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.
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!
Reading updates
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Started reading
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8 January, 2013:
Finished reading
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8 January, 2013:
Reviewed