Lucy has been invited to stay on billionaire Scott Newman's island and write up her observations for the paper. Scott who is an environmentalist has stripped the island of all its modern conveniences and dialed it back to the nineteenth century. Lucy is excited about the experience and looks forward to getting his family's thoughts on this older way of living. It all started out well until Lucy makes a horrible discovery on her walk, she finds one of Scott's daughter's dead. Did the young girl fall, was it an accident or was it something much more sinister. Lucy soon learns they are stuck I the island without any way to communicate with the outside world. It seems the boats that were on the island have been destroyed and according to her hosts they have to wait several days until the local ferry is meant to come pick Lucy up. Things go from bad to worse when Scott's twin boys end up missing and I one can find them. Finding herself in this situation has Lucy determined to figure out just what the neck is going on but will the answers come her way before someone else disappears or even dies? Follow along and find out just what happens!!!

Action Packed Murder Mystery
This is one exciting murder mystery that does not really fit the 'cozy mystery' genre. It is not tense or gory or anything. It is not cupcakes and afghans and puppies, either. The plot and storyline are great. There is plenty of action as well. There are no good suspects for the crime and nothing is as it seems. This is a book that I couldn't put down by one of my favorite authors. I received this ARC book for free from Net Galley and this is my honest review.

4.5 Stars - Top Pick

Lucy Stone and the other residents of Tinker’s Cove, Maine are all talking about the upcoming event being held on Holiday Island. Billionaire environmentalist, Scott Newman, has created an island paradise, but without internet, cell service, or other modern conveniences. The reception is a success and since Lucy is a newspaper reporter, she is invited back to spend more time on the island so she can write an in-depth story. Lucy expected to have to adjust to life off the grid, but didn’t anticipate murder. One person is dead and unless it was an accident, that means there is a murderer running loose on the island and no way to get help. Lucy is on her own to do whatever it takes to catch a killer before he or she strikes again.

Invitation Only Murder is the twenty-sixth book in the Lucy Stone series and it is my favorite. I’ve not read all of the books in this series, but have completed quite a few of them and have enjoyed some more than others. Leslie Meier has outdone herself with this installment. It’s fast-paced and suspenseful, and I couldn’t wait to see what would happen next. Lucy never dreamed that this assignment could go so wrong. She was looking forward to a little time away from the family drama in her household only to get caught up in another family’s problems which turn out to be not just dramatic but dangerous. Lucy has to identify and outwit a killer all on her own since she is cut off from her friends and family and doesn’t know who she can trust on the island. I like seeing the determined, independent side of Lucy who doesn’t have time for self-pity about squabbles within her family. Instead, she must find strength she didn’t know she had not only to solve the case but to stay alive. I could feel the tension as the danger on the island becomes more and more imminent and the fast pace kept me interested in the story.

I wasn’t sure who to trust, either, and kept going back and forth between who I thought the killer was since more than one character seemed to be a little bit “off”. The scene in which the murderer is revealed is exciting and scary as Lucy is in real danger through no fault of her own. Fans of this series will really enjoy seeing Lucy investigate a case away from home and out of her comfort zone. This is also a perfect book for readers who are new to the series since Lucy is on her own with characters new to the area for most of the book so previous knowledge of the various Tinker’s Cove residents isn’t necessary. I hope Lucy holds onto her newfound fierceness in future installments, because this book was a pleasure to read from beginning to end.

~ Christine

In this installment featuring Lucy Stone, reporter, is invited to visit and write about an island owned by an eccentric billionaire, Scott Newman. The owner also favors an eco-lifestyle similar to the 19th century. The island is also ten miles off the coast of her hometown of Tinker Cove, Maine.

Lucy arrives on the private Island expecting to spend a few days relaxing and writing. She is looking forward to July 4th holiday and hopes to get a good story for the local paper, the Pennsaver. But she soon discovers that while the owner has restored the house and barn to their previous glory, he and his family live without modern conveniences. No electricity, WIFI, TV, radio or cell phones.

