have missed them so I know I need to get caught up on the books I have missed as soon as possible.

DEATH BY EGGNOG by LEE HOLLIS takes place in Bar Harbor, Maine. I was at a little disadvantage with this one as it was my introduction to these characters and the writer’s style of Hayley’s articles right in the story but I knew from the start Agatha Farnsworth, the head librarian, was definitely on Santa’s naughty list and was not surprised she was our victim. What was surprising was the culprit responsible for her demise.

All three of these stories were well written with interesting characters. Great reads for the holiday season but they may have you refraining from eggnog for awhile. I say fix a cup of hot chocolate and curl up in a cozy chair. These mysteries will captivate you for a few wonderful hours.
Profile Image for Kim.
314 reviews193 followers
December 26, 2022
3 stars

This book provided the perfect entertainment for my annual day of rest, Dec 26 - three fun and festive stories!
Profile Image for Julie.
2,004 reviews630 followers
September 25, 2016
Eggnog Murder
Authors: Leslie Meier, Lee Hollis, Barbara Ross

**I received a copy of this upcoming book from Kensington Press via NetGalley in exchange for a fair, honest review**


Eggnog Murder is a collection of three Christmas themed cozy mysteries. Twinkle lights, Christmas carols....and murder. Perfect combination for mystery lovers!!

I loved this collection, as the stories are by 3 of my favorite cozy authors!

First up -- Leslie Meier. In Eggnog Murder, Lucy Stone is on the case looking for the Scrooge who poisoned a Tinker's Cove local with a tainted bottle of eggnog. Meier's Lucy Stone series never fails to deliver a great mystery, and this short addition to the series is no exception!

The second story is Death by Eggnog, written by Lee Hollis. Food and Cocktails columnist Hayley Powell investigates the death of a local cranky librarian who met her demise from.....you guessed it....bad eggnog. Hayley once again serves up justice in her spunky way! Loved it!

And, last but not least, wrapping up this lovely collection of Christmas cozies is Nogged Off by Barbara Ross. After bad eggnog causes food poisoning at a holiday party, a corpse shows up in Julia Snowden's moving van. A fun holiday whodunit!

This trio of stories is sure to put cozy lovers in the holiday spirit! All 3 are well-written short mysteries revisiting some favorite characters. Wonderful, holiday theme quick reads!

Eggnog Murder will release October 25th from Kensington Books. Kick off your holiday season with a little murder! (PS - Don't drink the eggnog!!!)
Profile Image for Ian.
385 reviews32 followers
October 27, 2016
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book. Published by Kensington Books via NetGalley.

3 cozy authors with 3 novellas to their series, with Christmas, eggnog and Maine themes, to keep you curled up and entertained in front a roaring log fire this Christmas.

If you have never tried any of these authors series before, this is a great way to introduce yourself to them and get to know their characters.

Leslie Meier's Lucy Stone Mysteries have been going for a long time, with 23 full books to the series.

Lee Hollis, is a brother and sister team of Rick Copp and Holly Simason, with their Hayley Powell Food and Cocktails Mysteries, now totalling 9 books in the series.

And Barbara Ross's Maine Clambake Mysteries, featuring her character Julia Snowden, totals 5 books in the series.

3 great authors with 3 great novellas. Well plotted and written. An enjoyable read to set you up for Christmas!

What more could you possibly want.

Loved all three novellas. The only author that I had read before was Barbara Ross's Clambake Mysteries, but I have got most of Leslie Meier's books on my TBR pile and have started to get the Lee Hollis books.

