A mystery surfaces behind the walls in the Do-It-Yourself series that’s perfect for fans of HGTV’s home renovation shows. Avery Baker and her boyfriend, Derek Ellis, are flipping a seriously stigmatized house rumored to have ghosts. Soon they’ll have even bigger problems-and this renovation project might haunt them forever.
Spackled and Spooked is the 2nd Do-it-Yourself Mystery by Jennie Bentley and I feel it was a great story. The characters were well written and I love Jennie Betley’s writing with all her twists am]nd turns that keep you guessing almost until the end of the book.
Avery and Derek of the Waterfield R & R bought the old Murphy house in which Brian, the husband killed his wife, Peggy, and his in-laws but was unable to kill his son, Patrick who ran when he saw the gun in his father’s hand. Lionel Kenefick, who was friends with Patrick Murphy told Avery and Derek that the house was haunted and he heard screaming coming from the house. This completely contradicts what the next-door neighbor, Venetia Rudolph said while talking with Avery. While in the house working one day Avery heard footsteps and thought it was Derek but he wasn’t back from the hardware store yet. Kate thought maybe it was a ghost but Avery doesn’t believe in ghosts. While under the house to fix the kitchen floor Derek finds a human bone in the crawl space, so they have to call Wayne Rasmussen, Chief of Police. This house may never sell!
Brandon Thomas, the CSI Officer starts digging up the bones so they can identify who the person is. The bones belong to an old girlfriend of Brandon’s, Holly White. Daphne the K-9 Trooper and her canine partner were looking to see if there were any more bones and the dog found something at Venetia Rudolph house. Poor Ms. Rudolph is dead and looks like some killed her. While investigating the murder of Venetia, Wayne gets an anonymous tip telling him to look in Brandon’s shed for Holly’s book bag. With Brandon off the case, Avery, Derek, and Kate try to help with the investigation. Can they help prove that Brandon had nothing to do with the killing of Holly or Venetia?
Avery Baker is new to the small town of Waterfield, Maine. She lives comfortably in the house she inherited and restored while beginning a new renovation business with her boyfriend, Derek Ellis. The two begin to renovate a house that has been empty nearly two decades after the previous owners died under unfortunate circumstances. Though the house may be haunted, the pair jump in feet first. They aren’t on the job long before trouble pops up, beginning with unlevel floors.
This is the second book in A Do-It-Yourself mystery series. I enjoyed the first book in the series and the second book did not disappoint. This book could stand alone, but I can’t read a series out of order and I recommend you begin with the first book. The new characters in this story were interesting. I quickly had suspects, even before the victim was identified. The story moved at a steady pace until we learned the identity of the victim. After that, things seemed to move quickly. I recommend this book and look forward to the next in the series.