Home for the Homicide

A Do-It-Yourself Mystery #7

by Jennie Bentley, Jenna Bennett

Avery Baker was a big city textile designer, until she inherited her aunt’s old Maine cottage and found her true calling—home renovation. But she never expected her latest job would come to such a bone-rattling dead end...

For Avery and her husband Derek, renovating the Craftsman Bungalow was like stepping back in time. The quaint old home was just as its original owners had left it—from the beautiful butler’s pantry to the surprisingly exquisite ribbon tile. But it’s the attic that yields the most heart-stopping surprise.

In a discreetly hidden antique crate, Avery finds a clue to a decades-old missing persons case. As Avery works on the house and delves deeper into the sinister story, it becomes clear that someone very crafty wants the Craftsman home’s secrets to stay that way!

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fiction, Cozy, Christmas, Contemporary, Mystery Thriller

304 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published October 1, 2013

About the author

Pen name for Jenna Bennett

Reviews

[JoAn · Rating 4 out of 5]

The final book in the series and another well crafted cozy mystery. As usual Avery is nosy, Derek is practical but together they work well. I've enjoyed each book, some more than others, but I'm sorry to see the series end.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good end to the series, although I wish it wasn't the end. I enjoy Avery and Derek. Home renovation is something I don't want to do myself but I don't mind reading about it and it was interesting. I really enjoyed the mystery in this one, mixing old events with new is always a favorite story line and this one was done well.

[Fred · Rating 5 out of 5]

Home For The Homicide is the #7th book in the A Do-It Yourself Mystery series.

The elderly Greene sisters have had to move into an assisted care facility and Avery and Derek have bought their Craftsman bungalow to restore. While Derek is working on the plumbing, Avery begins to walk through the house to get ideas for decorating the rooms. She decides to check the attic, to make sure it is clear of the previous owners possessions. She finds a crate nestled against the chimney and when she opens it there are the bones of an infant in it. She soon learns that the sisters brother had gone missing when he was just a baby.

One of the sisters, Mamie, is mentally challenged and soon goes missing from the care facility. She is soon found at her old home asleep, then the next time she goes missing, things don't turn out good for her.

Even though Avery is quite busy with the house renovation, she is also busy getting her home ready for the Christmas Tour of Homes. But still, she wants to know how the bones got in the attic and who they might belong too.

A few of the past characters make an appearance in this book. Of course Kate and Wayne, Kate being her best friend and Wayne the police chief. Derek folks are also are around to help with the search of information about the babies bones. Of course, Melissa, Derek ex is around to try and get Avery's "goat".

A very interesting story and wonderful cast of characters. Looking forward to the next book. Home renovation tips and designs included.

[❂ Murder by Death · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ms. Bentley is a perfect example of an author who can write solid, interesting mysteries about normal everyday characters without having to force melodrama (love triangles) into her stories to keep her readers interested. And she writes them well. This mystery was excellent; the ending was both not a shock and a shock. This is a good solid series I can always depend on for good mysteries.

Full review: http://jenn.booklikes.com/post/107398...

[CJ - It's only a Paper Moon · Rating 2 out of 5]

A little too clean, a little too much God mention and a lot of repetition. I did solve the mystery pretty early but I found that I really didn't care about anything else.

If you like your cosy/cozy mysteries so clean that they squeak when you turn the page, this one is for you.

[Linda Smatzny · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this book, the main character, Avery, discovers a box containing a baby's bones. The book was an easy read.

[Doris · Rating 1 out of 5]

The main character (Avery) began to irritate me somewhere early in the book. I finished it only to find out who the bodies were, and who put them where they were found.

Unsurprisingly, it was easy to deduce, from the who to the why.

Avery is annoying, pouty, and egocentric, and gets her way with her husband by promising sex. Arrgh!

The Christmas Home Tour theme that wove through the book promised a great diversion, and at first the details of what a house looked like was good, but it became wearing after the first few times, as did the constant reminder of the house styles,

Annoyances: Avery barges in, blurts out secrets and has no apparent concept of privacy

people are totally clueless and fail to follow up on the wide open trail (except the murderer of course)

And my number one grievance? The lack of basic math skills: Avery was told to make light snacks for the Tour guests, which her husband did. He made cookies. Eight dozen cookies for well over 200 guests. Even if only every other person took one cookie, that is still nowhere near enough. For those who don't want to whip out a calculator, that is 96 cookies. Avery lost count at 214 guests. And at the end of the story she is way too exhausted to make dinner because of all the cookies.

