Murder on the House

Haunted Home Renovation Series, Book 3

By: Juliet Blackwell

Narrated by: Xe Sands

Word has spread that contractor Mel Turner can communicate with the spirits of the dead, and she's having a hard time maintaining a low profile. She decides to embrace her reputation for the chance to restore a historic house that calls to her. The new owners, who hope to run a haunted bed-and-breakfast, want Mel to encourage the ghosts that supposedly roam the halls to enhance the house's paranormal charm. The catch: Mel has to spend one night in the house to win the project. During the spine-chilling sleepover, the estate gains another supernatural occupant when someone doesn't survive the night. As Mel tries to coax the resident spirits into revealing the identity of the killer, she risks becoming the next casualty of this dangerous renovation.

©2012 Julie Goodson-Lawes (P)2013 Tantor

Critic reviews

"This book read like a charm. Juliet Blackwell has a knack for weaving supernatural and mysterious elements into a beautiful story that the reader just cannot put down." (Girl Lost in a Book)

Murder & Mayhem all around

Fun to listen to murder mystery with a tad little bit of romance.Lots of character's,it was a bit hard keeping up with them all but the narrator didn't seem to have any problem with that herself.She did a great job giving each character individuality & personality.The only thing I could be disappointed in was some of the character's in the story weren't accounted for in the end leaving you to wonder what happened to them,like Tom Avery for example.He supposedly to sailed away but to me it didn't sound like something the man would have done.Over all,very cute story with murder & ghosts & lots of curious friends.Would recommend reading for any one at any age.

Sweet book

Enjoyable light hearted story. Although a bit predictable with one little twist. Be sure to read the other books in the series.

Pleasantly enjoyable

I always enjoy books by Juliet Blackwell and will be darn glad when Mel and Graham finally officially hook up, they've been childishly skirting around having an adult romance. While listening to this book, which was an easy listen, I guessed several times who I thought was the murderer, and each time I was wrong. Way to go Juliet Blackwell, and the fact that you have Xe Sands as the narrator is an excellent choice, I couldn't think of a better person. I highly recommend this book.

"A Bed and Breakfast to die for!"

Our girl Mel uses her gift and turns a bed of nails into a Cozy (and safe) Bed and Breakfast. Another fun little adventure that makes you wish you could see ghosts.

Great, as always

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

There were definitely a few laugh-out-loud moments. Such great writing and storyline. I love this series.

Any additional comments?

Very well written and very well narrated. I would recommend this book, actually the entire series, to friends.

Superb light reading with goosebumps.

Juliet Blackwell's Ghost vs. Contractor series has been a delight. I listen to them in between heavy murder mysteries as they are quick witted, light and usually give me goosebumps at some point. I give a healthy amount of credit for keeping me entertained to the amazing narration by Xe Sands. That woman could probably cry on cue. She makes her voice quivver exactly when the leading lady is scared. She does other people's voices so well you really wouldn't have to say "said Luce". The stories were full of twists and as with all great who-done-it's I find myself guessing at the beginning and then being dead wrong at the end. I'm excited to see that that Ms. Blackwell has book #7 coming out next year as I am a female General Contractor and have run across some interesting things in this business as well. So that made the entire series just a bit more fun and lively.
Book three, Murder on the House describes more of San Fran that I have not seen yet. If you haven't been to San Fran and are reading the series, you really need to take a trip and walk the city. The detail of the houses she describes and the areas surrounding them are quiet accurate. Book three, as with all the other books, has our favorite characters, our work-a-holic leading lady and Dog. The eye rolls, bumps, tool box falling and bumps in the night all make for a perfect ghost story. This one though, I didn't see it coming. Really. All the clues were there but I got too wrapped up in the little girl ghost that I didn't see it coming.

Series gets better and better

I am continuing to enjoy these. The book as it progresses contains excellent characterizations and unexpected turns.

Fun series

I enjoy a series with fun characters. This one has interesting bits of SF Bay area history peppered throughout.

Love!

Love this series!! Thought I was alone in my love of historic preservation as a women. Combine with the paranormal and great characters, these books are gems!

Cozy, Woo-Woo Romance that is delightful

Another very enjoyable ghost story from Juliet Blackwell can be read in Murder on the House. Following Mel Turner's new and developing skills in talking to ghosts, she decides to take on a new challenge. An historic Victorian home needs to be restored. Work has begun on a small scale with a passionate gardener already at work along with other individual repairs.

An elderly woman who spent 60 happily married years at the house until her husband died not so long ago has already signed an agreement to sell the home to a couple who want to convert the mansion into a bed and breakfast ... A haunted B&B inn. Mel already knows from a previous visit to the home that an entire family - medical doctor, his wife, a son and a daughter - died in the home. Mel has used her growing talents of talking with ghosts to chat with the young girl after hearing her singing in the nursery.

Any contractors who are interested in winning the possible AIA award winning job must spend an entire evening at the mansion without leaving. The handful of contractors and their friends or aides all gather with the elderly woman for a pizza dinner. They begin disbanding when a ruckus in the nursery sends them all running, some toward the room and some out of the house. Mel calms everyone in the nursery by showing the toy truck who announces his own arrival, the bag of marbles that spilled, and so on.

When they make it back to the kitchen, they discover that someone is missing. When she is found, she is no longer alive. All involved try to call 911 on their cell phones, but their batteries have been drained. Even the landline at the house is out of order. Mel realizes the pizza place is just down the street, so she runs there and calls 911. In doing so, she's alerted those at the pizza place what is going on and where. The elderly woman had raised many foster kids, some of whom still live and work in town, and eat pizza!

Mel and her entourage make it back to the mansion in time to meet the paramedics and see the dead body removed. The evening is over after that. Mel can't let go of the many unanswered mysteries and soon finds all the men currently in her life following her every move ... Her ex husband and her stepson Caleb who was hurt in his home which is under renovation, Graham, her current date who wants to be more, her father and family friend Stan who ran Turner Construction, and even the Dog who is male!

By the end of this charming story, I wasn't sure if I'd read a cozy, a woo woo story, a romance, or some other category books fall into. Not that it truly matters to me, as long as the book is well written, and this certainly was well written. The only reason I didn't give it five stars was the middle of the story got the "what ifs," which is what I call it if a mystery becomes bogged down with the author asking what if character C killed her, or what if it was character H at the cookie jar, etc. Otherwise, Juliet Blackwell has written an engaging, mysterious, funny, silly yet deadly serious book. The ending brings answers to all those pesky questions as well.

Way to go Juliet for writing a fine story, and to Xe for superbly narrating the many characters in this audiobook. I truly am looking forward to reading the next excellent chapter in Mel Turner's life!