Fatal Fixer-Upper (A Do-It-Yourself Mystery) [Paperback]

Jennie Bentley (Author)

Book Description

Series: A Do-It-Yourself Mystery | Publication Date: November 4, 2008

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.

Editorial Reviews

From 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.

Review

RT Rating: 4 ½ stars Category: MYSTERY Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime Published: November 2008 Type: Mystery (Amateur Sleuth)

While this is another in the themed mysteries that are not only extremely entertaining but lightly educational, the mystery is unusually strong. Home renovation and design tips are skillfully worked into the story, the characters are developed and sympathetic, and the setting is charming. The climax leads to a bang-up ending in which the intelligent heroine has to either save herself or lose all. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Summary: Avery Baker loses a boyfriend and then quits her job after inheriting her aunt's Victorian cottage on the Maine coast. She decides to work on the cottage so she can sell it and gets local hunky handyman Derek Ellis to help her. Soon she doesn't know whether the cottage or the man is more attractive, but when her house is broken into she wonders if he's one of the bad guys. A missing professor, disappearing antiques and old secrets all combine for a first-rate mystery and a frightening surprise ending. --Romantic Times Book Reviews, November 2008

Fatal Fixer-Upper's polished writing and well-paced story set it a notch or two above many first novels. Some books take awhile to get into - but I was hooked on Fatal Fixer-Upper from page one. I particularly appreciate the author's ability to make do with a small cast -- so many first-time authors overpopulate their books. Fatal Fixer-Upper is a fun read that's just the ticket when readers crave escapism. --The Cozy Library, November 5, 2008

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Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Berkley (November 4, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425224570
• ISBN-13: 978-0425224571
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #364,170 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jennie Bentley is the author of the bestselling Do-It-Yourself Home Renovation mysteries from Penguin/Berkley Prime Crime, featuring Avery Baker, a textile designer, and Avery's boyfriend Derek Ellis, a handyman, who renovate houses in fictitious Waterfield, Maine. The series is currently five books strong, with number six in the process of being written.

As Jenna Bennett, she writes the Cutthroat Business mysteries, featuring realtor and Southern Belle Savannah Martin, who stumble over dead bodies in Nashville, Tennesseee.

For more information about either series, please visit www.JennieBentley.com.

Jennie is a former Realtor(R), now a real estate assistant and renovator, in Nashville, Tennessee, where she lives with a husband and two boys, a hyperactive dog, a killer parakeet, two African dwarf frogs, and a carnival goldfish. A native of Norway, she's been living in the US for the past twenty years, and still hasn't been able to kick her native accent. On the up-side, you won't be able to hear it in her writing.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An ingeniously plotted murder mystery with several prime suspects and a nail-biting conclusion, December 7, 2008

By 

Roy E. Perry "amateur philosopher" (Nolensville, Tennessee) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fatal Fixer-Upper (A Do-It-Yourself Mystery) (Paperback)

Jennie Bentley writes, "If Derek--six feet tall, with melting blue eyes, sun-streaked hair, snug jeans and a toolbelt riding low on his hips--can't make it interesting, then I don't know what to tell you."

If you surmise, however, that this novel is "chick lit" or a sappy romance novel, you would be wrong. It's an ingeniously plotted murder mystery with several prime suspects and a nail-biting conclusion.

Avery Baker, 31, receives a letter from Inga Morton, her 98-year-old great-aunt, summoning her to Waterfield, a village on the Maine coast. The letter concludes, "It is time for secrets to be told, for the truth to come out, and wrongs to be put right."

When Avery arrives in Waterfield, she learns that her great-aunt is dead and a professor at nearby Barnham College is missing. Something is mephitic in the state of Maine.

According to a local legend, items belonging to Marie Antoinette, the last queen of prerevolutionary France, were smuggled into Maine. Could these priceless artifacts be the source of foul play?

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's every woman's dream, isn't it?:, November 23, 2008

By 

Corinne H. Smith (Athol, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Fatal Fixer-Upper (A Do-It-Yourself Mystery) (Paperback)

To move to a strange place, find a need to hire a handyman, and discover that he's not only competent but also handsome? That's what happens to interior designer Avery Baker when she moves into her recently-deceased great-aunt's place along the coast of Maine. Of course, she's not sure she will want to keep the old Victorian house once it's renovated. Avery gets more than one signal that someone in this small town doesn't want her to stick around for very long. And a local Realtor is also making herself a constant irritant, circling for a sale.

But besides finishing the house with the help of Derek Ellis' strength and expertise, Avery would like to discern whether or not her Aunt Inga's death was really accidental. And where is that young professor who interviewed the nonagenarian just before her fall down the stairs? His simultaneous disappearance surely is no coincidence.

"Fatal Fixer-Upper" is an expert prelude to a new Maine mystery series. It's a substantial yet fast-paced, entertaining read.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great whodunit, November 4, 2008

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fatal Fixer-Upper (A Do-It-Yourself Mystery) (Paperback)

Textile designer Avery Baker is based in New York City working for Aubert Designs when a letter arrives from an aunt she never heard of living in Maine. Her aunt asks her to come visit her so that truths and wrong doings see the light of day. Avery is intrigued by the note, but has doubts about going until she finds her lover in bed with his receptionist. The house in Maine is in terrible condition, but Avery who inherited her late aunt's estate hires Derek Ellis to renovate the house she can get a better price for it.

Before arriving she had received an anonymous letter warning her to stay away from her late aunt's home. On her first day in her new home, Avery sees someone broke in and destroyed the crockery and dishes. She soon finds a picture of a tapestry in her aunt's home, but it is missing. Avery discovers a fainting couch meant for Marie Antoinette if she had gotten out of Paris alive. Professor Wentworth was a frequent visitor of her late aunt; Avery believes his disappearance is tied to those truths her aunt's letter mentioned that someone wants remained hidden. Her inquiries bring her to the attention of killer colder than a Maine wintry night.

Readers will find that this first book in a new series a delight and are happy that they found a great whodunit and tips on rehab a house. The heroine is spunky, talented and obstinate; as she refuses to allow anyone except Derek change her mind once she decides something. Fans will enjoy this fine cozy as readers and Avery know someone wants her to leave; dead if necessary.

Harriet Klausner