Dressed to Drill (A Fixer-Upper Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
10th in Series
Setting – California
Berkley (May 2, 2023)
Mass Market Paperback : 336 pages
ISBN-10 : 0593201353
ISBN-13 : 978-0593201350
Kindle ASIN : B09TZNW592
Contractor Shannon Hammer’s new project, renovating an old church, reveals some old sins when a body is found on the premises in the latest Fixer-Upper Mystery from the New York Times author Kate Carlisle.
While Shannon Hammer is thrilled to attend the premiere of the movie based on her boyfriend Mac’s latest book, she can’t wait to trade her killer heels for work boots and start her next renovation project in Lighthouse Cove: a quaint Victorian church that has seen better days. And will see them again—as a museum—if Shannon, her talented crew, and her sister Chloe have anything to say about it.
But on the first day of demolition, work comes to a screeching halt when they stumble on the body of a beautiful young woman in one of the chapels. Who killed the assistant art director? Suspects crawl out of the woodwork as fast as Shannon can restore it. The church is hiding a century of secrets from the days that smugglers wreaked havoc on the California coast. But it’s a more recent secret that someone killed to protect. Shannon and Mac will use every tool in their toolbox to nail down the truth before any more lives are sacrificed.
Dollycas’s Thoughts
Things are going great for Shannon and Mac. They just walked the red carpet for the movie premiere based on Mac’s latest book. While she had a good time she is anxious to get home to start her new project. A Victorian church that needs a lot of updates and TLC so that it can be reopened as a museum.
Her entire crew plus a new hire is excited to get started on the renovations but they make an eerie discovery on the walk-through to firm up the project schedule. A door to a chapel was hard to open. When they finally get it open, they see that the dead body of the young assistant art director had been blocking the door. Shannon is devastated by the discovery and she soon realizes the old church is full of secrets, secrets that bring forth several suspects. It’s time for her and Mac to drill down on all the clues to hammer out the real killer before they strike again.
It won’t take long for new fans to fall hard for contractor Shannon Hammer and her beau author Mac Sullivan. Fans like me who have loved this series from the start will be delighted as Shannon and Mac’s story continues.
I love the way the characters in this series keep growing and evolving in such good and realistic ways. Ms. Carlisle has created such strong women in Shannon and Chloe along with their male counterpoints Mac and Eric. I am really happy that Chloe can be in Lighthouse Cove much more often. A wonderful supporting cast supports these key characters. With each story that supporting cast gains more depth. The author also introduces book-specific characters that evolve nicely over the course of the story.
The Victorian church setting this time was so interesting. Stained glass windows always gain my attention and the author’s detailed description of those and all the other nooks and crannies of the church put me right there. I was able to visualize everything so clearly.
The way the mystery developed was so well-written and plotted. It was clear that someone associated with the church or heaven forbid someone on Shannon’s crew was the killer. A really unique clue really blows open the possibilities of who could have committed the crime and some great twists move the story along. I appreciate the way Shannon works closely with Police Chief Eric even when she knows her findings could slow down or shut down her project. I also like the way she negotiates with him so that doesn’t happen often. Their close relationship also means she calls him when all the clues start to fall into place. The reveal surprised me a lot. It was like an entire toolbox dropped on my foot as everything came to a head. Ms. Carlisle did an excellent job of diverting my attention.
Dressed to Drill
Your Escape Into A Good Book Travel Agent
Check out my Reviews for the whole series.
Book 1 – A High End Finish
Book 2 – This Old Homicide
Book 3 – Crowned and Moldering
Book 4 – Deck the Hallways
Book 5 – Eaves of Destruction
Book 6 – A Wrench in the Works
Book 7 – Shot Through The Hearth
Book 8 – Premeditated Mortar
Book 9 – Absence of Mallets
Read more about Kate and the Fixer-Upper Mysteries at www.KateCarlisle.com!
Also by Kate Carlisle
Coming October 24, 2023
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of this book. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
