Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
151st out of 199 books
—
56 voters
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, Jake inve...more
Paperback, 320 pages
Published
October 29th 2002
by Bantam
(first published 2001)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
924)
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 part and ma...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 part and ma...more
Christmas is just weeks away, but what Jacobia "Jake" Tiptree discovers at Faye Anne Carmody's house is far from festive: a dazed Faye Anne covered with blood. Her no-good husband, Merle--Eastport's butcher and least-liked citizen--is nowhere in sight. Nowhere, that is, until Jake finds his body--wrapped in his own butcher paper. It looks like an open-and-shut case, but Jake isn't convinced. Then another resident turns up dead, and Jake knows the trail doesn't begin--or end--with Merle. Jake had...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't find it particularly sa...more
The characters and setting were likable enough. The ending came out of nowhere and I didn't find it particularly sa...more
This was just ok. It took a long time to figure out who was who in this town. In the opening pages you learn how awful Jake's ex-husband is and how she left NYC but then there he is in her Maine house? And he continues to just wander in and out throughout the story despite her son being away at college and Jake having remarried. Just odd.
The main character talks in flashback a lot and then is back in the present and then off speculating and it is hard to keep track of whether the dialogue is ac...more
The main character talks in flashback a lot and then is back in the present and then off speculating and it is hard to keep track of whether the dialogue is ac...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.
It is also a Christmas book, as though that wasn'...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.
It is also a Christmas book, as though that wasn'...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
Cute, one of the Home Repair is Homicide mystery series, but not great, at least for me. A little too character/minutia/complex, then all tied up neat and sorta tidy at the end. I like the Christmas theme, and I like the home repair theme. Maybe if I was into the whole series it would be better, but I've only read one other. This one revolves around the small town's butcher and an ensuing investigation. (listened/audio)
I like this series. I like these characters. But the plot of this volume was so convoluted that I almost put it down without finishing it. There were gaps in the plot, characters that seemed to leave a scene without any details in the text, and lines of inquiry that rambled all over the place until it was hard to keep track of who was where or did what. And when the murderer is finally revealed, it is someone for whom no motive and no clues have been offered. It felt tacked onto a very weak and...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.
http://www.cozylittlebookjournal.com/...
Sooo boring! I rarely start a book and then don't finish it, but I struggled through this poorly-written tripe as long as I could before finally having to abandon it mid-way due to utter boredom. Ugh!
Sooo boring! I rarely start a book and then don't finish it, but I struggled through this poorly-written tripe as long as I could before finally having to abandon it mid-way due to utter boredom. Ugh!
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.
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
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. :)
Either I was too sick to enjoy any book or I'm getting tired of the two main characters, but this story was not as good as the others I have read in the series. Too many bad things happening to too many people.
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.
1st time I read a book by this author - was kind of confusing with all of the different characters, but I would read another in this series.
Another great mystery from Graves. She always has such a variety of characters and a good plot. I love the downeast Maine accents.
The plot was interesting and the characters were well developed. The climactic scene at the beach was over the top, but I enjoyed it.
This was my first read of the series, and I would like to go back and start from number 1. Nice twists, not predictable!
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.
Still generally liking this series, but can't read them one after another.
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
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
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
