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In Tinker's Cove, Maine, Lucy Stone, reporter for the local Pennysaver, thinks about how much her small town has changed, especially after the farmhouse next door has been rebuilt into five upscale modular homes bought by people completely new to the town. Unlike the past where she knew her neighbors and liked them, she doesn’t know much about the new people and what she does know doesn’t make her happy. The man who built the homes, Fred Stanton, is a loud and violent man who doesn't seem to care if the houses he built have problems. His wife Mimi, a long-time resident of the town, is a terrible busybody and bully who has called the authorities to complain about her neighbors. She's objected to one family's indoor pet potbelly pig and is angry about an investment business another neighbor runs quietly out of her home. She has even complained about Lucy's 100-year-old lilac bushes and insisted they be cut. Lucy doesn't like her or the way Mimi's young sons act. One is always racing his noisy motorcycle by the houses while the other son is strangely quiet and sad. Her other new neighbors include Willie Westwood, a woman who seems to be happier on her horse than with her husband, but whose daughter has become good friends with Lucy's daughter. Frankie LaChance is a sexy woman with a too sophisticated young daughter and there's Bonnie Burkhart who is the mother of young twins and the wife of the school's new coach. In order to get money for the Hat and Mitten Fund, Lucy and what's left of her old friends decide on a bake sale and invite the new members of the community to become involved. When the newbies take over and refuse any of the decadent treats of the old-timers only to sell healthy baked goods, there is a definite blanket of bad feelings at the sale. And when Mimi doesn’t show up for her shift, Lucy is ordered to get her there. As she gets to Mimi's house Lucy smells burning sugar and is afraid that a fire has started, but when she sees Mimi slumped over, she sees a huge knife in her back! Although almost everyone in the neighborhood hated Mimi, the local police arrest Mimi's husband. As Lucy goes about town looking for facts as she writes Mimi's obituary for the paper, she finds that Mimi's background is a mystery and Lucy's reporter instincts are aroused. At the funeral a homeless man, unknown to anyone in town, was crying and now Lucy can't find him to ask questions. When she tries to ask Mimi's family for information, she's met with anger and hostility. Then her tires are slashed and a rock is thrown into her living room wrapped in a note saying, "You could be next." With all that going on, Lucy just can't give up her investigation – the need to know the truth won’t permit her to leave it alone. Though this is the 13th book in this series, it's the first I've read and honestly, I couldn't have enjoyed it more! No wonder the books are such a success. I liked the main character right away. The location is the perfect example of the small town that has good and bad in it. And there are even recipes included at the end of the book. They are old-fashioned and not healthy treats: Better Than Sex Brownies, with homemade frosting and Kitchen Sink Cookies. I could hardly stop myself from getting the baking pans out. Now, all I want is to get the extra time to read all the rest of the series.
Reviewed by Sharon Katz, September 2006
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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