I haven't read a novel by Leslie Meier in quite some time. I saw Mother of the Bride Murder pop up on NetGalley and was intrigued by the synopsis. Unfortunately, the book fell flat for me. It felt overly convoluted and while a murder does take place, scandal is afoot, and the atmosphere is tense and hostile, the plot flopped. It never got exciting and the ending left me disappointed. I'm sad this was a miss.

Found this to be redundant and boring. The characters weren’t likable and the constant use of the slur g*psy was very off putting especially when it was used in the derogatory way by the taxi driver.
Do better.

A perfect little cozy mystery. I had not read any of the previous books in this series but still very much enjoyed this lighthearted cozy mystery. The audio was engaging and entertaining and I would definitely pick up another in the series when I wanted something enjoyable but not high stakes dramatic or stressful.

Mother of the Bride Murder is another instalment in the The Lucy Stone Mysteries, however it can be read as a standalone but if you want more backgrounds on characters I would suggest reading the previous books first. This is a cosy mystery, but instead of being set in Maine where Lucy is usually based the family fly to France for her daughters wedding. I liked that this book seemed to mix things up and the descriptions of the chateau were beautiful, I also loved the drama between the family there were a lot of funny moments. I recommend if you want a more light-hearted mystery with a cosy family atmosphere.

This was my first exposure to Lucy Stone, although I understand there are other books in this series. Unfortunately, I found that she wasn't an especially enjoyable person. She manipulated her family and situations to get what she wanted. And the daughter who was getting married was equally entitled.

The mystery was okay, but it was wrapped in snobbery and racism. Ultimately, there weren't many characters I connected with or cared about.

Therefore, overall, I didn't enjoy this particular story. But I do appreciate the advance review copy I received from Leslie Meier, Dreamscape Media and NetGalley.

Mother of the Bride Murder
Leslie Meier
Lucy Stone, a reporter in Tinker’s Cove, Maine and her family fly to France for her daughter’s wedding. Elizabeth’s new-in-law’s to be own and live in a chateau. Elizabeth appears to be more in love with the Chateau than with Jean-Luc Schoen-Rene. His mother has taken charge of the wedding brooking no interference by the bride, or mother of the bride. Mother’s intuition is often right as it is in Mother of the Bride Murder. Lucy senses something isn’t right. She is concerned about Elizabeth and Jean-Luc’s wedding and love for each other. As the Stone family travels through the country side of they notice a farm they discover the farm is sort of a brothel. A woman is found in the moat surrounding the château. An ex-boyfriend of Elizabeth’s is working for a security company and is hired by the Schoen-Rene’s to protect the wedding. Lucy begins investigating on her own. She stumbles onto a situation that makes things worse.
This is a murder mystery filled with humorous situations. But let’s begin with the characters. Elizabeth wasn’t my favorite character; she is struck on herself and her career. I’m not sure she was in love with Jean-Luc as much as she was with a wedding. This is one of those cozy mysteries that are fun to read. Now the humor. The characters are funny without trying to be. Lucy is of course my favorite character. She isn’t attempting to solve the murder and yet just steps into it. She has to do lay a little guilt on at least one of her children. The way they paid for the trip was humorous. One of her son’s and his family lives in Alaska. They are into a lot of environmental/climate change stuff. What I found ironic is it is all things we have been doing for years, such as: growing a garden, canning fruits and vegetables, sewing, making rather than buying. While it is a great lifestyle, I do find it ironic that it seems to be a new way of life to many authors. The first half of the book revolves around Lucy talking her family into going to the wedding. Around halfway in the book a girl is found dead. The murderer is revealed at about three/fourths way in the book. The last fourth sort of wraps everything up. If you enjoy a humorous, light, cozy mystery you will enjoy Mother of the Bride Murder.

The Lucy Stone Mysteries are a series of cozy mysteries with a female protagonist/amateur detective. Curiosity seems to always get the better of Lucy Stone and in Mother of the Bride Murder, Lucy becomes involved in a murder mystery. The Stone family travel to France and stay at a château resort where the bride-to-be, Elizabeth (the oldest daughter), has taken a job and is marrying the son of the resort owners. All seems to go to plan with the wedding, until there is a murder. Lucy being Lucy has to insert herself into solving the crime. Unfortunately for Lucy, her sleuthing gets her in quite a bit of trouble, which I'll leave other readers to read.
Normally, I love this series, but in this particular book, Lucy really grated my nerves. She made obnoxious comments about Elizabeth's choice and desperately wanted her to marry her ex-boyfriend. She also made quite a few disparaging remarks about the French. Of the series, in this particular book, Lucy comes across the most flawed, which probably makes her a little more realistic and breaks her out of her mold while in her home town of Tinker Cove.
I will continue to read the series but this one was not a favorite.
I read this ARC for NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Story: 3 stars
Narration: 4 stars

I love this series and the narrator. I’ve listened to all of them (I think there are 30ish including the in between stories) in the past few months so I feel like Ive really gotten to know Lucy as well as her family and friends! This is a series that you need to read or listen (highly recommend listen as the narrator is wonderful!) in order as the books progress from the kids being young to adulthood. This book in particular shares the same great writing with mystery and family business mixed in.

I hate writing negative reviews, as I do think every book has its audience, but I was not the audience for this one. I was put off from the start with the daughter getting married and no one wanting to go to the wedding and complaining about the expense. It also almost seemed like the author kept trying to slip in controversial topics and opinions without reason. I just... didn't enjoy it. To me, cozy mysteries are fun and light. I felt agitated pretty early on in this story.

3.5 stars. I thoroughly enjoy the series. I do think the books are better when set in Maine. Lucy just seems more settled in those. I will continue with this series thought.

