Crowned and Moldering by Kate Carlisle

In the New York Times best-selling Fixer-Upper mysteries, contractor Shannon Hammer can repair even the most distressed building. But clearing out the cobwebs from her current project may distress her...to death.

When Mac Sullivan - famous thriller writer and Shannon's new beau - first moved to Lighthouse Cove, California, he bought the historic lighthouse mansion that the town is named after. Mac needs help cleaning up the place, and Shannon is more than happy to get her handywoman hands on the run-down Victorian. But during demolition, a grisly discovery is made among the debris - the bones of a teenage girl who went missing 15 years ago.

Locals had always assumed Lily Brogan ran away from her difficult life, but it seems her troubles followed her to the grave. If Shannon has any chance of getting her renovation back on track, she'll need to tackle the cold case. But with new suspects coming out of the woodwork every day, she'll have to be careful to pry the right secrets and clues from the poor girl's problematic past....

 

Series: Fixer-Upper Mystery #30 | Publisher: Audible | Narrator: Angela Starling  | Length: 8 hours and 18 minutes | Genre: Contemporary Cozy | Source: Publisher | Rating: 4 Cups

 

We’re back with Shannon Hammer as she fixes up another Victorian house and discovers yet another skeleton hiding in the closet.

 

Shannon expected to encounter a lot of things while fixing up the house Mac purchased but a skeleton in the dumbwaiter wasn’t one of them. Things go from bad to worse when she discovers the skeleton was that of Lily Brogan, a friend of Shannon’s and sister of one of her employees, who went missing back in high school.  Shannon’s determined to crack this cold case and get justice for Lily although Shannon finds herself in hot water when a business rival ends up dead and she’s just threatened him.

 

There’s a few different mystery strands going on in this one, which I liked. Each one just adds another layer of the story without making it too bogged down. I also liked that there’s a few red herrings thrown into Lily’s mystery. I couldn’t figure this one out at first because there were a few suspicious looking characters. The death of Shannon’s business rival also brought an interesting edge to the book.

 

Unlike the first books where there’s a love triangle going on, Shannons dating Mac (the writer) and starting to grow closer to him while she finds herself unexpectedly helping care for his teenage niece. Although there’s still an attraction and a bit of flirtation with Eric (the police chief) and I still find myself rooting for him.

I’m still struggling with the whole ‘mean girl’ thing she has going on with Whitney. It’s a bit too much high school drama for me. I mean, when you’re successfully running your own business you’re old enough to let all that high school stuff go. I tend to ignore this part of the story.

 

Overall, this one was actually one of my favorites in this series so far. It left me wondering whom the murderer was and had me sifting through clues until the very end.

Fixer Upper Series

A High-End Finish (A Fixer-Upper Mystery, #1) 

This Old Homicide (A Fixer-Upper Mystery, #2) 

Crowned and Moldering (A Fixer-Upper Mystery, #3)

Deckthe Hallways (A Fixer-Upper Mystery, #4) 

Eaves of Destruction (Fixer-Upper Mystery #5) 

A Wrench in the Works (Fixer-Upper Mystery #6)