Lucy’s daughter Elizabeth has won mother/daughter makeovers in Manhattan. Even though it’s an all-expense paid trip, Lucy knows there are bound to be hidden costs. One thing she wasn’t expecting is the hospital cost when Elizabeth is stricken with a strange illness. Their desire to win the cash prize in the makeover contest is forgotten in Lucy’s worry about her daughter. When one of the fashion experts running the show also falls ills, and dies, Lucy’s reporter instincts go into overdrive as she endeavors to find out the cause of these illnesses. She knows something is drastically wrong, and she is not about to let a killer escape. This exciting cozy is quite interesting from the beginning, and the excitement just ratchets up with each chapter. In the world of high fashion, there are few friends who can be trusted, something Lucy finds out in short order. This well written cozy is another great installment in this delightful series. ( )

dnf - just can't get into this author ( )

Lucy and her daughter Elizabeth travel to New York for a magazine contest featuring mothers and daughters doing makeovers. Of course, murder follows. This one had some interesting and crazy plots! The New York setting was an interesting change and while I missed the Tinker’s Cove characters, a few old friends popped up, which was fun to see.

Please excuse typos/name misspellings. Entered on screen reader.
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A holiday-themed cozy mystery featuring mom and small-town reporter Lucy Stone traveling to New York City for a magazine makeover contest with her college-age daughter for New Year's Eve. This one hit a little close to home listening to it at the end of 2020, as it started out mentioning a strange flu that threatened to become an epidemic that winter. I like Lucy Stone -- mother of several children and wife to Bill, she doesn't always make sensible decisions or think polite, maternal thoughts; can't ignore injustice once she's spotted it; and has a knack for figuring out who committed murder, even when she's not on her home turf of Tinker's Cove, Maine. ( )

My rating: 4.5 Stars

It is New Year’s Eve and Lucy Stone is excited to be able to spend it in New York with her oldest daughter Elizabeth. They are part of a team of mothers and daughters after Elizabeth won a winter makeover contest. The grand prize winners will win $10,000. As Lucy and husband Bill have gotten a letter informing them that they will be that much short for Elizabeth’s next year of college, the timing couldn’t have been more perfect.

Aside from looking forward to spending some one-on-one time with Elizabeth, Lucy hopes to visit with her long-time friend Samantha. However, they have a very full agenda, including fittings, photo shoots and the like.

As all of the pairs are working hard at the activities, suddenly Nadine Nelson, the fashion editor, falls ill and dies. Nadine wasn’t always well-liked, and the rumor mill was very much at work, so foul play is definitely suspected. What’s worse is that Elizabeth falls seriously ill and is hospitalized with very similar symptoms that affected Nadine before her death.

Lucy is an amateur detective, and she jumps right in to track down the killer. Most definitely time is of the essence. As always, this cozy mystery was a quick read it had just enough bite and intrigue to engage me in one sitting. Usually Lucy solves these crimes in her hometown of Tinker’s Cove. She has her work cut out for her in the Big Apple. New Year's Eve Murder was a very enjoyable story and had a delightful conclusion. I have been enjoying these stories and this is book 12 of 26. I look forward to continuing with the series.

These are all delightful reads and I look forward to continuing. I encourage readers of this review to look at my other reviews from this series on this blog. Also, here is a link to her series in order:

https://www.fantasticfiction.com/m/leslie-meier/.

Please see all of my reviews on my blog at www.robinlovesreading.com. ( )