A Gilded Age ghost helps psychic painter Celeste Cabot catch a killer . . Rising up against the beautiful backdrop of the Blue Ridge Mountains, the Biltmore Estate is a magnificent mansion in Asheville, North Carolina, built as a summer home for George Washington Vanderbilt II—yes, of those Vanderbilts—during the Gilded Age. Nowadays, it’s the site of an annual craft fair. Unfortunately, it’s … craft fair. Unfortunately, it’s also about to become a crime scene . . .
Celeste is hard to miss as she pulls up with her pink and white Shasta trailer and adorable Chihuahua, Van Gogh—Van for short. But before she can show off her artwork at the fair, a tour guide is found strangled by a velvet rope barrier and a valuable painting goes missing. With a rogues’ gallery of sketchy suspects, Celeste welcomes the help of a pair of handsome detectives—and a ghost with a special interest in the case . . .
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Praise for Rose Pressey and Her Haunted Craft Fair Mysteries
“Plucky, self-employed heroine, cute pet, scary ghost, and two eligible suitors: everything a cozy needs.”—Kirkus Reviews
“The paranormal twist adds a bit of flair to this quirky new series.” —The Parkersburg News & Sentinel
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Celeste Cabot is attending a craft fair being held at Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. The estate was built for George Washington Vanderbilt II and tours are held there but it soon becomes a crime scene when Celeste comes across the body of one of the tour guides. Celeste begins sleuthing on her own but soon has help from a pair of detectives, her family, and a ghost.
This has been a cute series and this book is no exception. It’s fairly well-written and full of quirky characters. I enjoyed reading this light-hearted and fun book and look forward to the next one. I do recommend both book and series.
Murder Can Haunt Your Handiwork by Rose Pressey an amusing cozy mystery. Celeste Cabot is on the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina for the Fifth Annual Biltmore Estate Craft Fair. She was touring the Biltmore Mansion with her family until her father and brothers got them kicked out. Celeste realizes she has lost her keys and returns to look for them. Instead of her keys, Celeste finds a strangled female employee. Celeste returns to her pink-and-white trailer where she is compelled to paint a man from a time long past. When the ghost of the man in the painting appears, Celeste knows that she must get answers regarding the murder. Murder Can Haunt Your Handiwork is the 3rd A Haunted Craft Fair Mystery. Everything a new reader needs to know is included. I thought Murder Can Haunt Your Handiwork was easy to read thanks to Rose Pressey’s engaging writing style. Celeste Cabot is a quirky main character who makes her living by selling her paintings at craft fairs. She has a cute pink truck which pulls her pink-and-white vintage trailer. Celeste has an adorable Chihuahua named Van (after Van Gogh because of his floppy ear). Celeste’s family is in Asheville with her along with her best friend, Sammi and her two detective love interests, Caleb Ward and Pierce Meyer. I do not know how Celeste puts up with her family. The father and brothers would drive me crazy within five minutes (they are always getting into or causing trouble). Celeste’s grandmother is a sweetie. I liked the ghost, Mr. Vanderbilt. He made some funny remarks. I would have liked to know more about him and the reason for his appearance. The mystery was straightforward. There was a small suspect pool and pointed clues. Celeste follows suspects, asks questions, and eavesdrops on conversations. She is told repeatedly to stay out of the investigation by Caleb and Pierce (she ignores them both). I found Murder Can Haunt Your Handiwork very similar to the first two books (craft fair, murder, ghost, she clumsily investigates, her family causes chaos). I was left with unanswered questions at the end of the book especially regarding the ghost. The whodunit was simple, and it was no mystery as the identity of the killer. The love triangle between Celeste, Caleb, and Pierce continues. I had hoped the author would have resolved it by now. There is also a repetition of information. We get it the first time. I found this A Craft Fair Mystery to be lacking (as you can tell). It could have used a good rewrite. Murder Can Haunt Your Handiwork is a droll cozy mystery with a mysterious manifestation, an executed employee, spooky paintings, a frenzied family, and a prying painter.
A fun read filled with interesting characters.
Love the pink trailer and truck.. Cute idea.
I’m confused by the cover. The painting n the picture is not like the one described in the story.
MURDER CAN HAUNT YOUR HANDIWORK by Rose Pressey
The Third Haunted Craft Fair Mystery
Leave it to Celeste’s wacky family to get them thrown out of the Biltmore Estate. Although they don’t mean any harm, her brothers and father can’t help but bring chaos. Fortunately, Celeste is able to remain on the property to sell her paintings during the estate’s craft fair. When she returns to the manor house to search for her keys, lost during her family’s visit, she finds, not only her keys, but a dead body! With her paintings as clues and a ghost from the estate to help, Celeste doggedly investigates the murder. But will her desire to find the murderer be the death of her?
MURDER CAN HAUNT YOUR HANDIWORK is a cute mystery. Celeste Cabot has a cute retro trailer, in pink, and a cute Chihuahua named Van Gogh. (He is a sweet tempered Chihuahua too, not one of the yappy demons who would sooner nip than look at you.) Her truck is even pink, increasing the cuteness level. There is some danger and there are some unpleasant characters, but the cute factor far outweighs any drama.
My favorite parts of the story include Celeste’s family. They had me laughing out loud at their antics. They may wreak havoc wherever they go, but their love and loyalty to each other also shines through. I also really liked the ghost, Mr. Vanderbilt. I loved how he helped Celeste investigate and enjoyed his comments about her suitors. I like both Pierce and Caleb and the rapport they have with each other, but I am not a fan of love triangles. I hope this one resolves quickly.
