Welcome to River Bluffs, Indiana, a cozy small town populated with charming homes, close-knit families, and the occasional deadly secret . . . House-flipper Jazzi Zanders and her cousin Jerod have found their latest project. The property, formerly owned by the late Cal Juniper, is filled with debris that must be cleared before the real renovation begins. But a trip to the attic reveals … attic reveals something more disturbing than forgotten garbage—a skeleton wearing a locket and rings that Jazzi recognizes . . .
Tests confirm that the bones belong to Jazzi’s aunt Lynda, who everyone assumed moved to New York years ago after breaking up with Cal. Soon enough, the whole family is involved, sifting through memories and rumors as they try to piece together what really happened to Lynda—and the baby she gave up for adoption. In between investigating and remodeling, Jazzi is falling for the old house’s charms—and for her gorgeous contractor, Ansel. But with surprises lurking in every nook and cranny, a killer might be waiting to demolish her dreams for good . . .
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This was the first book I have read by this author. Would continue with the series.
I enjoyed this book and will read more from this author.
The Body In The Attic is the first book in the A Jazzi Zanders Mystery series.
Jazzie Zander and her cousin, Jared, are in the business of flipping houses and they are helped by the handsome Ansel, their contractor.
Cal Juniper’s home has recently come on the market and Jazzi and Jared have determined that basically, the house is in good shape, except for trash the previous tenants left behind and should be able to be quickly turned around. Juniper’s home has a special significance for Jazzi. Juniper had wanted to marry her Aunt Lynda and there had been an engagement party at the house. But Lynda had said that she needed time to think about getting married and was heading to New York City for a year. But she never returned. And Juniper had headed off on a business trip the next day after Lynda had left town.
Jazzi and Jared ended up getting the home for a good price and have started to clean out the trash. Jazzi decides to check what might be in the attic that might be able to be used to decorate the house once renovations are completed. Jazzi finds a beautiful antique steamer trunk, but she is in for a horrible surprise when she opens it. Inside is a skeleton and Jazzi quickly realizes that it is the skeleton of Aunt Lynda by the neck that is with the skeleton and additionally confirmed when the ring that Juniper had given her is still on her ring finger.
Jazzi with help of her mom, sister, Jared, and Ansel sets off to try and learn who had wanted her Aunt Lynda out of their lives and why. She will find Aunt Lynda had secrets that she kept even from her family. Also, she finds that someone in Aunt Lynda past wants those secrets kept a secret as it might point to the killer.
This is a well-written and plotted story and has a wonderful and believable cast of characters. I particularly enjoyed her grandmother, she is such an interesting character.
I will definitely be looking forward to the next book in this interesting new series. I also will be looking forward to reading about the new projects Jazzi and Jared get involved in.
I’ve read several stories with contractors finding bodies in homes, but Body in the Attic had a slightly more complex story for the victim. A little more time was spent on setting up the characters and setting as one would expect from a new series, but the mystery got enough attention too.
There was quite a bit of the romance element because Jazzi’s relationship with Ansel was being set up. I think there will be less of that in the next book which is fine with me. I don’t feel their relationship was truly rushed given what is revealed on both their parts plus there wasn’t any drama. They handled the situation like thoughtful adults.
Looking forward to the next one.
I got my copy from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.
The Body in the Attic by Judi Lynn was an intriguing read that hooked me from the first chapter.
Jazzi and Jerod are cousins who purchase homes and then flip them for resale. Ms.Lynn’s writing was quite descriptive; and I often felt that I was in the house with Jazzi and Jerod as they worked to flip the recently purchased house. I liked all of the characters and Ms.Lynn created likable characters with their own unique personalities as I got to know them better while reading. Jazzi’s family is tight knit and this helps Jazzi to supply clues to the detective. The plot was smoothly paced with enough twists to keep me guessing throughout the story. I only have one small complaint and that was how much the detective involved Jazzi into his interrogations. I can easily suspend belief while reading fiction usually but this pushed it a little too far for me. All in all, this was a good cozy mystery and I enjoyed it.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book from Lyrical Underground via NetGalley. All of the above opinions are my own.