While Shannon Hammer is thrilled to attend the premiere of the movie based on her boyfriend Mac’s latest book, she can’t wait to trade her killer heels for work boots and start her next renovation project in Lighthouse Cove: a quaint Victorian church that has seen better days. And will see them again—as a museum—if Shannon, her talented crew, and her sister Chloe have anything to say about it.
But on the first day of demolition, work comes to a screeching halt when they stumble on the body of a beautiful young woman in one of the chapels. Who killed the assistant art director? Suspects crawl out of the woodwork as fast as Shannon can restore it. The church is hiding a century of secrets from the days that smugglers wreaked havoc on the California coast. But it’s a more recent secret that someone killed to protect. Shannon and Mac will use every tool in their toolbox to nail down the truth before any more lives are sacrificed.
Release Date: May 2, 2023
Series: A Fixer-Upper Mystery
Book: 10
Publisher:Â Penguin Group
Imprint:Â BerkleyÂ
Price: $8.99
Shannon Hammer and her boyfriend Mac Sullivan are in Hollywood attending a premiere for the newest movie based on Mac’s latest book. While there, Shannon makes a guest appearance on her sister Chloe’s home renovation program. The trip is fantastic, but when Shannon returns home to Lighthouse Cove there is plenty of work to be done. Her construction company has been hired to renovate a Victorian church into a museum. Shannon and her crew are eager to get started, but on their pre-construction walk-through, they find a dead body in one of the chapels. Shannon is determined to help find the killer and get justice for the young woman who was murdered.
Dressed to Drill is the tenth book in the Fixer-Upper series, but works well as a standalone. I’ve read some of the prior books, but that’s not necessary to enjoy this one. The best parts of the book and of the series as a whole are those devoted to the projects Shannon works on. There are unique buildings and locations in the series, this time a church. The descriptions were so good I could visualize the church as Shannon and her crew were participating in their walk-through of the building. Shannon, her work crew, and her sister are all very likable characters. My least favorite character, who has appeared before, is Whitney Reid Gallagher. Her interactions with Shannon seem more like the things a middle-school mean girl would say than an adult woman. Whitney could be removed from the story and would not be missed. Other than that, I enjoyed getting to know most of the new characters, even those who become suspects in the murder.
The book is a quick read, even though the pacing is uneven. It starts out strong with the red carpet event in Hollywood, the beginnings of the church project, and the dramatic discovery of the body. Then things slow down, and the investigation doesn’t go anywhere for what seems like a long time. On the positive side, I like that when Shannon does learn something, she shares the information with the police chief, who happens to be her sister’s fiancé. I was disappointed that Shannon and Mac don’t work together on the case as much as usual, but the scenes in which they do are excellent. Things come together in a surprising way in the investigation, and the resolution is satisfying. I was really pleased by something occurring in Shannon’s personal life, which helped the book end on a high note that fans of the series will especially enjoy.
~ Christine
Amazon | iBooks | B&N | Kobo | Google Play