Mystery
![Kate Carlisle - [object Object] author](https://res.cloudinary.com/readsomnia/image/upload/authors/a_B001VIH79M.jpg)
Dressed to Drill (A Fixer-Upper Mystery)
Contractor Shannon Hammer's new project, renovating an old church, reveals some old sins when a body is found on the premises in the latest Fixer-Upper Mystery from the New York Times author Kate Carlisle.
While Shannon Hammer is thrilled to attend the premiere of the movie based on her boyfriend Mac's latest book, she can't wait to trade her killer heels for work boots and start her next renovation project in Lighthouse Cove: a quaint Victorian church that has seen better days. And will see them again-as a museum-if Shannon, her talented crew, and her sister Chloe have anything to say about it.
But on the first day of demolition, work comes to a screeching halt when they stumble on the body of a beautiful young woman in one of the chapels. Who killed the assistant art director? Suspects crawl out of the woodwork as fast as Shannon can restore it. The church is hiding a century of secrets from the days that smugglers wreaked havoc on the California coast. But it's a more recent secret that someone killed to protect. Shannon and Mac will use every tool in their toolbox to nail down the truth before any more lives are sacrificed.
While Shannon Hammer is thrilled to attend the premiere of the movie based on her boyfriend Mac's latest book, she can't wait to trade her killer heels for work boots and start her next renovation project in Lighthouse Cove: a quaint Victorian church that has seen better days. And will see them again-as a museum-if Shannon, her talented crew, and her sister Chloe have anything to say about it.
But on the first day of demolition, work comes to a screeching halt when they stumble on the body of a beautiful young woman in one of the chapels. Who killed the assistant art director? Suspects crawl out of the woodwork as fast as Shannon can restore it. The church is hiding a century of secrets from the days that smugglers wreaked havoc on the California coast. But it's a more recent secret that someone killed to protect. Shannon and Mac will use every tool in their toolbox to nail down the truth before any more lives are sacrificed.
Readers Top Reviews
Ron H.Sharynn BloodJ
I have grown with these people. I was there when Shannon met Mac ad all the projects. You never disappoint me.
Kindle
This is the best of the series, I tnink. It is fun, scary , with good twists throughout. I enjoyed it a lot. Good romance also.
Frederic Nash
This book had plenty of action and mystery. The characters were great. You could not figure out who was the murderer till the end of the story. I can’t wait till the next book comes out.
Kindle
I found the characters to be delightful. The plot had me guessing till the end. I hope the author will continue the story with renovation of the church. I have loved hearing those details. I am also hoping for an exposition for the tunnel.
Deborah M Almada
Another interesting ride with Shannon, Mac and company. This time Shannon and the crew are remodeling an old church, in town, into an art museum, quite a large but fascinating project until the assistant museum director in found murdered in a small chapel. Although she plans on leaving this to Eric, she cannot stop stumbling on weird things in the church, that makes her look at the former church members and museum personal a little differently. Who in the Godly group is capable of murder? You won't look at an old church the same after this!
Short Excerpt Teaser
Chapter One
Hollywood, California
"Camera's rolling, Chloe," Paul, the director, shouted, then shot a glance at the crew. "Settle down, people."
My sister, Chloe, stood out of camera range casually sipping the café latte that the production assistant had just handed her. "Be right there, Paul. Shannon, you ready?"
"Yes," I said a bit too loudly, and followed it with a light cough in a vain attempt to disguise the edge of terror in my voice. After all this time, I was still a little freaked out about being on camera. I didn't know how Chloe could drink coffee. My stomach was jittery enough already.
But Chloe loved every anxious bit of it. She was the producer and star of Makeover Madness, the number one home improvement show on the Home Builders Network. Not only that, but she had a bestselling book on home decor that had sold zillions of copies and had at least a few dozen print runs by now. So she wasn't just a TV superstar, but also a multimedia superstar. She was movie-star beautiful and apparently had a cast-iron stomach lining, unlike me.
My boyfriend, Mac, and I had traveled to Hollywood to attend the world premiere of the latest film based on his bestselling Jake Slater novels. When Chloe found out we were coming, she invited me to appear on her show and do some home improvement work with her. And when her fiancé, Police Chief Eric Jensen, realized we'd all be in Hollywood together, he knew he had to come along, just in case. He figured-rightly-that whenever Chloe and I got together, trouble seemed to show up unbidden.
It was the last day of filming at a spectacular ten-thousand-square-foot mid-century modern home in Trousdale Estates, a high-priced enclave in the hills north of Sunset Boulevard. Chloe and her crew had been renovating the house for several months. I had arrived a few days ago to help with the finishing touches on the updated kitchen and the master bathroom.
Once Chloe was finished filming these last few segments, she and her crew would take a six-week hiatus while her editing team worked to put five full shows together featuring this one house. Until then, Chloe was on vacation in Lighthouse Cove.
When the shows were completely edited, she would fly back to Hollywood to tour the home and describe the amazing work she and her crew had done to turn a faded old house into a sparkling new showcase home for the homeowners.
And that was the magic of television.
"I'll stand over here," Chloe said to Paul, pointing to the far end of the massive walk-in shower. Bob the cameraman joined them for a quick rundown of the scene we were about to do.
"Shannon and I will explain things as we go along," Chloe said. "But Shannon will do the actual work, so keep the camera on her and maybe zoom in on the power drill if you can."
"I can," Bob said with a grin.
"Don't forget, Chloe," Paul reminded her. "This is the last day we'll be shooting at this house, so give us a quickie teaser about the next show at some point."
