Premeditated Mortar

This was actually the first of Kate Carlisle's Fixer-Upper Mystery series that I've read. I want to go read the entire series now, just to see the whole story unfold! However, I was able to get sufficient backstory in this book to have a pretty good feel for where things stand.

Shannon Hammer is about to embark on an ambitious project. The Gables, a former psychiatric institution, is being remodeled, and her friend Jane has enlisted Shannon to remodel one of the buildings as the new Hennessey Hotel. Shannon's significant other Mac has also decided to invest in the project. But not everyone in town is excited about the new development. There are protestors, the former doctor in charge shows up (and boy, she's a piece of work - it is all about her, her, her), and someone tries to help Shannon to an untimely demise. Thankfully, Shannon is not the dead body in the story, but she does find one. Who killed him, and why? And is everyone really who they appear to be?

I really like the characters in this book! The chemistry between Shannon and Mac is a lot of fun, and I love that Niall has a history of tossing cabers with his buddies. That's a nifty detail. I could have done without mean girl Whitney - I'm not sure she really adds anything to the story. But that isn't enough for me to knock down my rating. This was a delight to read. Now, if you're someone who likes the mystery/dead body to pop up right off the bat, this may not be your cup of tea. Shannon and her crew don't find the corpse until about 2/3 of the way into the book. I enjoyed all the set-up, though. I was fascinated by the description of how she evaluated the renovation and the work that would need to be done.

Five stars, and now I've got to go read all of these books.

Disclaimer: I received an advance reader copy from NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group. All opinions here are mine, and I don't say nice things about books I don't actually like.