Review & Giveaway: Wall to Wall Dead by Jennie Bentley

Mass Market Paperback, 304 pages

Expected publication: September 4th 2012 by Berkeley

ISBN: 0425255565 (ISBN13: 9780425255568)

edition language: English

series: A Do-It-Yourself Mystery #6

From the publisher:

Avery and her fiancé Derek are fixing up a cute little condo in homey Waterfield, Maine, hoping for a quick turnaround and some extra money for their wedding. It seems like a simple project, and Avery is looking forward to using her big-city experience with small spaces.

But they didn't expect to have their every move watched by the resident busybody in the condo: Hilda Shaw, who loves snooping on everyone's comings and goings. When the busybody becomes a dead body, Avery suspects foul play. Soon she's doing some snooping of her own, and it seems everyone in the complex has a secret. Could one of them be worth killing for? Avery needs to work fast, before someone decides to fix her - for good.

My thoughts:  Lots of good things going on in this one; plenty of suspects with viable motives (a must have in a cozy as far as I'm concerned), good pacing, mostly realistic dialogue, great setting and a satisfying ending. The relationships between the characters felt real to me. My only quibble is at times Avery did some "stupid" things like chasing a suspect (more than once!) in her very recognizable beetle. How dumb is that? Otherwise, this was a fun read.

I forgot this was book #6 in the series and it didn't matter at all because it is truly a stand-alone mystery. There were references to other incidents in Avery and Derek's life but it didn't feel repetitive or bog down the present story at all. Overall, I would go back and read the ones in the series I missed. Some decorating tips are included at end of book.  3.5*

Disclosure: A review copy of the book was provided by Berkley in exchange for my honest opinion.

To celebrate this week's release, I have one copy of Wall to Wall Dead for giveaway. Open to US only. Deadline to enter is September 15th at 5 PM (est)

Bonus entries are as follows:

+4 for following on Networked blogs. Just remind me under what name.
+3 for blogging (sidebar is fine) or tweeting about the giveaway. Valid only if posted at least 2 days before deadline.  Leave me a link, please.

If you cannot comment, you can still enter by sending me an e mail with Wall to Wall Dead  in the subject line. Include your name and e mail and send to florida982002[at]yahoo.com

Good Luck!