Scott lives with his wife, two adult daughters and two eight year old sons in the main house. Lucy enjoys her first day, but learns that the family themselves don't run the wood stove or prepare meals, that their servants do it for them. The twin daughters from the owner's first marriage, Taylor and Parker, who are doing a survey of the puffins that live on the rocky cliffs. After a great night's sleep, she heads out for a walk around the island when she comes to the cliff and discovers the body of Parker. After the turmoil calms down, the father, Scott, sends for his sailboat to take her body to Tinker's Cove. But both sailboats have been taken away by the currents and smashed on the rocks. There is no way off until the ferry boat comes in three days.

Lucy tries to help the family by entertaining the two twin sons by playing a scavenger hunt with their older sister Taylor. They choose very simple items that are easy to find and close to their home. But when the boys disappear; a search party has no luck finding them. Adding to the difficulty is a thick fog covering the island, making it nearly impossible to see.

Who has the missing eight year old twins and why? Lucy begins to suspect that there is more going on here than the happy home that her host portrays. Is there a connection to the death of Taylor? Has Scott lost touch with reality? With very limited resources available will Lucy be able to outwit the killer and find the missing boys before someone else disappears.......

This book was delightful to read, the setting perfect for the plot and several twists and turns to keep me guessing who the killer was. I always enjoy Lucy Stone books but I think this one is one of the best ones! I highly recommend it. Thank you to Kensington Publishing and Netgalley for the ARC of this book. The review is my own.

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington Books for providing me with an ARC of the latest entry in the Lucy Stone series. Invitation Only Murder was quite interesting. The island location provided a change of pace, and a somewhat claustrophobic atmosphere, considering everything that was happening. Nearly everyone on the island was a potential suspect, as they exhibited strange behavior, and said questionable things to Lucy. It is also great to see what happens in Lucy's family, and to witness how the characters have evolved through the years. I also like how Leslie Meier addresses social issues and inequalities in her books. She does it with finesse, and I think she can make readers think, while having a great time with a good book.

While I love the recurring characters, it was nice to have a Lucy Stone mystery that is all about Lucy! Original plot, nice turns of events, and a great ending - well done!

Although the whole laying of the body was a little creepy...I totally understand....

Some hopeful authors begin series, after dismal sales they realize perhaps another approach to writing should be taken. Not so Leslie Meier. Invitation Only Murder is number 26 in her exceptional Lucy Stone Mystery series. Master author, Meier understands what is necessary to provide commercial appeal to her oeuvre. In fact, it would be fair to say she is one of the pioneers creating the "cozy mystery" genre.

In Invitation Only Murder, Meier tackles the world of the island mystery. Not quite as claustrophobic as a manor house mystery, or the 'puzzle box locked room mystery, the island mystery offers an enclosed setting where the culprit is almost always trapped with the other characters. Here the island is off shore from Tinker's Cove ME. Now owned by the billionaire venture capitalist, Scott Newman, the island and the dwellings have been restored to their 19th Century glory. During the opulent party celebrating the donation of the island to a Land Trust, Lucy is invited to visit during a 4th of July celebration.

It isn't a Lucy Stone mystery without an added element of parenting woes. Here it is Zoe's turn. Stating that she is now over twenty one, her private live is none of their business. Zoe is in the throes of first love; should the reader forgive her rudeness? The tension at home makes the trip to the island all the more attractive. That is, until Lucy finds the body. The victim is Parker Newman, one of Scott Newman's twin daughters. Cell communication is not available. The boats that could sail for rescue have been destroyed, the ferry will not be due for several days. What else will go wrong?

This was a read in one day, don't put down mystery. A must read for the many Lucy Stone fans.

Highly recommended.

Full disclosure I received this ARC copy from netgalley and Kensington in exchange for an unbiased review. Thank you for this opportunity.

Only ten miles off the coast of Tinker’s Cove Maine lies Fletcher’s Island. But the island, owned by venture capitalist billionaire Scott Newman seems a world apart. It has been refurbished at great expense to its original state including no Wi-Fi, no electricity, and only sailing ships for transport back to the twenty-first century. When Lucy Stone, a part-time investigative reporter is invited to stay on the island and write a puff piece for her newspaper little does she know it will ultimately be to an Invitation Only Murder.

