Simply Angela : This Old Homicide by Kate Carlisle

Contractor and part-time sleuth Shannon Hammer specializes in improving the quirks and flaws of the Victorian homes in Lighthouse Cove, California. The quirks and flaws of their residents are another story... Valentine's Day is approaching, and while Shannon is delighted to be friends with not one but two handsome men, not everyone in town is feeling the love. After her elderly neighbor Jesse Hennessey fails to make his daily appearance at the local diner, Shannon swings by his place to check on him. Not only does she find Jesse dead - of an apparent heart attack - but she also realizes that his home has been ransacked.

Someone suggests that a thief was searching for a priceless necklace Jesse claimed to have retrieved from a capsized sailing ship, but Shannon doesn't believe it. Everyone knows Jesse had a penchant for constructing tall tales - like the one about him having a hot new girlfriend. But his death is soon ruled a homicide, and shady suspects begin popping out of the woodwork. When another victim turns up dead, Shannon is convinced she must find the killer before someone else gets nailed.

Series: Fixer-Upper Mysteries, Book 2 | Publisher: Audible Studios | Length: 11 hrs and 37 mins | Narrator: Angela Starling | Source: Publisher | Rating: 4 Cups

A cozy mystery with a sunken treasure? Yes, please!

I could not stop listening to this one. When Shannon’s neighbor and dear friend is found dead, Shannon can’t help but question whether or not his death was murder. And the fact that Jesse’s house was searched has Shannon wondering if the killer was searching for a necklace Jesse supposedly salvaged from a sunken ship. When a friend of Jesse’s ends up dead and someone keeps breaking in to Jesse’s house, Shannon now realizes there’s a killer on the loose and she will do everything she can to stop them.

This is the second book in the series and I enjoyed it more than the first. Thankfully, the mean girls drama subsided a bit so I was able to enjoy the book rather than feel like I was stuck inside some type of high school drama.

The mystery in this one solid and I enjoyed working it out along with the characters. They had a lot to sort through as Jesse was known for telling tall tales, so no one was really sure what was fact and what was fiction, not even his niece. I felt there was more investigation going on in this one as well.

There’s still a bit of the love triangle going on with Eric (the police chief) and Mac (the writer). I’m still rooting for Eric and it seems Shannon was leaning a bit more towards him in this novel. It seems to me that Mac is more on friend level.

So, this had a bit of a paranormal aspect to the ending and I’m excited and eager to see where it goes.

Overall, I enjoyed this one. I love the hometown-vibe this one had and the fact the mystery had a bit of depth to it.

Learn more about Lighthouse Cove and its residents HERE.