[.ca] Wedding Day Murder (ISBN 1575667347)

in the "get rid" of box not to be passed to anyone I like.:
The idea seems good. HOWEVER... The ideas behind the characters seems a tad stereotyped and then it gets worse. I admit it is the first book I have read of Leslie Meier and it might be the last. The characters never get to the point where I care about them. Lucy seems scatterbrained and totally inept at anything. Solve a murder? More like blunder into the answer. By page 79 I personally was hoping she would get wacked not Ron. Her husband the depressed caveman wanders around complaining things aren't like they use to be and the kids are being kids... a bit boring but kids. Cosy? Homey? Country? not in the least however it gets five stars for stereotyping. Not every housewife turned working woman is inept. I didn't manage one once of caring for any of the characters because they never came to life. I was left wondering "WHY?" Why are you telling me this and do I care most of the time and sadly the answer was no. A book best thrown aside forcefully.

Where's the mystery?:
The "mystery" in this novel takes up about five pages...the rest is a boring account of daily goings'-on in Tinker's Cover...Lucy is a moron, her husband is a grumbling troglodyte, her kids are selfish punks, and her friends are rather hurtful. Why is this series so successful?

Wedding Day Murder:
Nestled on the rocky coast of Maine lies the town of Tinker's Cove, a world apart from Garrison Keillor's Lake Wobegon, yet boasting the same fine stock of strong men, comely women, and their gifted offspring. Lucy Stone (Turkey Day Murder, 2000, etc.) is the materfamilias of one such brood: Son Toby, home from Coburn University, is working on a research project with strapping young marine biologist Geoff Rumford while eldest daughter Elizabeth, struggling to earn money for her freshman year at Chamberlain College, slaves away at the Queen Victoria Inn under the watchful eye of Mrs. MacNaughton. (Junior Stones Sara and Zoe are restricted for the moment to precocious dinner-table observations.) Lucy earns the family's keep working at the local newspaper as husband Bill, a manfully unemployed carpenter, builds a gazebo so breathtaking that Lucy's best friend Sue Finch begs Lucy to allow her daughter Sidra to be married there. Lucy agrees, only to discover that Ron Davitz, Sidra's intended, is a homely boor with no fashion sense and that his pushy New York mother, Thelma, is angling to wrest control of the wedding from poor Sue. Fortunately, somebody conks Ron on his unattractive noggin and dumps him over the side of the family yacht. Unfortunately, Police Lieutenant Horowitz seems bent on actually arresting someone for the crime, so Lucy has to prove that nobody she cares about did it-no matter how good an idea it might have been. Meier's latest is perhaps her most repellent, with values toxic enough to annihilate this year's entire lobster catch.

So-So:
Definitely not her best book in the series. The characters don't quite come across as the same they've been in other books, and the ending just comes too quickly and feels slapped together...there's a whole bunch of filler after the murderer's identity is revealed that seemed to go on forever.

Enjoyable reading:
The whole Lucy Stone series is very enjoyable reading. Lucy is a very regular person with family issues that could apply to alot of people. Sometimes I wish she could have a nicer time of things, but then the story wouldn't be the same. The mysteries she solves are not huge conundrums, but I like to get an idea of who the killer might be before the last page sometimes! Not every mystery book needs to be the end-all of stories--just fun and easy is nice, too. And her series is definitely that. If you are looking for deep darkness, this is not it. But if you want a likable character and easy flowing story, here you go.