A Face at the Window

Home Repair Is Homicide #12

by Sarah Graves

Back in the day, Jacobia “Jake” Tiptree turned profits managing the fortunes of Manhattan’s most fortunate. Then she fled the rat race for a stately old fixer-upper in easygoing Eastport, Maine. But now a rat from an even darker corner of Jake’s past has turned up…a killer with a blueprint for demolishing her new life.

As a home repair enthusiast, Jake knows that nothing lasts forever—not windows or doors, not plaster or plumbing. And not good fortune.

After more than three decades eluding justice, the man who murdered her mother is finally about to stand trial—until he vanishes into thin air. Jake has a terrible foreboding of where Ozzie Campbell will turn up next. And while the local police chief is sure she’s overreacting, the truth is far worse than even Jake’s worst fears.

With her normally full house empty for at least another week, Jake has been looking forward to the unaccustomed peace and quiet. Now her cozy, well-loved home feels more like a big empty death trap ready to snap shut. First a pair of out-of-towners clearly not in Eastport for vacation turn up asking questions about her. And if she has any doubt they’re connected to Campbell, those doubts are erased when he calls her with a grim warning.

But exactly what Campbell wants from her isn’t clear, only that he’ll stop at nothing to hurt those closest to Jake. And his first victims are the most defenseless of all. Suddenly Jake can’t help but feel that her house—and her life—has far too many windows. And in any one of them she might see the face of her killer.

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fiction, Audiobook, Cozy, Mystery Thriller, Suspense

320 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Sarah Graves lives with her husband John, a musician and luthier, and their black Labrador Retriever in a house very much like the one Jacobia Tiptree is remodeling in Eastport, Maine. When she's not writing Jake's adventures, Sarah works with her husband on the house and she plays the 5-string banjo.

Librarian’s note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[David Freas · Rating 1 out of 5]

Prior books in Graves’s ‘Home Repair Is Homicide’ mysteries have been written from Jacobia ‘Jake’ Tiptree’s point of view with an occasional chapter from a different character’s perspective. The change to a totally third-person point of view here turned me off because it distanced me from Jake. I no longer felt I was seeing what she was seeing, doing what she was doing. I felt instead as if I was watching everything happen from off to the side.

Graves here, too, cuts Jake off from her support – her husband, her friend Ellie, her father, and all the other characters who helped her solve prior mysteries. While making Jake bear the whole load herself is a good idea, it takes away the sparkle of the by-play between these characters that made earlier books a delight to read. And because this story really focuses on Jake, of all of the books in the series this one definitely should have been written in first person.

This story didn’t engage me as quickly as previous books did. Partly, it was the slow pace. Everything seemed to happen at a walk (even drives), which left me wondering if Graves was attempting to increase tension via a slow build up? If that was her aim, she failed. All it did was make the story drag. Endless excursions into Jake’s backstory didn’t help, especially when it was a repeat of an earlier excursion. Things finally started picking up about halfway through – way too late for this kind of novel.

There were some inconsistencies in the characters as well.
1/ The Chief of Police suddenly seems to distrust or not believe Jake here, in spite of their long history. Also, knowing her backstory, that he semi-dismisses that a person from that past could be coming after her screams of indifference, something Graves has shown in past books he is not.
2/ Jake, who in prior mysteries jumped at the chance to get involved in other people’s troubles, here seems more concerned with the hole in her sidewalk than the kidnapping of her best friend’s child.
3/ Wade, Jake’s husband, goes back to his job hours after she’s narrowly escaped being crushed under tons of stones. No matter how strong and independent Jake has been portrayed, he would not do that if he’s the caring, loving husband Graves has made him out to be in earlier books.

Prior books had a character present it seemed only to annoy and pester Jake, but Graves always brought them into the main plot of the story somehow. Jake’s ‘thorn in the side’ here seems present only to annoy and pester her. Previous pests popped up throughout the story. This one makes a brief appearance early in the book then disappears until the last scene, where her existence is explained in a few lines of dialog.

A common plot device in stories like this one is the antagonist always runs one step ahead of the main character for three-fourths of the story. It’s as if the main character has turned off his or her brain until that point, when suddenly the lights go on and the main character starts thinking again. That always struck me as unbelievable, and it seems so here.

And a small point: In one scene, Graves has one of the bad guys opening the back door of a Monte Carlo. She obviously did not do her research. Monte Carlos don’t have rear doors. While this is a little blunder, it makes me wonder how many other things she got wrong.

This is more suspense than mystery because instead of reading to find out what happened, we’re reading to find out what happens next. This book is also darker than many earlier entries in the series. I had noticed the books immediately preceding this one had edged in that direction, but I hope Graves isn’t planning on continuing down that path.