This was the first book that I read in this series. I may have missed some of the background and development of MC Lucy Stone from previous books but I don’t think it’s necessary to read them to get a feel for who she is. The story is mainly coming from her point of view. The book has the feel of a cozy mystery but focuses more on the relationship between Lucy’s family members. I enjoyed the story but felt like the first quarter of the book was unnecessary. It focused on Lucy’s financial situation and her trying to persuade her family members to attend her daughters wedding. All unnecessary to the plot of this story. I almost stopped reading because of this but decided to read on to see if the story would pick up. I really enjoyed Lucy’s character and I loved how developed the author made her. The other characters in the book weren’t really developed at all. The relationship between her daughter Elizabeth and future is husband isn’t really known at all. We see very little interaction of the two and only get the jest of the relationship from what is said about them from other characters. We very slightly get to know Lucy’s husband, but that could have just been for me because he was possibly developed in an early book in the series. I didn’t much care for her husband. Lucy struggles to get him to attend the wedding of their daughter. Even after they won enough money in the lottery to pay for everything. It shouldn’t have taken convincing to get a dad to attend his daughters wedding. I also don’t know anything about Lucy’s children, those characters aren’t developed either. But again, maybe an earlier book. I enjoyed the book but I would have liked it more if it would have focused on the mystery aspect a bit more.

I had to dnf this after the first couple chapters. Right off the bat I didn't like theme of women needing to get married. I don't think I'm the target audience. I was really turned off by the writing, possibly targeted at an older generation? It just got worse with the references to "Frenchie's" and the complaints about money and food. I also didn't realize it was a series, but not a series for me. The plot sounded interesting but the build up was driving me nuts and I couldn't listen any longer.

Mother of the Bride Murder by Leslie Meier is a cozy mystery set in A chateau in France which drew me in right away! I didn't know this was a series (the Lucy Stone Mystery Book #29) and I found that the characters were easily distinguishable so also works well as a standalone. The narrator, Coleen Marlo, did an excellent job and made this book come to life as well!

I found the pace slower at first, it took a while before the murder came in to play, but once it did, the storyline picked up right away and I finished listening that night!

Overall, I enjoyed the story and most of the characters. Some I found a bit too outlandish and I was annoyed by one in particular (poor decisions and rude behavior and they always got away with it...ugh.)

I know my cozy mystery loving friends will truly enjoy this book!

It's a 4/5 stars for me!

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the chance to listen to the adventures of Lucy Stone! I''ll def want to read more of hers.

Pub Date: April 25, 2023

Mother of the Bride Murder by Leslie Meier is the 29th installment in the Lucy Stone cozy mystery series. Although I have only read some of the previous books in this series, I easily understood the characters and dynamics without having read the entirety of the Lucy Stone series. I enjoyed the French setting and thought that the summertime wedding preparations led to an interesting environment for the Stone family. Lucy’s family, and sometimes even Lucy herself, occasionally frustrate me with their dialogue and choices. Her children and husband can be quite irritating, and Lucy sometimes makes comments such as, “boys will be boys” to excuse behavior, which I don’t understand. The murder wasn’t brought to the readers’ attention for a while, and there weren’t a lot of clues for Lucy (or the reader) to investigate, most likely because of the limitations of being in a different country. I also thought that some of the story resolutions and twists were easy to guess, unfortunately. Despite this, the summertime French setting allowed for a generally fun read that put me in the springtime mood!

3/5 Stars

Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an audiobook ARC of Mother of the Bride Murder by Leslie Meier. My comments are an independent, honest review.

Love this book. Great narration and main characters. The ending was really good. Shout out to netgalley and publishing for allowing me to listen and review this story!

4 stars!

If you are looking for a clever and entertaining read that will challenge your mind and tickle your funny bone, you might want to check out this locked room mystery set in the build up to a wedding.

The author skillfully combines humor, romance, and mystery in a witty and charming story. The protagonist has to rely on her wits to solve the puzzle. The characters are quirky and likable, each with their own secrets and quirks. The writing is lively and engaging with witty dialogue and amusing situations.

The book also features some clever clues and red herrings that will keep you guessing until the end. This is a book that will make you laugh, smile, and think, and that will leave you feeling happy and satisfied.

A good 4 star listen.

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the audio version. Okay I have to say first off I used to really enjoy this series and how it was a very cozy easy listening murder mystery novels. But I have to say the last two I have read have really really gotten under my skin. This author is absolutely beating everyone over the head with these political issues that people don't want to hear about, that is why we are wanting to read books to get away from all that. So when you put your political opinions in your novels it is absolutely such a turn off from continuing to read your novels. How many times do you have to mention climate change and then sex trafficking? But the whole climate change was absolutely ridiculous.
Also every single character in this novel I just could not stand, even the main character. All her kids are brats including her and her husband. I think this will be my last time reading from this author and this series.

After listening to the audiobook version, I found that the pacing was consistent and the plot was thoughtfully constructed. However, I struggled to establish a connection with the characters in this book. I was taken aback by the dissatisfaction and turmoil present amongst the family members as they congregated for what should have been a joyous occasion. Perhaps because this is the first book of this series that I have read. Despite this, the novel boasts several delightful moments and the author aptly captures the essence of the French quaint small-town setting.

I had no idea this was a series! This is book #29 in the series (!!!) but it reads very well as a stand-alone. I listened to the whole book in a few hours; I was very interested in what was going to happen! I enjoyed Lucy’s sleuthing and enjoyed the events throughout.

I received an advanced audio copy. All thoughts are my own.

this book had good ideas but the execution was really boring. it was disjointed and confusing and i really couldn't get into it or connect to the characters.