Wall-to-Wall Dead (A Do-It-Yourself Mystery, #6)

by Jennie Bentley

In this Do-It-Yourself mystery series that's perfect for lovers of HGTV home renovation shows, a designer looking for a quick house flip will discover that good fences don't always make good neighbors—

Avery Baker never thought she’d leave Manhattan, until she inherited her aunt’s old Maine cottage and found her true calling—home renovation. But when Avery goes to work restoring a condominium, she discovers it’s another condo owner who’s been condemned... 

Avery and her partner, Derek, are fixing up a cute little condo in homey Waterfield, Maine, hoping for a quick turnaround and some extra money. It seems like a simple project—and Avery is looking forward to using her big-city experience with small spaces.

But they didn’t expect to have their every move watched by the resident busybody in the condo, Hilda Shaw, who loves snooping on everyone’s comings and goings. When the busybody becomes a dead body, Avery suspects foul play. Soon she’s doing some snooping of her own—and it seems everyone in the complex has a secret. Could one of them be worth killing for? Avery needs to work fast, before someone decides to fix her...for good.

• ISBN10: 0425255565
• ISBN13: 9780425255568
• Publish Date: 4 September 2012
• 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/9780425255568

Reviews

[Mystereity Reviews]

Avery and Derek buy a flat in an apartment house where the stereotypical nosy busybody is killed and everyone harbors a secret.

I gave this 2 stars instead of 3 because the entire book lacked focus. Actually, I would have given it 1 star if I didn't enjoy the other books in this series. *sigh* where to begin?

Derek pops the question in a very cute scene at the beginning, which started the book off with a warm feeling. It didn't last, though. I thought it funny how Avery was lamenting how she just couldn't wear an off the rack wedding dress and OMG Totes didn't have time to make a wedding dress, so she was going to wear a 60 year old re-purposed prom dress to marry her beloved. Oh, but she had all the time in the world to follow and spy upon other people and tell everyone she know about the goings on of the law breakers living at the apartment house. This, despite the fact that a)that's why no one liked the busy body and b)that's what got the nosy old bat killed. The whole scene where Avery asks Kate to be her matron of honor was excruciating. Instead of telling Kate, "you're my best friend, you found my beloved for me, please share in my special day." instead she explains how she has no other friends and her mom lives in California. Hey, way to go! Make Kate feel like an last resort!

It also felt like the prologue and the epilogue were added on later, almost like the editor said, "hey, this book is terrible, add on a few heart tugging scenes and it'll make it more palatable."

As a footnote, I'd like to add that my experience with law enforcement is very slight (and not in a criminal sense), but I can tell you that in real life, asking the chief of police to "let me know if you find out anything" on a murder investigation, would never happen. Not only because such details would be used to track down the killer but also because it would jeopardize the prosecution if and when the case went to trial. It's a convenient plot device, but it's implausible and ridiculous and drives me up the wall.

[MurderByDeath]

So I'm really only giving this 3.5 stars, but I'm rounding up because this is usually a strong series. First, I loved the Prologue - it was a nice surprise and made me start the book off with a smile. I love the relationship between Derek and Avery and the 'supporting cast' is both strong and likeable. The author has really created a very likeable world in this series.

It lost that half star because through a good portion of the book Avery was almost unlikeable - she was suddenly acting like a gossipy, nosey busybody. I realise cozy mysteries somewhat require that the protagonist be nosey, but Avery was just ridiculous and unreasonably nosey in certain parts of the book. A real turn off.

The other bit that was a disappointment - I totally guessed the plot device and the murderer right away. I knew who did it, which sometimes happens, but I also knew exactly why they did it and that's not something that's often obvious. Took away a bit of the fun for me.

Still, this is a great series and the author does a good job with each book. I look forward to the next one and I thank the author very very much for not going the clichéd route and turning Avery and Derek's wedding into a plot for a book!