Customer Reviews

Fatal Feng Shui (Domestic Bliss Mysteries)

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Celebrity chef Shannon Young hires the interior design partners Erin Gilbert and Steve Sullivan to renovate her home. She also employs feng shui expert Ang Chung to insure her abode contains harmonious flowing vibrations. Conflict arises between Ang and Shannon on one side and Erin, Steve, and contractor David Lewis on the other, as state and county laws prohibit some of the feng shui design.

Besides the discordant flow disrupting her serenity, Shannon's neighbor Pate Hamlin will do anything to get her to sell her house to him as cheaply as possible. He arranges all sorts of dangerous mishaps to upset Shannon's mental state and put the project behind schedule. When the site foreman, Erin's half-brother Taylor Duncan dies in what the local police claims is an unfortunate accident, Erin investigates even as a rival attempts to lure Steve to join her professionally and personally.

The latest Domestic Bliss mystery (see KILLED BY CLUTTER and DEATH BY INFERIOR DESIGN) is an enjoyable cozy as Erin believes her half-brother was a murder victim, but has doubts that Pate killed him. Thus her inquiry after the police quickly sweep the case under the rug considers that Taylor has been a guest of the county. With decorator tips on the side, Leslie Caine provides her fans with an entertaining cleverly designed amateur sleuth.

Harriet Klausner

This is an enjoyable cozy series with characters you care about. Erin can be a bit annoying and pretty much of a buttinsky, but that doesn't detract much from an enjoyable read.

Interior designers, Gilbert and Sullivan, have their hands full when their neurotic client, Shannon Dupree Young, insists they incorporate Feng Shui principles suggested by a so-called expert. To make matters worse, the contractors hired to renovate the house are behind schedule and the neighbor across the street seems bent on driving Shannon crazy. Things go from bad to worse when Shannon's attic is set ablaze, a bulldozer crashes into the house, and Erin's ex-con brother--the contractor's foreman--is killed on site. Erin doubts her brother's death was accidental and, as she investigates, hidden agendas and betrayals begin to emerge.

FATAL FENG SHUI is a delightful read that beautifully mixes the main plot with subplots surrounding Erin's personal life, including the growing romantic attraction to her partner, Steve. Author Leslie Caine does a terrific job of weaving lighter moments with far more serious family issues. She also manages to insert interior design tips in an entertaining way. This novel is everything I love in a mystery: intelligent, fast-paced, interesting, well-plotted and with just the right mix of humor. I look forward to reading more of this wonderful series.

Erin Gilbert has merged her business with handsome designer Steve Sullivan -- and one of their first jobs is a doozy! A temperamental artist client, dueling feng shui factions, a fake feng shui expert, and Erin's recovering drug-addict half-brother on the job make for excitement and dead bodies galore.

I thought this fourth book in the Domestic Bliss series was much better than the previous two. The story line seemed a bit more coherent, and the characters more fleshed out. The feud between Erin and Steve has calmed down some -- the love-to-hate-you shtick was getting old.

However, I still have trouble with the intervening chapters featuring Audrey Munroe, Erin's landlady (why is the series named after Audrey's show, rather than Erin's business? Makes no sense to me).

All in all, a decent cozy read. Lots of suspects, lots of drama, lots of fun.