Dollycas's Thoughts
Things are going great for Shannon and Mac. They just walked the red carpet for the movie premiere based on Mac's latest book. While she had a good time she is anxious to get home to start her new project. A Victorian church that needs a lot of updates and TLC so that it can be reopened as a museum.
Her entire crew plus a new hire is excited to get started on the renovations but they make an eerie discovery on the walk-through to firm up the project schedule. A door to a chapel was hard to open. When they finally get it open, they see that the dead body of the young assistant art director had been blocking the door. Shannon is devastated by the discovery and she soon realizes the old church is full of secrets, secrets that bring forth several suspects. It's time for her and Mac to drill down on all the clues to hammer out the real killer before they strike again.
It won't take long for new fans to fall hard for contractor Shannon Hammer and her beau author Mac Sullivan. Fans like me who have loved this series from the start will be delighted as Shannon and Mac's story continues.
I love the way the characters in this series keep growing and evolving in such good and realistic ways. Ms. Carlisle has created such strong women in Shannon and Chloe along with their male counterpoints Mac and Eric. I am really happy that Chloe can be in Lighthouse Cove much more often. A wonderful supporting cast supports these key characters. With each story that supporting cast gains more depth. The author also introduces book-specific characters that evolve nicely over the course of the story.
The Victorian church setting this time was so interesting. Stained glass windows always gain my attention and the author's detailed description of those and all the other nooks and crannies of the church put me right there. I was able to visualize everything so clearly.
The way the mystery developed was so well-written and plotted. It was clear that someone associated with the church or heaven forbid someone on Shannon's crew was the killer. A really unique clue really blows open the possibilities of who could have committed the crime and some great twists move the story along. I appreciate the way Shannon works closely with Police Chief Eric even when she knows her findings could slow down or shut down her project. I also like the way she negotiates with him so that doesn't happen often. Their close relationship also means she calls him when all the clues start to fall into place. The reveal surprised me a lot. It was like an entire toolbox dropped on my foot as everything came to a head. Ms. Carlisle did an excellent job of diverting my attention.
Dressed to Drill is a terrific mystery with a fast pace and sensational characters set in a place that will be so awesome when all Shannon's renovations are completed. After that mystery is wrapped up the readers are treated to an awesome epilogue. There are bright things ahead in Lighthouse Cove and I can't wait to find out how it all comes together and plays out.
Things are going great for Shannon and Mac. They just walked the red carpet for the movie premiere based on Mac's latest book. While she had a good time she is anxious to get home to start her new project. A Victorian church that needs a lot of updates and TLC so that it can be reopened as a museum.
Her entire crew plus a new hire is excited to get started on the renovations but they make an eerie discovery on the walk-through to firm up the project schedule. A door to a chapel was hard to open. When they finally get it open, they see that the dead body of the young assistant art director had been blocking the door. Shannon is devastated by the discovery and she soon realizes the old church is full of secrets, secrets that bring forth several suspects. It's time for her and Mac to drill down on all the clues to hammer out the real killer before they strike again.
It won't take long for new fans to fall hard for contractor Shannon Hammer and her beau author Mac Sullivan. Fans like me who have loved this series from the start will be delighted as Shannon and Mac's story continues.
I love the way the characters in this series keep growing and evolving in such good and realistic ways. Ms. Carlisle has created such strong women in Shannon and Chloe along with their male counterpoints Mac and Eric. I am really happy that Chloe can be in Lighthouse Cove much more often. A wonderful supporting cast supports these key characters. With each story that supporting cast gains more depth. The author also introduces book-specific characters that evolve nicely over the course of the story.
The Victorian church setting this time was so interesting. Stained glass windows always gain my attention and the author's detailed description of those and all the other nooks and crannies of the church put me right there. I was able to visualize everything so clearly.
The way the mystery developed was so well-written and plotted. It was clear that someone associated with the church or heaven forbid someone on Shannon's crew was the killer. A really unique clue really blows open the possibilities of who could have committed the crime and some great twists move the story along. I appreciate the way Shannon works closely with Police Chief Eric even when she knows her findings could slow down or shut down her project. I also like the way she negotiates with him so that doesn't happen often. Their close relationship also means she calls him when all the clues start to fall into place. The reveal surprised me a lot. It was like an entire toolbox dropped on my foot as everything came to a head. Ms. Carlisle did an excellent job of diverting my attention.
Dressed to Drill is a terrific mystery with a fast pace and sensational characters set in a place that will be so awesome when all Shannon's renovations are completed. After that mystery is wrapped up the readers are treated to an awesome epilogue. There are bright things ahead in Lighthouse Cove and I can't wait to find out how it all comes together and plays out.
Dressed to Drill by Kate Carlisle takes us back to Lighthouse Cove where Shannon Hammer is remodeling a Gothic Victorian church into an art museum. It is just the type of project that Shannon enjoys. The church has beautiful features including a unique cabinet in the sacristy. I enjoyed the vivid word imagery that allowed me to visualize the church and the town. Shannon has a good team to help her with the renovations. She has added a new lighting expert that she met in Hollywood when visiting her sister, Chloe. It turns out that Buck has family in Lighthouse Cove (what a coincidence). I know that Shannon has a good team of workers, and she appreciates them. It is something that is mentioned often throughout the story (a few too many times). The whodunit was fun. A dead assistant in the sacristy. Shannon found clues that she happily pointed out to Eric, the chief of police. I like that Shannon and Mac bounce ideas off each other and their Scooby Doo game is amusing. There are clues to help readers solve the crime before the reveal. I wish the mystery had been more complex. There was a repetition of details as Shannon shared information with Mac, Eric, and her group of friends (who gathered helpful information). There were some intriguing points that I enjoyed. An old church is bound to have secrets. Shannon is good at finding those enigmas. Shannon and Mac are a happy couple. You can tell that they love each other and know each other very well. I did not feel, though, that we needed to be told this so frequently. The ending will please fans of the series. Dressed to Drill is the tenth A Fixer-Upper Mystery. It can be read as a standalone for those new to A Fixer-Upper Mysteries. I appreciated the humor dispersed throughout the story. Dressed to Drill is a fun, lighthearted story with great characters and a beautiful setting (I would love to live in Lighthouse Cove). Dressed to Drill is an entertaining tale with a movie premiere, a church reconstruction, a slain assistant, an abundance of boxes, a curious cabinet, and a special surprise.
