FIRST IN A NEW SERIES!
In the seaside town of Lighthouse Cove in northern California, everyone knows the best man for the job is actually a woman—contractor Shannon Hammer. But while Shannon can do wonders with a power drill and a little elbow grease, she’s about to discover that some problems aren’t so easily fixed….
Shannon’s home-renovation and repair business is booming, but her love life needs work. On a blind date with real estate agent Jerry Saxton, she has to whip out a pair of pliers to keep Jerry from getting too hands on. Shannon is happy to put her rotten date behind her, but when Jerry’s found dead in a run-down Victorian home that she’s been hired to restore, the town’s attractive new police chief suspects that her threats may have laid the foundation for murder.
Determined to clear her name, Shannon conducts her own investigation—with the help of her four best friends, her eccentric father, a nosy neighbor or two, and a handsome crime writer who’s just moved to town. But as they get closer to prying out the murderer’s identity, Shannon is viciously attacked. Now she’ll have to nail down the truth—or end up in permanent foreclosure.…
Contractor Shannon Hammer hasn’t had a serious relationship in ages – not since her high-school boyfriend knocked up the town mean girl and broke Shannon’s heart. She’s perfectly happy living the single life, but her friend Lizzie is determined to pair her off, so Shannon reluctantly agrees to go on a blind date with real estate agent Jerry Saxon.
The date starts well, but ends with Jerry attempting to assault Shannon on the beach and Shannon threatening to kill him if he ever comes near her again. Shannon’s angry and embarrassed (half the town witnessed the end of their altercation), but is determined to put the event behind her – until she finds Jerry’s corpse in a client’s basement a couple days later. It seems Jerry was bludgeoned to death using Shannon’s wrench, making her the prime suspect. She obviously didn’t do the deed, but with all the evidence that’s stacked against her, how can she possibly convince the police of that fact?
A High-End Finish, the first installment in Kate Carlisle’s new Fixer-Upper Mystery series, is a highly entertaining if slightly uneven read. The setup is quick, clever, and somewhat edgy, setting the expectation that you’re in for a dark and briskly paced ride. As it turns out, though, while Carlisle endangers Shannon before the end of chapter one and offs Jerry by the end of chapter two, the ensuing 100 pages are mildly plotted and languidly paced. I realize the theme of the series is home renovation, but way too much of the first half of this book is spent following Shannon from job site to job site and getting updates on her projects. That said, I’m happy I stuck with it, because at the midway point (MINOR SPOILER ALERT!) Shannon transitions from suspect to potential victim in the eyes of the police, and from there on out, it’s a sprint to the finish. The last 175 pages or so are chock full of action, tension, plot twists, and close calls. Carlisle’s big showdown is thrilling, her mystery hangs together well, and she (mostly) earns her ending.
Carlisle should also be commended for her character work. I love that Shannon’s a woman who works in a predominantly male field, employs a mostly male crew, and has plenty of male friends, but isn’t a tomboy; she’s more than willing to get her hands dirty, but she has no qualms about putting on a dress, and her best friends are all female. In Carlisle’s hands, Shannon’s not a stereotype – she’s a person, and an interesting, intelligent, likable one at that, which makes it easy to become invested in her tale. Shannon’s potential love interests – novelist MacKintyre Sullivan and police chief Eric Jensen – are fully drawn characters, as well, and their chemistry with our heroine is nothing short of fabulous. Carlisle’s created the rare burgeoning love triangle where I genuinely can’t decide who I’d rather see Shannon end up with.
Reviewed by Kat
