Fatal Flip: A Home Renovator Mystery

Fatal Flip: A Home Renovator Mystery

by M. E. Bakos

About the Book

Fatal Flip: A Home Renovator Mystery

Cozy Mystery

1st in Series

Cozy Cat Press (October 27, 2017)

Paperback: 220 pages

ISBN-10: 194606341X

ISBN-13: 978-1946063410

Digital ASIN: B077WRRMH6

Flipping houses can be fatal! When Katelyn finds a dead body in her first home renovation project, she seriously doubts her decision to “follow her bliss.” After getting fired from her steady job, her plan to flip houses takes a hit when she becomes a suspect. After all, possession is nine points of the law, isn’t it? Especially, when it’s a dead body.

To keep herself in pizza, peanut butter, good coffee, and her stray cat, Boots, in kitty chow she takes survival jobs as a wine sample hostess and market researcher. Meanwhile, Sheriff Don is kind of hunky, and her ex-husband, Eddy (it’s complicated) is back in her life sleeping on her sofa. How’s a girl supposed to solve dead body mysteries, make a living, and find love?

About the Author

M.E. Bakos has published several short stories in national women’s magazines. Her love of mysteries has led to writing cozies. Her first mystery short story, “Carpe Diem or Murder at the Carp Fest” appeared in the Festival of Crime, a SINC Anthology. Her second, “Perfect Storm . . . Perfect Murder” will be in Dark Side of the Loon, May 2018 also a SINC Anthology.

Her first cozy, FATAL FLIP, A Home Renovator Mystery has several home improvement tips for the reader.  Mary is a member of Twin Cities Sisters in Crime, the SINC Guppies Group, and an alumna of the University of Minnesota. She is a lifelong resident of Minnesota and resides in Minneapolis with her husband, Joe Sebesta, and their spoiled Morkie.

Website -  Mystery | M. E. Bakos, Author

Purchase Links 

Amazon  B&N  

My Thoughts

Fatal Flip by M.E. Bakos is the first installment in A Home Renovator Mystery series.  Katelyn Baxter has become a Home Renovation Specialist (aka house flipper) after losing her job at Colossal Health (refusing to be a scapegoat for the boss and taking a demotion).  Katelyn is at the property she is renovating on Bluebird Street with her best friend and realtor, Myra Payten.  Katelyn is in the attic crawlspace when she finds a body.  Sheriff Don Williams quickly arrives on the scene and closes down her job site while the scene is processed.  Worried about finances, Katelyn takes on a job as a wine sample hostess (someone who gives out samples at grocery stores) and a market researcher at the local mall (those people with clipboards who bug you while you are trying to shop).  When a second body is found in a house nearby that Katelyn had bid on, she is moved higher on the suspect list.  As if Katelyn does not have enough to deal with, her ex-husband, Eddy shows up.  He needs a place to stay and Katelyn happens to have a spare room.  Thankfully, the police have released her house and she can get is ready for the open house.  Katelyn needs to juggle her two new jobs, her ex-husband, the hunky sheriff, the stray cat that has adopted her, her house flip and figure out who is stashing bodies in empty homes.  It should be a piece of cake!

Fatal Flip is the first book in a new series starring Katelyn Baxter.  She is hoping to turn her life around by flipping homes.  It is a shame that someone decided to stash dead bodies inside local empty houses including Katelyn’s.  Fatal Flip is a fast-paced cozy mystery with multiple moving parts.  In addition to working on remodeling her property, Katelyn must keep herself and her cat in food.  After a search for jobs, Katelyn ends up giving out wine samples and doing market research (she is actually good at it).  Then her ex-husband worms his way inside her home (through an unlocked patio door) and ends up staying in her guest room.  Let us not forget the handsome Sheriff Williams.  Katelyn cannot help but not his fine physique. But there is the pesky problem of her being a murder suspect.  The mystery is multi-layered and intriguing.   I wish the author had incorporated more of the details into the story instead of revealing much of the information at the end.  I like that all the storylines are wrapped up neatly.  The writing is a little awkward and could use some fine tuning.  I am sure we will see improvement in the next A Home Renovator Mystery.  Fatal Flip is an amusing cozy mystery that will have you in stitches.

I hope I have helped you find a new cozy mystery to read.  Please visit some of the other stops on the Great Escapes Fatal Flip Tour (see below).  There are opportunities to win a copy of Fatal Flip.  Tomorrow I am sharing my review of A Deadly Brew by Lynn Cahoon.  It is A Tourist Trap Novella.  Take care and Happy Reading!

Kris

The Avid Reader

TOUR PARTICIPANTS

September 12 – Maureen's Musings – REVIEW

September 12 – Mallory Heart's Cozies – REVIEW

September 12 – Babs Book Bistro - HOME IMPROVEMENT TIP POST, GIVEAWAY

September 12 – Laura's Interests – REVIEW

September 13 – The Avid Reader – REVIEW

September 13 – Cozy Up With Kathy – GUEST POST

September 13 – I'm All About Books - SPOTLIGHT, GIVEAWAY

September 14 – Book Babble – REVIEW

September 14 – The Montana Bookaholic – CHARACTER GUEST POST

September 14 – Socrates' Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

September 14 – fundinmental – SPOTLIGHT, GIVEAWAY  

September 15 – StoreyBook Reviews – REVIEW

September 15 – My Reading Journeys - REVIEW, EXCERPT POST

September 16 – A Wytch's Book Review Blog – REVIEW

September 16 – Ruff Drafts - HOME IMPROVEMENT TIP POST

September 16 – Brooke Blogs - SPOTLIGHT, GIVEAWAY

September 16 – Here's How It Happened – REVIEW