The Haunted Fixer Upper

Haunted Renovation Mystery #2

by Rose Pressey Betancourt

Alabama Hargrove is headed south to meet the family of her hunky handyman boyfriend, Reed O'Hara. On the way, she stumbles on a grand, old house and catches the renovating bug again. Reed and Alabama purchase the house, but when he discovers the lifeless body of the previous owner, Alabama must clear his name before their renovating days are over. This small town has secrets, and so does the house... it's up to Alabama to solve the mystery or possibly be haunted for life.

Genres: Mystery, Paranormal, Fantasy, Cozy Mystery, Ghosts, Paranormal Romance, Audiobook

189 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 20, 2013

About the author

Rose Pressey Betancourt is a USA Today Bestselling author. She enjoys writing quirky and fun novels with a paranormal twist. The paranormal has always captured her interest. The thought of finding answers to the unexplained fascinates her.

When she's not writing quirky and fun mysteries, she loves eating cupcakes with sprinkles, reading, spending time with family, and listening to oldies from the fifties.

Rose lives in the beautiful commonwealth of Kentucky.

Reviews

[Wulfwyn]

I have read a number of Rose Pressey's books. I think Haunted Fixer-Upper may be her best work yet. This is the second book in the series. You do not need to read the first one to enjoy this one but you may want to just for the laughs.
Alabama Hargrove is back. This time she is down in Georgia meeting her boyfriends family. While on the way to his daddy's house Alabama spots a house that just needs her touch. It is haunted of course. When Bama goes to meet with the owner she sees her boyfriend standing over the dead body with a hammer in his hand! Even though she does not tell the anyone about the hammer, Reed is under suspicion. Bama's best friend and momma come down to help out. If you read the first book then you know Momma Hargrove is a hoot. Even though she does not bring down the gold jumpsuits she stills lights up the page. I love Momma Hargrove. The conversations between her and Bama are always good for a laugh but also for demonstrating the loving relationship they have. Bama sees a man in the woods watching her. The workman Reed hired had a fight with the dead man the day before he died. A woman is following her around. Then Bama cannot get a hold of the three people she loves.
It is a fast, fun read. There is no language or hot sex scenes in the book so it is perfect for YA or those adults who would rather not read that in the books they choose.

[Jacque Brant]

I own every single book by Rose Pressey and I would give every single book 5 stars!!! This is one up and coming author and if you haven't read one of her books yet, get on the ball now!! I love all her characters, the way the book just flows and alot of mystery, murder and mayhem!!! Ghosts, vampires, demons, werewolves, witches, and even humans!! You'll laugh your, um ok, you know what goes there!! But, I just love every single one of her books!! The Rylie Cruz series is wicked awesome and The Haunted Fixer Upper series I just loved. I really can't pick a favorite, because they are all great and have their own style and characters that you just fall in love with. And each one is different, her writing style doesn't stay the same in each series, they are their own books and read as that. I'd just wish she could write faster, so I can read more of her books!! But when you love an author, you want them now!!! And Rose is on Facebook and loves to get involved with her fans!!! So, check her out and buy her books!! She also has the Rose Pressey Street Team and you can win prizes and she has contests when she puts out a new book, she's just a very sweet woman from Kentucky and I love her so much!!
A devoted fan always,
Jacque B

[Linda]

Alabama Hargrove and her boyfriend Reed O'Hara are on their way to Kentucky to visit his family when their truck breaks down on an out-of-the way road. While hiking to his uncle's house, they take a short cut where Alabama sees and falls in love with the local haunted plantation. After some convincing, Reed and Alabama meet with the present owner Gordon and convince him to sell it to them, since he is having difficulty completing his own intended renovations. Weeks later, Gordon requests they meet with him to transfer some additional paperwork to them. However, when they arrive at his office, they find his dead body. Reed quickly becomes a murder suspect, which means Alabama has to switch into investigator mode to rescue her boyfriend. Can she find the murderer before it's too late? Oh, and did I forget to mention that their renovation was again being done to a haunted house! This is a fun series with just enough mystery and paranormal activity to keep your attention. The characters, including her mother and best friend, are quirky and memorable. I am looking forward to the next story in this series.

[Yvonne Taylor]

Once again, Rose Pressey has put a smile on my face. I very much enjoyed reading about Alabama and her boyfriend Reed and their troubles returning to Reeds hometown in Georgia. Alabama accompanies him back home for a family reunion, when she spots a rundown mansion that needs fixing up. She falls in love with this home and talks Reed into buying this home with her. She walks in on Reed standing over the murdered body of Gordon Millerton. Alabama needs to find out who murdered him, before Reed is charged with the murder.
All the the people in this town are hiding secrets. Then one by one people in Alabama's life start to disappear. Thanks to her new friends can she come up with the answers before its too late??

[Pat]

Homonyms are words that sound the same but are spelled differently. Like to, too, two. In this book, unfortunately, these appear more frequently than they should (pitcher / picture). They are not the same and should not be used interchangeably. It really detracts from the story. And there are so many misspelled words or just incomplete words that there are sentences that are incomprehensible. Aside from all that it is a very good story. Most of the mistakes happen early in the book before the story really takes off. Nothing a good proofreader or editor couldn't have fixed. I did enjoy the book and look forward to more by this author in the future.