If you like the review and would like to read reviews on other books I have made, visit my blog at www.finalchapterreadersgroup.wordpres... like, comment and follow.
Profile Image for Janet.
3,335 reviews24 followers
November 21, 2016
I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Three irresistible holiday mysteries in this anthology are a delight to read and perfect for the season. These really hit the spot for me, maybe because it's that wonderful time of year again. A joy to read and they will certainly make you think twice before drinking the eggnog. My favorite was Nogged Off by Barbara Ross because I just adore the Maine Clambake series featuring Julia Snowden. Even if you're not familiar with any of these series, this book can be enjoyed by all looking for books for the holidays.
Profile Image for Linda.
2,319 reviews58 followers
December 1, 2017
I really enjoyed these 3 short stories. I've read books before by Leslie Meier and Barbara Ross but the Lee Hollis series was new to me. All 3 stories centered around eggnog and I liked that 2 out of the 3 came with recipes. All of them were series set in Maine which was fun as well to see some of the similarities due to the location.
Profile Image for Beverly.
3,862 reviews26 followers
June 6, 2021
I am really trying to finish up all the Lucy Stone cozies...it's taken me far too long but I'm not quite as enamored of them as I used to be. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy them and feel almost like a friend of the family but since I started these I have discovered so many equally interesting and fun to read series. I just need to learn to concentrate on one at a time...??? That will never happen. But this was, as usual a fun read. And I always enjoy the recipes. And...it introduced me to 2 other new "food cozies" that I can put on my TBR list! Who would think you could come up with 3 different plots including eggnog!!!
Profile Image for Jennie Rosenblum.
1,292 reviews45 followers
September 28, 2016
I am a huge fan of Leslie Meier and have read all of her Lucy Stone books. This was a wonderful enrichment piece to her books. The two other stories by Lee Hollis and Barbara Ross were the perfect complements to a cozy trio. Whether you chose to read this over the holidays or at any time it will be a joyful experience. The three main characters, Lucy, Hayley and Julia are well developed characters that make you wish they were your best friends.
Profile Image for Krystle.
358 reviews174 followers
December 14, 2016
I really enjoyed story #3. The other 2 were too similar. Perhaps when writing a book together, make sure you're not writing the same thing? :)
Profile Image for Caryn Zdan.
203 reviews7 followers
June 30, 2022
I only read Death By Eggnog since it’s a part of the Lee Hollis series!
Profile Image for Dawn.
947 reviews32 followers
August 30, 2020
I managed to slip this one properly into place for two of the three series included in this collection of novellas. (I accidentally read book five in the Maine Clambake series just before reading this one, so I didn't get too far off track.) This is the first time I've come to one of these holiday collections and actually found that I read all the series included.

Eggnog Murder (Lucy Stone mystery #23.5)
Good grief. Somehow Lucy managed to annoy me in less than 150 pages. Usually these holiday novellas take on a lighter, more festive air, but this one was rather sinister. Top that with the fact that Lucy spent the better part of the story being ungrateful, ungracious, and judgmental, and this felt like the least festive holiday novella ever. In addition, the author somehow managed to get political on multiple fronts, despite the abbreviated length: allergies, opioid crisis/NARCAN, no longer teaching cursive in schools, gun control, veterans' affairs, PTSD, caregivers' fatigue, mental health, suicide. It was a little (a lot) too much for what should have been a fun holiday adventure. I also have to wonder...how does Lucy not manage to have even ONE likable offspring out of four?! One star for this. Begrudgingly.

Death by Eggnog (Hayley Powell Food and Cocktails mystery #8.5)
Like Lucy in the first novella, the Hayley Powell contribution remained true to series character: in this case, more obnoxious and silly than irritating and sinister. Funny thing, I figured out the inspiration behind the murderer's plan but not the proper culprit or motive; I was applying my suspicions to the wrong individual! This one was somewhat more festive as well, so that was a plus. However, the author felt the need to continue beating the reader over the head by repeating several facts (I realize this reiteration of details for for readers unfamiliar with the series but, yes, by the third time they were mentioned, I think everyone has understood that Leroy is Hayley's dog and Blueberry is her cat, thank you!), pushed into the area of being a little bit raunchy, and somehow managed to write a story that was very close in content to the one before it. It appears the authors did not coordinate with one another on what they planned to write. Two stars for being festive and moderately entertaining.

