Fatal Flip: A Home Renovator Mystery
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Cozy Cat Press (October 27, 2017)
Paperback: 220 pages

Synopsis

Flipping houses can be fatal! When Katelyn finds a dead body in her first home renovation project, she seriously doubts her decision to “follow her bliss.” After getting fired from her steady job, her plan to flip houses takes a hit when she becomes a suspect. After all, possession is nine points of the law, isn’t it? Especially, when it’s a dead body.

To keep herself in pizza, peanut butter, good coffee, and her stray cat, Boots, in kitty chow she takes survival jobs as a wine sample hostess and market researcher. Meanwhile, Sheriff Don is kind of hunky, and her ex-husband, Eddy (it’s complicated) is back in her life sleeping on her sofa. How’s a girl supposed to solve dead body mysteries, make a living, and find love?

Review

This is a good start to a new cozy series and has all the basic elements: non-professional sleuth, set in a smaller town, the main character is a primary suspect (at least in the first installment), and there is a spunky sidekick.

I liked that the story is set around a home renovator/flipper. Granted her first house doesn’t start out with a bang like she had hoped, but that doesn’t stop Katelyn from giving 100% in doing her job and finding out how a dead body ended up in the home she purchased. Her friend, Myra, helps her uncover the clues to multiple crimes that Katelyn finds herself in the middle.

This series has some potential but I found that the story didn’t flow as easily as I would have hoped. It seems like there was a lot of action towards finding out how the body came to be in her house but then all of a sudden there was another mystery/death to solve and they did not appear to be related. It felt a little disjointed. Everything comes together in the end and it is tied up nicely. There are a few red herrings thrown into the mix and it actually took me down a path of believing the killer might be someone that it wasn’t. There are not a lot of characters so you might be able to figure out the who and why fairly easily.

There are a few laugh out loud moments when it comes to Katelyn working a few part-time jobs and the situations she finds herself in at those times. Plus she has an ex-husband she apparently can’t say no to very often.

I think this series will improve as the characters develop in future books and we learn more about Katelyn, Myra, and even Ed (the ex). And maybe even a potential romance between Katelyn and the Sheriff.

We give this 3 paws up.

About the Author

M.E. Bakos has published several short stories in national women’s magazines. Her love of mysteries has led to writing cozies. Her first mystery short story, “Carpe Diem or Murder at the Carp Fest” appeared in the Festival of Crime, a SINC Anthology. Her second, “Perfect Storm . . . Perfect Murder” will be in Dark Side of the Loon, May 2018 also a SINC Anthology.

Her first cozy, FATAL FLIP, A Home Renovator Mystery has several home improvement tips for the reader.

Mary is a member of Twin Cities Sisters in Crime, the SINC Guppies Group, and an alumna of the University of Minnesota. She is a lifelong resident of Minnesota and resides in Minneapolis with her husband, Joe Sebesta, and their spoiled Morkie.

Website

check out the other blogs on this tour, some have giveaways!

September 12 – Maureen’s Musings – REVIEW

September 12 – Mallory Heart’s Cozies – REVIEW

September 12 – Babs Book Bistro – HOME IMPROVEMENT TIP POST, GIVEAWAY

September 12 – Laura’s Interests – REVIEW

September 13 – The Avid Reader – REVIEW

September 13 – Cozy Up With Kathy – GUEST POST

September 13 – I’m All About Books – SPOTLIGHT, GIVEAWAY

September 14 – Book Babble – REVIEW

September 14 – The Montana Bookaholic – CHARACTER GUEST POST

September 14 – Socrates’ Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

September 14 – fundinmental – SPOTLIGHT, GIVEAWAY

September 15 – StoreyBook Reviews – REVIEW

September 15 – My Reading Journeys – REVIEW, EXCERPT POST

September 16 – A Wytch’s Book Review Blog – REVIEW

September 16 – Ruff Drafts – HOME IMPROVEMENT TIP POST

September 16 – Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT, GIVEAWAY

September 16 – Here’s How It Happened – REVIEW