Welcome to Cozy Wednesday!
I am delighted to feature
Hammers and Homicide by Paula Charles today!
Hammers and Homicide (A Hometown Hardware Mystery)
by Paula Charles
About Hammers and Homicides
Hammers and Homicide (A Hometown Hardware Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Setting – Oregon
Crooked Lane Books (January 16, 2024)
Hardcover : 280 pages
ISBN-10 : 1639105999
ISBN-13 : 978-1639105991
Digital ASIN : B0C9PJXCFG
Perfect for fans of Kate Carlisle and Victoria Gilbert, when a body is found in a hardware store, will Dawna Carpenter’s sleuthing measure up to find the killer?
Recent sexagenarian widow Dawna Carpenter thought running her own hardware store after the death of her husband was hard enough. With her adult daughter, April, moving back into town, and Darlene, the annoying boutique owner next door to her shop poking around, Dawna has her hands full. But when she finds a dead man in the bathroom of her store, with a framing hammer by his side, she’s in way over her head.
The victim, Warren Highcastle, was a land developer who was looking to purchase the old theater in town to build a new hotel. Dawna and April, worried about the implications of the crime scene at the hardware store, put themselves on the case. They soon learn that Warren had made quite a few enemies in his short amount of time in town. As the suspect list starts growing, so too do the threats against Dawna and April. Can Dawna and April nail the killer before they strike again?
Dollycas’s Thoughts
Dawna Carpenter never thought she would be running her hardware store, Carpenter’s Corner without her husband in her sixties. She lost her active husband to a heart attack a few weeks ago and is still adjusting to life as a widow. Her youngest daughter April has moved back to town saying she was “tired of the corporate world, city life, and city men”. Dawna believes her siblings decided “she was the best candidate to keep an eye on her nutcase of a mother” but she has taken over Dawna’s design and furniture restoration business so that Dawna could work full-time at the hardware store. Dawna never imagined she would find a dead man in the bathroom she shares with the store next door.
The deceased Warren Highcastle had come to Pine Bluff to turn the town’s old theater into a fancy new hotel which was a huge blow to the Women’s Service Club which wanted to restore the theatre. With Highcastle’s death, that option may be viable again but it could also land some members on the suspect list. Dawna and April are worried about the future of the store now that a murder has happened on the premises and that the police have made them close the store as their investigation continues. To hurry that up they decide to try to hammer out the path to the killer themselves. But with the body count on the rise, they know they could be next. Can Dawna and April catch the killer before the killer catches them?
In this first Hometown Hardware Mystery, the author introduces a large slate of characters. Dawna Carpenter is a strong mature woman with a huge heart and a lot on her plate. She is mourning her husband who she often thinks is nearby, she talks to him often, and when she gets in trouble he just may be around to help her. I loved the way she talked to him even though her kids thought she was crazy. Dawna uses the phrase “Good Night” like I use the phrase “Good Grief” and she is a bit klutzy like me so I was able to identify with her quickly. She has a great relationship with her daughter April. Their interactions reminded me of those I have with my daughters. Sweet, funny, sometimes trying, and sometimes only things we understand.
We also meet J.T. Dallas, Pine Bluff’s chief of police. He’s all business when working on a murder but otherwise is fun and caring and may be a good match for April. Darlene Lovelace owns Lipstick and Lace next door to Carpenter’s Corner and is Dawna’s least favorite person in Pine Bluff. We meet several other residents of the small town throughout the book. They all feel like folks you would meet in any small town, except one of them is a murderer.
Ms. Charles has written a compelling mystery. Our protagonist is still working on her sleuthing skills so all the clues didn’t all fall into place for her before the reveal. I did figure it out a little quicker but the showdown was fantastic. “What in the name of Zeus is happening?” I loved the way everything played out.
There was a lot of humor throughout the story. There was an incident in Steam Engine Park that had me laughing out loud and in tears. Described so well, that I pictured it clearly, and then just a few pages later I was giggling again. Karma will get me back, I am sure.
Hammers and Homicide is a delightful start to the Hometown Hardware Mystery Series. I love that the lead character is my age and that the author has surrounded her with genuine true-to-life characters. The paranormal sprinkle was unexpected and appreciated. There is a subplot still open that has me concerned but excited to see what Ms. Charles has in store for her characters next.
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About Paula Charles
When Paula Charles isn’t writing under the towering trees of the Pacific Northwest, she can be found in the garden with her hands in the dirt or sitting on her front porch with a good book and a glass of iced tea. She has a love for small towns, ghost stories, and pie. Paula lives on a small farm in Southwestern Washington with her patient husband and a handful of furry and feathered critters. Paula also writes cozy mysteries under the pen name of Janna Rollins.
Author Links
Website Facebook Instagram Goodreads
Purchase Links
PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books – Amazon – B&N – Kobo – Bookshop.org
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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.”
This cozy mystery sounds intriguing and extremely special and unique.
thanks for bringing this to my attention.
I’m over-the-moon happy with your lovely review and delighted that you enjoyed Dawna and April! Thank you so much for featuring Hammers on your blog today!