New author and the first in this series for me. Death by Demo offers you a great, murder mystery. If you like a strong woman as a leading character then Jamie will hook you in from the start. I enjoyed that she is taking on remodeling an old Victorian herself.

There were a few things that didn't add up for me when it came to dates and ages, and the quick romance seemed to be a bit much to tackle for the first installment. I did enjoy the storyline, setting, and characters. The fact that I never could guess the murder was a bonus for me.

I don't remember reading a cosy mystery with a home renovation background, so I was curious to delve into this series debut, and overall it was a very good read that kept me engaged from start to finish, despite a couple of lengthy parts. It was well paced and the lead character was interesting. I must admit that the final confrontation scene was spookier than anticipated, even without being claustrophobic. Great first book, looking forward to the next installment.

Jaime opens the house she got out of her messy divorce, which was the lowest valued property of their renovation/upcycling company with her ex, Henry. While knocking down a drywall , she and her friend discover a body, the police are called and her last resort home is acknowledged as a crime scene.
She wants to get back to renovations as soon as possible, so she meddles into the polices investigation to find out who killed the girl who was actually schoolmates with her and her now ex husband.
Her heart races because there are more than a handful of people who had access to that particular house. Her ex, their workers, her attorney, the neighbor and a wild guess who else had free real estate while the house was inhabitable.
I'm giving it 3,5 stars because it was a murder mystery alright, but it was neither cozy nor filled with cat moments. I'm still on the hunt for the perfect cat combo for a mystery.

Death by Demo by Callie Carpenter is an absolutely entertaining and fun cozy mystery that sweeps you along, turning the pages to the very end.
Carpenter makes her mystery debut with a well-written and complex tale centred around a relatively new setting in the cozy genre - that of home renovation. As someone familiar with the topic, I found it lots of fun to see that world featured in a book, and to recognize the terms used before they were explained - quite well - by the author.
The main character Jaime is sympathetic and realistic, and easily someone you could see being friends with. Within this first book in the series, she makes strides towards independence and strength and you can't help but root for her. The supporting characters are also realistic and I expect will be further flushed out in future books.
The mystery itself was imaginative and suspects abound, and the author keeps you guessing right until the end.
The cover art is lovely and, as is not always the case in the genre, representative of the contents.
I eagerly look forward to the next book in the series.
I am happy to have received an ARC of #DeathbyDemo from #NetGalley .

I am obsessed with home renovation shows on TV, so I was really excited to read this book. It was such a fun cozy mystery! Definitely recommend for fans of cozy mysteries.

I recently read the first book of a new cozy mystery series, written by a new author, and it was great! The book was fun, entertaining and never dull. The story follows Jaime, who, after divorcing her cheating husband, is left with a run-down house as part of the divorce settlement. Jaime and her ex owned a renovation company, so she decides to renovate the house herself. However, while she is demolishing the walls, she discovers human remains inside one of them. She is not a detective, but she wants to solve the crime so that she can get back to renovating her house.

I enjoyed the main character, Jaime, and found her to be a strong, independent woman. It was great to see a woman in a male-dominated profession. The potential love story was a bit disappointing, but overall, it was a great read. I am looking forward to reading more from this author.

I would like to thank NetGalley for providing me with the ARC.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5 stars

[ Thank you @netgalley for the eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own! ]

PUB DATE: December 5, 2023

THOUGHTS:

I enjoyed this first book in a new series!

I liked the short chapters. It made for a quick read! I liked our new amateur sleuth, Jaime and her BFF, Lara. Their friendship was great and super solid. They’ve been friends since they were eight years old! So it was fun to see them work together at times to figure out what happened.

The mystery was good! I didn’t guess who the killer was right away, it took me a good bit to figure it out! And the ending was stressful. I was worried for a second about Jaime.

I’m looking forward to the next book to learn more about the characters and see what’s happening with that potential love interest!

If you are fan of the Fixer-Upper series (by Kate Carlisle) or the House-Flipper series (by Diane Kelly) then I think you would enjoy this one! 🔨

I gave Death by Demo by Callie Carpenter 3 stars.

