Death is what happens while you¿re making other plans . . .The last thing newly engaged plumber Tom Paretski needs is to stumble over another dead body. He¿s got enough on his mind already as the reality of his impending marriage sinks in. Not only is his family situation complicated, but his heroism at a pub fire has made him a local celebrity, and now everyone knows about his psychic … psychic talents¿and wants a piece of them.
Hired to recover a missing necklace, Tom and his fiancé, private investigator Phil Morrison, find themselves trying to unmask a killer. And there¿s no shortage of suspects, including the local bishop.
As Tom and Phil try to uncover the truth, they¿re pulled in all directions by the conflicting pressures of their families and their own desires. But the murderer they¿re up against is a ruthless schemer who won¿t baulk at killing again. If Tom and Phil don¿t watch out, their love¿and all their plans for the future¿could be blown down like a house of straw.
Publisher’s note: This is lightly edited reprint of a previously published novel.
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Well, there’s nothing like saving a few lives to bring you some unwanted notoriety which is exactly the pickle that Tom finds himself in at the beginning of Blow Down. He’s doing a favor for his sister Cherry by providing his services to a ‘friend’ only it’s not his plumbing skills that come into play. Whoopsie! To make matters worse, Mrs. F-M does not exactly have an endearing personality as she has him ‘searching’ for a hidden necklace. Next thing you know Mrs. F-M has talked him into volunteering for a local Harvest Fayre, which of course she is the organizer. Oh boy! And once he gets there, instead of helping as a server, she has put him in the program as a psychic. OH NO!
HAHAHAHA!!! Poor Tom. All he wants to be is a plumber, but his special talent just keeps getting in the way. This time around it’s for a necklace good ole Mrs. F-M has him searching her step-daughter’s room for. Not there and when Mrs. F-M turns up dead, found by yours truly, the search for the missing necklace intensifies. Tom and Phil get hired to find the necklace, but the killer is very determined otherwise, and the race is on to find the necklace before the end up the killer’s next victim.
This was quite the busy and informative book. Not like it wasn’t hard enough with wedding plans, last names decisions, and deciding where they are going to live but now Tom gets to meet the future in-laws. Phil’s family is…well, it explains a lot. Things are rather rocky at best until Phil’s sister bring up the subject of Phil’s dead husband and a hint as to why things went south. Uh oh! That certainly spiked Tom’s curiosity but he wasn’t going to ask. Nope. Not one bit. *Whistles tunelessly*
Killers, family and wedding plans oh my! Blow Down was non-stop entertainment of which I love every minute. Tom, Phil, his cats and everybody else are what have made The Plumber’s Mate Mysteries series hands down my favorite this year. I can not wait to sink into the next book!
I received this book from The JeepDiva with the express purpose of an honest review. The opinions, contents, and rating of this review are solely mine
Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team
Sarah –
This was such a comfort read! I loved the complete ‘Englishness’ of this gentle mystery. More Midsomer than Rebus, home counties plumber Tom finds himself inadvertently involved with a murder at a church fete.
This time, thee cast of characters and suspects includes a bishop and a colourful cross section of English society. I enjoyed the careful observations and the somewhat subtle social commentary.
Tom and his PI fiancé, Phil, are attempting to solve the murder while also planning their wedding. Tom and Phil’s low angst and low drama relationship is sweet but these two are settled and solid and there isn’t much heat or even much romance in this story. Tom and Phil work well together and I like them as a couple.
This is a fairly slow murder mystery. It was an easy, relaxing read. While it is the first book I’ve read in the series, it stood alone well. I have to admit that I didn’t guess the whodunnit, but the plot is well crafted and I should have. I loved the characters and the sense of place (there’s some great property porn here!). I look forward to reading the earlier books in this series.
Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Blow Down (The Plumber’s Mate Mysteries #4) by JL Merrow to read and review.
So great! I took way too long a break between books in this series – Tom’s the best and he and Phil are perfect together in Blow Down. They get up to some good romancin’ in this one 😉
As always, there’s a fun mystery and Merrow sneaks in the laughs wherever she can (if I wasn’t laughing I was smiling). The little family drama stuff – between Phil’s family and Tom’s biological father – is all brewing and Lock Nut certainly promises to be a good one, I can’t wait!