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Fixer-Upper
Mystery #3
Kate Carlisle
NAL
November 3, 2015/ ISBN 978-0451469212
Mystery / Cozy, Women Sleuths
Reviewed
by Linda Morelli
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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 .
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Reviewer
Linda Morelli is the award winning author of three published
romance novels. |
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