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Wreck the Halls (Home Repair is Homicide Mystery #5)
by
Sarah Graves
When Jacobia "Jake" Tiptree plans a visit to Faye Anne Carmody's house, she doesn't expect to find it covered in blood. She also doesn't expect to find Faye Anne dazed, yet alive. But she is. All looks fine, until Jake takes a trip to the butcher's shop, and finds a bunch of meat packages wrapped in brown paper in the display case. Realizing that this is unusual,...more
Mass Market Paperback, 320 pages
Published
December 10th 2008
by Bantam
(first published 2001)
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Okay,I've been enjoying this series, but Jacobia Tiptree and her friend Ellie White are starting to act stupidly and very recklessly in their investigations. While Ellie's motivation is to help a childhood friend that she does not think is guilty of killing her abusive husband, Jacobia is going along to support her best friend Ellie.
Even though the setting is a mall island town in Maine, and Ellie is local, born and bred, their talking to the neighbors is not an unusual act on their...more
Even though the setting is a mall island town in Maine, and Ellie is local, born and bred, their talking to the neighbors is not an unusual act on their...more
ANother book set in Maine, seems I'm reading a lot that take place in Maine. I liked the characters okay, the support characters, the town, the basic set-up for the action. The one thing I didn't like (really, really didn't like) was the way the author constantly interrupted herself. Be it parenthetical thoughts, other characters interrupting, quick detours down memory lane, or flashbacks to help fill in the back story of the series, for the first 2/3 of the book it seemed impossible for the aut...more
This is the first I've read form this author and found her style to be very distracting. Too many times the protagonist thinks "...and it was exactly as I thought" or something similar without any explanation of what it was she thought nor a nearby continuation of that line. I must have gone back to reread the preceding page or so about a dozen times thinking I had missed something.
The characters and setting were likable enough. The ending came out of nowhere and I didn'...more
The characters and setting were likable enough. The ending came out of nowhere and I didn'...more
I enjoy this series.
There was less actual home repair being done here. But something is really bothering the dog.
Primarily Jake and her friend Ellie were busy running around trying to track down who killed Faye Ann's husband Merle. The question who would like to see Merle dead but who wouldn't want to see Merle dead. But he was killed and disposed of in a particularly grisly and kind of north woodsy manner.
And, of course, the bodies keep mounting.
I...more
There was less actual home repair being done here. But something is really bothering the dog.
Primarily Jake and her friend Ellie were busy running around trying to track down who killed Faye Ann's husband Merle. The question who would like to see Merle dead but who wouldn't want to see Merle dead. But he was killed and disposed of in a particularly grisly and kind of north woodsy manner.
And, of course, the bodies keep mounting.
I...more
I had low expectations for this book based on my experience with other mystery series books where women who are not in law enforcement take it upon themselves to solve murders. But this was Christmas themed and I am desperate for such books at holiday time and therefore more willing to read books I wouldn't otherwise. I was pleasantly surprised with this one. The characters were likable, the story was good, and best of all Sarah Graves is a marvelous writer. Her dialogue is realistic and her des...more
A holiday murder appears to be an open and shut case of a battered spouse finally striking out in self-defense but all is not as it seems. Jacobia and Ellie try to determine what really happened. As usual there are side plots that add to the story. Jacobia's son Sam is away at college, her new husband Wade struggles with the poor economy and ex-husband Victor may be mellowing just a bit.
Sarah Graves lives in Eastport, Maine and does a series of mysteries set in that small coastal community near the Canadian border. They are light reads, but entertaining. Her protagonist, Jacobia, keeps finding murders to solve while simultaneously trying to keep her early 1800's Federal clapboard home from falling apart.
Faye Anne Carmody is accused of murdering her husband Merle (a most unpleasant character from the sound of it) and her friends Ellie and Jake work to clear her. Another murder and attempted murder muddy the waters of this cozy, but violent, story set in an island community off the coast of Maine. The cover and title suggest a jolly Christmas story, but that is not what takes place.
The final reveal is more than a little complicated, but I really enjoyed the small-town Maine setting, and the interplay between the characters. I liked the way Graves includes a little more about the realities of life in coastal towns than I would expect to see in a cozy mystery.
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I've become a fan of Sarah Graves' Home Repair mysteries, but this story, sad to say, isn't one of her better ones. True, the plot was interesting and the ending was it's usual surprise, but the story seemed to have way too many loose ends flying around and when the finish did arrive, I was left wondering how we got there?
Still ... this small disappointment won't stop me from reading the next in the series. :)
Still ... this small disappointment won't stop me from reading the next in the series. :)
I loved listening to the audio edition. The narrator is wonderful and captures the characters exactly as I've thought that they would sound. I enjoy visiting Eastport to find out just what is going on now.
I liked the characters and the narrative style of this book. I probably would've given it higher marks if the mystery itself hadn't been so far-fetched. Still, it's a pleasant read.
This was on display at the library and given the season I thought I would try something relatively mindless. It was beyond mindless. I don't know quite why I even bothered to finish it.
Fun who "dunnit" set in Maine. Only complaint was the author ties everything up in the last few pages.
This was an entertaining cozy mystery. It kept my interest and had an ending that I did not expect and which I appreciate in a mystery. I plan to read more of this author's books.
Fairly good mystery. Lagged in some places. I probably needed to read the first three books in the series.
This definitely wasn't one of the best in the series. I didn't really think it ended very well.
One of "Home Repair is Homicide" mysteries in Eastport, ME. Jacobia Tiptree and friends.
Good series.
Linda
added it
loved it
It was a good who done it. I like Sarah Graves' style.
This is my second try with this series and I think it is just not for me.
Lots of twists and turns in this one. The most emotionally unstable person wins, but with lots of people unstable it was a little hard to figure...not a bad thing in a mystery.
Home repair is homicide series. This is the fifth one.
Good characters. Good suspense. I plan on reading all of them.
Good characters. Good suspense. I plan on reading all of them.
This is one of the better mysteries of the series, and I enjoyed the friendship of Jake and Ellie in the story. They come to the defense of a woman who is accused of killing her abusive husband. I like Jake's witty sense of humor that comes across in this book!
Well written, great setting. Didn't love the actual mystery.
This is the first book I have read in this series. It takes place during Christmas but I would not consider this a Holiday Mystery. The characters were pretty good. I liked the relationships between the characters and the mystery.
The usual interesting characters and vivid Maine setting, but the plot seemed less coherent this time around. I hope this doesn't bode ill for the continuing series.
First one of her books I've read, really interesting if you're into themed mystery books which I am. I'll be looking for more of hers.
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Sarah Graves lives with her husband John, a musician and luthier, and their black Labrador Retriever in a house very much like the one Jacobia Tiptree is remodeling in Eastport, Maine. When she's not writing Jake's adventures, Sarah works with her husband on the house and she plays the 5-string banjo.
Series:
* Home Repair is Homicide
More about Sarah Graves...
Series:
* Home Repair is Homicide
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