First book in the series. Not 100% sure I would continue on with the series, but Jazzi (the main character) is likable enough. In terms of cozy mystery standards...the love interest situations sucks, there's an adorable dog...

This is the first book I have read by Judy Lynn. It was not a disappointment. She is an amazing storyteller. You grew to like the main characters as the story unfolded. The plot was easily followed and all the problems were worked out and solved. Suspense starts with chapter one and continues until the end. Lots of twists and turns, well developed characters and story line. Enjoyed it

A good book. Well written with great characters and a good plot. The storyline flows and the mystery is enjoyable. I highly recommend.,

This is the first book in a series about Jazzie Zanders and her cousin Jerod who flip houses with the help of their handyman Ansel. There excitement about getting a gorgeous house for a song turns to horror when the old cedar chest contains a skeleton - and not just any skeleton but the remains of Jazzie's long missing aunt, Lynda. As the three work to remodel the old house they can't help but learn the secrets of Lynda and the former owner. This was a fun read. I love books about home renovation and Jazzie does not shrink from any heavy lifting. She, Jerod, and Ansel are nice people who love what they do and it's a lot of fun to read about. Jazzie's involvement in the investigation does strain believability a bit but not enough to dampen my enjoyment. This is a fun engaging mystery that wrapped up nicely and is the start of a series that I'm looking forward to continuing. However, while the mystery never fades to the background there is a developing romance that does get quite a bit of page time so if you don't like that in your mysteries you might want to give this a pass.

Wow! I was hooked from the publishers blurb and was not let down at all. My very first by Judi Lynn and I hope not my last. We start out by meeting Jazzi Sanders who has a knack for flipping houses and she has found one that is right up her alley. It belonged to the now deceased Cal Juniper. When Jazzi starts clearing the debris she notices something in the attic that should not be there. A skeleton that is wearing familiar jewelry. She realizes that it could belong to her aunt Lynda who everyone thought had just moved on after her breakup with.....you guessed it, Cal. Once the police are called and the bones are carted off to be examined, Jazzi realizes that she is totally in love with this home. After a few weeks the results come back that it was her aunt and now the family must put the pieces of the puzzle together to figure out what happened. Was she murdered? And by Cal? Enter Ansel, her contractor who she has started to develop feelings for, and that has somewhat taken her mind off of the murder scene. But what if Ansel has more to do with the house than she realizes? The story is well developed and a great pace to read. I love the characters and how they grew on you as the story moved forward. I have truly begun to fall in love with cozy mysteries and want to read more. I hope I can find more by this author.

Thank you to netgalley as well as the author/publisher for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

This is the first book In the Jazzi Zanders series. Jazzi, her cousin and their friend are house flippers. They have started on the house of their Aunts deceased fiancé. The wedding never took place because her Aunt left years earlier, or so they thought until they found her skeleton in the attic.

This was a different cozy, but different in a good way meaning it wasn't the usual formula most people expect in a cozy. Instead of Jazzi bugging the detective for clues, he was very willing to share with her what he found out and almost treated her like a colleague instead of a civilian. And the two murders were technically cold cases...but there was at least one, possibly two killers that were still very much alive. I noticed the author usually writes romance which does explain for the more detailed account of the characters' everyday lives, which is not a bad thing at all. Different can be good as in this case.

I really enjoyed this book and I can’t wait to read more books from this series.

What a great start to this series. I loved Jazzi and her cousin Jerod. It's great when family members work together and when they get along as well as these two, I just had to love them. As well, the premise of house flipping is very inviting to me, I love watching all those shows on TV. Jerod is married and has a few kids, Jazzi is single and really likes their contractor Ansel, but he is involved with someone else, although she is something of a b----h. After winning a home in an auction, they are all set to do some minor construction and flip it, when they find a body in the attic (thus the title). It ends up being Jazzi's aunt who disappeared to New York, years ago. Well apparently, she did not leave River Bluffs. As the family help Jazzi piece together what has happened to Lynda, they find another body. It turns out there were a lot of secrets that she was keeping. When another body shows up on the property, the case veers off in another direction.

