Hammers and Homicide

Hammers and Homicide (A Hometown Hardware Mystery) by Paula Charles

About Hammers and Homicides

 

Hammers and Homicide (A Hometown Hardware Mystery) Cozy Mystery 1st in Series Setting - Oregon Crooked Lane Books (January 16, 2024) Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 280 pages ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1639105999 ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1639105991 Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0C9PJXCFG

Perfect for fans of Kate Carlisle and Victoria Gilbert, when a body is found in a hardware store, will Dawna Carpenter’s sleuthing measure up to find the killer?

Recent sexagenarian widow Dawna Carpenter thought running her own hardware store after the death of her husband was hard enough. With her adult daughter, April, moving back into town, and Darlene, the annoying boutique owner next door to her shop poking around, Dawna has her hands full. But when she finds a dead man in the bathroom of her store, with a framing hammer by his side, she’s in way over her head.

The victim, Warren Highcastle, was a land developer who was looking to purchase the old theater in town to build a new hotel. Dawna and April, worried about the implications of the crime scene at the hardware store, put themselves on the case. They soon learn that Warren had made quite a few enemies in his short amount of time in town. As the suspect list starts growing, so too do the threats against Dawna and April. Can Dawna and April nail the killer before they strike again?

What I Thought:

This is the first in a new series, A Hometown Hardware Series, and the first book I have read by this author. This was  a fast read that kept my attention throughout. I enjoyed the setting of this book and the protagonist, Dawna, was very likable. I thought this book went really fast. Dawna owns and runs a hardware store that she and her husband had together. Her husband passed away due to a heart attack, but Dawna thinks his spirit is still with her. When a local real estate developer is found dead in the bathroom that Dawna store shares with the store next door, Dawna has to investigate, especially when her husband's ex partner is the main suspect. Again I thought this was a very fast read. It flowed well and the plotline was believable. There are a few suspects and Dawna makes a few of them upset by her questions. The reveal was totally surprising and I was as surprised as Dawna by he reveal of the killer. I will definitely be looking into more in this series. 

I received a complimentary copy of this book. 

 

About Paula Charles

When Paula Charles isn't writing under the towering trees of the Pacific Northwest, she can be found in the garden with her hands in the dirt or sitting on her front porch with a good book and a glass of iced tea. She has a love for small towns, ghost stories, and pie. Paula lives on a small farm in Southwestern Washington with her patient husband and a handful of furry and feathered critters. Paula also writes cozy mysteries under the pen name of Janna Rollins. Author Links Website: Cozy Mystery Writer | Paula Charles Cozy Mystery Author Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jannarollinsauthor Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paulacharles_jannarollins/ Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show41170333.Paula_Charles Purchase Links - PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books - Amazon - B&N - Kobo - Bookshop.org