"Got it," Chloe said.
Meanwhile, my job, if I chose to accept it, was simply to attach a safety bar to the shower wall. This was something I'd done a hundred times, so it sounded like a piece of cake, right? But I was about to point out some very specific rules to follow in order not to damage the tile. And I would be doing that while running the power drill and looking and sounding professional the whole time. Like I said, piece of cake.
Chloe gave me a look. "You ready?"
I'd done Chloe's show before, a couple times, and I'd even done a scene or two by myself when Chloe was otherwise engaged-or in jail, as I recall. But it had been a year or two since I'd worked on her film set, so yeah, I was feeling a little shaky.
Never let 'em see you sweat, my father used to say. Those were words to live by, especially in Hollywood. So I rolled my shoulders and stretched my neck around to loosen up, then smiled at Chloe. "Let's do this."
"Ready to roll," she said to Paul, and took her place at the end of the walk-in shower.
This shower space, by the way, was roughly the size of my house. I'm exaggerating slightly. But seriously, there was at least enough space to play a quick game of basketball. Ten feet wide by sixteen feet long with a ceiling that went up twelve feet, it contained two rainfall shower heads plus six jet-spray nozzles on each side. I wasn't even sure what those were for, but they were definitely deluxe. The teak bench at the far end was elegantly carved and wide enough to seat two people very comfortably.
While I was admiring the huge space, Paul counted us down and cued Chloe to start talking.
"We've just about finished remodeling the main bath in this gorgeous mid-c...
Hollywood, California
"Camera's rolling, Chloe," Paul, the director, shouted, then shot a glance at the crew. "Settle down, people."
My sister, Chloe, stood out of camera range casually sipping the café latte that the production assistant had just handed her. "Be right there, Paul. Shannon, you ready?"
"Yes," I said a bit too loudly, and followed it with a light cough in a vain attempt to disguise the edge of terror in my voice. After all this time, I was still a little freaked out about being on camera. I didn't know how Chloe could drink coffee. My stomach was jittery enough already.
But Chloe loved every anxious bit of it. She was the producer and star of Makeover Madness, the number one home improvement show on the Home Builders Network. Not only that, but she had a bestselling book on home decor that had sold zillions of copies and had at least a few dozen print runs by now. So she wasn't just a TV superstar, but also a multimedia superstar. She was movie-star beautiful and apparently had a cast-iron stomach lining, unlike me.
My boyfriend, Mac, and I had traveled to Hollywood to attend the world premiere of the latest film based on his bestselling Jake Slater novels. When Chloe found out we were coming, she invited me to appear on her show and do some home improvement work with her. And when her fiancé, Police Chief Eric Jensen, realized we'd all be in Hollywood together, he knew he had to come along, just in case. He figured-rightly-that whenever Chloe and I got together, trouble seemed to show up unbidden.
It was the last day of filming at a spectacular ten-thousand-square-foot mid-century modern home in Trousdale Estates, a high-priced enclave in the hills north of Sunset Boulevard. Chloe and her crew had been renovating the house for several months. I had arrived a few days ago to help with the finishing touches on the updated kitchen and the master bathroom.
Once Chloe was finished filming these last few segments, she and her crew would take a six-week hiatus while her editing team worked to put five full shows together featuring this one house. Until then, Chloe was on vacation in Lighthouse Cove.
When the shows were completely edited, she would fly back to Hollywood to tour the home and describe the amazing work she and her crew had done to turn a faded old house into a sparkling new showcase home for the homeowners.
And that was the magic of television.
"I'll stand over here," Chloe said to Paul, pointing to the far end of the massive walk-in shower. Bob the cameraman joined them for a quick rundown of the scene we were about to do.
"Shannon and I will explain things as we go along," Chloe said. "But Shannon will do the actual work, so keep the camera on her and maybe zoom in on the power drill if you can."
"I can," Bob said with a grin.
"Don't forget, Chloe," Paul reminded her. "This is the last day we'll be shooting at this house, so give us a quickie teaser about the next show at some point."
"Got it," Chloe said.
Meanwhile, my job, if I chose to accept it, was simply to attach a safety bar to the shower wall. This was something I'd done a hundred times, so it sounded like a piece of cake, right? But I was about to point out some very specific rules to follow in order not to damage the tile. And I would be doing that while running the power drill and looking and sounding professional the whole time. Like I said, piece of cake.
Chloe gave me a look. "You ready?"
I'd done Chloe's show before, a couple times, and I'd even done a scene or two by myself when Chloe was otherwise engaged-or in jail, as I recall. But it had been a year or two since I'd worked on her film set, so yeah, I was feeling a little shaky.
Never let 'em see you sweat, my father used to say. Those were words to live by, especially in Hollywood. So I rolled my shoulders and stretched my neck around to loosen up, then smiled at Chloe. "Let's do this."
"Ready to roll," she said to Paul, and took her place at the end of the walk-in shower.
This shower space, by the way, was roughly the size of my house. I'm exaggerating slightly. But seriously, there was at least enough space to play a quick game of basketball. Ten feet wide by sixteen feet long with a ceiling that went up twelve feet, it contained two rainfall shower heads plus six jet-spray nozzles on each side. I wasn't even sure what those were for, but they were definitely deluxe. The teak bench at the far end was elegantly carved and wide enough to seat two people very comfortably.
While I was admiring the huge space, Paul counted us down and cued Chloe to start talking.
"We've just about finished remodeling the main bath in this gorgeous mid-c...
