3.5 Wine Glass #Audio #Review for Father's Day Murder by Leslie Meier

Title: Father’s Day Murder
Series: A Lucy Stone Mystery, Book 10
Author: Leslie Meier
Narrator: Karen White
Format: Unabridged AudioBook, 6 hours and 58 minutes
Published: 3 May 2016 (Dreamscape Media, LLC)
ISBN-10: 1520005202
ISBN-13: 978-1520005201
Links: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Audible
Reviewer: Linda
Source: Author
Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5 Wine Glasses

When her part-time reporting gig gives Lucy the opportunity to attend a Boston newspaper conference, she looks forward to the vacation from domestic bliss. But upon leaving Tinker’s Cove, she quickly discovers that alone time can be kind of…lonely. And in between libel workshops and panel discussions, Lucy takes a guilt trip. She feels terrible that she won’t be home to help her husband celebrate Father’s Day.

But when Luther Read—head of a nearly bankrupt newspaper dynasty—suddenly drops dead, Lucy has other things to think about. Murder, for instance. She’s not buying the theory that Luther died of an asthma attack. The man just had too many enemies. Always the intrepid snoop, Lucy vows to investigate. But she can’t help wondering if her name will end up on a byline—or in an obit…

Linda's Thoughts:
The lights were turned off and the film began to roll. It was eerie, thought Lucy, watching the images of Luther Read flicking across the screen. Maybe he was dead or maybe he was fighting for his life, but in the darkened room he was an enormous, living presence.
Then the film ended. The final image of Luther Read’s smiling face had hardly faded when the announcement came. 
“Luther Read, our Newspaperman of the Year, is dead.”
That was incredible enough, but an even more shocking announcement followed.
“Remain in your seats, please, as the police will be collecting information from everyone.”

Father’s Day Murder by Leslie Meier is a well-written cozy mystery fraught with murders and mayhem. Even though it’s the tenth installment in her Lucy Stone Mysteries, I had no issue enjoying it as a stand-alone read. This book marks my first foray into the world of Leslie Meier’s books. The author has written “my books are classified as cozies but a good friend insists they are really “comedies of manners” and I do enjoy expressing my view of contemporary American life.”

The main character is Lucy Stone, of course. She’s a stereotypical mother  - juggling a myriad of tasks and responsibilities for her husband, son, daughter and the family dog. You can infer that the tale includes a plethora of household drama. The book’s title is derived from the fact that Father's Day is a big celebration at their house and Lucy is beset with worry that the preparations are not going as they should.

Lucy works part-time as a reporter for The Penny Saver, a small-town newspaper in Tinker’s Cove, Maine. As the story opens, her boss wants her to attend a week-long newspaper conference in Boston. Her husband assures her that they can hold down the fort while she’s gone – so Lucy goes. While at the conference, Luther Read, the head of a nearly bankrupt newspaper dynasty, dies and his death is determined to not be an accident. Luther had a lot of enemies counting some of his own children. One of Luther’s sons is arrested for the crime, but Lucy questions his guilt and is determined to crack the case and prove his innocence. As she involves herself in the case, Lucy soon finds herself in danger…

Karen White did a great job narrating. I actually picked up this audio because I saw that Karen had narrated it – and I’m glad that I did.  I’ve discovered many new authors thanks to Karen. She is one of my favorite narrators as she can be relied upon to deliver a solid, polished performance – and she superbly did just that by acing a multitude of regional accents and capturing the essence of the characters. Her voices always sound genuine. Most notably, her male voices sound like males. I feel that her performance enhanced my enjoyment of this book.

Following please find a few of my favorite quotes from Father’s Day Murder:

As she dressed that night, Lucy remembered Catherine’s words: “If it’s true, it isn’t libel.”
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“I’ve been to livelier funerals,” grumbled Herb.
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“It’s a small-town rule: Never speak ill of the dead until the estate has paid the outstanding bills.”

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Murder was apparently too common-place in the big city to attract much notice.
Poor Luther, thought Lucy, as she headed back to the hotel. Even in death he was only a big fish in a small pond.

This cozy did not include any romantic elements – so if you are looking for a romance, you should look elsewhere. I was utterly stumped in the whodunit department. Lucy’s antics and some of the situations she found herself in along with the colorful array of possible suspects were both funny and intriguing. I admit to being bored at times and I freely admit that I wanted to strangle Lucy’s daughter. That said, I never considered not finishing the story. It actually appeared doubtful that Lucy would make it home at all – much less for Father’s Day!



See the entire Lucy Stone Mystery Series by Leslie Meier