Another Review at MyShelf.Com

Crowned and Moldering
Fixer-Upper Mystery #3
Kate Carlisle

NAL
November 3, 2015/ ISBN 978-0451469212
Mystery / Cozy, Women Sleuths

Reviewed by Linda Morelli

 

Shannon Hammer is a rare bird – a female building contractor following in her father’s footsteps, renovating Victorian homes and quickly earning the respect of the citizens of Lighthouse Cove, California. All, that is, save for an ex-schoolmate cum contractor, Cliff Hogarth, who was mean, vicious and pushy in high school, and hasn’t changed over the years. Now he’s attempting to sabotage Shannon’s business, trying to steal her customers and then her workers by offering them a higher salary.
When Shannon and her crew members, Wade, Sean and Johnny, discover bones in the historic lighthouse mansion she’s renovating for author Mac Sullivan, she calls Police Chief Eric Jensen. They soon learn that the bones belong to Sean’s missing older sister, Lily Brogan, who disappeared fifteen years earlier. The truth devastates Sean, who never gave up hope that his sister ran away to escape their father’s beatings. Shannon, all too aware of Sean’s torment, sets out to discover the truth behind Lily’s death.

I truly loved the lead character, Shannon, a determined woman who proves she’s equal to men in the construction trade, yet reveals her feminine side through her deep concern for her crew, especially Sean. It’s obvious she is well-liked by many people in Lighthouse Cove, and it’s those multi-faceted people that provided added depth to the story, and especially the mystery surrounding Lily’s death. Also enjoyable is the attention Shannon receives from the two men in her life: Sexy Mac, with his charming openness and hot kisses; and newcomer Eric, whose quiet demeanor and unwavering façade likely hides a tortured soul.

It’s the unpredictability of romance and the intriguing mystery that kept me turning the pages, unable to set the book aside. Kate Carlisle has written an outstanding novel that stands among the best I’ve read in years.

Note: Kate Carlisle has written 10 novels in her Bibliophile Mystery series. Other releases in her Fixer-Upper Mystery series are: This Old Homicide and A High-End Finish .

Reviewer Linda Morelli is the award winning author of three published romance novels.
Reviewed 2015
© MyShelf.com