A Bat in the Belfry by Sarah Graves

4 STARS

A Bat in the Belfry: A Home Repair Is Homicide Mystery.

I have never read any of this series before but I would like to read more of them now.
Their are a lot of characters but does not take long to keep them straight. This book stands up by itself.

In reading the book I thought the main character was Lizzie Snow who came to town right after the murder happened. She finds a lot of the clues and is the center of things. I like the character of Lizzie Snow and would like to see more from her and her new job.
Jake and Ellie were in the book but never heard much from Ellie. I bet if I had read the other books in the series than a lot of characters mentioned just a little would fit in more.

Their is plenty of suspense and drama. I kind of guessed part of the story but not all of it. I would read more of Sarah's work in the future based on this one. It is also a clean read.
I was given this ebook to read in exchange of honest review from Netgalley.
Publication date: 4/30/2013 Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
304 pages ISBN-13: 9780345534996

Description taken off of Barnes & Noble

When it comes to home repair, Jacobia “Jake” Tiptree is a fervent wielder of power drills and paint brushes. And when catching criminals, she’s been known to really bring down the hammer. But when a shocking murder rocks the small town of Eastport, Maine, Jake may be the next victim for whom the bell tolls.

It is nearly midnight when the enormous bell in the belfry of All Faith Chapel—silent for decades—booms forth, startling awake the entire town of Eastport. Upon inspection of the steeple, the police uncover the body of local teenager Karen Hansen, who had climbed the belfry’s dark, rickety stairs for a midnight rendezvous. But instead of the promise of an exciting new life, Karen meets her death.

Meanwhile, as an epic nor’easter bears down on the idyllic island town, Jake Tiptree hurries to shore up her ramshackle old house against the big blow. An amateur detective, she has sworn off chasing criminals. But when the news of Karen’s murder spreads and much of the evidence points to Jake’s likable houseguest, she and her sleuthing partner, Ellie White, get to work.

They discover an unexpected ally in newcomer Lizzie Snow, a woman from “away” who seemed to have blown into town with the nor’easter, and who also seems to know a lot about the mind of a killer. Can Jake and Ellie trust her? As a killer roams free and the townsfolk struggle against the pounding, screaming storm, the resulting tempest of gossip and suspicion rivals anything the Atlantic could brew up—and threatens to keep Jake and Ellie from putting the final nail in this cold-blooded case.