Fatal Fixer-Upper (Do-It-Yourself Series #1) by Jennie Bentley
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(Mass Market Paperback)
- Pub. Date: November 2008
- 336pp
- Sales Rank: 51,620
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Product Details
- Pub. Date: November 2008
- Publisher: Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated
- Format: Mass Market Paperback, 336pp
- Sales Rank: 51,620
- Series: Do-It-Yourself Mystery Series
- ISBN-13: 9780425224571
- ISBN: 0425224570
Synopsis
First in the new Do-It-Yourself mystery series!
Avery Baker was once a New York designer, but inheriting her aunt's old Maine cottage has led her down a new career path—home renovation. Now, with help from hunky handyman Derek Ellis, Avery starts learning the ABCs of DIY. But when the designer-turned-renovator finds clues that lead to a missing professor, she wonders if she can finish the house—without getting finished off in the process.
Publishers Weekly
Like an ornate Victorian house, Bentley's debut mystery is built on a solid foundation but winds up laden with gewgaws and light on practical basics. New York textile designer Avery Marie Baker inherits a run-down New England manse from a reclusive aunt who died under mysterious circumstances. Avery "is little and cunning and pouts a lot," and she's about as bright as her boy friend's crowbar. She instantly suspects dislikable people of having a hand in her aunt's death, while completely missing blatant clues pointing to the killer. Avery soon winds up in predictable anticlimactic peril, waiting for buff handyman Derek Ellis to rescue her. The characters and the town are charming, but without any real suspense-except whether Avery can convince Derek to let her mosaic tile the kitchen counter-there's no substance to the mystery. (Nov.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Customer Reviews
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Fatal Fixer-Upper has been chosen by the Fenton, Mo. Barnes and Noble Fiction/Mystery Book club forby Desilou
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March 23, 2009: I truely enojoyed the characters as they seem life like and one can relate to them and their many miss-haps. The plot seems more original then other mystery books and the author has an easy style of writing. This is a fairly easy read but the book holds one's attention. I did not figure out "who did it" until close to the end. Good book for books clubs because it is not heavy duty and would be good on a snow/rain day.
Fresh and invigorating, wonderful new voice in the world of coziesby Kasia_S
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December 23, 2008:
I will admit, yes I'm a sucker for super cute cozy mysteries; they envelop me in a world of "Who did it? Why? What's going on?" and they have a slightly old fashioned charm to them that regular fiction lacks. They usually revolve around small towns and nosy neighbors, random weird characters that make me giggle and of course the crime, figuring out who did it is quite delicious and fun and there's nothing better than turning into a Sherlock Holmes for the duration of the book.
This might be the author's first novel but it's really wonderful. Light and fun but whimsical and very smooth, it had enough charm to keep me glued to the pages until I finally finished it in unmentionably late hours of the evening ( actually not too long ago) and it made me crave for more of Avery, but for that I will have to wait till next spring.
When a textile designer living in New York finds out that her aunt in Maine is dying to spill some family secrets, she finally decides to take a trip but all is too late. The older Aunt Inga has passed away right before she arrives but lo and behold, the house is left in Avery's name alone with all of its possessions. At first she is heartbroken but later feels an air of uncertainty, someone wants her to stay away form the house and its furnishings and keeps meddling with the property. Is the place more valuable than she though and was the aunt's death an accident or cold blooded murder? It seems that everyone form her friends in Maine to relatives and other acquaintances seem suspicious, each possibly having a motive, not to mention the legends of missing furnishings belonging to Marie Antoinette, could her Aunts old fashioned stuff be mixed with priceless antiques? Read and find out and enjoy the crisp and refreshing new voice of Jennie Bentley, she's a sassy lady with tons of charm and talent. There are plenty of ex-boyfriends, meddling relatives, family secrets, cute potential love interests, suspicious and shady characters and tons of clues. The book was also a breeze to read, not something that I had to labor over (always a plus).
Lovely mystery with many twists and turns, I figured a part of it out ( by luck! ) but I simply loved the entire book and it had the perfect balance of mystery, even a tiny bit of romance ( nothing blah) and lots of clues and fund home renovating tips, cant wait for the next one!
- Kasia S.
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