Lucy Stone #32
It’s been years since I’ve read a Lucy Stone mystery but I couldn’t resist this holiday tale and I loved it so much I could hardly put it down! Lucy and her husband are now empty-nesters and as Christmas approaches, Lucy just hopes all her children come home for the holiday.
Tinker’s Cove, Maine, is gearing up for the holidays with a Merrie Olde Christmas festival that keeps Lucy busy rehearsing her Mrs. Cratchit role when she’s not working as a reporter and features writer for the Courier, now in print and online, covering all the related holiday events. Among Lucy’s assignments is interviewing Merrie Old Christmas volunteers. She starts with bank manager Bert Cosgrove, an all-around nice guy who is very enthusiastic about playing Marley’s ghost in the Christmas Carol vignettes and being a judge for the plum pudding contest – but after his interview is published he’s attacked online when someone posts nasty photos and comments about him. (I learned that attacking someone’s reputation online like this is called doxing. I had no idea there was a term for it!) And he’s not the first; at least two other people Lucy knows have been doxed.
While the other doxxing victims seek the aide of Norm Neidich, online Reputation Defender, Cosgrove decides to ignore the vicious posts. Lucy is stunned when he’s found dead a few days later and the police chief declares it suicide. Was Cosgrove driven to suicide by the online attack, as the police think? Was he murdered, as his family thinks? Either way, who is behind the doxing that apparently led to his death?
Lucy’s compassion for Cosgrove and his family makes her determined to find out what really happened. She juggles investigating with reporting for the Courier, rehearsing for the Dickens vignettes, and being supportive of her children’s ever-changing plans for Christmas.
I loved the various Christmas activities that fill the book, especially the on-going debate about the merits of plum pudding and how to make it. Suet or butter, steamed or baked, how many ingredients, how much brandy, etc.? While several recipes are described, no actual recipe is included. (That’s ok. I’ve got one and it’s delicious!) It’s also fun watching technology-oriented kids try to play the Cratchit children in the Dickens Vignettes.
As I mentioned, I have read some books in this series but not for quite sometime. If you are looking for a cozy to get you in the Christmas spirit, I recommend this one. You don’t need to read the previous books to jump in and enjoy this one. — Cathy Akers-Jordan