24 of 26 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Give it up already!, Jan 17 2010
By M. D. Mulhern - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Crawlspace: A Home Repair Is Homicide Mystery (Hardcover)
I am so disappointed in the direction the "Home Repair is Homicide" series has gone. This has always been a quirky and complex series, not what I would really classify as a cozy, but with the last couple of books, I feel like Sarah Graves wants to write a certain kind of stand alone thriller, yet can't let go of Jake and Ellie. And the totally weak and unnecessary subplot involving death threats to Jake- please- what a waste of time! As I mentioned in my review of her last book, "A Face in the Window," I read this series because I love the tidbits about small town Maine life, the adventures Jake has trying to renovate her house, and the relationships between Jake, Ellie and their respective families. In this book, I guess there is a decent storyline, but I feel like tiny bits of the characters are thrown in so she can call it part of the series.
And I have to ask, why do reviewers insist on including detailed plotlines in their reviews?
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Tense and a little dark; a good, suspenseful read..., Jan 6 2010
By L. Burns "Bigdog Mom" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Crawlspace: A Home Repair Is Homicide Mystery (Hardcover)
A surprise phone call from an old acquaintance pulls "Jake" Tiptree into a missing persons investigation. Jake's former Manhattan neighbor, Chip Hahn, had accompanied his boss, an obnoxious "True Crime" author, to Eastport to research her latest book. But shortly after enjoying one too many drinks at a local bar the young author, Carolyn Rathbone , disappears. Is her disappearance related to the unsolved murders of two local women or does Jake's friend Chip know more than he's saying? Things are about to take a very personal (and frightening) turn for Jake...
I've always felt that this series was a little edgier than the typical "cozy" and this installment has a dark, tense feel. There are fewer domestic details, the home repair tips are sparse and the familiar Eastport characters make only cameo appearances. However, in their place is a nicely written, fast-paced story that works as a stand-alone novel. The story maintains a nice suspense level that hooked me early on and kept me flipping pages way past my bedtime! At times this book was tough to put down and I when I wasn't reading I found myself thinking about the storyline.
One small complaint. There is a sequence towards the end of the book where Jake and Bella (her housekeeper/step mom) are getting into Jake's car which is parked in a somewhat remote location. The next time we see them they are hitching a ride...I'm assuming something happened to the car, but there wasn't any explanation (that I could find). The whole incident was rather odd and threw the timing of the story off a bit for me.
If you are new to the series then you are on to a good thing. I would recommend starting at the beginning with `Dead Cat Bounce' to get the lowdown on Jake and how she came to occupy her beloved old house in down east Maine.
No swearing and no sexual content; some violent scenes
15 of 17 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
What happened to the characters?, Jan 17 2010
By S. Coffey "The new Kindle Queen" - Published on Amazon.com
I am also disappointed in the way the series has gone in these last two books. I really enjoyed having all the characters working out the mysteries and I always felt at home with them. The last two books have been very dark and it seemed as though she is backing away from the hometown and writing from different perspectives. I was getting very tired of reading about Chip in this book. I felt like I wanted to reach through the pages and punch him. I miss Jake and Ellie and everyone. They are the heart and soul of the series. I really hope that Sarah Graves goes back to the Eastport community that we have all grown to love and stay away from the gore. If I wanted that much terror and yuck, I would read Steven King.