Simply Angela : Eaves of Destruction by Kate Carlisle

Murder is on the to-do list when construction contractor Shannon Hammer looks for a killer in the fifth Fixer-Upper Mystery....

At the annual Victorian Home and Garden Tour, Lighthouse Cove, California's premier contractor, Shannon Hammer, realizes that the competition is about to turn deadly....

Shannon is in high demand among rival homeowners who will do anything to win Best in Show. One-upmanship and even espionage break out among neighbors, construction crews, decorators, and landscapers. Thanks to several new hires, Shannon is sure she can handle the extra load - until murder throws a wrench in the works.

The small town's corrupt building inspector is found dead on one of Shannon's jobsites, and soon plenty of suspects are coming out of the woodwork. When another body is discovered, Shannon calls on her team of close friends and devilishly astute thriller writer Mac to help her nail down the details and build a case against the killer before the door shuts on someone else - for good.

Series: Fixer-Upper Mystery #5 | Publisher: Audible | Narrator: Angela Starling | Length: 7 hrs 35 mins| Genre: Contemporary Cozy Mystery | Source: Audible | Rating: 4 Cups

Challenges Read For: - Cruisin' Thru The Cozies: Book of My Choice

Praise to the book gods! Shannon’s finally stopped complaining about the ‘mean girls’ from high school. Let’s have a moment of appreciative silence because her whinging was getting really old.

Now, on with the review…With the Victorian Home and Garden Tour looming, Shannon and her crew find themselves with more work than they know how to handle so when Amanda shows up looking for a job, Shannon is happy to put her woodworking skills to use. Although when the building inspector, who’s been giving Shannon and her crew trouble, turns up dead and it’s discovered Amanda possibly has a connection to the family they’ve been doing repairs for, Shannon realizes she needs to do a little digging of her own before one of her crew is charged with murder. Although when a woman is murdered in a local hotel owned by Shannon’s friend, she realizes there’s more going on than what meets the eye and all roads seem to be leading back to Amanda. Shannon must figure out what’s going on before the murderer catches on.

This has to be one of my favorites in the series. It was slightly predictable but not entirely in your face; there were still a few key of parts of the mysteries that had to be worked out.

I felt like Shannon showed a lot of personal growth in this one. She’s not constantly going on and on about how she doesn’t compare to the ‘mean girls’ from high school or how they treated her. She doesn’t seem caught up on how Tommy—her high school boyfriend now cop—was trapped into marriage by one of the ‘mean girls’. She seemed more well-rounded and adult and I really enjoyed seeing this side of her.

Both the murder mystery and the mystery of Amanda—the newest member of Shannon’s construction company—were equally entertaining. While I had a feeling things were going to play out the way they did, I was still sussing out a few of the whys and hows. I did have a slight problem with the believability of one particular reasoning and I did question how it went undiscovered—I’m not going to say what as I don’t want to spoil it for reader—but I feel those two items in particular could have been handled/explained a bit better. I don’t really see how the one went undiscovered.

The romance in this one felt a bit stilted. Shannon’s been wavering between the Mac and Eric but leaning more towards Mac. The last book showed them growing closer but this book was a bit lackluster in the romance. I didn’t really see any growth in their relationship and it felt as though they were just really good friends hanging out rather than being a couple.

Angela Starling is back narrating and, for me, she’s just a better fit for this series. She really brings Shannon to life and it easy and enjoyable to listen to.

Overall, there still a few spots that could have improved but I rather enjoyed this one. I feel like this one is getting back on track with how the first book in the series was and I’m hoping that will continue.