[Jane · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are things about the series I enjoy, such as the home remodeling details, but I felt the mystery was really quite weak and the main character to be getting tiresome. It must be terrifically difficult to write a series and some entries are bound to be stronger than others. I'll read the next one before deciding whether or not to continue with this particular series. For first-timers, my advice is to start at the beginning. The character and relationship developments share equal time with the mystery aspect and you don't want to miss watching it all unfold.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Home for the Homicide" is a cozy mystery. It's the seventh in a series, but you don't need to read the previous books to understand this one and this story didn't spoil the whodunits of the previous novels.

The history behind the mystery was an interesting event that I could see really happening. Based on the current-day and historical clues, I had a pretty good idea of what had happened, who was whodunit, and why before Avery even got started on the right track. But no one said Avery was a great sleuth, just very nosy. She wanted to know things that were none of her business and she'd pout (yes, pout) and manipulate people to get her own way. She wasn't mean, just self-centered, insecure, and childish. I didn't dislike her, but I didn't admire her, either, and that detracted from my enjoyment of the mystery.

There were no sex scenes. There was a minor amount of bad language. I'd recommend this mystery to people who like both mysteries and doing home decorating projects (since several are described in detail in the story).

I received this book as a review copy from the publisher.

[Casceil · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing. Boring, even. The books in this series tend to spend time on detailed descriptions of the interiors of houses and the details of how Avery and Derek are refurbishing them, but this time the author goes way overboard, to the point of it being "house porn." In case the current project was not enough, we get descriptions of many past projects, and then a "house tour" of at least six houses, with detailed (and I mean detailed) descriptions of the interiors and the Christmas decorations--every last ornament--in each house. There is a story, but it could have been told in about a quarter of the book's length. Wait, it was told in about a quarter of the book. The other three-quarters of the book was endless descriptions of interior design. I enjoyed the earlier books in the series, but not this one.

[Sunsettowers · Rating 3 out of 5]

This cozy mystery features Derek and Avery, a husband-and-wife home renovation team with a tendency for stumbling on dead bodies. In Home for the Homicide, Avery finds something shocking in the attic of a home they're renovating, that stirs up a missing persons case from decades ago.

Avery and Derek are fun protagonists, and a very sweet couple. They do come across as almost too perfect, a trend I've noticed in some genre mysteries, with Derek a former doctor who is now an expert home renovator, and Avery being able to learn how to make Tiffany-style glass lamps in an hour. But their charm outweighs any of their unrealistic tendencies, and the mystery is an interesting one with a great twist in the last few chapters I didn't see coming.

I would definitely like to read more of this series, I found this book a lot of fun!

[Katty · Rating 2 out of 5]

TL;DR: I’m bored. You’re bored. Everyone is bored. 90% of the page count is about houses, but we didn’t come here for decor! We came here for mur…dor?
Well, there goes the fun song-thing I was going for in this TL:DR…





Okay. I can acknowledge it’s strange of me to often start cozy mystery series in random spots.
And I can’t really say anything when it comes to this author’s other books- in general or in this series. Maybe this one is the outlier, and every other book is a fantastic masterpiece worthy of being framed on a wall.

Unfortunately, since I didn’t enjoy this one very much, I will not be sticking around to find that out. Or sticking books on my walls (I mean, why would you do that?).

(I’m pretty new to actually reviewing things, so please bear with me here!)





The Pros;

-When the mystery was actually being focused on, it was pretty solid imo.

-The characters weren’t half bad… mostly.

-Cats. Just… I like cats, they’re here sometimes.

-Interesting design tips + house history.




The Cons;

-Note the “when” in the first pro; this is a mystery story where the mystery generally takes a back seat to… houses. The most accurate description I personally found (here on Goodreads, actually) is “house porn”. 90% of the page count of this book just feels like it’s about houses and decor- and another 5% of the page count after that is about the characters’ personal relationships and drama! This is probably my main complaint with this book; it’s supposed to be a mystery story!