Jaime and Henry were the perfect couple with the perfect life; together, they ran one of the most successful construction and interior design companies in all of Charlotte, North Carolina. But when Jaime catches her charismatic husband in an affair, she realizes her husband is not the man she thought she married. The divorce is equally gutting—due to an ironclad prenuptial agreement, Jaime receives only one thing: a historical house in disrepair. Knowing that any renovation she attempts will be tedious and costly, Jaime starts to believe that things can’t get much worse—until she finds a dead body in the house. The body is found behind a recently renovated wall—and this leaves Jaime with more questions than answers. Who killed this person and why? Could it have been the previous owners, someone who snuck in while nobody was looking, or could it have been Henry? Furious that the house is now a crime scene, which further delays all renovations, Jaime decides to investigate the murder herself, DIY-style

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A new cozy mystery series about home renovation. I have never read a cozy mystery with that theme before, so that was fun. However, the book was a bit boring to me. I can't really pinpoint why, but I felt like something was missing. I would like to get to know the characters better, learn fun details about them. Now, I had a hard time connecting with them, including the main character. Hopefully that will change in upcoming books, since this was the first introduction.

The mystery was fun, a dead body in the wall. But it also felt all over the place. I did guess whodunit, but not right away. The ending had me biting my nails and it was well written.

This book comes out 5 Dec.

Thank you, Net Galley and Cooked Lane Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CyBKMaNro7y/

I enjoyed this first book in a new cosy series. The mystery is solid and the characters well developed. There's a lot of positives for both the cosy and mystery elements in this book. It's a lot of fun, and that's one of the reasons I enjoy cosies so much.

The author has created a well-balanced protagonist with Jaime. She's all the makings of a great series protagonist, and I think there's still lot's to learn about her in future books. I thought the details about home renovation interesting and not too dense, so the flow of the book isn't hindered. I also liked the support characters introduced in this book, and the dynamic with best friend, Lara, is really well done. It felt like the characters were settled and comforting in the story, like we already knew them, and that's not easy to do in a book, but the author made it look easy.

With a writing style that suits a cosy, and worked well for me, I breezed through this book and enjoyed the ride. I can't wait to get to know more about the setting and about some of the minor characters, and hope future books will bring such characters more into focus.

I've not read a home renovation themed cosy before, so this was a good introduction to cosies with that theme. I do think I'll give more a go in the future, and definitely look out for a second book in this series.

Thank you to the author, the publisher, and Netgalley for provided a free copy of this book for an honest review. All comments are my own.

Through NetGalley, I received a free copy of DEATH BY DEMO (Book 1 of the Home Renovation Mysteries) by Callie Carpenter in exchange for an honest review. No matter how young and naïve you are, don’t blindly sign a pre-nuptial agreement that gives all marital assets to your spouse upon the end of your marriage. When Jaime’s marriage to her lifelong sweetheart Henry ends due to HIS adultery, Henry “generously” gifts Jaime a derelict Queen Anne house he purchased for their flipping business but later deemed not worth the money to renovate and resell. Despite her ex-husband’s spite, Jaime is truly excited to begin working on the residence. After all, once it’s habitable, she can move off her best friend’s sofa. The renovation begins with knocking down an awkward wall on the ground floor. Surprise! The wall is poorly constructed of plaster over cardboard. Surprise again! There’s a mummified body revealed during the demolition. Ick! It looks like Jaime is going to be spending more time than expected on her friend’s couch while the demolition and renovation is paused for police investigation. Ergo, it’s in Jaime’s best interest to help the police solve the case quicker!

I enjoyed this book and look forward to the next one in the series. I recommend this book to fans of cozy murder mysteries featuring demolition, renovation, reselling, flipping, historic homes, and new starts post-divorce.

#DeathbyDemo #NetGalley

This was a fun read! 

I know nothing about home renovations so there were lots of things to learn in this book as well as entertainment. I thought it was adorable that Jaime named the cat, who seemed to come with her house, Demo - aptly appropriate. 

I am, of course, hoping that things will eventually progress with her hunky neighbor and I'm happy she got rid of that poo of a husband. It sounds like he and his new lady love deserve each other. I'm hoping the next story will involve Lara's wedding and a murder.

Super fast read! I really enjoyed the speed of this story, the mystery, and the characters so far, but I wish that we got more character development for a lot of the other side characters ; currently this feels a bit novella-ish. Hoping that as she writes more in the series, we’ll get to learn more and even meet some of the characters that were only name dropped.