I really liked the characters in this story. Jazzi is a smart cookie and very independent young woman. She cares very much about her friends and family, loves to cook and often treats others to her wonderful food. The rest of her family are very supportive of her work and her efforts. Ansel is wonderful, but I don't understand how he puts up with his girlfriend, talk about high maintenance. His pug, George, was so adorable. I love that he is such an important part of Ansel's life. The mystery is complex as there are two victims killed several years apart. Are they related? Is it the same killer? There are a wide variety of suspects because of the time between deaths, as well as the fact that Linda was a bit of a love em and leave em kind of girl. There were a few twists, clues and red herring along the way. This is one of those cozies where the detectives allow amateur sleuths a part in the investigation, which is hard to believe but fun to read about. This was a light and fun read with some humor and romance. I definitely will continue reading this series and recommend ti to fans of cozy mysteries.

“The Body in the Attic” by Judi Lynn is chalk-full of tidbits to interest a variety of readers. From tips on flipping and remodeling/decorating old houses to cooking huge family dinners (with recipes like BBQ baby back ribs, bruschetta, and crostini), the author has made her book quite hard to put down. In her cast of likable (or detestable) characters, are a large and quirky family, a funny cousin-work partner, a handsome “Viking” romantic interest, and a cute spoiled Pug. Wow!

Oh, and there’s also a couple murders for the protagonist Jazzi and the local friendly police inspector to solve, including the 25-year-old titular “body in the attic” as well as a much fresher one.

Judi Lynn keeps the pace quick and interesting, as Jazzi bounces between work on the house and puzzling out the mysteries. Who profited by the deaths? Who was angry or scared enough to kill again? And who is so threatened by Jazzi’s questions that they begin telephoning threats?

The surprising solution to the old mystery is poignant, but makes total sense. More satisfying is the capture of the second murderer. After that, the reader dusts off her hands, catches her breath, and is ready to dig in for the next house to flip. Hopefully Judi Lynn has another mystery for Jazzi and crew to solve too.

Loved this cozy mystery. A touch of spooky with a cozy atmosphere made for a great read. Definitely recommend.

Jazzi Zanders and her cousin Jerod, along with their contractor, Ansel, are professional house flippers in River Bluffs, Indiana.

In this installment, they purchase their next renovation project, a Victorian formerly owned by the late Cal Juniper. Cal was the finacee of her Jazzi's long time missing Aunt Lynda, her mother's sister. Everything is going great until the skeleton of Lynda is found in a trunk in the attic of the home. In cooperation with the town's detective, Jazzi is searching for answers to solve her aunt's murder. Jazzi is very good at digging up clues, and more bodies, so good that someone is warning her to stay clear or she will be next.

One of my favorite things about this book, is that the detective is kind and wants Jazzi to assist him in the investigation. In so many Cozies, authors make the detectives out to be huge jerks. In most cases, they soften over time, but in this case, he is was instantly a likeable guy. I really enjoyed the sense of family and togetherness that this book promotes. I am looking forward to moving on to the next adventure of Jazzi Zanders.

Jazzi is a house flipper and the discovery in this story hits close to home. Little bit different than the cozies I normally read, but was fun, with a bit of mystery and romance to boot.

Jazzi Zanders and her cousin Jerod are house flippers and this story starts out with them buying at auction the home of an old friend of the family that has passed away. His ungrateful heirs just want to get rid of the headaches and get the money. Jazzi and Jerod begin the demo in the house but when they get to the attic they find a trunk with a skeleton. When Jazzi is able to identify some of the artifacts in the trunk, her family is brought in to the investigation of what happen and how that body got there.

Prevented from further work indoors temporarily, the cousins start out in the yard but work again is halted by the discovery of a more recent murder victim buried in the yard.

This mystery was very well-written connecting the old ad the new. The characters seem to be well-drawn and I am looking forward to another in this series.

Oh my word! A new to me author and a new series and in my view a brilliant start, I love the fact that Judi Lynn seems to sum up her characters in just a few words and when it came to the mystery it kept me guessing right until the end (at one point I actually thought the Detective was the guilty party!), before I finished it I had already pre-ordered the next in the series, which seems to sum up my enjoyment pretty well - 12 out of 10 stars for me!

