Crowned and Moldering (A Fixer-Upper Mystery, #3)

by Kate Carlisle

Don't miss Concrete Evidence, a Hallmark Movies & Mystery Original starring Jewel, based on Crowned and Moldering—the third novel in the New York Times bestselling Fixer-Upper Mystery series!

When Mac Sullivan—famous thriller writer and Shannon’s new beau—first moved to Lighthouse Cove, California, he bought the historic lighthouse mansion that the town is named after. Mac needs help cleaning up the place, and Shannon is more than happy to get her handywoman hands on the run-down Victorian.

But during demolition, a grisly discovery is made among the debris—the bones of a teenage girl who went missing fifteen years ago. Locals had always assumed Lily Brogan ran away from her difficult life, but it seems her troubles followed her to the grave. If Shannon has any chance of getting her renovation back on track, she’ll need to tackle the cold case. But with new suspects coming out of the woodwork every day, she’ll have to be careful to pry the right secrets and clues from the poor girl’s problematic past...

• ISBN10: 0451469216
• ISBN13: 9780451469212
• Publish Date: 3 November 2015
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
• Imprint: Obsidian Mysteries
• Format: Paperback (US Mass Market)
• Pages: 336
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780451469212

Reviews

[MurderByDeath]

Not enough Thor.   Quite a good mystery, though.  For most of the book the plot concerns the discovery of a skeleton on the job site of the man who doesn't look like Thor and the re-opening of the cold case connected to it.  The crimes escalate in the second half of the book, claiming modern day victims as well, but generally, I think Carlisle tried to bring too many elements together here.  I certainly didn't guess the murderer, but I didn't find the motive compelling enough to believe it either.   

I'm going to wait for a synopsis of the next book before committing to reading it - I'm holding out one last hope for more involvement with the Thor-lookalike police chief.  

[Silvara]

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

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


I really liked Shannon as a character, and getting to learn about renovation and construction. The secrets the house held was also fun to read about. Shannon was my favorite kind of character. She had faults and strengths, was usually level-headed, but also curious and with a quick burning temper. She felt like a real person, not a caricature.

I wasn't as attached to her possible-boyfriend Mac. He wasn't a bad character, he just didn't have a lot of depth. It's possible since this is book 3, that he was described better in previous books. Maybe his personality was shown more in them as well. But mostly in this one we were constantly told and shown about how handsome he is. Or reminded that he is a thriller writer. There were a few cute moments between Mac and Shannon, but they just didn't click for me as a couple.

Eric, the police chief on the other hand actually had some fun moments of witty banter with Shannon. And she was interested in him as well. But honestly, neither one of the possible romances clicked with me enough to root for them. The focus was more on the mystery, which is perfect and I loved that about the book! But if you're going to dangle romance, especially if there's a love triangle possibility, the male love interests need to be more fleshed out.

The mystery itself was exciting. An unexplained death from 15 years before, hidden in a house no one has lived in since long before that. Add in hidden rooms, a few more minor subplots, and some really interesting secondary characters and you have an almost perfect cozy mystery.

This review was originally posted on Fantasy of the Silver Dragon