It is hard-to-believe that this is the twenty-sixth entry in the Lucy Stone series. The plot seems as fresh as the first one. I fully enjoyed seeing Lucy away from her usual support team of friends and family. The idea of living life as it was almost two centuries ago was an original hook and drove a lot of the plot twists. I also learned a bit about puffins. Overall, Invitation Only Murder is a nice entry into the series and should be snapped up by Lucy Stone fans. 4 stars!

Thanks to Kensington Books and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

Invitation Only Murder by Leslie Meier is the 26th book in the Lucy Stone mystery series, and another terrific addition. I have been reading Lucy Stone books for years, and the books are like visiting old friends, I love this series, but I found this book exceptional. Lucy gets invited to Holiday Island to do an article on the eccentric billionaire Scott Newman, who is an avid environmentalist. There is no modern conveniences like electricity or phones on the island. Lucy discovers one of Mr. Newman's daughter's body at the bottom of a cliff. On top of that someone has stolen their boats, so no way to get off the island. Lucy sets out to solve the mystery, was it an accident or was she pushed? There is so much going on in this book, that it is non stop action and crazy and unique people. I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series, as always. If you love cozy mysteries, I strongly recommend this book and the whole series.

I reviewed a digital arc provided by NetGalley and Kensington Publishing. Thank you.

Leslie Meier is a talented storyteller and this book was an excellent addition to this lovely series.
Lucy was great as usual and the mystery was solid, full of twists and turns.
I can't wait to read another installment in this series.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to Kensington Books and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I love Lucy! Lol (and all her shenanigans with her friends). I've read this series from the very first book and have loved the exploits of Lucy et al. Even when she encounters danger you can't help but chuckle. I highly recommend this book to everyone who enjoy an easy, fun mystery. Enjoy! 📚

A locked island mystery! Lucy thinks she's got a great opportunity for a story (as well as a chance for a neat few days) when she goes to the private island owned by billionaire Scott Newman, who eschews all technology and espouses an off the grid lifestyle. It's all cool until Lucy finds Newman's daughter Parker dead at the bottom of the cliff. It was already apparent to Lucy that there were some strains in Newman's blended family but now it all comes to the forefront - his young twin sons go missing, the boats are destroyed, there are no communications, and there's a real sense of bad things. Those who have followed Lucy know that she's intrepid but this time out she doesn't have her usual support cast- making this fine as a standalone. That's not an impediment because she's a smart cookie. Thanks to net galley for the ARC. A nice switch up for a long running character.

Lucy Stone, reporter, has been invited to a private island. It is owned by a billionaire who is trying to take it completely off the grid. Even more than that, Scott Newman is trying to make it as eco-friendly as possible. He, along with his second wife (a former singer), his daughters from his first marriage and his sons from the second are practically going back to the early 1900s. At the launch party when Scott invites all of the people who worked on the island to check it out, he announces that one of his daughters is now going to be a partner in his firm. At the same party, Scott invites Lucy out for a few more days so she can really see what they're doing.
All seems well, even idyllic with a scattering of other people working on the island. But then, there's a death. And some of the small number of people disappear (which should be difficult on a small island.)
I am not sure that I've read a Lucy Stone mystery before. And I don't think it was good to jump in here. I'm sure that Lucy has more redeeming qualities in other books but I mostly saw her being super judgmental in this book. And, based on the cover and the description, I was expecting a strict cozy and I'm not sure this book fits entirely in that category. It was an interesting read but I'll probably stick with Ellery Adams or Lynn Cahoon.

