Crawlspace

November 23, 2009
In Graves's tepid 13th Home Repair Is Homicide mystery (after 2008's A Face at the Window
), true-crime writer Carolyn Rathbone and her unhappy assistant, Chip Hahn, arrive in Eastport, Maine, to research Randy Dodd, a psycho who faked his own death six years earlier after Cordelia Lang Dodd, Randy's wealthy wife, took a fatal fall down the stairs. Now Randy has returned to Eastport after the stabbing murder of Anne Dodd, the wife of his brother, Roger, and Cordelia's sister. Did Randy kill Anne, as the blubbering Roger claims? Soon after kidnapping snoopy Carolyn, a cosmetically altered Randy nabs Sam, series heroine Jake Tiptree's recovering alcoholic son, who's an unlucky witness. Chip, who once befriended Sam, joins sleuthing forces with police chief Bob Arnold, a frantic Jake, and others in an installment marred by a lack of surprises and boring, over-the-top villains, though redeemed in part by an exciting resolution.

Starred review from December 15, 2009
After two wealthy sisters are murdered, a true-crime writer arrives in Eastport, ME, to interview someone who claims to have inside knowledge of the killings. The writer disappears and so does Jacobia Tiptree's son. Hold on to your hats when Jacobia and her housekeeper, now her mother-in-law, swing into action. VERDICT In her 13th series title (after "A Face at the Window"), Graves transcends the boundaries of the conventional mystery by allowing her protagonists to indulge in heroics that land them in the shark-infested waters of the thriller. Readers who enjoy Joy Fielding, Iris Johansen, and Mary Higgins Clark might want to try Graves. [See Prepub Mystery, "LJ" 9/1/09; library marketing; ebook ISBN 978-0-553-90727-8.]

Copyright 2009 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 15, 2009
True-crime author Carolyn Rathbone and her assistant, Chip, travel to Eastport, Maine, to research the murders of two sisters and interview a subject for a planned book. When Carolyn is kidnapped, Chip sets out in a small boat to save her. Meanwhile, Jacobia (Jake) Tiptrees son, Sam, disappears. Chip, who stumbles on their location when his boats motor dies, is captured as well. This fast-paced, suspenseful story is told from alternating points of view as Carolyn and Chip try to escape the kidnapper, and Jake and her housekeeper, Bella, try to locate Sam, who is gravely injured. Jake and Bella almost lose their lives during their investigation when they discover that another person connected to the long-ago-murdered sisters is deeply involved in the crime. This thirteenth in the Home Repair Is Homicide series features less actual home repair and more action as a determined Jake works to find her son.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)