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Genre/Form: | Mystery fiction Detective and mystery fiction Fiction Detective and mystery stories Romans, nouvelles, etc |
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Material Type: | Fiction |
Document Type: | Book |
All Authors / Contributors: |
Jennie Bentley |
ISBN: | 9780425224571 0425224570 |
OCLC Number: | 227929581 |
Notes: | "Home-renovation and design tips included!"--Cover. |
Description: | 332 pages ; 18 cm. |
Responsibility: | Jennie Bentley. |
More information: |
Abstract:

Reviews
Publisher Synopsis
"A terrific new series."-Diana Killian, author of Death in a Difficult Position"Original, adorable, fast-paced and fun...Jennie Bentley is a charming new voice."-Hank Phillippi Ryan, author of Say No More Read more...
WorldCat User Reviews (2)
No Home Repair Projects Run Smoothly
First entry in a new home-renovation and design-tips mystery series, author Jennie Bentley introduces...
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First entry in a new home-renovation and design-tips mystery series, author Jennie Bentley introduces Avery Baker, a designer from New York to Derek Ellis, a home repairman who is really handy with his hands. When Avery’s mother encouraged her to find out what Inga Marie Morton, an aunt she only met once wanted, the last time she expected when she arrived in Maine was to find her aunt dead with her the sole beneficiary. Mixed in her ex-boss/ex-boyfriend, mysterious antiques stolen years ago with Derek’s pushy ex-wife realtor who would like nothing more that to get Avery to sell the house at a steep discount, to the two resentful cousins who did not inherit and you get a home repair project that may never end. Unlike most renovation projects, Bentley employs a cast of strong characters, steps up the timeline and wraps up loose ends on time.
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Cozy mystery set in coastal Maine
Avery Baker barely remembers her Great-Aunt Inga, but when she gets a puzzling hand-written request from the elderly woman asking Avery to visit soon, it's time for a road trip from New York City to small-town Maine...especially after Avery catches her boyfriend/boss cheating on her with the receptionist....
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Avery Baker barely remembers her Great-Aunt Inga, but when she gets a puzzling hand-written request from the elderly woman asking Avery to visit soon, it's time for a road trip from New York City to small-town Maine...especially after Avery catches her boyfriend/boss cheating on her with the receptionist. Unfortunately, upon arrival in Waterfield, she discovers Aunt Inga has died and left her everything--primarily a large Victorian house badly in need of repair. And that is how she comes to meet Derek Ellis, the handsome local renovation specialist. Before long, they're duking it out over kitchen countertops and cabinets. But Avery isn't the only one with an interest in Aunt Inga's old house, and someone is determined to either scare her away or kill her. The trick is to figure out who and why before he succeeds.
My mom recommended this series to me a few months ago, but it wasn't until I was working on a readers' advisory presentation on mysteries that I decided to go ahead and try it out. (All in the name of research, of course!) I still have trouble believing Avery would have dated Philippe (her over-the-top "French" boss) for more than one date, much less four months. He made me want to gag. But Bentley more than makes up for this flaw in the story by slowly, gradually, carefully building the relationship between Avery and Derek. There were no "eyes heating" or "air crackling with electricity" moments, unless you count their arguments over home design. It was a refreshing change of pace!
I also enjoyed the secondary characters, such as Kate, the local B&B owner, and her boyfriend Wayne, the chief of police. They were smart and funny people, and even if Avery is the series "sleuth," I appreciated that Wayne wasn't portrayed as a half-witted buffoon.
Although I figured out the bad guy almost from the very beginning, I didn't guess all the details, and the story still kept me hooked until the very end. Kept me up past my bedtime, in fact, until I finished it.
For readers' advisors: story and character doorways, no sex, and only a few swear words.
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Tags
All user tags (8)
- contemporary (by 2 people)
- cozy mystery (by 2 people)
- first in series (by 2 people)
- character doorway (by 1 person)
- maine (by 1 person)
- mystery (by 1 person)
- romance (by 1 person)
- story doorway (by 1 person)
- 1 items are tagged withcharacter doorway
- 2 items are tagged withcontemporary
- 2 items are tagged withcozy mystery
- 2 items are tagged withfirst in series
- 1 items are tagged withmaine
- 1 items are tagged withmystery
- 1 items are tagged withromance
- 1 items are tagged withstory doorway
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Related Subjects:(3)
- Dwellings -- Maintenance and repair -- Fiction.
- Habitations -- Entretien et réparations -- Romans, nouvelles, etc.
- Dwellings -- Maintenance and repair.
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