This whole book seems forced and phony, as if Graves was under pressure to produce an entry in the series and this was the best she could do. It was very disappointing.

You’ll have to do better in the future, Sarah, or I’m done with this series.

[Estella · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am SO disappointed in the direction this author seems to be going with her cozy mystery series. I became a fan of her quirky, home repair-themed mystery books fairly recently, and read them one after the other because they were fun and captivating. Unfortunately, when I got to this one, I came to a dead stop. I didn't even read it--I skimmed it, and had no desire to go back and read it in detail. Ms Graves seems to be moving into the "thriller" genre. I had noticed a dark trend happening in her two previous books and was hoping it wasn't really so, but I can see that the "homey" feel in her previous books is noticeably absent in this one. The references to life in beautiful Maine are fewer and farther between, and she seems to be pushing the recurring characters that I had come to enjoy so much into the background. I am sad to say that I have no intention of reading the next book in the series. I really wish Ms Graves had kept a good thing going, and I have a feeling that there are a fair number of formerly loyal readers out there who feel exactly the same.

[Nancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Up until this novel, I have devoured the 'Home Repair is Homicide" series. I loved the quirky characters, the gorgeous Maine setting and the 1st person narrative of Jacobia "Jake" Tiptree, that made me feel as though I were sitting in the kitchen of the constantly need of repair old Federal style house eating some of Bella's yummy treats or roaring down one of the many narrow pine & salt air scented roads in the backseat of Jake's car, trying to figure out the whys and wherefores of the mystery at hand, with Jake & her 'snoop sister' Ellie.

Now, jarringly, Jake is no longer the narrator and the story is told from several different POVs. The story lines have also seemed to have taken a darker turn, which is fine for other books, but as this is a SERIES, I would have hoped that they would have continued in the same fashion. Where is the humor? Where are the drool worthy food descriptions? And where are the house repairs???

I have been searching in vain on the internet to find an interview by Sarah Graves explaining the sudden changes. I actually wondered if someone had taken over the writing for Ms. Graves, because the style just doesn't feel to be the same. To me there is a great lack of continuity in the story lines and in the characters. From other reviews I have read on the series, beyond this book, it seems to be more of the same.

"A Face In the Window's" story wasn't even very compelling to me, and my favorite characters were noticeably absent throughout the book and for very contrived reasons. Sending the dogs away to some obedience/training camp??? Prill wouldn't do very well with strangers and Monday is too old for such nonsense. Sweet husband Wade is just 'at sea', dead ex-husband Victor the Ghost has gone AWOL and her son Sam is simply once again at college, so none of the male touchstones in Jake's life are there to help give her a little perspective. Stalwart friends Ellie & George are on vacation, as if George would EVER leave little Lee behind! And there are no 'snoop sisters' with Ellie gone either... Bella actually MARRIED Jake's dad????? Really??? No more feet dragging and conveniently gone on a honeymoon too? This book is a much Jacob Tiptree's story as it is Jake's.

I'm not even going to bother finishing this one, and I suppose I will skip the rest, as well. Too bad, I really did enjoy these books and I was invested in the characters, rooting for Sam's staying in recovery and wondering if there really is some supernatural hinky stuff going on with Jake's house, although those story lines seemed to have been dropped and forgotten. I had thought Ms. Graves stories could even have a future as a television/movie series.

Honestly, if the author wanted to change up the story telling and go darker on us, she could have made a new series of books with alcoholic in recovery and rare (re:evil) books-hunter Dave DiMaio, from the previously written "The Book of Old Houses", as the protagonist. A lot of promise there for another series and no tampering with "Home Repair" needed.

I'm very sad to be leaving this series, but then again it left me with this new direction.

[Emmalynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars This was a 24 hour thriller told in the third person instead of the first person as the series has been for the past 11 book. It was definitely fast paced with the characters going through lots of traumatic experiences including the baby. Ellie and George are leaving for their very first vacation since the baby was born, Belle and Jake’s dad are off on their honeymoon, Wade is called into work and Sam is back at school, the dogs are off at training camp and that leaves Jake home alone babysitting just as she faces an enemy from her and her dad’s past. The book was and mystery was fine though a bit over the top for the reasoning behind the perp’s actions, also, one of the henchmen who was teetering on the moral grey line, I wish she had left him there instead of having him go over the edge.

