“Trick or Treat Murder” by Leslie Meier

Well it’s October and Halloween is coming up. I really enjoy this time of year. Leaves changing color, cooler temps, apples & squash. That’s for me!

Thought I would re-read “Trick or Treat Murder” by Leslie Meier, featuring female-sleuth Lucy Stone. I don’t connect very well with Lucy herself, but I like the way that author Meier incorporates holiday themes into her books. This book occurs during October prior to Halloween.

Lucy lives in a small town in Maine called Tinker’s Cove. There have been a series of fires lately to several old buildings and each one has been explained away naturally. But the latest fire happens to catch the resident of a summer home visiting her cottage, the oldest house in Tinker’s Cove. She dies in the fire and the police rule it arson and murder.

Lucy is afraid that her house might be a target as it was built in the 1850’s. She has a hunch the fires are somehow connected and decides she is going to find out who is setting the fires.

But first she has promised to bake 12 dozen cupcakes for a Halloween party her friend Sue is organizing for the whole town in the historic old Hallett House. Doing the math, that’s 144 cupcakes!

If she needs any help, here is a recipe I found on Pillsbury.com for Halloween cupcakes:




Halloween Cupcake Trio

Turn purchased or cake-mix cupcakes into fantastic and delicious Halloween fare in just a few easy steps.

Time: 1 Hr
Makes: 24 cupcakes


INGREDIENTS:
Cupcakes:
1 container (16 oz) vanilla frosting
1/4 teaspoon orange concentrated paste food color
24 unfrosted cupcakes (purchased or baked from a mix)

Spider Webs:
1 tube (0.68 oz) black decorating gel (not food color)
8 clean plastic spider finger rings

Eyeballs:
2 tablespoons vanilla frosting (from 16-oz container)
8 candy-coated chocolate pieces
1 tube (0.68 oz) black decorating gel (not food color)
1 tube (0.68 oz) red decorating gel (not food color)

Graves:
1 tube (0.68 oz) black decorating gel (not food color)
8 oval creme-filled peanut butter sandwich cookies
1/4 cup chocolate cookie crumbs
8 candy pumpkins

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place 3 tablespoons of the frosting in small bowl; set aside. Stir orange food color into remaining frosting in container until well blended and no streaks remain. Frost cupcakes.

2. To make Spider Web Cupcakes, use black decorating gel to draw spiral covering on top of each frosted cupcake. Drag toothpick through spiral from center out, creating a web. Press 1 spider ring onto each "web."

3. To make Eyeball Cupcakes, drop 1/2 teaspoon vanilla frosting from small bowl onto each frosted cupcake. Lightly press 1 candy-coated chocolate piece in center of each. Use black decorating gel for pupil and red decorating gel to draw red squiggly veins radiating around edge of white frosting.

4. To make Grave Cupcakes, write "epitaphs" on one end of each cookie using black decorating gel. Press cookies into cupcakes to form "gravestones." Sprinkle cookie crumbs around each "gravestone"; add candy pumpkin to one side.

(Source: www.pillsbury.com)