Dead Bolt

October 24, 2011
In Blackwell’s smooth, seductive second mystery featuring San Francisco historic house contractor Melanie Turner (after 2010’s If Walls Could Talk), something otherworldly is interfering with Mel’s work on Jim and Katenka Daley’s 1890s Queen Anne Victorian. Mel must also contend with the elderly neighbor across the street, Emile Blunt, who’s determined to buy the Daleys’ house, even though it’s not for sale. Mel’s father, himself a former contractor, tries to smooth things over with the crotchety Emile, only to find him shot dead the next day. Desperate to save her character and her renovation from a murder, Mel may have to dig the truth up about yet another ghost before all is said and done. The return of divorced Mel’s old crush, green building expert Graham Donovan, adds romantic interest. Cozy fans will want to see a lot more of the endearing Mel.

November 1, 2011

San Francisco-based Melanie Turner (If Walls Could Talk) is no ordinary contractor. Her renovations veer to spooky, haunted Victorian houses, and you might call her a ghost buster. But the specters in this current job are more malevolent, suggesting that some crimes remain unresolved. When a neighbor turns up murdered and former tenants of the house aren't being forthright, Mel knows there is unfinished business in this place. She would just like to live to see the murderer caught. VERDICT Cleverly plotted with a terrific sense of the history of the greater Bay Area, Blackwell's series has plenty of ghosts and supernatural happenings to keep readers entertained and off balance. Sue Ann Jaffarian's "Ghost of Granny Apples" series is a good match. Blackwell also writes as Hailey Lind.

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