Flipped Out

Flipped Out by Jennie Bentley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

3.5 stars, really, because I guessed the villain from the very beginning, although I did not guess a couple of the subplots.

Avery and Derek are about to renovate another house, this time for television. Avery's stepfather has arranged for them to be featured on an episode of "Flipped Out!" which his TV network produces. When the crew arrives to start filming, the director, Nina, discovers that the owner of the house in question is a former colleague and boyfriend of hers from twenty years ago. Tony, now a Maine TV news reporter, has just gotten engaged to Derek's ex-wife, so when he takes Nina to dinner to discuss the past and is subsequently found stabbed to death in his vacant house, both Melissa and Nina are prime suspects. Things are rarely what they seem, however, and most everyone involved is harboring secrets.

My favorite thing about the latest addition to this series is how well-developed the sub-plots are. They are what keep this story interesting and keep it moving. My least favorite thing is that now I have to wait for Jennie Bentley to publish another book before I can find out what happens next in the lives of the residents of Waterfield.

For readers' advisors: story and character doorways, a small amount of well-timed swearing, and still no on-screen sex scenes.

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Mortar and Murder

Mortar and Murder by Jennie Bentley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In early April, Derek and Avery begin renovating their latest project, a 1783 center-chimney Colonial on the verge of collapse on a small island off the coast of Maine. All is well until they spot the body of a young woman floating in the water. At first they try to stay out of it and let the police do their job, but...that doesn't last long. Not when the girl has a slip of paper with cyrillic writing on it, including the name of their realtor, Irina. Soon they are stumbling over another body and snooping around empty houses, finding secret smugglers' rooms and more cyrillic names. Is Irina's subsequent disappearance a sign of innocence, or is she involved in the human-trafficking ring?

Jennie Bentley is getting better and better at writing cozy mysteries--this time I didn't figure out the bad guys until the very end! I had my suspicions about a few of the red herrings and scattered clues, but I was successfully surprised to discover who was behind the murders. Hooray!

I like the home design/renovation tips at the ends of these books and in this case, I also like the explanation of some of the historical practices such as sailcloth rugs, poor man's runners, and Colonial paneling. Chances are slim to none that I'll ever do such things myself, but I find them interesting nonetheless.

For readers' advisors: story and character doorways, a few more mild sexual innuendos and references than in previous books, but still no sex scenes and very little swearing.

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Plaster and Poison

Plaster and Poison by Jennie Bentley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Avery and Derek have started a new renovation project turning Kate's carriage house into a romantic getaway apartment for Kate and Wayne to live in after their wedding. Everything is going fabulously well until they discover the dead body of Kate's no-good ex (Shannon's father) laid out in the bedroom upstairs. If that weren't bad enough, Derek's stepsister vanishes, leaving her car and her cell phone at the office where she's been doing bookkeeping while she waits for her husband to realize she's left him.

The third time really is a charm: I didn't guess the culprit until the very end! I had some suspicions about a few things, but I didn't figure it all out right away like in the first two books in this series. Hooray! This one is definitely my favorite so far. Fantastic cozy mystery.

For readers' advisors: story and character doorways. Still no sex or violence and almost no swearing.

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Spackled and Spooked

Spackled and Spooked by Jennie Bentley
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I'd have given this one 4 stars except that I again figured out who'd done it, why, and how, pretty much from the very beginning. Ditto with the other "big secret" in the story. I'm not usually that great at figuring out mystery novels, and I like it that way, so knowing all along was annoying. However, I still really enjoyed the characters and the story--watching them figure it out, that is.

This time, Avery Baker and her boyfriend Derek Ellis have purchased a vacant house to renovate and sell. It's been empty for about seventeen years, since Brian Murphy killed his wife and in-laws and then himself. Gossip says it's haunted, which Avery & Derek think is nonsense until they hear footsteps walking down the hallway with no one in sight. Then Derek discovers a human bone in the crawlspace, and suddenly there is a whole new murder for Chief Wayne to investigate, this one more recent. When the cadaver dog makes for the next door neighbor's house, the situation goes from bad to worse.

Engaging, believable characters make up for the lack of suspense, I think. It's a perfect cozy mystery: light and fun. A good beach read. Or couch read, in the event that your beach-going plans fall through. Bring on #3! (This was #2 in the Do-It-Yourself Mystery series.)

For readers' advisors: character and story doorways, no sex, and very little swearing.

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Fatal Fixer-Upper

Fatal Fixer-Upper by Jennie Bentley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

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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