Jasmine Zanders (Jazzi) and her cousin are house renovators, when it comes to their latest project they get stuck in along with Ansel (their contractor), Ansel had hoped to buy it to do up himself but his girlfriend said no (Emily is rather, okay VERY controlling!), Jazzi herself decides she would like to keep it (which Jerod is fine about as a few years back he did the same thing), after clearing the lower floors they head to the attic, only to discover a skeleton in a trunk, a skeleton who it turns out was a) engaged to the previous (now deceased) owner of the house and b) related to Jazzi and Jerod. With it being a cold case they are not expecting to find out too much about what happened, but then another corpse is found, and this is NOT a cold case, now Jazzi and Gaff (the Dectective) are sifting through the evidence and finding out what happened in both cases.

I enjoyed this book so much more than I expected as I usually find the 'first' in a series to be more about the characters than the mystery. The story kept me reading as it was well-written and I liked the characters a great deal.

Great mystery with just enough twists and turns. I did find it a bit odd how much the police relied on Jazzi for her assistance but it didn't detract from the story.

he Body in the Attic by Judi Lynn is the first book in a new mystery series. House-flipper Jazzi Zanders and her cousin Jerod have found their latest project. The property, formerly owned by the late Cal Juniper, is filled with debris that must be cleared before the real renovation begins. But a trip to the attic reveals something more disturbing than forgotten garbage—a skeleton wearing a locket and rings that Jazzi recognizes. Tests confirm that the bones belong to Jazzi’s aunt Lynda, who everyone assumed moved to New York years ago after breaking up with Cal. Soon enough, the whole family is involved, sifting through memories and rumors as they try to piece together what really happened to Lynda—and the baby she gave up for adoption. In between investigating and remodeling, Jazzi is falling for the old house’s charms—and for her gorgeous contractor, Ansel. But with surprises lurking in every nook and cranny, a killer might be waiting to demolish her dreams for good.

The Body in the Attic was and engaging read and had a good balance between introducing a wide variety of characters and telling a compelling story. I liked the characters, I found Jazzi and her family and friends to three dimensional and interesting. I thought the mystery was well built, and while there were a few good red herrings it did not get overly complicated. I will say that I am thoroughly sick of mystery solving ladies always needed a relationship, but I will let it slide here because he was more support for Jazzi than taking over the mystery or her life. The mystery, characters, and story as a whole made me happy and I found myself grinning often while reading. I did spend a couple chapters expecting one more horrible thing to happen, and fully expected one more moment of danger or an injury or something. I liked the way readers discovered the mystery and followed along with Jazzi as helped solve the case, and learn more about her family in the process.

Now for something that kind of bugged me. I got a kick out of how Jazzi and family say they are not rich but can buy houses to flip with cash and can buy the quantity and quality of food they do without even batting an eye. Furniture shopping, landscaping, supplies for renovations are not exactly cheap and they just go out on a whim to buy a king size sleigh bed and a slew of stuff. Their version of wealthy and mine vary greatly. I loved the recipes and amount of cooking Jazzi does in the book, but my grocery budget would have been decimated for at least a month just by buying the ribs for one of her dinners. I wish I could shop and cook like her.

The Body in the Attic was a good start to a mystery series. It was not perfect (what is?) but I really enjoyed the read and fully plan on continuing to read this series as it is published.

What a great start to this new cozy mystery series. We meet Jazzi who is part of a house flipping team. They buy what sounds like a cute house only to find not one but two bodies while renovating. One of them happens to be her missing Aunt while the other is a surprise to them all. Well written taking place in what sounds like a delightful Indiana town. Full of home repair tidbits in between the investigating. Perfect for fans of home improvement as well as mystery. I really liked it so I give it 4/5 stars.

The FIRST in a new series and I actually am reading it in order! If you've read many of my reviews, you know that this is unusual for me. I'm super excited because this was also a brand-new-to-me author. New author, new series, yeah, I was pretty excited. So, let's get started, shall we?