[Owlsinger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best in the series, so far. Quite different, too. Darker; not much humor, if any, that I can recall. Jake is on her own in this one, and trying to stay uninvolved, but "keeps getting dragged back in". A lot more of her backstory is revealed (Thanks, X-Files, for that term...), bringing new depth to her character. Several horrible people need to be dealt with, and human collateral damage, too, so humor would probably have been out of place. A good read.

[Jenny Winter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a fan of the author switching to third person point of view when all the other ones is in first person. Still ok but should stuck to first person it would have been better.

[Robyn · Rating 1 out of 5]

A FACE AT THE WINDOW
Sarah Graves

The first book I read by Graves was a home run, but this one was a foul ball for sure. Fighty, implausible, unrealistic, fictional, amateurish, and I guess that it didn't resonate with me.

1 star

Happy Reading!

[Nikki · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not being totally fair in giving this book only three stars. It certainly held my interest, and the change from Graves' previous practice of telling the story in the first person, which she experimented with in the last book, was refreshing. A Face at the Window was more of a thriller than a whodunnit, another departure for Graves. But...(if you are really allergic to any possibility of a spoiler, stop here!)

I had two problems with the story, one minor and one (for me) major. The minor one was the usual thing which appears in most private eye tales and some other types -- where the protagonist (in this case two protagonists) take an incredible amount of physical punishment and keep going. I believe in adrenalin and I've read some amazing true survival stories, but still.

The major problem I had with the book was that Graves makes one of the perpetrators a fairly sympathetic character and I fully expected that he would find redemption at the end of the book, or at least be on his way. This does not happen; and it almost seems as if the author (or her editor?) changed direction in mid-book to make it into a more conventional good guys-bad guys story where bad guys never change. Although I'd say I normally read mysteries for catharsis and the restoration of order to the world, and "literary" fiction for hope and redemption, I really thought at the beginning of the book that this would be a mixture of the two. That's why it disappointed me.

[Linda · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book drove me crazy. Graves really let us down on this one. There were so many little things that showed she must never have been a parent, knows nothing of child development or child behavior. It was grating. Then she turned Jake into a total idiot, behaving in ways that were totally stupid, from the small to the large. Like why didn't Jake tell Bob Arnold what her 'caller' said about having something she wanted right after Lee was kidnapped? And if someone reports a suspicious call wouldn't Bob Arnold at least ask what the caller said? So totally dumb. And of course anytime she got another call from the guy any sane person would call the police immediately. She practically put Lee into that final peril because of her stupidity. Since this is fiction, there were lots of other ways to get to the same outcome than to make Jake stupid! Ahhrrggg.

[Sue · Rating 2 out of 5]

How the authorities chose to ignore Jake (Jacobia) when she had perfectly good reasons to suspect someone was after her. This story was filled with thin air. The ending came before the true ending with the author going on telling a story that was told and completed a chapter before the end of the book. This may have had something to do with how this book is part of a series.

[Toesnorth's mom]

dumb, one of the worst I've read

[Sher · Rating 2 out of 5]

Could barely finish the previous; didn't like this one at all.

[Cindy B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting mystery in the home repair series. No bad language or graphic sex. Narrated well and, unlike some female narrators, clearly by Lindsey Ellison.

[Krissie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm really hoping she doesn't continue the third-person narration. I didn't like that at all.

[Kriss Luckett-Ziesemer · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’ve been enjoying this series less and less over the last few books, but this one is just ridiculous. I have so many issues with this book. While this series has always leaned toward the edgier side of a cozy mystery, I have actually appreciated that aspect in the past. I like a good cozy mystery, but one big turn-off for me in the cozy genre is when the characters and plot are shallow and sickly cute. These books are not like that, and I appreciated the grittier tone to the first books of the series as it was a good balance of likable characters in a cozy setting and a grittier underbelly to the whole scene. I also like a good dark thriller, but it has to be written well. This author seems to be trying to shift more into the thriller genre while keeping a firm footing in the cozy vibe, but it just doesn’t work. Instead, it comes off like a 1970s TV drama with a hokey plot, cheesy “tough guy” dialogue, and no substance. To stick with that euphemism, this series has “jumped the shark”.

Now, the issues.

First, it loses a LOT with the shift from first person narrative to third. Jake’s first person narration added a charm and enjoyable snark and sass to the stories, and some good moments of humor. She often survived based solely on grit and dumb luck, but for the most part it worked. Taking narration out of Jake’s voice removes the charm and humor that was prevalent in the earlier books.

Next, I was disappointed that the bulk of the regular characters have “walk-on roles” and nothing more. Another facet of these “cozies” that made them fun were the blend of personalities, and I found I really missed Ellie, George, Wade, Sam, Bella, Jake’s father, the dogs, Victor (why she killed him off is still puzzling), and even the house, which is virtually a character in itself. Without them, this story is really flat.

