chez_jae

Plaster and Poison by Jennie Bentley

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


View all my reviews

Finished reading Plaster and Poison last night. It’s the third book in author Jennie Bentley’s “Do It Yourself” mystery series. The main character is interior designer Avery Baker.

When Avery and her boyfriend, Derek, find themselves between renovating flips, their friend Kate asks them to renovate the old carriage house on the grounds of the B&B she owns so she can move into it once she gets married to police chief Wayne. It will be a tall order to complete the job before NYE, which is when Kate and Wayne are getting married. Nevertheless, Avery and Derek dive in. Their work comes to a halt, however, when a dead body is discovered in the carriage house. The victim is someone Kate knew all too well. Now Avery finds herself less concerned about her friend’s future living quarters and more worried about keeping Kate out of prison.

Lively story with lots going on: the murder, a mysterious disappearance, the arrival of Avery’s mother and stepfather for a visit, and an old mystery concerning a love triangle that Avery is determined to unravel. I enjoyed reading about her engaged in activities that did not involve investigating the crime. Avery and other characters were three-dimensional and relatable. I figured some things out early, but others caught me by surprise.

Favorite lines:
♦ “Better to be alone by yourself, than alone with somebody, don’t you think?”
♦ When two unusual things happen right after one another, chances are they’re related.

Fun read, four stars

Fatal Fixer-Upper by Jennie Bentley

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I nearly finished the book I'd taken to work, so I brought it home with me and finished it this evening. The book was Fatal Fixer-Upper by Jennie Bentley, and it's the first in her "Do It Yourself" cozy mystery series. The main character is Avery Baker, an interior designer.

Avery has the world by the tail. She's an interior designer, living and working in New York. Her boss, Phillippe, is also her boyfriend. When Avery catches Phillippe cheating on her with his receptionist, she quits her job. She's not at loose ends for long. Avery receives a letter from her great-aunt Inga, asking her to come visit. By the time Avery arrives in Maine, Inga has died. However, she left everything, including her dilapidated Victorian home, to Avery. Although her aunt's attorney recommends she leave the sale of the house to him, Avery can't help but be charmed by the home's "good bones". She hires a contractor, Derek, to do the heavy work while she concentrates on the things she's good at. Not everyone in town is happy that Avery is staying put. The local realtor is hounding her to sell as is, while her twin cousins, who tormented her in her youth, make vague threats. On top of that, Avery learns that a local professor, who'd been meeting with her aunt, has disappeared. While researching local history, Avery begins to suspect that some of Inga's belongings may be far more valuable than originally thought. They may even be valuable enough to kill for.

I found the story interesting. Characters were fully realized, even the more odious ones. While Avery did do some investigating, it was mostly in the realm of historical research. I enjoyed reading about her work on the house and her squabbles with Derek, and it was fun to meet new characters right along with her. There were some surprising twists and turns that added to my enjoyment of the book.

Favorite lines:
♦ "There were cats. Lots of cats. Five, at least."
♦ "I brought you a present." // "From the hardware store? How sweet of you!" I wondered what it might be. A pound of nails? A hammer? Some new PVC pipe for the bathroom?
♦ "Can't have people going around pretending to be Frenchmen. Not in my town."

Very good. I have more in this series and am looking forward to reading them. Four stars.

( Trope Test )