Customer Reviews

Spackled and Spooked (A Do-It-Yourself Mystery)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

SPACKLED AND SPOOKED (Berkley Prime Crime, 2009) is as delightful as FATAL FIXER-UPPER, the first in Jennie Bentley's Home Renovation mysteries. Avery Baker, the home renovator and amateur sleuth from FATAL FIXER-UPPER is back, along with Derek Ellis, her boyfriend and business partner. Avery is a former textile designer from New York who moved to Maine when she inherited her aunt's cottage in Waterfield and did some major renovations. Now she's tackling another home renovation project-a basic ranch, circa 1950's. The split level ranch has 2000 square feet, three bedrooms, two baths and a fireplace in the den.

Oh yes, the house also has a resident ghost.

When Avery first encounters the ghost, her mind scrambles for an explanation. Avery comes up with four possibilities. 1) I'd heard the steps of a ghost. 2) Someone was trying to freak me out 3) My ears were playing tricks on me and 4) I was losing my mind.

Although the intrepid Avery has serious doubts about renovating a haunted house, her misgivings are quickly dispelled when she learns the price is right ($95,000) and Derek assures her they can flip the property and sell it for a quarter of a million dollars. As it turns out, the resident ghost (who manifests himself by blood-curdling screams and eerie footsteps) is the least of Avery's worries. It's white knuckle time when she has to deal with a grisly discovery in the crawl space and a murder in the neighborhood.

The author, a Nashville real estate agent and home renovator, can relate to Avery's adventures. "In the nine years since we bought that first little house in the transitional area, we've bought--and renovated--nine more. Our current project is a mid-century ranch, just like the one Avery is working on in Spackled and Spooked. Big and rambling, with sprawling rooms, big windows, and a sort of open and airy feel."

Ms. Bentley creates a wonderful small town environment and includes fascinating "insider" tips from the world of home renovation. Would you like to turn a Fiesta salad bowl into a sink basin? Have you ever thought about using brown paper bags as trendy wall paper? You'll find all these tips and more (like transforming a dresser into a bathroom vanity and making peek-a-book shower curtains).

FATAL FIXER-UPPER, Ms. Bentley's debut novel, was a national best-seller for the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association. SPACKLED AND SPOOKED is bound to be another winner for this talented author. Home renovation buffs will appreciate the wealth of detail, but even if you don't know a garrotte from a grommet you'll love this series.

Bentley's second "Do it yourself" mystery was a good book for me to read on a cold rainy night. Avery and Derek are characters that seem real to me. I love watching HGTV's home renovation shows, so this book had me and the first look.
This book delves more into the personalities and relationships of the characters this time. Old flames,and choices they each made in their lives, etc. The more I learn about Avery and Derek, the more I want to read about them. Neighbors in this book, make me think of my "Offbeat" neighbors. They can be either great neighbors, or "Neighbors from hell". I have had both.
I also enjoyed hearing more details of what goes behind the scenes in renovating an old house. It is more work than one thinks.
I hope to hear that Jennie Bentley is writing a third mystery in this series.
I love the covers of her books. Cats are cool animals.
Plus, bathroom makeovers are the pits.

Avery Baker is starting a new business away from NYC. Having just been to Maine I found the references to Maine to be very apt. This was a quick and fun read for an evening. Not bloody or scarey just charming.

There have been a whole slew of themed mysteries coming out- especially those themed around things like house renovating or crafts. Some of them just can't seem to stand out when held next to their competitors & then there are some that are just fantastic to read. The `Do-It-Yourself' mystery series manages to hold it's own in a genre that is becoming increasingly competitive.

This particular entry to the series finds everyone's favorite fabric specialist working with her boyfriend Derek as they attempt to renovate a home with a past- a murderous one. Years ago the home's owner murdered his wife & two other family members in cold blood, with only his son escaping with his life. It's rumored that the house has been haunted ever since- and finding a body in the crawlspace underneath the house isn't helping Avery & Derek dispel those rumors!

This book was an incredibly quick read & I was pretty much glued to it from the first page. It's a very addicting read- literary crack. I like the romance between Avery & Derek, plus I like that Avery hasn't made her mind up about living in Maine just yet. (She's there, but she's still somewhat waffling about it.) There's also the rivalry going on between Melissa & Avery, which I enjoy greatly because it's not a dominating theme of the series, yet you can tell that there's eventually going to be a huge showdown between the two of them. (Maybe Melissa will make a play for Derek if the business takes off?)

There were one or two new characters introduced in the series & I'm hoping that they come back in future books. They show a lot of promise. There were one or two points that were relatively easy to guess at & the savvy should be able to predict the killer, but the journey is just pure fun. (And besides, isn't part of the fun of reading a mystery predicting whodunit?) There's not a huge amount of character growth though, but hopefully that will change in the next book.

If you liked the first one, you'll love this book. If you haven't, I recommend reading the first one prior to this, even though it isn't all that necessary. The book can stand alone for the most part. I have to admit, I'm already looking forward to not only the next one in the series, but also the first book in Bentley's new series as well. (She writes as Bente Gallagher.)

In spackled and SPOOKED, after finishing her Aunt's home, Avery decides to stay in Wakefield for awhile and goes into the business of restoring houses to sell with her favorite handyman, Derek. They purchase a home that seriously stigmatized because a family was murdered there almost 20 years ago and has sat empty since. As if that isn't enough to deter future sales a skeleton is found in the crawlspace under the house. There also seems to be a ghost lurking around. If they are going to sell this house they need to get busy and solve all the mysteries if they can stay alive long enough.

I Love This Series!! Quick based and you won't put it down until your done. Look for Book 3 Plaster and Poison releases on March 2, 2010

I liked the characters after reading the first book. The plot was a good idea, but it dragged a little. It's a decent read, but good grief, I can't believe how many times the two main characters roll thier eyes. Occasionally, it was several times on a page. I think the author could use a thesaurus for phrases or spend a little more time editing. That sort of thing gets mildly irritating. I hope the next book is better...

Flipping a house finds Avery and Derek flipping out over murder.

***
Anyone who does home repair expects some unexpected and unpleasant surprises during remodeling. Avery and Derek, co-partners and friends with benefits, were well aware that selling a house where a murder/suicide was committed a long time ago could be a sticking point when the renovation is completed. What they didn't expect was to find a skeleton in the crawl space or a new murder next door. It is a race between completing the renovation and finding the murderer before the murderer puts an end to the renovation and them. Spackled and Spooked in the second book in the "home-renovation and design tips" mystery series by author Jennie Bentley.

Another well written mystery by the author avoiding a sophomore slump. Just the right balance of information on each new character, progression of the existing characters and details towards the mystery itself. I think this series may have some legs.

Jennie Bentley's second novel in the DIY series was just as entertaining as the first. Avery Baker and Derek Ellis decide to buy a house together and flip it. Problem was that four people had died in it and during the renovation process, they thought they heard ghosts, had trouble with the neighbors, and discovered other mysteries. The two did plenty of sleuthing and reporting to small town law enforcement and eventually solved all the problems. I recommend you stuff this cozy in your beachbag!

Great little fixer upper series love the books and they keep my interest
recommend you get them all in a row hope they continue on