MURDER CAN HAUNT YOUR HANDIWORK is a light-hearted fun mystery. Plenty of laughs with a friendly paranormal twist make it a quick enjoyable read.
FTC Disclosure – The publisher sent me a digital ARC provided through NetGalley, in the hopes I would review it.
Celeste sells her paintings at craft fairs. She is excited for the opportunity to sell at the Biltmore Estate Craft Fair. Her entire family is looking forward to this fair and offers to come along and “help” her.
Celeste has another talent. Her paintings contain clues to solving crimes. They also seem to come to her from a dream-like state and sometimes allow ghosts to materialize. Celeste can see and speak to them but most others have no idea they are there.
If you liked television shows such as Medium or the Ghost Whisperer you will enjoy this series.
Celeste is intelligent but has a knack for putting herself into dangerous situations.
She has two good friends in law enforcement, but that brings complications as well.
Another fun read in this series. I enjoyed reading about our quirky protagonist and her little chihuahua. The mystery is well crafted with plenty of twists and turns. The story has just the right amount of humor to drama mixture and paranormal to realism. I look forward to reading the next book in the series.
All thoughts and opinions are my own, and in no way have I been influenced by anyone.
I don’t enjoy giving a bad review for a series or an author. In this case, even more so than usual but… Rose Pressey is a good writer, I have never doubted this, but there are certain issues in cozy books, really any fiction book, that I find difficult to get past or enjoy. Unfortunately, Murder Can Haunt Your Handiwork has them all. The paranormal aspects of this series started as creative and original. I was never certain it was sustainable due to how hard it would be to change the central theme. The main character, Celeste, isn’t exactly a model heroine, and it’s hard to like her. But I wanted to give the series the benefit of the doubt. I am sad to say that I am disappointed.
I know it is hard to develop a new plot when dealing with paranormal subjects of this nature. Painting a portrait and having the ghost appear and start talking to you, and keep the story fresh and exciting would be no easy feat. However, I hadn’t counted on this series becoming so formulaic. It’s as if all the author is doing is changing the ghost’s name, maybe the sex as well, and the location. Other than this, it’s the same exact story over and over. But at least with the first two books, all the questions brought up were answered by the end, and the reader could smile and not feel as if they wasted their time. I can’t say that with this third installment. Not only did we never find out why the ghost appeared other than he needed to, but we also didn’t find out how he died or anything else about his background. In the end, we were left with more questions than answers. I am also not a fan of love triangles. I understand they have a place in a story, but they are usually resolved by the second book. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like this will happen even in the fourth book unless something drastic occurs.
The killer was predictable and easy to recognize. The motive just as easy to figure out, and most of the suspects, there weren’t that many to pick from, really weren’t viable. Only one suspect honestly had the opportunity to commit the crime if the evidence presented was followed to its logical conclusion. Not to mention that there truly was no police investigation worth noting. The ghost was somewhat entertaining as he followed the main character around and learned about all the innovations that hadn’t been around when he was alive, such as cell phones. This installment seemed to miss most of the paranormal aspects that made it enjoyable in the beginning. I am sorry to say that I did not enjoy Murder Can Haunt Your Handiwork; I found it tedious, the characters dull and predictable, and the plot tired. All of this aside, I still have hope that the author will surprise me with this series and give me something to smile about again.
I have been on a cozy paranormal mystery kick lately because who couldn’t use a good laugh right now? Besides, I really like them. I pick this one up because it sounded good, and I dived in, and to be honest, I’ve never read a book by this author even the ones before this one. Right away, I liked the main character Celeste, but the more I read, the more I wanted to yell at her. She was a little too ditzy at times, and she seemed to make the silliest moves with one being why didn’t she have her ghost help her by scouting out because he couldn’t be seen. This happened more than once. I liked my MCs a little less…helpless. However, this still was a cute and fun book, and I did enjoy it. Recommend. I was provided a complimentary copy which I voluntarily reviewed.
This is a fun, quirky cozy series and is best read in order. Celeste is a painter who travels to various craft/art fairs in her pink and white Shasta trailer accompanied by her Chihuahua, Van (Gogh). She is also visited by ghosts who appear in her paintings and tied to the mystery she gets involved in at each fair. This time the whole family is on stage and are they a handful. The setting is the Fifth Annual Biltmore estate Craft Fair in Asheville, North Carolina. It should be a wonderful event given the magnificent location but it isn’t very long before Celeste finds herself trying to track down a killer and another ghost has to be dealt with…along with her family.
The mystery was solid and had enough twists and turns to keep me reading past my bedtime. I wasn’t disappointed and I’m holding a spot on my TBR list for the next in the series. My thanks to the publisher Kensington and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.
Murder Can Haunt Your Handiwork” the 3rd instalment in the “Haunted Craft Fair” Mystery series by Rose Pressey. I am a huge fan of Rose Pressey and her newest series. It can be read as a standalone but I think it should be read in order.
The protagonist Celeste is a likable, fun main character, with quirky supporting characters her family, her BFF Saddie and her faithful companion Van the Chihuahua.
The mystery is interesting and well plotted, and had plenty of twists to keep you engrossed till the end. The love triangle sounds like it might be coming to an end in the next book which would be nice.
I recommend this book to all my cozy lover friends.
I requested and received an advance reader copy of this book from Kensington Books and Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.