[Book Review] Trick or Treat Murder by Leslie Meier

Haunted-house parties and ghostly galas…grinning pumpkins, mayhem and murder. It’s going to be one heck of a Halloween for Lucy Stone and Tinker’s Cove…

It’s October in Maine, and everyone in Tinker’s Cove is preparing for the annual Halloween festival. While Lucy Stone is whipping up orange-frosted cupcakes, recycling tutus for her daughters’ Halloween costumes, helping her son with his pre-teen rebellion, and breast-feeding her brand-new bay, an arsonist is loose in Tinker’s Cove. When the latest fire claims the life of the owner of the town’s oldest house, arson turns into murder…

While the townsfolk work to transform a dilapidated mansion into a haunted house for the All-Ghouls festival, the hunt for the culprit heats up. Trick-or-treat turns deadly as a little digging in all the wrong places puts Lucy too close to a shocking discovery that could send all her best-laid plans up in smoke…

1.5 STARS 

I picked up this book on a whim basically because of the cover and title. I wanted something Halloween themed and it being set in Maine (where I live) was a added on plus. Unfortunately it just wasn't for me. 

The characters were a bit of a problem for me. I didn't feel any connection to them, not because their experiences were so different from mine but because I don't think the writing fleshed the characters out enough. Which made it hard to root for them or get worried for them when they are put in dangerous situations. It was kind of similar to how I feel to horror movies, I react like "yep, this girl is going to die because she's an idiot" and less "oh no she's going to die I don't want her to die!" The main character is digging through the mystery trying to figure out who is causing all these fires, but she isn't being sneaky or stealthy which got really annoying. Besides her, the rest of the characters didn't leave much of an impression. Her husband seemed kind of like a jerk and her children just validated my views on not wanting to have kids. 

The mystery itself was okay and it was honestly the only thing keeping me flipping the pages. I did want to know who the arsonist was, but there was so much boring padding in between the mystery aspects that it was hard to push through. I was hoping the answer to the mystery was worth getting through the boring areas but unfortunately for me I don't think it was.


One thing I want to mention is there is a lot of weird body shaming and a few instances of slut shaming in this book. The main character just had a baby and people are pressuring her to lose weight. The first chunk of the book a handful of people mention her weight and it honestly left me feeling kind of gross. And there isn't a moment where those people are pointed out as being mean or wrong, the character gets a gym membership because she feels almost obligated to. Sure, this book was published in the nineties so maybe it was more acceptable, but still, it wasn't necessary. 

The writing is okay, I think the dialogue was done really well but I wish there were more exciting or tension built moments. A lot of the  book is slow going and there aren't many exciting areas which made it hard to keep reading. Especially since I couldn't connect with the characters. 

Overall, I don't recommend this book, there are better mysteries out there. If you have any mystery/horror/thriller recommendations I'd love to hear them because I feel like every time I read one I either hate it or think it's just okay. I want to enjoy spooky or mystery books! I just haven't found many that are for me. 

Thanks for reading!