Back to School Murder (Lucy Stone Mysteries, No. 4)

TINKER COVE'S OWN AMATEUR SLEUTH LUCY STONE

DISCOVERS THAT SCHOOL DAYS CAN BE MURDER.

It's back to school time in the peaceful Maine town of Tinker's Cove, and for mother-of-four Lucy Stone it isn't a moment too soon. But trouble at the local elementary school soon has the sometime crime-solver juggling family, job, and night classes with another mystery to solve. And it starts with a bang.

A bomb goes off with the noon lunch bell, but not before all the kids are safely evacuated, and Carol Crane, the new assistant principal, is hailed as a hero. But days later, Carol is found murdered and everyone is stunned when the most popular teacher at the school is arrested for the crime. However, not everyone is buying the open-and-shut case, including Lucy Stone, who senses there's more to things than meet the eye.

It soon becomes clear that Lucy is flirting with danger, as sizzling secrets and explosive surprises provide a primer for the most diabolical of motives. Hot on the trail of a clever killer, the dedicated mom and seasoned sleuth must harness the courage and cool aplomb to uncover a crime that just might give her an education in the fine art of murder.

Publishers Weekly

Lucy Stone of Tinker's Cover, Maine, is temping in the office of the small town's newspaper in this lively follow-up to Trick or Treat Murder (1996). The police report of a bomb scare sends the mother of four right to the elementary school where she observes the new assistant principal, Carol Crane, evacuate a disabled student moments before the blast. Police and FBI agents investigate the explosion but arrive at no solution to the crime before Crane is found murdered in her apartment. After the high school's chemistry teacher is arrested, Lucy, who is also taking a literature course at a nearby college, helps the newspaper's lone reporter investigate and learns that the dead woman, in league with a fundamentalist school board member, was forcing the suspension of the chemistry teacher, whom she accused of being the bomber. Unable to believe the charges, Lucy determines to find both the bomber and the murderer. But it isn't until she has some frank talks with her handsome English instructor, who has been making passes at her, that the engaging Lucy is able to nail the culprit and restore harmony to her family and community. (Oct.)