Dead Bolt (Haunted Home Renovation Mystery, #2) in SOS: Serious Overload of Series

Oct 29, 2018 Moondance rated it liked it

Shelves: cozy, cozy-bingo, ghosts, woman-sleuth, california, home-improvement, paranormal-california, paranormal-san-francisco, next-in-series, wizard-of-oz-bingo

My father always used to say: There's nothing quite like a protracted remodel to test a person's sanity.

Mel Turner is renovating a Queen Anne Victorian In San Francisco when strange things start happening. There are misplaced tools, unusual handprints on 12 foot ceilings and a general feeling of unease. The owner has refused to move from the house during the project much to Mel's dismay. The murder of a shopkeeper after a run in with Mel puts everyone on edge and brings forth even more ghostly a My father always used to say: There's nothing quite like a protracted remodel to test a person's sanity.

Mel Turner is renovating a Queen Anne Victorian In San Francisco when strange things start happening. There are misplaced tools, unusual handprints on 12 foot ceilings and a general feeling of unease. The owner has refused to move from the house during the project much to Mel's dismay. The murder of a shopkeeper after a run in with Mel puts everyone on edge and brings forth even more ghostly activity. Mel calls in favors and consults supposed experts to find out the secret of the Cheshire House.

This is a good addition to the Haunted Home Renovation series. Mel discovers in the first book that she can see and hear ghosts. The ghosts in this house are darker and more frightening. Mel does her research on the house, finding plenty of reasons for the dark entities.

Mel is an interesting character. I like that she is very knowledgeable in the construction field where women are scarce. It's funny that she still dresses very feminine on job sites but always has work coveralls at hand to dive into the dirty work.

The storyline with the cat lady was sad. It delves into the realm of hoarders and their disorder. Some clues from her boarding house residents provide information that is helpful in solving the mystery.

The history of Cheshire House's original owners is well written with plenty of twist and turns of betrayal.

Mel's interest in Graham frustrates me a bit. I'm not sure that I care for him. He flaunts a new relationship in her face too easily yet she still yearns for him. We will have to see where this goes.

The Russian wife tie in with past and present characters explains a lot about the strife in the house. The transference of anger from the past to present through the spirits was interesting.

I didn't pick up on the killer until right before Mel did. I suspected early on but pushed it aside to consider someone else.

Overall all good book. Mel's family dynamics with her dad, step-son and Stan will keep me coming back.

3.5 stars ...more

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May 16, 2022 Rachel-RN rated it liked it

Shelves: read-2022

3.5*
This picks up about 6 months from the previous book. Mel and her crew are restoring a former boarding house. A house who has a past, but Mel hasn't been able to find much information on it due to records having been purposefully destroyed.
This was a nice, solid mystery, the "who done it" was decent and I didn't guess who it was. Mel has accepted her ability and is open to learning about it, seeking help. Not sure how I feel about Graham as a love interest considering he had a girlfriend for ...more

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