Wreck the Halls: A Home Repair is Homicide Mystery

I have enjoyed each of her books. They are well written and have good plot development. One can easily imagine the setting of each situation.

This humorous mystery was a delight to read. Graves does well in the complexity of the plot and hair-raising scenarios. Grusome without going too far. An array of interesting characterters you will care about. Although I pride myself in figuring out mysteries, I didn't guess the ending in this case. This book is a BUY.

Jake and Ellie arrive at Faye Ann Carmody's house and things are suspiciously silent. Worried, they enter the house to find a sea of blood. They fear the worst, Faye Ann's violent drunken husband has finally killed her. They are relieved when a dazed Faye Ann appears from under a pile of comforters. Unfortunately, she is covered with blood. When Jake enters Merle's butcher shop to see who is actually dead, she finds him, neated chopped up and wrapped in butcher paper. Jake and Ellie need to find out who killed Merle, because Faye Ann is not capable of either the crime or defending herself.This was a little more grisly that the usual Graves mystery, but very good. The author introduces us to even more of the unusual characters of Eastport, and life in a Maine seaside town in winter. Very Very good mystery!!!!

A terrific mystery with lots of twists and turns, keeping you guessing until the final pages. Its filled with some likeable chatacters and you get a feel for what its like to own a big old home on the coast of Maine. Its a mix of some scarey moments, some real laughs, but mostly a tale of two women who care enough to risk a lot to help a friend blamed for a crime, they feel she didn't commit. I thought it was a wonderful cozy that kept my interest from the first page to the last.

When Jacobia "Jake" Tiptrec divorced her New York City surgeon husband, she and her son move to Eastport, Maine, (population 2000). She finds a fixer-upper and becomes an expert on household repairs. Her son straightens out and becomes involved in wholesome activities. Jake meets the perfect man, at least for her, and remarries. Most of the local inhabitants are law-abiding citizens with the few bad seeds known by all. Jake and her best friend Ellie visit Fay Anne Carmody, a spousal abuse victim. They knock on the door, but no one answers so they enter the house only to find Faye Anne's husband dead with his body sliced into pieces and wrapped inside butcher paper. Faye Anne claims no memory of the deed, but police believe the evidence that proves otherwise. Only Jake and Ellie assume their pal is innocent and set out to prove just that. Using local vernacular and a gothic-like atmosphere, WRECK THE HALLS turns into one of the better New England amateur sleuth tales of the year. The audience will admire and adore the wholesome protagonist while the support cast, especially her son and her friend, provide depth to a stupendously serpentine story line. Sarah Graves is a powerful mystery writer.Harriet Klausner