Tuesday, March 08, 2016

Crowned and Moldering by Kate Carlisle


First Line: I gazed up at the neglected beauty and tingled with excitement.

Famous thriller writer Mac Sullivan moved to Lighthouse Cove, California, and bought the historic Victorian lighthouse mansion that gave the town its name. Now it's finally time to begin restoring the rundown beauty and contractor Shannon Hammer can't wait.

But she's going to have to when the bones of a teenage girl are found inside the old house. Lily Brogan was a local girl everyone assumed ran away from home, but it seemed that she didn't get very far. If Shannon wants to get the renovation back on track, she's going to have to find out who killed Lily.

This third book in Kate Carlisle's Fixer-Upper cozy series delves deep into Shannon Hammer's high school past. It's always interesting to learn about a favorite character's background. However, as much as I like Shannon, there is a lesson that I wish she would learn.... Every time she gets exasperated, flies off the handle, and tells someone, "I'll kill you!" she puts herself chin deep in hot water. Hopefully she won't have to stumble over too many more dead bodies before she erases that sentence from her vocabulary!

Carlisle's strong mysteries, sense of humor, and vivid casts of characters  are always the major draws to any of her books, but I have a special place in my heart for her Fixer-Upper books. Shannon specializes in renovating old houses, and there's always the possibility of discovering secret nooks and crannies. I love that. I also love how Carlisle incorporates fascinating nuggets about different facets of architecture and renovation. In Crowned and Moldering, I learned a bit about green architecture as Shannon wins a contract to build solar canopies for the local high school parking lot. 

Whether it's humor, mystery, characterization, architecture, or romance, I recommend Kate Carlisle's Fixer-Upper series. I have a feeling you're going to enjoy them as much as I do.
     

Crowned and Moldering by Kate Carlisle
ISBN: 9780451469212
NAL © 2015
Mass Market Paperback, 336 pages

Cozy Mystery, #3 Fixer-Upper mystery
Rating: B+
Source: Purchased at The Poisoned Pen. 


2 comments:

  1. I just love that premise, Cathy! Old bones found at renovation/construction sites always get me interesting, and this one sounds like a solid read. Glad you enjoyed it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Seems as though we both love old bones and old houses, Margo!

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