Third, it seems that the author chose to replace the physical presence of the major characters with repeated references to them that come so thickly in parts that it actually gets annoying. There are parts where nearly every other sentence says, “As Sam would say”, “as Bella would say”, “as Sam would call it”, “here’s what Ellie would do”, and so on.

Fourth, the dialogue in this book is SO BAD. It’s so cheesy I needed crackers on hand to read it. First off, if you’re going to write mob hit men into your book, make them ACTUALLY SWEAR, please. Don’t have them say “freak/freakin’”, or “oh shoot”. It’s ridiculous. At one point, one of the hit men says something about swearing, then uses “freakin” in the next sentence. And just fyi, no hit man would call someone a dweeb, unless it was in a John Hughes movie in 1986. Last, I actually rolled my eyes and laughed when Jake confronts the Big Bad and tells him, “You’re going to hell!” Yeah, Jake. That’ll make him rethink his evil ways.

Fifth, Helen the babysitter who is kidnapped and traumatized, and gets away. She’s finally on the highway and is rescued by a woman in a car who is a doctor, and Helen tries to stab her? Did that seem out of character to anyone else? I mean, I know she was freaked out and all, but that reaction toward her rescuer seemed extreme and not believable.

Sixth, Bob Arnold. Bob has been a friend and ally to Jake the entire series, especially after she saves his life, and Jake has never steered him wrong or led him down a bad path. Yet for some reason in this book, we have a total shift in their dynamic where he is condescending and even mocking of her very believable claims about who is behind the kidnappings. She even has proof and he all but rolls his eyes at her.

Seventh, Wade. He is portrayed as a loyal partner who always has Jake’s back, yet when she is buried alive in a car in the gravel pit, and a few hours later he’s left her totally alone to go back out to work on the freighter. Granted, he offered to stay with her and she refuses, but seriously, the active threat to his wife is still out there, and he just goes back to work? No.

I’m done with this series. It’s gotten worse with each book, and probably should have ended a few books ago. The author has started a new cozy series with the same characters, and I’ve read the first of those, so maybe I’ll shift that way. There are too many good books out there to force my way through the last few books in this series.

[Renee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow.

Remember how I said Graves' last book was different? That was nothing.

For the first time in what feels like ages, Jake has her house to herself: Sam is off at college; Wade is out helping a floundering ship; her dad, Bella, Ellie and George are all off on various trips and even the dogs are off at a training camp. What a perfect time, then, for her mother's killer -- finally on trial after decades -- to go missing. Jake knows where he'll show up but has little proof to back her up, even when he calls to begin a new and mysterious game.

As an initial matter: for whatever reason, this book suddenly switches from Jake telling her story in the first person to the third person. It's jarring and I don't like it. I'd hoped that the change was just for this book -- it's far more intense than earlier books and I could see Graves switching to make the book a little less so. But I've taken a peek on Amazon and at least one book further in the series is staying in the third person. To me at least, the change is distracting.

Beyond that, have I said "wow"? After the first couple of chapters I never had a chance to catch my breath -- the story was that urgent and it pulled me in that deeply. I have a pile of other books out from the library and I think I'm relieved to have to take a break from this series at the moment. If nothing else, my heart rate needs to come back to normal.

Remember how I found it odd that the last book seemed to ignore some major developments in Jake's life? This book doesn't. They don't play much of a role in the story but at least the mentions are there -- thank goodness. I don't like wondering whether I've imagined significant changes in continuing plots and the last book definitely had me a bit on edge. I'm looking forward to seeing where the series goes from here after I've had a non-series book or two to recover with!

[Jacqueline M · Rating 2 out of 5]

The further I go in this series the more disappointed I become. I don't understand why Jake becomes more and more stupid with each adventure. Perhaps the authorities did not want to lend credence to her tale, but some of her actions are downright stupid. She finds the abandoned car that everyone is looking for and goes to investigate without calling the police chief and letting him know. Next thing she is being buried alive inside the vehicle. This is really stupid because if she had found anyone in the car they would have needed medical attention that she was not qualified to give. This is just one example and the list goes on and on. I'm now only continuing the series due to an interest in the developments in the lives of the characters as opposed to the mystery itself, because I would really like to run a scan on her brain to find out why she continues to do things that are beyond stupid.

[Cozy Reader Lady · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well lets just throw out half the history of Jacobia's mom's death. Re-write it a bit to better fit this story. That's what was my main point of annoyance with this one.