-Despite the fact I actually liked a fair bit of the characters in this… I couldn’t STAND either of the two leads. At all. Why? Well;
•Avery whines about any and everything. And it gets annoying rather quickly. And I can guarantee this isn’t just me being mean, because SHE HERSELF admits a lot of the time that she’s whining! And she even admits at certain points she’s whining so she can get her way. Ugh!
•Derek seems kinda controlling in spots. Maybe I’m just overthinking on this one, I’ll acknowledge that, but it feels like he’s just always trying to push Avery in certain directions, and it just sorta got on my nerves after a while.
•Avery judges every and anyone, and as someone with a fear of being judged and who also feels like unless someone earned the judgement by being a genuine piece of trash just leave them be, it’s REALLY annoying. I mean… I really don’t mind when she’s judging other characters for being trash, I can understand that, really, but she also judges someone for just being shy at one point! The heck?!
•Avery, I get you’re insecure, but instead of hating on other gals, can you PLEASE just talk to your husband about it?! Part of the “5% characters’ relationships and personal dramas” I mentioned earlier is how Avery WILL NOT stop describing Derek and how attractive he is to her. That’s great and all, but she does it WAY too much, and it just gets annoying after a while. And adding onto that, she’s always all like “I could tell she was attracted to Derek, and I can’t blame her,” and then like “but he’s mine, he chose me.” And like… okay???? We get it? Chill. Just talk to him about it if you’re always that worried about other women, I don’t think that’s healthy.
And all that’s just off the top of my head! Avery is a very negative character in general, and though that isn’t necessarily always a bad thing, it can get VERY tiring to read, especially without a proper balance between these negative traits and other less negative ones.

-Avery and Derek’s relationship seemed very unhealthy… not the worst thing ever I suppose, but it seriously just didn’t seem good. Though I guess I already mostly talked about all that in the prior section, so moving on.

-The cats I mentioned earlier really weren’t in the book that much or anything, so even they couldn’t save it for me.

-Prior mentioned interesting design tips + house history, since I came here for a mystery with that sprinkled in, not that being 90% of the page count, eventually aren’t even interesting in this context anymore and just get boring and annoying. And therefore I stopped actually taking them in and started skimming them (and the house descriptions in general) over after a while. This not only adds this con, but weakens the tips and such’s status as a pro.

-So. Many. Fake outs. This can work really well when done right (though I suppose that can be said about most things); is the murderer about to do something spooky scary???? Ooohh?? Then… nope! It was something else. But by doing this too much, like I found was a problem in this book, it just gets boring and predictable. An added issue with this is that since, at least for this book (though this is generally done like this from what I know), these fake outs generally occurred at the end of a chapter right before the next, it becomes harder to make readers say “just one more chapter” because… why would I be invested? There’s a 99% change either nothing interesting is happening in the first place, or I’ll just be faked out with the false promise of excitement. It’s even worse still when generally, after these fake outs occur, we go to a huge crawl back into the dreaded 90% and away from the mystery we all so crave rather quickly.

-I am not the type of person who normally cares that much (if at all) about decor and houses and all that stuff (though I do greatly enjoy having shelter, that’s usually where my excitement ends). Therefore, even though I don’t mind learning about that since I like learning new things, when it’s shoved in my face too much, it gets to the point where I can’t even keep track of what’s going on because… I don’t know enough about decor and houses and things! That stuff is all new to me. And I can only take in so much about them at once, since I didn’t specifically want to hear about that when I picked up this MYSTERY book! I didn’t brace myself for all that sudden house talk.
•Though the main issue here for me is; I’m an incredibly visual reader; I visualize things very vividly once I get going. But, when I’m having trouble figuring out what something is talking about, or I’m being info-dumped too much, it becomes incredibly hard- if not downright impossible- for me to visualize things, and therefore really takes me out of the story. When it happens super often, well… you get the picture. But I don’t. (Sorry for the awful joke.)



So… that’s my review. Did I do good on my first ever goodreads review? Who knows.
Hopefully someone finds this useful, or at least interesting.

See you guys later? Maybe? Idk. Bye.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 1/2 stars for entry #7 in the series.
My own fault that I dived into the series at #7. Having said that, it worked as a stand alone, not too confusing given I did not get some references, but it wasn't too entrenched in the past that I couldnot follow along.

In this story, Avery and Derek bought a Craftsman bungalow and are remodeling it. As Avery wanders the home, she finds the attic, which she investigates. She finds a child's skeleton. Who was this child? And does the discovery of this child cause or trigger not one, but two more deaths?

I only gave this 2 1/2 stars because while we expect the MC to be involved in solving the mystery, Avery seems to have no filters. She wants to run off to investigate at the worst possible times...intruding on people's grief. Naturally, she feels she needs to investigate because she found the body, but seems incapable of deciding on the best time. Hey, I know you just lost a loved one, but can you answer some questions that I have no right to ask? Sheesh. I just found her to be annoying. Won't continue the series.