Nogged Off (Maine Clambake mystery #4.5)
My favorite, by far, of the three. Perfectly paced for a novella; it felt neither rushed nor incomplete. I was completely engrossed in figuring out what was going on, blindsided by the twists, and totally satisfied with the ending. I also liked that it furthered the ongoing personal stories of the recurring characters. (You won't be lost if you skip it in the series, but you'll enjoy it if you include it.) To top it all off, the author shared that she incorporated some of her town's and family's Christmas traditions into the story, which explains why they felt so genuine. A solid four stars for the final novella in this collection.

With the authors all following the eggnog theme, I would have liked to see a bit more variety in plot. The first two novellas are not my favorite series that I read to begin with, so the fact that they basically also wrote slightly different versions of the same story really helped the final story shine with a plot that was entirely original, in addition to the fact that it is also one of my favorite cozy series. Unfortunately, the one novella I did really like couldn't save the book from maxing out at 3 stars cumulatively. Nogged Off was well worth enduring the first two though.
625 reviews11 followers
September 20, 2016
Thank you to NetGalley.com for the opportunity to read an Advanced Reader Copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Short stories aren’t my favorite things to read – I am always wanting more of the story and when they are bundled with multiple authors, there’s a strong change I only know one of the authors. This is the case with “Eggnog Murder”. I tried to get through the other stories by Lee Hollis and Barbara Ross, but since they are also part of their own series with regular characters, I was so lost that I couldn’t read them and can only review Leslie Meier’s Eggnog Murder.

What I loved: Once again, Patrick is the best thing in a Lucy Stone story and has been the one redeeming character for the past few novels. Everything else is so darn confusing. Is Tinker Cove this small town the Stones retreated to oh so many years ago? If so, how do they have a expensive boutique with designer clothing in the town but cannot get enough people to attend multiple church denominations so they all have to join just one? If Molly is so gung ho about her son Patrick eating organic grass fed hot dogs and artisan whole wheat buns then why is she outside smoking a cigarette? If money is so darn tight that Lucy has to complain about it all of the time then why does she have a new SUV?

What I didn’t love: I wanted to throw Elizabeth into a suitcase and ship her snooty butt back to France the moment she arrived. Last time I checked, Lucy Stone had three other children but they were only in 1-2 scenes in the entire book. And the entire ending? Criminal Minds and Law & Order can take controversial things ripped from the national headlines and turn them into a show but it made no sense and was wrapped up way too cleanly for the novel.

What I learned: Ugly sweaters have a place, and a purpose. I’m just not sure if this was it.

Overall Grade: B- (Eggnog Murder)

