Leslie Meier delivers a delightful addition to the Lucy Stone Mystery series with Bridal Shower Murder, blending small-town charm, family dynamics, and a compelling mystery. Set in Tinker's Cove, Maine, the story follows reporter Lucy Stone as she navigates the complexities of her daughter Zoe's engagement and the ensuing bridal shower that turns deadly. Meier's portrayal of the characters' relationships adds depth to the narrative, making the stakes personal for Lucy. The mystery unfolds with engaging twists, keeping readers intrigued until the satisfying conclusion. Fans of cozy mysteries will appreciate this installment's balance of lighthearted moments and suspenseful storytelling

Once again I enjoyed spending time with Lucy Stone and the gang in Tinkers Cove, Maine. The characters are well developed and the story will have you anxious to see what will happen next. It was entertaining to read about Zoe’s new romantic relationship and all the drama that followed their engagement. A lot of twists and turns with clues sprinkled throughout the pages that have you guessing until the end who is guilty of murder. While you could read this book as a standalone, it is worth going back to the first in the Lucy Stone series and watch Lucy and her family grow. I always look forward to an adventure with the people of Tinker’s Cove. I can’t wait to see what situation Lucy will get herself into in the pages of the next Leslie Meier’s book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Cozies for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

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In wedding planning, the bride's family usually takes on most of the responsibilities. This includes organizing fittings, the reception, music, and other details, which can feel overwhelming. Lucy Stone is thrilled about her daughter Zoe’s engagement to Chad, a player on the local minor league baseball team, but complications arise when Chad's parents come to town. His father is prejudiced, and his mother wants to take control of the wedding plans, ignoring Zoe's wishes. Meanwhile, Lucy, a local newspaper reporter, faces challenges while covering a controversial historical exhibit after protestors point out its biases. When a close friend goes missing and is later found dead, Lucy must navigate her grief and a potential murder investigation alongside the wedding preparations.

Leslie Meier is always a great choice for a fun and quick cozy mystery. I enjoyed this one, but got a bit bogged down in the middle third. I would still recommend it for fans of cozy mystery!

Lucy's daughter is engaged. Unfortunately, the soon to be in-laws are intent on taking over. Add in a murder, and Lucy does not know which problem to solve first. The whole wedding plot was a bit distracting. I just wanted someone to put their foot down. It was still a nice cozy mystery.

Bridal Shower Murder is the thirty-first cozy mystery in the Lucy Stone series. When Lucy’s daughter, Zoe, gets engaged the planning the wedding is on everyone’s mind, but when a bridal shower guest turns up dead Lucy is on the case. What happened to the guest and how does it connect back to the family? Lucy will stop at nothing to learn the truth.

The mystery in this book was good and it kept me guessing, but the political views and issues raised in this book distracted from the story. I’ve had this complaint about many of the later books in this series and it only seems to get worse. I don’t want to be force fed political views or social issues in my cozy mysteries. I want to enjoy the mystery and escape reality. This book brings everything in the world into focus and distracts from the actual mystery. This very well could have been a five star read if it was just the mystery, but the rants about political and social issues are too much for me. I’m willing to give the next book, if there is one, a try, but I have a feeling I’m going to be cutting ties with this series before long.

When a nosy busybody named Janice gets the best of Lucy, the mother of the bride blurts out Zoe's secret. Chaos ensues with a murder and an overdose.

NetGalley, thank you for approving me to receive an Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of Bridal Shower Murder. I've come to love Leslie Meier's Lucy Stone cozy mystery series and know that I will automatically read any book in this series without reading the synopsis.

I have to say that this was one of the best stories in the series for multiple reasons. The first reason is that Lucy's husband isn't quite so sexist, which is refreshing for a change. I dislike it when he acts like a caveman who expects Lucy to be a housewife and wait on him hand and foot. What really surprised me was how he reacted to Sara's news. I didn't expect him to be so accepting based on his attitude in previous books. On the other hand, I didn't expect Lucy to be so blindsided by the news and have trouble accepting it. I suspected this about Sara for a few books now and don't understand how a mother can be so oblivious to this, especially when the rest of the town and her other children knew.

Additionally, I couldn't stand Chad's parents. His mother is a despicable, overbearing woman who is super fake and spoiled on top of it all. I wouldn't have let her take over the way she did. Chad's father is a piece of work to put it mildly, and I wanted to tell him off. I wouldn't have put up with his comments or attitude.

With this series, it's a given that there will be a murder to solve, but what I didn't expect was another death to happen. For most of the book, I suspected one character to be the killer and was surprised when that character was ruled out. However, I quickly figured out who the killer was after that.

I loved all the different controversies and drama because it actually gave the story more depth and realism. It also really brought to life that there are still injustices in the world that need to be righted and that there are still bigots everywhere, no matter where you live.

Five out of five stars is what I gave Bridal Shower Murder (Lucy Stone, #31) by Leslie Meier. I can't wait for the next installment!

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I enjoyed the beginning and the end. However, the middle of the book contains a lot of information. The book had a part about the Native Americans and a crazy mother-in-law. And then there was one of Lucy‘s daughters coming out as a lesbian. This book has many plot lines.

Lucy’s youngest daughter Zoe has it all. She has a job she loves and she is engaged to a wonderful guy. He is even someone who has family roots in Tinker’s Cove and that is where the problems begin. There are some very serious skeletons in his family’s past that some would do anything to keep hidden. Plus, he has a mother who literally hijacks the entire wedding planning to the dismay of both Zoe and Lucy who knows the suggested plans are not even close to what Zoe wants.

