"Latest entry in Home Repair is Homicide mysteries is delightful read."

Jacobia "Jake" Tiptree fears her friend Ellie's water may break as they're renovating Harlequin House. Her worries don't stem from Ellie's overexertions, however. Instead, finding two bodies, one an infamous flapper from the 20s and the other an infamous local nay-sayer from the present- day, in an old wallpapered-over secret room with no discernable entry points, is a little more exciting than a normal day of refinishing door frames or fixing loose steps.

The stress levels mount as the best suspect appears to be Ellie's husband, who staunchly refuses to provide an alibi for the more recent deceased's time of death. Toting her tool belt, trying to placate Ellie without being condescending, and attempting to both ply the officer on duty's ear with sympathetic tales of the supposed suspect, while prying from him important nuggets about the case, prove to be hazardous for Jake's health!

This is the most recent in Graves' Home Repair is Homicide Mysteries. Her characters are plucky and unique, so they gain immediate sympathy and interest from the reader. As well as being a delightful read, the book may also have the helpful bonus of encouraging the readers to do some home repairs themselves.

Reviewed by Vicky Gilpin
Courtesy Old Book Barn Gazette
Posted February 16, 2004

Summary

Jacobia "Jake" Tiptree left her high-powered career for a dilapidated fixer-upper and the dream of a quiet existence in the quaint town of Eastport, Maine. But she found that no matter how carefully you remodel your life, murder can take up residence anywhere.It's Eastport's most notorious landmark: the old Harlequin House. Named for the disgraced physician Chester Harlequin, it was used as a hideout for gunshot gangsters and their molls during Prohibition's heyday. Now fixer-upper enthusiast Jake Tiptree and Harlequin's only living descendant, Ellie White, are refurbishing the mansard-roofed mansion to host the local Historical Society's upcoming gala. But when stripping down old wallpaper reveals a secret door to a room containing not one but two corpses, Jake and Ellie once again find home repair leading to homicide.One of the bodies is a skeleton dressed in 1920s flapper chic. But the other is that of real-estate mogul Hector Gosling, and in his pocket is a paper bearing the single word "Guilty." The less-than- scrupulous tycoon has been poisoned, and when it's learned that the offending substance is the poison that Ellie's husband George has been using to kill red ants, he is immediately taken into custody. Then it develops that George had recently accused Gosling of a scheme to scam George's vulnerable old aunt out of her life savings—and George out of his inheritance. With George held for murder, Jake and a pregnant Ellie swing into action. In between Ellie's Lamaze sessions, baby showers, and CPR classes taught by Jake's ex-husband Victor, the two amateur sleuths must sift their way through a trail of seemingly contradictory clues. Then another corpse surfaces and suddenly Jake and Ellie realize they must find this killer fast. A clever culprit is not only building an airtight case against Ellie's husband. He—or she—is planning to nail everyone who stands in the way.