I haven't read any of the previous books in this series - in fact I rarely read "cozy" mysteries. I found this book, however, not especially 'cozy'. There were several serious and dark themes that ran through it and any time an animal dies in a book - especially a pet - that's a red flag for me and it's hard to be invested in the rest of the story. The book was ok but ultimately rather disappointing.

Another great ready from Leslie Meier. Every book in this series is perfectly fine as a standalone read, but I love reading a long series because it really connects readers to the characters in a different way. This is a must read.

This is my second Lucy Stone book, and I think it also might be my last. I don’t think the author’s writing style and my reading style mesh. I have many of the same complaints in Patchwork Quilt Murder that I did in Mother of the Bride Murder:

* A lot of extraneous additions to the story that didn’t move the plot forward.
* Very slow pacing
* I wish there had been more character development to some of the main side characters

The chapter early on where the dog dies absolutely gutted me, and it bothered me even more how it was handled. I also didn’t love the way mental illness way handled and discussed among the characters throughout the entire book. Definitely made me cringe.

Despite all of that, but I did enjoy the audiobook narrator, Coleen Marlo; she was enjoyable to listen to.

While this is the 30th book in the Lucy Stone Mysteries series, it can absolutely be read as a stand-alone!

Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the audio review copy!

I have really enjoyed the books in the Lucy Stone series. I continue to be amazed at how the author has kept my interest while presenting new trials and tribulations as well as watching Lucy’s son and daughters grow up and develop as adults. This particular book in the series deals with some issues that could be emotionally difficult to read about ... depression, suicide, dementia, mental health. But the author handles these so well and with grace and gentleness. The characters are well developed and I love experiencing the relationships between them and how supportive they are of each other. I strongly encourage you to go back to the first book in the series if you have not had the opportunity to get to know the people of Tinker’s Cove, Maine. You will be delighted in the stories as you travel through the pages and sift through the clues to solve the murder mystery.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Cozies for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

For more reviews, please visit my blog at: https://www.msladybugsbookreviews.com/. Over 1000 reviews posted!

TW for death of a beloved pet. :( Not anything violent, just old age. Also weird intereaction with Autism at the end of the book.

I had a hard time getting into this book after the dog died. The way that was interacted with made me not connect well with many of the main characters and made them feel unlikeable. I also wasn't a huge fan of the way Autism was depicted in the book, it felt like something thrown in as an afterthought to put in a topic that feels buzzy instead of something given the time to breathe that the revelation needed.

That said, it was a solid little cozy mystery that I would recommend to people who aren't necessarily pet people. I'd also give a big TW to anyone who was and let them know the way the grief is handled may be triggering to them. The characters had good dialogue, and the mystery was interesting enough. I did appreciate the twists and turns this book took, and if it weren't for the two items that really didn't sit well with me this would have been a 4 star rating.

This book is fine but I found the tone really off. We’re on the side of the kid calling his mean boss Hitler? All the stuff around mental health was really awkward and strange. When the reporter tells someone who married their second cousin that she didn’t know cousins could marry, I rolled my eyes. The writing just seemed so stilted and out of touch.

i needed some more thrill but it’s a cozy murder mystery solving book so im not complaining about that either <3 i loved it so much! patchwork quilt murder reminds me of like the detective stories i read when i was little like nancy drew. i highly recommend everyone to listen to this book via audiobook because it just AAA chef’s kiss! the voices and emotions was truly felt by the narrator and it’s just the best! i guess i didn’t give this a solid 5 star because the politics (?) threw me off and i just became uninterested but STILL !! i love this and i’ll be picking up more of the author’s books because HELLO? there’s like a LOT of these books and i have never been happier <3

massive thank you to the author for their big brain energy! as well as to NetGalley for this ARC!

I’ve read other books in this series but I have a hard time getting into them.

I normally find the main character frustratingly annoying, but she was a bit toned down in this installment. I appreciated how the ending got tied up but it felt like the solution came a bit out of nowhere. Overall, it was enjoyable and the narrator was good.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #DreamscapeMedia for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, Patchwork Quilt Murder didn’t exemplify the cozy series I’ve known and loved by Leslie Meier. Right off the bat, there were some dark elements that steered it far from being a cozy. There also was a bit of political agenda undertones that didn’t sit right with me. Although the mystery itself was well plotted out, I was jarred from fully enjoying the book because of the serious issues that were introduced early on. I think I will need to take a break from Leslie Meier’s books for a bit as I had mixed feelings about the last book in the series as well.

The narration was done well and fit the characters’ voices. Her voice actually kept pushing me forward and preventing me from DNFing the book as she was able to make the story more enjoyable.

