House Report, a kate carpenter mystery

Kate Carpenter Mystery #1

by Deborah Nicholson

As the front-of-house manager of a large theatre complex in Calgary, Kate Carpenter is used to several things. She is used to the late nights and the demanding customers. She is used to improvising when things don’t go to plan. And she is used to a quiet life in her perfect apartment with her twin addictions of caffeine and good books. She is not used to finding dead people in her theatre, but that all changes when Kate and her young assistant, Graham, find a dead man in the theatre’s public toilets – and the murder weapon was a hammer belonging to the theatre. Despite warnings from virtually everyone, Kate is determined to investigate the murder – even when it leads her into serious danger. She is convinced she can be of more use than the detective assigned to the case, and if the murderer is somebody connected with the theatre then she is even keener to get involved. Two brutal attacks later and Kate still has no answers, but will that be enough to persuade her to stay out of the investigation?

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Contemporary, Ebooks, Canada, Mystery Thriller, Suspense

346 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2004

About the author

Deborah Nicholson has always loved the arts. So much so that they inspired her Kate Carpenter Mystery series, based on her experiences as House Manager at Theatre Calgary. She has made numerous appearances on The Breakfast Show, Shaw Television and was a featured performed in "The Letters". Deborah is a member of Mystery Writers Ink, The Alexandra Writers Society, Crime Writers of Canada, The Alberta Writers Guild, and Romance Writers of America. Deborah is a great supporter of charity and volunteerism and donates 10% of all profits of her novels to charity.

Reviews

[Carycleo]

Romantic suspense set in a theater, where a patron is found dead in the men's room. A mystery set in a theater should be interesting, shouldn't it, because theater people are interesting, aren't they? Not this one. It's a Calgary, Alberta, Canada travelogue; it's an interior design description monologue; it's a dry explanation of how to run a theater; and it's relationship angst and problems. It's a competent cozy, heavy on the romantic suspense, but long and slow and just not very interesting.

[Jaclyn]

This story is about a Front-of-House Manager at a theater in Canada that decides to investigate a murder that happened during a play so that she can clear her boyfriend who is a suspect in the case.

I am really glad that this book was free on Amazon because I would have been ticked if I had paid for this. The story itself had potential but the execution was poor. I felt like the main character was written to be similar to Stephanie Plum in the Janet Evonavich books in that Kate (the main character) is the least likely person to be investigating this murder and is a little flaky with all sorts of bad character traits which come off as humorous and endearing with Stephanie Plum. Not so much here. She was just annoying. The editing wasn't great either. Poor sentence structure and repetition. Things that I can see in a draft but that should have been cleaned up before being released.

I finished because I really just wanted to see how the author did it. Will I read another? No.

[Tamera]

This was a well constructed story. I liked the main character mostly. The setting was somewhat unique and lended itself for singer very diverse characterizations and scenes.
***spoiler alert ***
The author was way too heavy handed trying to lead the reader astray. Also she mostly.his the killer so the reader would least expect him.

[Sunrise Scholar]

House Report – Deborah Nicholson | Reflection

House Report by Deborah Nicholson is a delightful and clever mystery that unfolds in the lively and slightly chaotic world of theatre. Set in Calgary, the story introduces Kate Carpenter, a theatre house manager whose ordinary evening quickly becomes anything but ordinary when she discovers a body in the washroom. What follows is a mystery that pulls Kate into a situation she never expected, where curiosity and courage slowly turn her into an amateur sleuth.

What I enjoyed most about this novel is the atmosphere Nicholson creates. The behind-the-scenes theatre world feels authentic and vibrant, filled with personalities, tension, humour, and the quiet rhythm of people who love the stage. Kate herself is a wonderfully relatable character. She isn’t a professional detective, just an observant person who can’t quite leave a puzzle alone.

The story moves along at a comfortable pace, mixing suspense with lighthearted moments and a strong sense of place. As a reader, you feel like you’re peeking behind the curtain of a theatre community while a mystery quietly unfolds.

For me, House Report was an enjoyable and relaxing read—part mystery, part character story, and a lovely introduction to Kate Carpenter’s world.

A line that captures the spirit of the story:

"In a theatre, you learn quickly that every small detail matters—because behind the curtain, someone is always watching."

In the end, it’s a story about paying attention—because sometimes the smallest observations can reveal the biggest truths. 🎭📚

[Sandy]

Hard to finish

I kept waiting for a reason to like or care about any of the characters or for an interesting plot to emerge but to no avail. This is one of those times when I seriously question my compulsive need to finish every book I start. I would not read another book in this series.

[Karen]

This got 5 stars from me because there was nothing wrong with the book. But I personally had difficulty connecting with the characters. I actually felt more connected with the secondary or tertiary characters than with the two main characters. That, however, is my issue, not the author's. So overall it was a good story and I was surprised to find out who the killer was, but I'm not sure if I want to read the next books. Again, that's on me, not the author.

[Sharon]

I think this was just the sort of book I needed at this time in my life. I came up doing a lot of theatre, and still love attending when I can, so the milieu was right up my alley.

