Deck the Hallways (A Fixer-Upper Mystery, #4)

by Kate Carlisle

In the fourth novel in the New York Times bestselling Fixer-Upper Mystery series, contractor Shannon Hammer must restore the Christmas spirit by clearing her father's name...

Don't miss the Hallmark Movies & Mystery Originals starring Jewel, based on the Fixer-Upper Mystery series!
 
Even during the holidays, Shannon is more spackle than sparkle, which is why she leaps at the chance to transform a grand old Victorian mansion into ten charming apartments for homeless families. Filled with the spirit of the season, all of Lighthouse Cove turns out to help—including her best friends, a troupe of far-from-angelic Santa Claus impersonators, and her father, Jack.
 
But their merriment is soon dashed by a heated scuffle between Jack and the miserly president of the bank who’s backing the project. When the man is murdered, all eyes are on Jack, and visions of prison time dance in Shannon's head. Now, she needs to pull off a crime-solving miracle, before her father’s Christmas goose is cooked...

• ISBN10: 0451488229
• ISBN13: 9780451488220
• Publish Date: 1 November 2016
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
• Imprint: Berkley Publishing Corporation,U.S.
• Format: Paperback (US Mass Market)
• Pages: 304
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780451488220

Reviews

[MurderByDeath]

Disappointing.  I generally like Carlisle's writing and characters, and the first two book were pretty good but this one was just... not.   I was originally worried I was going to find the premise tedious - MCs dad framed for murder, - but it turns out that was actually one of the best parts.  I thought the love interest was beyond ridiculous with the most overplayed, flimsiest and most contrived love-obstacle I've ever read.  Further, I don't like the love interest; the author created a triangle from the start and now she's stuck her mc with the flash instead of the substance.   The murder mystery was just not that interesting; she created a murder victim that was so vile and hated nobody cared who killed him - including the reader.  An attempt at a sub-plot concerning an abandoned baby was so bad and so transparent it wasn't worth the paper and ink it used.  Sorry, but it was so hideously contrived to be a Hallmark Christmas moment that it failed to be touching.  It was also so far outside the realm of realistic that I couldn't suspend my disbelief enough.   I'm a tried and true fan of Carlisle's Bibliophile mystery series, but I think I'm stopping this series here.  At least until someone can tell me it improves dramatically from here, and the mc dumps the famous git.

[Silvara]

Check out my other reviews, discussions and link ups at Fantasy of the Silver Dragon.

I received this book for free from Berkley Prime Crime in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I knew who the baby was going to end up with, as well as who's baby she was. It wasn't anything necessarily super obvious about the mother, it was more of an "I bet the mom is x-character..." And it was really funny how all the baby things kept popping up in strange places.

There were a lot of different people who could have been the murderer. Usually when there are so many suspects, it feels either overwhelming or a bit annoying. But Mr. Potter was such a jerk it actually felt super realistic to have that many people hate him. I didn't guess at all who the killer was, I had a few other people in my possibilities, but it worked well.

I love how well done the personalities are in this series. The characters are always fleshed out enough to feel real, without being too descriptive or boring.

Like the last book, I still don't care for Mac as a boyfriend for Shannon. He was gone for most of the book, which helped make me like the book better since he wasn't around to irk me. And the reason he was gone turned out to be fairly stupid in a way. Mostly because it would have been easy to fix if he had bothered to check into it.

Other than Mac, there wasn't a single thing that I didn't like about the book. If you like cozy mysteries with well-written characters that are easy to remember, and quirky side mysteries, you need to try this series.

This review was originally posted on Fantasy of the Silver Dragon