The Knife Before Christmas
Fixer-Upper Mystery #11
By Kate Carlisle
ISBN 9780593637647
Author’s website: katecarlisle.com
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Jeanie
Synopsis:
Contractor Shannon Hammer hopes for a peaceful Christmas with her fiancé, Mac, until murder throws a wrench in her holiday plans in a brand-new installment of the USA Today bestselling Fixer-Upper Mystery Series.Christmas has come to Lighthouse Cove, but business hasn’t slowed down for Shannon Hammer. She’s been contracted to renovate a local hotel owned by the Garrisons, a family that’s so devoted to the holidays they serve an eight-course dinner every night from Thanksgiving through Christmas. Last year’s festivities featured a train that transported guests around the breathtaking Cliffside property. This year, Shannon and her crew have been commissioned to build a Victorian-style carnival midway with games and prizes galore. Everyone in town loves the hotel’s spirit, except the Garrisons’ children and their spouses, who are hum-bugged by the money being wasted on holiday cheer while their inheritance goes up the chimney. Things turn nasty when a mischief-maker close to the family is found dead. It’s up to Shannon and Mac to catch a sinister Scrooge before all of Lighthouse Cove receives coal for Christmas.
Review:
The Christmas season’s official kick-off at the Cliffs Hotel in Lighthouse Cove, California, is the grand opening of their new outdoor events. Shannon and crew members have enjoyed the challenges of building the Fun Zone, like an old-time carnival. Bill and his wife, Lilian, are the fourth generation of Garrisons to formally run the hotel. Bringing family fun and fine dining into the lives of Lighthouse Cove families and the hotel guests is a priority for the couple.
The Garrisons’ adult children have taken on various responsibilities so the luxurious vacation destination will one day be turned over to them and their spouses. Shannon and her sister Chloe went through school with the three Garrisons. Arabella, one of Bill and Lilian’s daughters, and Randi, their daughter-in-law, were both friends of Shannon’s nemesis, Whitney. Whitney is still mean and spiteful, as is Randi, even to Lilian and Bill, who have only been kind and encouraging to her. Arabella is still influenced by Whitney, yet she has a hidden reservoir of her parents’ best characteristics. Randi is miserable to almost everyone except the patrons in the upscale hotel bar. Stephanie, well-adjusted and hardworking, has been taking on responsibilities to run the hotel and is doing very well.
Logan, the oldest of Bill and Lilian’s children, returned home with an honorable discharge from the Navy. Randi, his wife, didn’t look happy, despite his being a genuinely gentle and loving man. Instead of taking any position of authority at the Cliffs, he accepted an offer to be the Community Director at Homefront, a neighborhood of tiny houses for veterans that Shannon and her crew had built.
Shannon and her crew take turns being at the Fun Zone each evening it’s open in case of emergency. Unfortunately, that emergency occurred. Shannon and Mac, her fiancé, and their close friends were at the hotel restaurant, enjoying the special eight-course Christmas dinners Bill and Lilian offer most nights between Thanksgiving and Christmas. It was difficult to get a reservation for the dinners, so they were thrilled to be there.
During dinner, the power went out. Since Shannon was in the building, she and Mac went to the cellar to check the breaker. Eric, the chief of police, a friend of Mac and Shannon, and soon-to-be Chloe’s husband went with them. Shannon saw a pile of what looked like blankets on one of the sofas, then as she got closer, she saw a foot, and a hand. She thought that, due to the color of the fabric, a worker may have come down for a nap, or got ill. Instead, it was a family member, who had been murdered.
Most characters are delightful; their conversations, demeanors, and behaviors reveal each personality. Shannon is my favorite, and I envy her close relationship with her sister, Chloe. Their mother passed away when she and Chloe were young; Lilian was a surrogate mother to them and holds a special place in their hearts.
Descriptions of structures, gardens, and winter scenery bring three-dimensional life to the hotel, the Fun Zone, and Homefront. The author has fun with some of her descriptions of people or situations that in turn gave me smiles and giggles.
The projects that Shannon’s company takes on are different in each mystery. Each is creative and unique – such as the Fun Zone. I enjoyed the brief reminders of past jobs. The construction projects are fascinating to this former paper-pushing construction admin, one of many things I love about the series. Since Shannon has worked on this hotel for various upgrades and renovations even when her father ran the company, I would love to see it – as well as the property, fully decorated for Christmas.
This was quite a clever mystery! Especially when a beloved staff member was subsequently found murdered. Eric has been trying to solve the murders and catch several groups of porch pirates. Shannon was not been as active in this murder investigation as in the past. Her business, friends, and the upcoming holiday are all keeping her extremely busy. She and Mac only played their thought-provoking Scooby-doo game briefly. I was stumped, and didn’t have my usual “pet suspect” list. There were a couple people who could have had fingers pointed at, but they just didn’t feel right. The killer was someone I had only briefly considered! I enjoyed every minute of this mystery and look forward to the next one. All loose ends have been admirably resolved. I highly recommend this well-written cozy mystery!