Quick and relaxing read. Loved this so much! Just the thing with some coffee and snacks. Great mystery!

Jaime and Henry were the perfect couple with the perfect life; together, they ran one of the most successful construction and interior design companies in all of Charlotte, North Carolina. But when Jaime catches her charismatic husband in an affair, she realizes her husband is not the man she thought she married. The divorce is equally gutting—due to an ironclad prenuptial agreement, Jaime receives only one thing: a historical house in disrepair. Knowing that any renovation she attempts will be tedious and costly, Jaime starts to believe that things can’t get much worse—until she finds a dead body in the house.

The body is found behind a recently renovated wall—and this leaves Jaime with more questions than answers. Who killed this person and why? Could it have been the previous owners, someone who snuck in while nobody was looking, or could it have been Henry? Furious that the house is now a crime scene, which further delays all renovations, Jaime decides to investigate the murder herself, DIY-style. Together with the new resident cat she calls Demo, and the handsome and friendly hardware store owner who happens to be her neighbor, Jaime is ready to use all the tools in her toolbox to catch the killer.

Jaime needs to renovate this house if she wants to move forward with her life, but will this murder investigation leave her in ruins—or worse?

I really enjoyed this story. Will recommend to others.

I adored this cozy mystery! The group of characters were fantastic, and I loved the setting. I enjoyed the plot twists and the mystery. It was well paced and well written!

Another brilliant cozy mystery that I really enjoyed, couldn't put this one down. I love these types of books. Can't wait to read more bybthis author.

DEATH BY DEMO was a solid cozy mystery debut by author Callie Carpenter. I was impressed by how much the author obviously knows about home renovation. It adds authenticity to the book. The extended family of the protagonist, Jamie, is a nice addition and helps the reader care about her. She was likable, strong, and had a streak of independence. Carpenter created an interesting dire situation at the finale that felt very believable.. My one critique is that the suspects could've been better developed and more 3-dimensional, so we'd ultimately care who the culprit was--we needed to see the suspects on the page more interacting with the protagonist. Overall, Carpenter built a good foundation for a series.

Jaime Moore has spent the last 15 years doing home renovations under her husband's name. When he decides it's time for them to split he takes everything but a dilapidated old house that seems beyond saving. Unfortunately the house comes with a feature they weren't aware of... a wall fit only for concealing dead bodies.

Death by Demo is not only the debut mystery in the Home Renovation series, but is also the debut for this new author. I really enjoyed this book and can't wait to see what this author will write in the future! Jaime is a the quintessential cozy mystery main character, she's down but not out and doing her best to brush off the barbs being thrown at her by her ex and her ex's new flame. She may not have a lot of faith in herself but she's got a huge support system of people who have every confidence that she's going to make it. There's the best friend who's letting Jaime crash on her couch, the sexy neighbor who brings her coffee every morning, the curmudgeonly lawyer who represents her in legal matters, and her quirky but supportive parents.

The mystery is interspersed with Jaime working on the old house she's been stuck with in her lousy divorce settlement and she gathers clues as she tries to keep her renovation project on track. The investigation is fairly involved with new suspects popping up and old suspects getting eliminated as Jaime and Lara poke around asking questions.

I'd love to see the renovation of this house progress and also to see more of the town of Green River. This is definitely a series I will follow as new books come out.

Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for providing me an ARC.

I'm new to the cozy mystery and I'm not sure this one was for me. It was just ok. I think if you are a cozy mystery reader you will probably like it though.
Thank you to NetGalley

Death by Demo is out in December and really shows that if you can imagine it, there’s a cozy mystery about it. I’ve read bakers, witches, librarians and many other kinds of people solve crimes but never a home renovator. It made me want to get out a hammer and do DIY… but I think I’ll stick to just reading about it for the sake of my accommodation.

I really liked Jaime. She’s down on her luck but never out and I think she made a great little sleuth. I had to suspend my disbelief a little which is pretty typical for this genre, but only a little. Callie Carpenter has written a competent main character and a great cast of supporting characters. I liked the best friend and loathed the ex-husband along with Jamie.

I think Death by Demo has the potential to be a series that I enjoy for a long time. There’s so many opportunities for more home renovations and the mysteries that will inevitably arise.