But things start to unravel when the estranged member of his mother’s family reunite. There is a lot hurt in the history and when one member is suspected of being responsible for a horrific murder, it gets even worse. A second murder confuses the issues even farther and by the time Lucy has figured out who is behind both of the murders, it is questionable whether things will end with more bloodshed or not. While it is not life or death, there is some concern about whether the nuptials will take place and if they do how will they be able to have all the people in the same room. I hope Zoe is prepared for a rocky marriage as she tries to straddle family feuds and the mother-in-law from Hell.

Four purrs and two paws up.

When Lucy's daughter gets engaged, what should be a happy occasion turns deadly, as Lucy soon has to deal with her future in-laws trying to control the occasion and the discovery of a grizzly town murder. Lucy puts all of her reporter instincts to use as she sets out to smooth things over with her family and catch a cold-blooded killer.

I was liking this book, but got bored with the Native Americans storyline. It might be time for Lucy to retire.

This was such a quick and fun read. I really enjoyed the characters and the story line for this one!
Would recommend for a quick read

Leslie Meier is a must read when it comes to classic cozy mystery and this is a very entertaining to this series.
I was glad to catch up with the characters, had fun, and appreciated the twists and the solution
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

BRIDAL SHOWER MURDER by Leslie Meier is book 31 in the mystery series featuring Lucy Stone, a local newspaper reporter in Tinker’s Cove, Maine. This time, Lucy's daughter Zoe is getting married to a baseball player and her future mother-in-law causes conflict by hijacking the wedding planning and throwing a lavish shower. Unfortunately, there were not too many likeable new characters here. Despite being older (and hopefully wiser), Lucy is still struggling with a demanding boss, home responsibilities, and the need to be a better role model for her daughter. As the party preparations go forward, Lucy learns about past history related to a local indigenous tribe and the founding of a company belonging to the family of her son-in-law to be. Secrets, misunderstandings, and racism contribute to a brutal murder – with Lucy once again on the hunt for clues and a story! Regular readers will enjoy another light and entertaining cozy featuring Lucy Stone.

I absolutely love the long-running Lucy Stone cozy mystery series, set in Maine. This is the 31st book in the series and is the best one of them all!!

Here, one of Lucy's daughters is engaged to a minor league baseball player and the wedding planning quickly gets out of control. Too big. Too elaborate.

It was interesting to see how the bridal shower activities and the murder of an apparently unrelated victim tied together. I did not see the whodunnit coming.

When people ask me for cozy mystery series recommendations, Leslie Meier's Lucy Stone series is one I always suggest. Very highly recommended!!

In this installment of the Lucy Stone mysteries, Lucy's youngest daughter, Zoe, is newly engaged. It turns out Zoe's fiance has ties to Tinkers Cove. Zoe's soon to be in laws want to plan the wedding and throw Zoe a bridal shower. When a murder occurs, Lucy puts on her sleuthing hat and starts investigating. I really enjoyed this book. Some of the later books in this series have been hit or miss but this one was really good. I liked that we saw more of Lucy's kids in this book. The mystery was well done and it kept me guessing until the end.

This is the 31st book in the Lucy Stone cozy mystery series and I've read every single one. I've enjoyed all of them to varying degrees. But this one, this one I think was the most interesting, the most well-written, most diverse of all and the one I think I have enjoyed the most! The primary focus of this book is not, as the title indicates, a bridal shower. That is really just the side story and that's exactly how it should be. The more important storylines, and there are several, really take center stage and shine! Wonderful and realistic family Dynamics, a fabulous supporting cast that really steps it up and shines in this book, and highlighting important and relevant topics. So much more than I expected, loved it!

Poor Lucy just wanted to enjoy Zoe’s happiness at having a new job and being engaged, but all her so-called friend with a wedding planner daughter wanted to do was cash in on the rich in-laws who said they’d pay for the kids’ wedding. What a crazy mess! I was surprised Zoe and Chad didn’t just elope one weekend to get rid of all the stress.

Then murder struck Tinker’s Cove again and a nice woman from the historical society was found dead, so now there was a killer on the loose to worry about. I wasn’t too surprised at whodunit and the showdown was a tense one, but never underestimate the power of a ticked off homeowner when someone threatens his place and his friend.

Lucy came up with a good compromise at the end and they had some fun surprises show for the wedding as well. I bet Lucy’s gonna sleep for a week!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book provided by Kensington Cozies via NetGalley, and my opinions are my own.

Lucy Stone is in the middle again of another who dun-nit, not the first time as a reporter for the local newspaper. Her daughter Zoe is engaged and Chad seems very nice, but his family is a different story. As Chad’s mother starts to take over the wedding plans and basically giving the bride to be not much say or giving Lucy any of the mother of the bride honors. She throws a very fancy bridal shower and the ladies of Tinkers Cove are all invited. But surprisingly Hetty, a local town historian, who was so looking forward to it is a no show. When a couple days later Lucy sees the police taping off the building that Hetty works in she knew it was Hetty. To hear she was brutally murdered was a shock!
This was one of the best mysteries from LM. Maybe because Penny, Chad mother reminded me of my mother in law. Start a little slow with the build up and of course the obvious guilty person isn’t the one. Kept me turning pages and guessing who. Thank you #NetGallery and the publisher for this ARC. All opinions expressed are my own. #BridalShowerMurder

Zoe is engaged and boy as her future mother-in-law, a class example of a “monster in law “. While the woman drives, Zoe and Lucy crazy, she apparently drove someone even crazier. Crazy enough to kill her and Lucy will do whatever it takes to find out who dunit.

It’s great to be back in Tinker Cove for book 31 in this series. I have read every single one of the books in this series and they never get old. If you’re looking for a new series and haven’t read one yet, you can read this one just fine as a stand-alone. Though the best part of all is that you will have 30 more books to binge on once you’re done.