Kate is a front-of-house manager for a Canadian theatre company. When a dead body is found in one of the bathrooms there, all clues and signs seem to point to her boyfriend, Cam, being the culprit. Not content to let the police do their work alone, Kate launches her own investigation.

This is a well-done "cozy" sort of mystery, with an entertaining and feisty protagonist who is not without flaws of her own. I didn't really see the "whodunnit" coming -- which is hard to do with me, because I like mysteries a great deal.

I felt like I was right in the theatre or the streets of Calgary with Kate, and I enjoyed the story. I will definitely check out more of this author's work.

[Suzanne Williams]

I liked this book. The plot kept you guessing until the end. I kept changing my mind on who the "bad guy" was. The use of first person worked well for me and in general, the characters were likeable. The description of the scene was great. I felt like I was there. My only complaint was the depiction of a character who had "gotten God." It seemed a bit one-sided. I'm not sure if she was depicting a cult or just an average church-goer in her description. I haven't read this author's other works and so have no idea if that is a consistent idea. I appreciate the more "cleaner" nature of the story. All together, a good read for one morning.

[Kamas Kirian]

I wasn't overly impressed with this story. It was an average story. It took quite a bit of work to get through this book as it was written in first person limited, and the main character didn't really know a whole lot of what was actually going on. She also took a lot of unnecessary risks. I hate it when characters who are supposedly smart do idiotic things. I did like the setting, the author did a good job exploring the physical landscape.

The eBook had some formatting problems in the page number area. Sometimes a page turn would advance the count 1 page, sometimes as many as 7 pages. No obvious spelling errors.

[Janice]

this was ok, but there was a lot of heavy-handed writing re trying to get us to suspect one particular character.

*****SPOILER ALERT*****
So--I am expected to forgive the love interest who hit his ex-wife, just the one time, because she had an abortion. The author doesn't come out and say that this was justified violence, but it's implied. And we should believe a police officer would tell a woman that a man who broke another woman's jaw is really an ok guy?
This part of the plot pissed me off a LOT.

[Hilary]

There were a couple of prime suspects right up till the end, plus a few possibles, which was good. I probably would have rated this higher if the relationship between Kate and Cam hadn't been so negative and untrusting the whole time. I wondered how they could even be friends let alone a couple. One or two of the other characters also felt like red herrings, and weren't really fleshed out, which was disappointing.

[Angel **Book Junkie**]

I hate giving one stars to a book that I really wanted to like. The story started off really rough I couldn't get the relationship between Kate and Graham. I was utterly confused and the whole book took me by surprise. I think that it was over-written and over-played. I think it was a overplayed, unedited version of an attempt at a Stephanie Plum mystery. I just did not like it. The one good thing about this book is that it was FREE!

[Wonderkell]

I think the reason I enjoyed this book so much was because, like the main character, I am a front of house manager at a theatre. But, whilst I enjoyed it & identified with it, the writing was just ok & some sections of the book too coincidental. I might try the next one to see if they grow on me more.

[Carrie]

Got this for free on my kindle, but still wasn't worth the read. It was long & I felt like the author was shouting "HEY, YOU SHOULD THINK THE KILLER IS THIS PERSON" the whole time. It was irritating.

[Kandi]

I must really be into mysteries lately but the Kat Mysteries are great! This book kept me guessing who the bad guy was til the end, and changing my mind to who he or she was! Can't wait to read more.

[Angie]

I think theaters always have a mysterious feel to them , so what better setting for a murder mystery ? Nicholson did just that in House Report , then added in a pretty interesting cast and crew , along with some quirky relationships . Made for a goodread !

[Joe O'Connor]

OK, Continuing character: Kate Carpenter; when a dead body is found during a play, the theater manager takes it on herself to find the culprit, then spends half the book thinking my boyfriend did it, no he didn't, yes he did, …

[Laura]

Meh ... This book had promise, but it's rather overwritten, I couldn't get why the protagonist kept taking such bigs risks, and there were so many things that just didn't make sense or were "look here, suspect this."

[Jack]

Kate Carpenter is a theatre manager caught up in a murder investigation. Well written but not so well plotted

[Anita]

Enjoyed the story and characters

[Kathy]

Fast read but fun.

[Lindy]

Plenty of twists in this theater based novel. I enjoyed it.

[Ranelle]

Another kindle freebie.....

[Jeanine]

I really enjoyed House Report. It was a well written, well organized mystery story. I'll be looking forward to reading more of Ms. Nicholson's work soon.

[Cindy]

I liked the setting, but it was much longer than it needed to be and not as suspenseful. Kate seemed like a rather dumb heroine to me.

[K. Stanley]

This enjoyable mystery kept me guessing until the end. And I guessed WRONG. I'll be reading more of Deborah Nicholson.

[Joanna]

I actually did not finish this book. It was pretty boring even though like many other reviewers I was a house manager and have worked for many years in the performing arts.

[Stephanie]

Fun, worth the read. Interesting setting.

[Ellen]

OK mystery. Nice information on backstage life in theater.

[Kary]

fast paced like story plot