Interior Motives

Deadly Décor Mystery #3

by Ginny Aiken

Interior designer Haley Farrell and contractor Dutch Merrill argue over just about everything--even their rhyming last names. Could it be a budding romance, or is it business as usual for these creative cohorts? Unfortunately, they don't have time to figure it out. Marlene Weikert, their newest client in a renovation project, has just died, and Haley suspects it was not by natural causes. Who would have killed Marlene? Could it be the friendly nurse? One of Marlene's contentious sons? Or maybe the doctor who provided Marlene's medication? Armed with her designer's eye for detail, Haley sets out to solve the mystery. Written by a popular author, Interior Motives perfectly combines interior design, mystery, and chick lit to create a hot new hybrid genre readers will love.

Genres: Mystery, Christian Fiction, Cozy Mystery, Christian, Fiction, Mystery Thriller

272 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 1, 2006

About the author

Ginny Aiken, a former newspaper reporter, lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and their three younger sons--the oldest is married, has flown the coop, and made her a doting grandmother. Born in Havana, Cuba, and raised in Valencia and Caracas Venezuela, Ginny discovered books at an early age. She wrote her first novel at age fifteen while she trained with the Ballets de Caracas, later to be known as the Venezuelan National Ballet. She burned that tome when she turned a "mature" sixteen. An ecletic list of jobs--including stints as reporter, paralegal, choreographer, language teacher, retail salesperson, wife, mother of four boys, and herder of their numerous and assorted friends, including the 135 members of first the Crossmen and then the Bluecoats Drum & Bugle Corps--brought her back to books in search of her sanity. She is now the author of twenty-seven published works, but she hasn't caught up with that elusive sanity yet.

http://ginnyaikenwrites.com/About_Me....

Reviews

[C.M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quirky, klutzy and bullheaded interior designer Haley Farrell is back in the final installment of the Deadly Decor Mysteries, a rare hybrid combination of interior design, chick lit and suspense.

I’ve loved every book in this series, but it has taken years to finally get my hands on the last one, and I was so excited! Interior Motives didn’t let me down.

Written in first person point of view, the inner workings of Haley’s mind and her snark never fail to make me laugh. Her interactions with Dutch Merrill are total gold, everyone says they belong together – except the couple themselves! I’m not certain quite what I felt for their budding romance. Sometimes they worked well together. Other times I swear that if they married, they wouldn’t last long before they killed each other!

Dutch ran a bit too hot/cold for my tastes. Sometimes he acted so nice, but more often than not he acted like a complete jerk – or maybe closer to stalker.

Then there is Bella, Haley’s neighbor. A wannabe – excuse me – legally pet detective. Proud owner of a Detective’s license that she earned online. To quote Haley....

Check out the rest of this review and safety ratings here on my blog: https://embersreviews.wordpress.com/2...

[Loraine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having read the two previous Deadly Decor mysteries, I enjoyed this one just as much. Ms. Aiken's crazy characters of Haley, Dutch and Bella once again weave their ways in and out of trouble, escapades, and a dead body. Her plot is just involved enough to keep you guessing until almost the very end as to "who done it!"

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun and light-hearted, "who-done-it" mystery. I like that she includes religion in her books, but doesn't cram it down your throat.

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

"1 big old house
"+1 designer
"+1 dead body = Haley's next project

"All interior designer Haley Farrell wants to do is make houses beautiful. With the help of talented contractor Dutch Merrill, she has her dream career. Unfortunately, she's also got a reputation for playing Sherlock Holmes, a crazy neighbor who thinks she's Watson, and a past that just won't let go. Then comes a brand-new design project -- a grand old house in need of some TLC. Window dressings and dead body included.

"Haley suspects foul play, and she's got a list of suspects from a naughty nurse to shifty sons to a drug-dealing doctor. Searching for answers means butting heads with top cop Lila Tsu and trying to keep her neighbor Bella from getting herself killed. But Haley just can't stop snooping. Will her determination endanger those she loves most?"
~~back cover

You'll never in a million years guess whodunnit this time! A very clever, tangled plot mystery. But I thought the author's heart really wasn't in this one, as if she had moved on to another series and was just winding things up. Which she did nicely, except for one small hanging thread. And that thread isn't the maybe budding romance between Dutch and Haley.

[Jan L · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've enjoyed each book in this series. The characters aren't perfect yet seem so filled with life. Haley is overcoming a devastating rape that left her as dead with the help of good people in her small town. It's not dwelled on but you know it's the catalyst behind a lot of her actions and emotions. She has a "gift" for stumbling upon and helping solve murders, which does not endear her to Karate Chop Cop, a detective destined to be her friend. I am confused as to why this is the last book in the series. There is a lot left that could be entertaining and I would enjoy more of Merrill and Farrell!

[Amalthea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining, goofy and exciting at moments. Ocasionally, the banter was hard for me to keep up with and parts of the character's backstories seemed summarized (I picked this up at a thrift store, perhaps this is part of a series?) or were revealed at moments I felt were a bit random. Otherwise, I enjoyed this book. It came at a particularly poignant time in my life that helped with some healing of trust issues. It is touching and has substance where it counts. The characters were likeable and very human.

[Kimberly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not so fun as the first two. Blah. Possibly predictable?

[Julie Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

An easy and entertaining read.

[Melissa (Semi Hiatus Until After the Holidays) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good surprise ending but series is lacking some pizzazz. Need to develop the romance more quickly.

[Candy · Rating 1 out of 5]

The conversational style, " bantering", should be called bickering. Not finishing this book.