[Patricia]

This will make an awesome summer read. Alabama and her hunky boyfriend reed. Go to a family reunion in Georgia . Where they find a beautiful old plantation house to fix up . As they start to renovate they find a ghost in the house . A crazy old woman that runs the historical foundation. Who keeps them on their toes. If that wasn't enough along comes Alabama 's fashion disaster of a mother and her physic best friend . It's a laugh out loud book that so doesn't disappoint .
Rosy does it again I recommend this to anyone who loves a good read . Add it to your summer reading list

[Missy]

While I enjoy a good romance (steamy and not so steamy) lately I found that most of the romance books I have read was all about the steam and not the plot or character development. This series including the first book was cute with plenty of character development, light romance, good plot lines and had a smooth flow. This book wasn't overly long. I read it in one sitting and look forward to reading more book series by this author.

I do wonder if anyone knows what type of artwork is on most of the author's books. I like this style but haven't found what it is called.

[Sue Ross]

Yet another great book by Rose Pressey. This time it takes place in Georgia. There's a haunted mansion, a murder, and many suspects. Can you figure out who the killer is before you get to the end? Thank goodness Bama found a new friend or she may not have made it out of Georgia. Can't wait to see what kind of trouble she'll get into next.

[Kyra Dunst]

Alabama is a quirky girl with a passion for fixing up old homes. She also seems to attract trouble. When her boyfriend Reed is found standing over a dead body, she has to think quick to find out who the real murderer is before he takes the blame. I'd recommend this entertaining read to lovers of mystery and the paranormal.

[Neena Christianson Martin]

Cute who- dunnit

Alabama and Reed go to his family's reunion in Georgia, and soon the ghosts and bodies start piling up. This is a very cute romantic mystery, that keeps you guessing til the end.

[Jeanine]

What's not to like? Another Rose Pressey book - second in the Alabama Hargrove - delightful as always.

[Hanna Elizabeth]

This book had me in stitches! I love all of Rose Pressey's books, but this series is her best so far.

[Patti]

A continuation of the haunted house stories. Good book. Looking forward to read more by this author

[Cari]

Absolutely love the series! Looking forward to more.

[Jessica Cowgill]

another fantastic read! quickly becoming my favorite writer!

[Connie Stewart]

Another fun read. Can't wait to see what Alabama, her mama, and friend will get into next. I read this on my Nook.

[Vykki]

What a great cozy mystery I love this book and the two main character are quite couple. Throw in some good twist and turns and you have a great mystery. I recommend this to all cozy readers.

[Ericka]

Easy read and I had it figured out, but I couldn't stop reading! I read all night to finish it! It really was that interesting and it did have a pretty good twist.

[Carole Anderson]

This was just a fun read. Not to deep and I felt sometimes it was rushed and some details were left out, but it was cute. Little bit of paranormal and Alabama is a hoot.

[Glenn Harris]

A fine paranormal mystery-romance. Good writing, interesting characters.

[Sandra Holladay]

Melody stated that her husband’s boss owned the McKeeley Plantation. Three paragraphs’ later it’s ‘her boss’. That line of thought continues with him being ‘her boss and working for him a few years’. So, one minute they are talking about Reed’s uncle, who opens the door and says, “I thought my son never would bring you here.” Uncle or father??? Only once mentioning son and several times uncle, so guess he is uncle. Sounds like Alabama hung up on her mother one moment but the next she ‘rushed her mother off the phone.’ “He kept my hands on the wheel and his gaze focused on the road.” Lots of continuity errors and I’m only 19% through the book.

I couldn’t stand Alabama in the previous book and like her even less in this one. Reed didn’t want to talk about his uncle, but she knew there was a problem and by gosh she was going to fix it, cause she’s just that pushy and gets her way.

The writing borders on a fourth-grade level. I got 29% through and gave up; not finishing the book.

[Paula]

Alabama and her boyfriend Reed are going to his family reunion in Georgia. When their truck breaks down, they have to walk and Alabama spots an old abandoned house. She thinks it's beautiful and would like to reno it, so she and Reed find the owner and buy it. Later the ex-owner has some paperwork for them and when they go to get it, Reed finds him dead. Alabama is seeing a female ghost in the house who wants her to find her killer.

Cute, lighthearted cozy. It had some issues with editing which I don't usually mark down for, but these were pretty bad and there were some repetitions.

[Kelly Young]

While better than a couple of her books that I've read lately, it still is in need of a good editor or at the very least a qualified proof reader. There are continuity errors that take you completely out of the experience. For instance, in one paragraph you read that a scarf is in plain view and in the very next paragraph the lead character spots the scarf peeking out from beneath a coat.
Things like this give the entire book a very amateurish feel.
The concept is entertaining enough though.

[Aviar Savijon]

The Haunted Fixer Upper

This is one amazing story of mystery, a bit of paranormal activity and the horror of a murder and the little town's way of investigating it. But fear not as Alabama comes to the rescue to find out the true murderer as well as the real murderer of the previous occupants twenty years before. I Simply Loved It!!! Rose Pressley and the incredible first person narrative of this book amazed me with her many talents in writing! Get this book it's a must read.

[Starla]

Loved this book and this series. I was so disappointed to find out this was only a 2 book series. This was a fun book to read. So descriptive. I loved following along on the fixing up with this old abandoned haunted mansion. The mystery had me a bit shocked at the end. A fun book to read.

[Christine Hayes]

Really good.

[Rhonda Jones]

Fun Read

I really enjoyed this story. Great characters, ghosts, and an involved murder mystery. Now I will go read the first in this two book series.

[Lynn]

Cute clean, cozy read it in one evening. Old murder, new murder.. Who did them?

[Yvonne Meyer]

Good

Another entertaining paranormal cozy mystery that is as good as the first book in this series. I look forward to reading more from this series when it is released.

[Nanc]

Another fun, renovation with a who-dun-it thrown in by Rose Pressey. Entertaining and exciting. Love Alabama and Reed.