Three stars
This book comes out November 26th
ARC kindly provided by Kensington Books and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

As we head back to Tinker's Cove, we find Lucy Stone receiving an invite to an exclusive island near Tinker's Cove. With tensions at the house on fire, Lucy looks forward to her time travel back to the 19th century. However, she finds that not everyone is comfortable with the arrangements.
Scott Newman has stripped the island of all modern conveniences. No phone service, no electricity might seem good until a murder makes it so that no one contact the authorities. Will Lucy be able to solve the mystery before another murder takes place? And when two little boys go missing, will she be able to even find them without modern day technology?
While I think that living without the distractions we have today, I have to agree with Lucy in that they do make life a bit more easier. I am not sure if I would like to live back in the 19th century. I find that I really enjoyed this book in the series. I had thought that Ms. Meier had taken a different route with the series but this book does bring back the old feelings. I look forward to the next as always. I received a copy through Netgalley. A review was not required.

Invitation Only Murder
(Lucy Stone #26)
by Leslie Meier

Kindle Edition, 304 pages
Expected publication: November 26th 2019 by Kensington


Goodreads synopsis:
With family tensions intensifying in Tinker’s Cove, part-time reporter Lucy Stone could really use some time off the grid. But after she RSVPs to an unconventional celebration on remote Holiday Island, Lucy realizes that disconnecting from reality comes at a deadly price . . .
 
Lucy doesn’t know what to expect as she arrives on a private Maine island owned by eccentric billionaire Scott Newman, only that the exclusive experience should make for a very intriguing feature story. An avid environmentalist, Scott has stripped the isolated property of modern conveniences in favor of an extreme eco-friendly lifestyle. A trip to Holiday Island is like traveling back to the nineteenth Century, and it turns out other residents aren’t exactly enthusiastic about living without cell service and electricity . . .

Before Lucy can get the full scoop on Scott, she is horrified to find one of his daughters dead at the bottom of a seaside cliff. The young woman’s tragic end gets pinned as an accident, but a sinister plot unfolds when there’s a sudden disappearance . . .

Stuck on a clammy island with murder suspects aplenty, the simple life isn’t so idyllic after all. Now, Lucy must tap into the limited resources around her to outwit a cold-blooded killer—before it’s lights out for her next!

***

4.5 Stars

This is the twenty-sixth book in the Lucy Stone series by Leslie Meier.

Lucy is still as fresh as ever in book twenty-six. I did miss a lot of the normal regular recurring characters and the Pennysaver editor’s usual snipes.

Lucy is alone on an island trying to get the scoop on the ins and outs of Holiday Island and owner Scott Newman. The longer she spends on the island, the more hinky everything seems. Then Lucy finds one of Scott’s daughter’s dead and things just get more odd from that moment. There is something definitely not right on this island.

I didn’t feel like Lucy had anyone to bounce ideas off as she did her investigation. Everyone was a suspect here since they all were strangers to Lucy. I wish she had at least been able to call her hubby, daughter or editor once or twice.

The farther we got into the story, the more odd the concept of the island became. There were none of the normal every day amenities like electricity, cell service, and such. They were living like it was before the turn of the century, Victorian era stuff.

Being on the island had one good benefit, the suspect list was pretty short. This book really kept me captivated throughout. I had no clue whodunit and was surprised by the revelation. In the end it all makes sense and I marveled at how Meier crafts her stories into such telling tales.

It is easy to get into this book and I think it could work as a standalone since Lucy is on her own here.

Definitely loving this series!

I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in return for an honest review. I thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this title.

A suspenseful cozy for sure! Lucy visits a privately owned island to get a sense of and write about the families "throw back" way of life there. Cut off from the main land, with no cell service and only a "secret" emergency marine radio that is discovered demolished when they most need it; Lucy is left to solve the murder of one twin and the disappearance of another set of young twin boys while fighting for her own life! With a dramatic ending for a cozy, Lucy can finally board the weekly ferry boat that stops at the island and get the medical attention she needs before going back to the drama that awaits her at her own home. I'm still enjoying this series after 26 books! :)