www.FluffSmutandMurder.com
Profile Image for Doward Wilson.
752 reviews18 followers
February 7, 2017
Eggnog leads to murder in this delightful 3 story collection of murder and mayhem. Leslie Meier's Lucy Stone leads the way in Eggnog Murder. As Christmas approaches Lucy's grown children gather at home to celebrate. When poisoned eggnog kills a guest at Lucy's office party, she investigates the members of the local Santa Claus Club, thinking that their newest member, an old friend, was actually the intended victim. A twisted murder of revenge that highlights some of the ills in today's world. Lee Hollis gives us Death By Eggnog where the highly disliked town's librarian is killed by mislabeled eggnog. Finding the real killer in a twisted plot gives us plenty of entertainment. The third story gives us Barbara Ross's Nogged Off. Here we find Julia Snowden in New York to pick up her final possessions and turn her old apartment over to the tenant she had sublet to. Said tenant is out of a job after giving the staff food poisoning from bad eggnog. Julia invites the girl to her mother's home for the holidays. After renting a truck and loading the last of her belongings, they off to Busman's Harbor. The next day, Julia finds the truck and everything in it missing. When the truck is found, the murdered body of her tenant's ex-boyfriend is found in it. This is a wildly twisted story with deception after deception that gives us bang up surprise ending. This collection will delight old readers while giving new ones, three wonderful authors and series to read.
Profile Image for Christopher Hicks.
369 reviews7 followers
January 2, 2017
I used to really love this series because of how the characters aged in real life. We've actually seen Lucy's kids grow up. Problem is. They haven't become likable people!! They are shallow, pretentious and snotty. This series has also become so "preachy" in a liberal political kind of way. I'm just Happy it was a quick read.
Profile Image for Tina.
Author 9 books15 followers
December 27, 2016
Our group was seeking a Christmas mystery loaded with holiday spirit and as Lesie Meier usually delivers, we voted for hers. Still love her books but wish she'd leave politics for the news channels, papers not a cozy mystery platform. We read mysteries to escape politics not enter into them.
937 reviews13 followers
November 24, 2016
Liked the first two stories, but could have done without the last.
Profile Image for Vicki.
2,709 reviews112 followers
November 26, 2018
I was not aware that this book has 3 different stories in it by 3 different authors, so that tells you how little I pay attention to the blurbs. I saw the title and I could use it for a challenge so I chose it. lol

The first story is Eggnog Murder by Leslie Meier. I guess you could say it's the story of a murder meant for someone else. When things go awry, an innocent woman dies due to a nut allergy when she drinks the tainted-with-cashews eggnog. I was fine with the bit of "mystery" this story had until the end of it. I thought the end made little to no sense when shows up at the Christmas gala

In this first story there are quite a few characters, but the one I had fun reading about the most is Lucy's family whose children are all going to be home for Christmas. Elizabeth is coming from Paris, Todd and his wife and their son already live with Lucy and her husband (and their father) Bill. These "children" are grown and still have that sibling rivalry going on. I must say that I thought Elizabeth is a bit of a snob since going off to Paris and coming back "refined."

The second story is Death by Eggnog by Lee Hollis. In this short story, Agatha, the cranky old bitty librarian (mine is too nice and sweet so I can't relate!) doesn't want eggnog at their Christmas fundraiser dinner because she is deathly allergic to dairy. Fannie brings eggnog anyway, but she brings one dairy and one without dairy; however, when Agatha eats something too spicy for her and begins to almost choke to death, Fannie

The last story is Nogged Off by Barbara Ross. For me, this one had more of a true mystery factor to it. Julie Snowden decides to leave New York and move to Maine so she sublets her apartment to Imogen. Imogen ends up taking eggnog to a business function and it makes everyone deathly sick and they have to be taken to a hospital. The shocker comes when Imogen finds her But what really happened in this situation is the real mystery of the story. I love it.
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1,145 reviews121 followers
December 17, 2024
#1- "Eggnog Murder (Lucy Stone Mystery)" by Leslie Meier is a mini Christmas Lucy Stone mystery. All of Lucy's kids are finally back at one time for the Christmas season. Lucy gets wrapped up in the death of a paralyzed veteran. However, the actual mystery is around the death of another lady after drinking some funky tasting egg nog. Not much went to the suspicious death which made it a bit easier to figure out.

#2- "Death by Eggnog" by Lee Hollis is a short novella in the Hayley Powell Food and Cocktails Mysteries series. Hayley is at an annual Christmas food festival that the local business have brought samples to. Some seem to turn deadly. Hayley gets involved when the prime suspect asks for her help. There's a slight twist that I was excited to say, "Ha! I knew there was something off about them!"

#3-"Nogged Off (Maine Clambake Mystery #4.5)" by Barbara Ross starts out with Julia's subleter in her New York apartment coming home with her to Maine for Christmas. Once there, the girl is walk chaos. Then the girl's ex turns up dead. It just one thing after another. However, this one did end up going mostly in the direction I thought it would. I didn't pick up on the last little twist until right before it was revealed.
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