The other major differences in this one are that there wasn't a murder victim discovered and it bounced around in charter perspectives. It worked okay for this one. However, still wasn't necessary and would have been fine being from Jacobia's perspective.

Tiptree's Tips at the beginning of each chapter were as pointless as usual. Not relevant to the content of the chapter. Not very useful either. Could very much have gone without these.

Over all the story was a good one. Not much need to figure out who was behind things, so more of a drama than a mystery this time.

[Jeremy Day-Storms · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have recently been reading this series in order. In some ways, this entry almost feels like it was written by someone else. The lack of continuity within the series is showing. The storyline was drawn out longer than needed. Perhaps by this point within the series the author was getting bored with the characters and wanted to try something "different", but it just didn't work for me personally. I found myself wandering and thinking about other things while trying to get through one misadventure within the story after another. Plus, the isolation of the protagonist by removing almost all other regular characters made it feel long. I think this story would have worked better as a novella, and it definitely would work better if the continuity within the series remained intact.

[Miriam Roush · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading some of the negative reviews about this 12th book in the Home Repair Is Homicide series, I was hoping I would not agree with the reviewers because I have loved all of Sarah Graves previous books. I do agree that this storyline is darker and did feel some frustration that the sheriff who has known and worked with Jacobia previously now doubts her. The multiple viewpoints storyline was different, too, but none of this detracted from the suspense or the flow of the story. I also appreciated the courage portrayed by the women and the satisfying ending. For me it was a compelling read and I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series!

[Karen Keyte · Rating 2 out of 5]

One thing with this series that really annoys me is how much Jacobia’s back story has mutated whenever the author needs it to be different for the current story. In previous books, Jake’s mother died in a bomb blast. Now, she was strangled and there was a fire. Really? Did you think readers would forget the earlier story? Seriously, it’s annoying and sloppy planning. This inconsistency, the constantly changing history, takes away from what are generally pretty good mysteries. Not so much in this case. The story is bloated and wholly unbelievable. Bleah

[kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read!

Even though the stories follow the same plot line, the stories are all individual. Jake is a very likable character and her husband,son, sheriff Bob... why they're old friends (of mine) by now. My plan is to read them all. One right after another until they are all read!

[Gloria · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is a good series. have not had one book in this series that was not good. they have been action packed too. it is one one those books where you say just one more page or one more chapter to see what happens next, then before you know it you are at the end of the book. then you need to read the next one to see what happens. the characters are well rounded and believable too.

[Karen Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been listening to this series in order, and this is another excellent read! This one is so suspenseful and has so many characters in life-threatening jeopardy that I confess I finally had to peek at the ending to calm my nerves before finishing the book. It was worth it, but I still stayed up too late to get to the end. Definitely a hard-to-put-down page-turner!

[Peter Barr · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's some terrible things that go on in Sarah Graves novels about Eastport, ME. This on his pretty terrible even by her standards. This particular story started out OK but really picked up and ended at a breakneck pace. It had quite the suspenseful set of scenes along the way as well. This was a good one.

[Carole Stone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Couldn't put it down, surprise every other page.

I loved the setting and the detailed characterizations of all the cast. Being from New England everything rang true to the area. Great writing style, I couldn't put the book down once I started it.
My only criticism was, why she chose the title.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ellie and George leave on vacation to Italy while most of Jake’s family is out of town. Jake is tending Lee when a mysterious phone call scares her. The next day Lee disapppears with the regular babysitter and Jake insists that Ozzie Campbell is behind it. Bob, the sheriff, insists on following protocol and frustrates Jake. Eventually, Helen and Lee are recovered the Campbell is arrested.

[Jody · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Face at the Window by Sarah Graves is the 12th book in the Home Repair is Homicide series. The man who murdered Jacobia “Jake”Tiptee’s mother had evaded justice for 30 years. He was finally being charged with the murder when he vanished. Jake starts getting odd calls and strangers are asking about her in town. What follows is a thriller with Jake and everyone she loves potentially in danger.

[Nancy Reynolds · Rating 1 out of 5]

Every once in awhile, I just pick a random book out of the library and hope it's a gem, but this one was not. Weak, predictable, drawn out plot with cringey dialog and a villain with the ridiculous name of Marky? I guess this was part of a series, and although it stands alone, I get the feeling I didn't miss anything by skipping the previous installments. Best to pass on this one.

[Stefani Daniels · Rating 2 out of 5]

this was my first encounter with Sarah Graves and her Home Repair series...I wasn't impressed but the critiques make me want to read some of the earlier books in the series about the big shot money analyst who leaves the hustle of NYC and lands in Eastport Maine.