Lucy travels to a private island off the coast of her hometown of Tinker's Cove, Maine to write a story about a wealthy environmentalist living there with his family without modern conveniences like telephones and electricity. Soon after her arrival, his young adult daughter tragically dies after a fall from a high sea cliff. Then his two twins sons by his second wife mysteriously disappear after searching for items on a scavenger hunt. Lucy begins to suspect that there is far more going on behind the scenes than the happy home her host portrays.
I've read most of the books in this long-running series, a rarity now in the cozy world. This installment can definitely be read as a standalone, especially since almost all of it is set away from her home and usual circle of characters. I liked that it was edgier than prior works. While Lucy appears to be back in the kitchen in a servant-like role to other characters, she is observant. However, there isn't much of a focus of what she will actually write for her story, which was the whole point of her going there. Still--the series continues to keep my interest so I am definitely looking forward to #27!!

Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington for an ARC. My review is voluntary.

Lucy is invited to spend a few days on the private island owned by an eccentric billionaire, an environmentalist who has declared the remote island free from all modern conveniences. Feeling like she's stepped back in time to a previous century, Lucy is getting used to the simple life – until she discovers a body at the bottom of a cliff. With no way to contact the authorities, she finds herself stuck on an isolated island with an entire family full of murder suspects.

This is book #26 in a series that I have enjoyed since the very first book, although the past few books have left me a little disappointed. Thank goodness, this installment was an improvement over those books and I was able to enjoy the story without feeling lectured, although I did miss the regular cast of supporting characters. Trying to imagine living without electricity, cell phone service and an internet connection made me shudder, as well as making me realize how dependent I am upon those conveniences. The mystery in this book was good, with a multitude of potential suspects. Every time I thought I'd figured it out, something would happen to change my mind, and I wasn't sure I had the right person until just before it was revealed in the story. I look forward to reading the next book in this series and catching up with Lucy's family and friends back in Tinker's Cove.

Lucy Stone gets invited to stay on a remote island with two families over the July 4 holiday. She agrees, hoping to get a good story for the Pennysaver. The eccentric billionaire who owns the island has restored the house and the barn to their previous glorious looks, but wants to live there without any modern conveniences such as electricity, WIFI, TV or radio, and his wife, four children and the other workers agree to this as well. Lucy goes to the island on a sailboat and enjoys her first day, but learns that the family themselves don't run the wood stove or prepare meals, their servants do it for them. The twin daughters from the owner's first marriage, Taylor and Parker, are doing a survey of the puffins that live on the rocky cliffs. On her first morning after a great night's sleep, Lucy heads out to walk around the island, where she finds the body of Parker, who appears has fallen from the cliff above. After the furor calms down, the owner sends for his sailboat to take her body to Tinker's Cove. Both sailboats has been taken away by the currents and have smashed on the rocks. There is no way off until the ferry boat comes in three days.

This is the best Lucy Stone book I've ever read. It reminds me a little of "And Then There Were None" - 13 people on a remote island with no way off. Lucy wants desperately to go home but has to wait. And then a thick fog covers the island, making the place ever more spooky. Then the eight year old twin boys go missing - who is doing this?

This was a fast and fun read and many thanks to NetGalley for an advance copy. I'll definitely look forward to more in this series.

Lucy is back in book 28 of this series, most of it is set on an island 10 miles off the coast of Maine. Lucy and her husband visited the island for a party to celebrate the renovations done to bring the island back to its 1850’s glory. Lucy is invited by the owner to rejoin them for a stay over the 4th of July to see how they live, in order to write an article for the Pennysaver. Unfortunately a death occurs soon after her arrival, and it’s unsure if it was accidental or intentional. Unable to summon help as both of the islands boats have been allowed to drift and smash on the shore, Lucy and the rest must, with out cell phones, radios or any kind of communications, wait for the scheduled ferry. As the situation gets worse Lucy does what she can to find out who is behind the threat.
I had no idea how this book would end, and thoroughly enjoyed the journey. The description of the island and the summer life there made me want to return to coastal Maine, and Lucy as a character, is believable and well written.
I always look forward to the new books in this series, and this one certainly doesn’t disappoint.
Thank you to Net Galley and Kensington for an ARC, this review represents my own feelings about the book.