This is the 14th out of 31 books in the Lucy Stone series. Lucy is a reporter for the Pennysaver in coastal Maine. She has four children: Toby, Elizabeth, Sara, and Zoe. Her husband, Bill, is a contractor who restores old homes. The story opens with the man known as Old Dan, who has been missing from his working man's bar, the Bilge, for three days, being found without a head, washed up on shore. The Sheriff's Department has decided that it is a murder. A family including Dylan, his wife Moria, and their daughter Deidre, comes into the Pennysaver looking for Dylan's brother Daniel, the one who was just found dead. Dylan claims to be there for two reasons: one, to help his brother transform the Bilge into an expensive tourist place, and two, to direct the 100th anniversary play at the catholic church.
Dylan and his wife are actors, though he seems to have exaggerated their repertoire. Dylan is a lousy director and insists on casting his wife in the starring role of the musical Finnien's Rainbow. Moira cannot hit the high notes, is late for rehearsal, and goofs-off when she does show up. Diedra is around Zoe's age, and the two kids hit it off right away. Deidre is obsessed with the fae and believes that they are real, convincing Zoe in the process and giving her nightmares.
Lucy's boss at the Pennysaver won't let her continue on the story because it is gruesome and because Lucy is a woman. This isn't the only problem I have with the book. Lucy uses the term "gyp," which is derogatory to the gypsies, and tells her daughter Zoe that fairies don't kidnap children; gypsies do. The sexism and the racism do not sit well with me. The book was published in 2008, but that is not late enough to excuse these things. Overall, the book is okay. It is a cozy mystery that spends a lot of time poking fingers at various people until it reveals the true criminal at the end. It's a short book that does entertain and had me reading to the end to solve the murder.
Quotes
Winter in Maine is a bitch. Sometimes, after I've been snowbound for a week or two, I'd like to go out and kill somebody, too.
Leslie Meirer (St Patrick's Day Murder p 260)
“Maybe that's why Mikey Boy turned to crime.”
“Cormac's no better. He's a Democrat, you know.”
“Being a Democrat isn't the same as being a gangster.”
“It's worse.”
Leslie Meirer (St Patrick's Day Murder p 228)
Link to Thriftbooks: https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/st-patricks-day-murder-lucy-stone-mystery-book-14_leslie-meier/324540/?resultid=c956530b-079b-4384-b6f6-bca47cd6d28c#edition=4843595&idiq=3074205
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