A murder mystery, say no more, I am hooked!

The novel begins with a a realtor who was murdered in front of one her properties. We are then introduced to the two many detectives: Deb Metzger and Erik Jansson. Which BTW have the greatest banter and are kinda quirky. Then comes the many suspects: is it the rival realtor, owner of a construction business, or a homeless man possibly? As we continue to dive into the plot we are introduced into the detectives personal lives. Deb is on the hunt for a permanent residence while Erik is in search of a relationship. I really enjoyed getting to know the detectives as well as figuring out how this would be solved.

Started reading this and the aspect of police divers recovering bodies sounded interesting but never got to finish .
Had an interesting start.

When the House Burns by Priscilla Paton is the third book in the Twin Cities Mystery Series. Featuring

G-Met detectives Erik Jansson and Deb Metzger. Erik is recently divorced with a son and Deb is still looking for her significant other of the female persuasion. Neither is having success in their love lives. Deb is currently without a permanent home but is offered a basement apartment by her boss. It works on a temporary basis.

When a woman real estate agent, Jean Nerstrand is found dead in the driveway of a home for sale, it is up to the detectives to find the killer. Jean had worked for Lake & Isles Realty. The detectives find that this is not a straightforward murder.

There are a lot of characters in this novel, Dominick Novak, a real estate developer, Karma, who works for the same real estate company as Jean, Rafe of the crooked nose works for Dominick, Ulysses, a homeless man who definitely has a connection to the murder as do all of the characters I mentioned. Now it is up to Detectives Erik and Deb to get to the bottom of the mystery.

Not everyone is who you might think they are, everyone has their own story, some with secrets that they do not want to be exposed, thus making the case difficult to solve. Now throw in some dry wit into the storytelling and you have a story that is both compelling and hang on to your hat thrilling. Plus there is an element of romance throughout the story.

I have not read anything by this author and I think I need to remedy that and go read the first two books in the series. I love a good mystery and this one is one that I did enjoy. I think that the wit and quirkiness of the characters are what kept my attention. This book takes place in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota, of which I have been numerous times and recognized some of the areas that were mentioned, including areas in Wisconsin, where I live.

I give the book 5 stars!

This is the third installment in this series - I am SO wishing I would have read the first two!

I felt like this novel did a great job at almost being a standalone, there were only a few times I was wondering if I was missing something (I am pretty sure I was).

This was a decent paced mystery novel with two detectives on the case. I liked the witty banter back and forth between the two detective partners and quickly became invested in their lives and what they were going to uncover. As we follow them through their investigation in the Twin Cities, we wait for them to uncover a a murderous plot of a successful real estate agent. This was a ‘by the book’ detective novel and felt very true to police investigations (well, as far as my non-police self could tell).

Filled with every descriptive detail you can image (if you like that sort of thing), you will feel as if you are almost there. For me, this was a little overdone and slightly distracting from the bulk of the story but if you like every nitty gritty detail, this book will apease the imagination station.

ARC was provided by Coffeetown Press via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This third book in the Twin Cities Mystery series, When the House Burns by Priscilla Paton continues Detectives Erik Jansson and Deb Metzger’s cases. The murder of a philandering real estate agent means no shortage of suspects for the detective duo’s investigation. Typically, complications arise and involve a homeless vagrant, a stalked woman and a jumbled mess of people and circumstances that need resolving. As the investigation proceeds, Erik finds himself trapped in an abandoned house as Deb hunts for a sharpshooter at a remote construction site. So, with its array of clues, people and a potentially lethal finale, makes for another enjoyable police mystery story. Once again, this detective team provides an enjoyable crime read with a three-and-a-half-star rating. With thanks to Coffeetown Press and the author for an uncorrected advanced review copy for review purposes. As always, the opinions herein are totally my own and freely given.

A terrific mystery with detectives who seem credible and who have an interesting relationship. The author provides plenty of detail to help the reader place themselves in the thick of the action. This slowed down the pace of action a bit but, for me, was worth it for the immersive effects.

This mystery is all about housing. The victim is a real estate agent found shot outside one of the properties she's listing.

Detectives Erik Jansson and Deb Metzger are assigned the case. Deb is in the middle of her own housing crisis as her place in a long-stay hotel is no longer available and she just can't find a place that she can afford that is large enough for her 6' 2" self. And the detectives' agency is facing a housing crisis of its own as their current location has become unusable and they need to build another. This adds to the investigation as the detectives must work out of their cars and in borrowed space in the county courthouse.

Jansson and Metzger look into the realtor's agency and find a group of best, back-stabbing friends. They also find a property developer who seems way too close to some of them and who's also involved in some questionable practices. One of his properties was recently burned in what looks like arson and resulted in the death of a homeless man. He's currently trying to develop housing - some affordable - on the grounds of an old munitions plant. His assistant, who has a major crush on one of the realtors, is secretly investing his finances.

While checking into the arson investigation, they discover that a homeless guy might have been stalking the victim and spend a lot of time in a homeless encampment across from one of the developer's properties looking for him.

One I got used to the writing style which seemed a lot like stream of consciousness but, thankfully, with punctuation, I found the story interesting. I certainly enjoyed the Twin Cities setting.

When the House Burns by Priscilla Paton is a mystery/thriller set in the St. Paul/Minneapolis area. The novel begins with a murder of a realtor in front of one of her properties. Following the opening scene, we are introduced to a slew of characters, including the two main detectives: Deb Metzger and Erik Jansson. Several characters, including a rival realtor, the owner of a construction business, and a homeless man are introduced as possible suspects for the murder. While the plot develops, readers are introduced to Detectives Deb and Erik’s personal lives. Deb is on the hunt for a permanent residence while Erik is in search of a relationship. While their personal lives are secondary to the murderous plot, there is some overlap between the parallel narratives.

As the plot developed, I began to like both detectives. In the beginning, I was skeptical of them and their relationship. However, they have a good working relationship and seem to balance each other in the field. Overall, When the House Burns was enjoyable, I recommend this book to any fan of mystery! Thank you to Netgalley and Coffeetown Press for an advance copy of this book.

#WhentheHouseBurns #NetGalley

I was attracted by the title of the book and wanted to read a murder mystery. This particular story moved way too slow for my taste. It seemed overloaded with minute detail about everything and everybody. When I got to the end of the description I felt as if the story had not moved forward at all. I realize this may simply be a preference and otherwise, the writing was good. The story held together well and there were adequate clues leading to the conclusion. I did. correctly guess about one third of the way into the story who was the guilty party.

Thank you NetGalley and Priscilla Paton for the ARC and the opportunity to review this book.

Sadly this is a DNF. I loved the premise of this and I would have finished it if it was formatted better, I just can’t stand sometimes when the kindle format is weird. As much as I read was pretty good and I will definitely try to read it a different way. Middle of the road for me giving it a fair rating. 3 stars

When the House Burns
by Priscilla Paton
I a sorry to say I could not read this one on kindle in PDF form. It sounded interesting, I am guessing it is a series. When it becomes available in publishing I will try to grab it up.

Well-written detective story. The pacing is terrific, the dialogue memorable. Would recommend
Thank you to Priscilla Paton, NetGalley and Coffetown Press for the arc of this book.