First of all, I would like to address the characters. LOVED them. Well-written, witty banter, realistic issues among them, I couldn't find anything with the characters that I didn't like. They had unique careers that haven't been overly done in the genre and it lent itself well to the way the story was written and progressed. The interpersonal relationships were fun but what impressed me the most was all the FEELS in this book. I wasn't crying over every little thing but the emotional ride you are taken on was amazing. The characters were so easy to connect to and the plot was done so well that there wasn't anything to take you out of the story. That just doesn't happen. If I could give this book 6 stars, I would. I was so caught up in it, I didn't even find myself trying to guess "whodunnit" or which next twist or turn would come. Speaking of twists and turns, there were definitely many.

Secondly, this was a pretty informative book. I know nothing about flipping houses. I don't watch fixer upper shows all that much. This book introduced a lot of new information to me but did so in a manner that I didn't feel as though I was being educated. There are times that I read a book and have to use the dictionary to learn all the various terms that are unique to the niche it focuses on. That didn't happen with this book. Everything was so well written into the story that I followed it very easily.

Lastly, the settings were all incredible. I could easily see layouts in my head. I wasn't bored by the descriptions of various places but instead found myself easily envisioning each step through the eyes of the various characters. I could feel the heat and humidity while sitting outside at a picnic table. I could feel the house being worked on slowly becoming a more refreshing temperature once the central air had been installed. These are fairly common and boring events that were conveyed in a manner that they simply slipped by unnoticed.

Verdict? As I said earlier, I loved this book. I cannot wait to read more in this series. Judi Lynn is an extremely talented author.

Thank you so much to Judi Lynn, Kensington Books/Lyrical Underground, and NetGalley for giving me the chance to read this book and share my honest thoughts and opinions with others.

The Body in the Attic by Judi Lynn is the first book in the Jazzi Zanders Mystery series. Jazzi and her cousin Jerod are house flippers. While working on their latest project, they discover a body stuffed in a trunk in the attic. It turns out to be Jazzi's aunt who everyone assumed had moved to New York and never looked back. Jazzi teams up with the local detective to solve that mystery when another body turns up on the property. The characters were fun, and the series has promise. My only issue was the rush to romance. It worked on some level, but I hope to read more mystery than romance in future books.

The first book in a 'new to me' series and one with an intriguing title to boot! Jazzi Zanders and her cousin Jerod flip houses. When they purchase the old home of a local businessman, they are startled to find a skeleton in a trunk in the attic of the house. It turns out this is Jazzi's Aunt Lynda, who was once engaged to the previous homeowner and who everyone thought had run away to New York or Florida almost thirty years ago.

Jazzi is a pretty level-headed young lady and I like the house flipping aspect - lots of potential for all kinds of things to be uncovered in future books. The mystery gets bigger when they discover that Lynda had given birth before she died, and then a second body is found buried in the house's garden.

While all cosies have a certain assumption of implausibility, the relationship between Gaff and Jazzi simply wasn't believable. He shared far too much information with her and even took her along on his interviews because he felt the suspect would share more with her there! The only way Jazzi did any sleuthing was by tagging along on these interviews, which isn't the standard cosy procedure. Having said that, however, the mystery was resolved quite well. The romance between Ansel & Jazzi was pretty intense pretty quick, and despite painting Emily as the bad guy in Ansel’s broken relationship, I felt a bit sorry for her. There was all kinds of badmouthing about her going on, and she didn’t get his full attention because he wasn’t wholly invested in the relationship in the first place (Emily being his ‘rebound’ from Jazzi who had been in a relationship when they first met). So that felt a bit unfair.

The characters were generally good and well-rounded and it is only the first book, so there’s lots of room for growth and improvement and more bodies!

It’s a series that will stay on my TBR pile as overall, it was an easy read and I passed an enjoyable few hours with it.

I enjoyed this book , #1 in the new series, A Jazzi Zanders Mystery. Set in River Bluffs, Indiana, this house flipper and her cousin buy a house that was once owned by good friends of their family. While they clean the attic they discover and old trunk with a woman's body. It turns out to be their aunt who left town many years ago. The mystery of her death has the town in a panic as there are a lot of secrets locked in that trunk. This is a popular subject in both reading and tv and it's fun to get some inside secrets. Looking forward to another great cozy by Judi Lynn. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.