This audiobook is a travesty of mispronouced words, terribly done voices, and a ridiculously boring story with unbelievable characters. In 2024 you want me to believe a reporter has never before experienced a self-flushing toilet or automatic faucets? Or that a "state of the art" facility found an old school punch card time clock for their single non-salaried employee? There's so much set up and storytelling and no crime for nearly the first fifth of the book. Maybe people who've read the first 29 books care about the look back at the life of the main characters dog, but I am drowning in boredom. I need interesting characters and A MYSTERY in my cozy mysteries. I shouldn't be 5 chapters in with nothing happening yet.

When Tinkers Cover gets a new community center, a lot of taxpaying townsfolk aren't too happy with the new director's inflated salary. As reporter Lucy looks into director Darlene's past, she begins to suspect the woman isn't as qualified as she seems. But when her boss's struggling son disappears and body parts begin appearing all over town, she had bigger things to worry about and scoops to cover.

This book is DARK for a cozy mystery. Trigger warning and minor spoilers, but this book involves lengthy discussions of someone in a mental health crisis and the aftermath of a suicide attempt, a dog dying of old age on page, and dismemberment. I almost gave up early on in the book because it was just not what I was in the mood for. However, the mystery is extremely well-crafted. I didn't see all the twists and turns coming, and when I thought the book was over it wasn't done yet! So on balance, I still think this is a good read and perhaps one of the more intriguing installments in the series when it comes to plotting, but please go in eyes wide open to some of the more serious and somber content throughout.

Thanks to Kensington for my eARC and Dreamscape Media for my ALC! I listened to this book on audio and think the narrator did a great job. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

4 stars - 6/10

First time reading/listening to this author and even though this is deep into the series, I didn’t feel as though I was missing anything. Very entertain story and a good narrator.

I jumped into this series to read this ARC and it was good as a stand-alone but now have another series that I want to read all the books! I am adding all of Lucy Score's books to my TBR and starting with book 1 in this series, maybe I can catch up before the next installment is released!

#PatchworkQuiltMurder
#NetGalley

I really enjoyed my time listening to this book. I found the characters well flushed out and easy to connect to. As a quilter I really loved how the story tied in the emotional aspect quilts can bring people. Sometimes what we need to feel a bit better is to wrap ourselves in a quilt and feel the love they can bring. I really look forward to reading more in this series!

Oh wow! What a wild ride!
The Patchwork Quilt Murder is book #30 in the Lucy Stone mystery series.

This is my first Leslie Meier novel and it was great as a stand-alone, though from what I hear, plenty of the same characters pop up throughout the Lucy Stone series.

In the quaint little town of Tinker’s Cove, random body parts start showing up and journalist Lucy Stone is there to cover the breaking news.

As Lucy brings us along for the ride through the investigation, we come to find out that some of Tinker’s Cove’s citizens aren’t as sweet and innocent as we were initially made to believe.

Overall it lived up to the “cozy mystery” vibes!

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is the second book in this series that I have read. It is very nice that the main character has some back stories but you can understand the entire book without knowing it all. This story was interesting enough and had twists and turns. There is a sad bit at the start, but then it is not mentioned much more. That was a bit odd.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this advance copy.

This book completely threw me. I’m not a big cosy mystery fan and so was not expecting to love this as much as I did! I loved the quaintness and it was such an easy, lighthearted read.

It weaves in some really tough subjects such as mental health and climate change in a very respectful way.

There was humour sprinkled throughout which helped lift the book and gave it an extra boost.

As always Leslie Meier delivers another great cozy mystery -- though this murder -- is one of the more gruesome (without overly written details) compared to others in the series. I have now read all the stories in this series -- all by audiobook -- this time we have had another change in narrator -- the narrator overall did a good job creating distinctive voices for the many familiar characters-- The story line covers topics such as climate change, mental health, fraud which overall were tastefully done. As always the characters and storyline hold your attention and you stick with Lucy the whole way! I don`t always share the same opinions as the author/ characters and the way the dog Libby was spoken about as **just a dog** kind of bothered me as a dog owner -dogs are really members of your family . Honestly, this book like most of the others in the series can be read as a standalone --and easily read out of order--, because each book has it's own "case" and characters are easy to follow.


Thanks to Netgalley and Dreamscape Audio for this ALC. This is my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for an audio ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I was really looking forward to reading this cozy mystery, but unfortunately it just didn’t work for me at all. My biggest issues was that it felt like the story focused more on the “cozy” aspect than on the actual mystery

The townspeople seemed more upset by the new community center director’s salary and vacation than the dismembered remains that were being found around town, and the mystery “solve” didn’t feel properly foreshadowed at all. I had hoped to follow along as Lucy Stone found multiple different suspects and motives, but it seemed like she just skipped all that and stumbled on the final answer instead.

If you enjoy the other Lucy Stone books, then you may still really enjoy this one and reading more about the people of Tinker’s Cove. But if you are looking for a cozy mystery that’s heavy on the mystery, then this probably isn’t for you.

Started slow but really picked up. I love this series. The red herring towards the end was a nice surprise. Enjoyed the narrator.