There are tips at the end for home projects such as color washing and building your own bookcase.

[Doris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have really enjoyed this series but....this is more a 3 1/2 stars. Although I really like the characters and the mystery, the last two or so entries have had a lot of repeated dialogue and reader info---that's sometimes conflicting too. For instance: I get that Barry is Derek's friend from high school; I do not need to be reminded of this nearly every time Barry is mentioned. Avery and Derek have been married either a month or a couple months, it varies throughout the book. And Avery makes queries of several characters throughout the book in her quest to solve the mystery, but it's almost the same questions each time, instead of probing differently with different people to get more mileage out of the dialogue and keep the reader more engaged. I hope if Ms. Bentley continues with more (which I will read) that she takes a bit more care on those details.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy 3 1/2 star read. When the skeletal remains of an infant are found in the attic of a craftsman cottage under renovation, Avery Baker and her husband, Derek, assist the police in figuring out who was dead and why. I really enjoyed the plot of the mystery, two sisters, one recuperating in a nursing home, and the other, possibly special or simply incredibly dotty, had kept the secret of their missing brother Arthur for almost 70 years. At times, I felt the protagonist, Avery could be curtailed a bit -- I could have cared less about her inviting herself to a local glass artist's home to learn home to make Tiffany-inspired lamps (and she got one perfect on her first try), but over all, if was a fun, quick read.

[Short, Sweet and Cozy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I guess this is the last book in this series as it was written in 2013 and it is now 2018 but it is just like the other 6 books. I expected it to seem like a final book in a series. Oh well. It was good. Avery & Derek own and are renovating the Green sisters house. It is also right before Christmas and their house is in a Christmas House Tour. That is interesting but a little long & descriptive and no mystery at that point. Avery finds baby bones while renovating so she starts investigating. It takes some time but a mystery begins to unfold. This was a good addition to the series but not one of the better ones.

[Armelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Avery is one of the most insufferable main characters I have “met” in this type of light mystery. Her idea of “helping” her husband renovate the house they’re working on is to either stare at his backside, wander around and complain about how bored she is, or pester him to death with her questions, speculation, and theories.

She whines and pouts to get her way - this isn’t just my take- she actually said she was just whining so she’d get what she wanted.

The plot was okay, but I was so annoyed by the main character that I really didn’t enjoy this book.

[Zofia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable whodunit. The husband and wife house renovators and flippers, stumble across yet another remains - this time baby bones hidden for many years in a house they are working on. Avery, the wife, has a tendency to dig deep into solving the mysteries she encounters in this small town. The characters are likeable and the setting seems so quaint, plus it's Christmastime! A very nice cozy mystery.

[Amy Flanagan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a cute murder mystery with many twists and turns neatly wrapped up in the final chapters. Avery and Derek find a box of bones in the attic of a house they’re renovating and set the whole story in motion.

[Debra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this series except for Avery referring to the house she inherited from Aunt Inga as Aunt Inga's house. Or Aunt Inga's kitchen, living room, garden, furniture, street (You get what I mean) We get it - you've inherited the property. It's yours now.

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. The main mystery was the baby's bones found in the attic. But then people die. I haven't read any of this series before but I wasn't left too far behind. I found the couple engaging and the story interesting. I will have to read the earlier books in the series.

[Bev · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my favorite of the series. And in the whole series Avery was really annoying me when she dissed women for being too big (Jill), an old bat (the archive woman), and old and feeble (all the women in their seventies)
Not nice.

[Christina Lamude · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay. Not sure if I want to read others in the series.

[Jeanie Harper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly, the character in the book can get herself in a whole lotta trouble.

But you don't find out the results of who did it until the third last page - FANTASTIC!

Great series.

[Dee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Family Secrets

My first book in this series. Love her Savannah Martin series under Jenna Barrett pen name. This book may be the anomaly in this series but it's not as enjoyable to me. I'm giving 3 stars as I may or may not read another one.

[Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this series....this one was just as good as the rest!!

[Kathie · Rating 5 out of 5]

So sad to see this series end. Every book was so much fun to read and kept me guessing until the end. Highly recommend them.

[Jeanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

More needed

Excellent read. Great mystery, wish there were more in the series. Would like more of these two people and their renovations.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful plot turns!

[Bethanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this whole series! Hate to see it end!