Happy Book Release Day! Can't Judge a Book by Its Murder by Amy Lillard, Apple Cider Slaying by Julie Anne Lindsey, Nogged Off by Barbara Ross, Stamped Out by Tonya Kappes, Silent Knit Deadly Knit by Peggy Ehrhart, Three Widows and a Corpse by Debra Sennefelder, Coached to Death by Victoria Laurie, Murder Can Mess Up Your Masterpiece by Rose Pressey, A Very Mummy Holiday by Lynn Cahoon, Shot Through The Hearth by Kate Carlisle, and Christmas Sweets by Joanne Fluke, Leslie Meier, and Laura Levine are some of the new novels out today.
Shot Through the Hearth by Kate Carlisle has Shannon Hammer and her crew working on renovating Rafe Nash’s new
Victorian farmhouse. Rafe is a tech
billionaire who has “retired” and relocated to Lighthouse Cove. Rafe is unable to remain idle for long and creates
the Marigold Foundation to fund eco-friendly projects. He will be holding the first ever Future Global
Survival Con in eight months on his new five hundred acre property. Rafe has an extensive list of work for Hammer
Construction that he needs done before the conference begins. Eight months later the conference opens with
a cocktail party at Rafe’s newly completed home. Dillon Charles, Rafe’s old business partner,
is the complete opposite of the congenial Rafe (in other words, a real slime
ball) and he manages to offend several people.
The next morning, the barn raising has just begun when Shannon hears a woman
screaming. She runs over to find Dillon
Charles dead. Rafe rises to the top of the
suspect list which has his fiancé, Marigold distraught and, as Shannon’s friend
is aware of her sleuthing reputation, Marigold asks Shannon to
investigate. Shannon has her work cut
out for her considering the number of people that Dillon had managed to
antagonize. She needs to unearth the killer
before the conference ends and all the suspects depart for home.
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| Barn Raising |
Shot Through the Hearth by Kate Carlisle is the seventh A Fixer-Upper Mystery. It can be read by those familiar
with the series as well as newcomers. I
found Shot Through the Hearth to be a delightful cozy mystery. Shannon Hammer is excited by the challenge of
Rafe’s project. He not only wants his
Victorian farmhouse renovated, Rafe wishes a unique tower (the Ecosphere) to be
constructed and for them to hold a barn raising. It will be Shannon and her crews first
barn. Rafe also wants them to use green
materials as well as unique eco-friendly gadgets. The one downside is they only have eight
months to complete Rafe’s list since he plans on holding the first Future
Global Survival Con. The conference
begins and we are introduced to a quirky cast of characters. There is Marcus Reedy with his special vine,
Stephanie to Midge Andresen with her sandcastle worms. Sketch Horn, an author, is also in attendance
and Mac is not thrilled (wait until you meet him). When Rafe’s old business partner, Dillon
Charles is murdered, there are a host of suspects who could have killed the
unpleasant man. There are good clues and
some unexpected revelations. As the
conference continues, there are a series of unfortunate events including
another death. Shannon with help from
her boyfriend, Mac work to uncover the culprit. I love the banter between Mac and
Shannon. They are a couple who are truly
meant for each other. I appreciate that
Shannon and Mac share information with Eric Jensen, the chief of police. The female readers will relish the character Niall
Rose with his Scottish brogue and the descriptions of him wearing his
kilt. I laughed often while reading Shot Through the
Hearth. It is a humorous story that I
was sorry to see end. I especially
enjoyed Shannon’s reaction to the smart mice (it was hilarious). Shot Through the Hearth is told in the first
person which I normally dislike, but it works for this series. We get to see things from Shannon’s
perspective which can be highly entertaining at times (like with the smart
mice). There is one scene at the end
that had me in stitches. I cannot wait
to read the next installment in A Fixer-Upper Mystery series. Shot Through the Hearth is a captivating cozy mystery with a barn building, flirtatious
fauna, puzzling patents, malicious mushrooms, wacky worms and a dazzling
detective duo.
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| Inflatable music venue (used something similar for conference center in book) |
Shot Through the Hearth is available through Amazon* (Amazon UK). You can find a list of the other novels in A Fixer-Upper Mystery here. Thank you for stopping by today. I am curious as to how many of you listen to audiobooks? I listen to audiobooks while I am driving because it helps me to concentrate (otherwise my mind tends to wander which is bad while driving). I like checking out Audible to find a new book each month. They even have audible escape (romances only). How about you? I am featuring A Very Mummy Holiday by Lynn Cahoon tomorrow. It is A Tourist Trap Novella. May you have a blissful day. Take care and Happy Reading!
Kris
The Avid Reader
*This
post contains affiliate links.
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