new-series, first-in-series, divorced, renovation, small-town, friendship, suspense, thriller, cozy-mystery, local-gossip, local-law-enforcement, unputdownable, neighbors, family, friends, witty, carolinas, carpentry, amateur-sleuth, cat, relationships, relatives, false-conclusions*****

Great start to a new series!
Picked herself up, dusted herself off, began finding her new self, and started all over again. After spending too many years with a dismissive husband and working together in their contractor business, Jaime got shafted in the divorce. Now working on the only real thing she got in the divorce (a real money pit), she finds a mummified body in a wall. And so the real story begins, complete with some good sleuthing. Loved it and hope for more of these fun characters and mysteries!
I requested and received an EARC from Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley. Thank you!

I had the best time reading this cozy mystery! It was so wonderful. It was the perfect mystery for me to read and I loved every word of it! I can't wait to see what happens next.
I just reviewed Death by Demo by Callie Carpenter. #DeathbyDemo #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]

While I love a good cozy mystery, Death by Demo was just okay. I enjoyed the mystery but I didn’t love how it felt like the author tried to force a romantic interest. There was so much talk about how the main character was hurt by her divorce, that it felt too soon to make her interested in her neighbor. Not to mention, it felt like she went from seeing him as a murder suspect to having a crush on him in the next paragraph.

Nothing is worse than having your marriage shattered by the person you believed and trusted in. Well, nothing except also having to repair an old home to move forward and finding new delays that pop up and left and right to drag it out even longer.

When Jamie finds a dead body behind a wall in the home she’s working on, she decides she has to figure out what happened and who did it. Could it be her ex? Could it be someone who took advantage of an empty house? Either way, before she can rebuild her life and the house, she’s got to get some things answered and remove the roadblocks. Here’s to hoping a new and better life is the result of all her hard work…and that she doesn’t become another body hid behind some dry wall.

First in a new series, this one hits all the right marks! A cute kitty, a handsome neighbor, a strong protagonist, a charming town in North Carolina and a solid whodunit. Looking forwards to work mysteries with Jamie and Demo in the future.

4 stars
Death by Demo
Callie Carpenter
What a wonderful cozy mystery by an author new to me! The characterizations are excellent and the mystery was great. I truly hope this is a long running and highly successful series. I enjoyed the house renovation aspect of the book as well as the main character Jaime and her determination to rebuild her life after a messy and painful divorce, thankfully she has good friends and a supportive family.
I highly recommend this book.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher and Netgalley.

Death by Demo, a Home Renovation Mystery by Callie Carpenter, is an intriguing take on a cozy mystery...where the protagonist’s investigation is not over the top and completely obvious, nor is the detective in charge unwilling to work with the ”amateur” investigator...and doesn't take her information of clues provided seriously. It was quite refreshing actually that Jamie and Detective Scoles had developed a good working relationship.

Also, that the culprit wasn't completely obvious, nor a complete surprise put a different spin on a cozy mystery and made the story that much more enjoyable. I truly hope that Home Renovations Mystery will be a series and that there will be more installments coming in the future...definitely would like to see Jamie and Mike become a couple.

This ARC book was complimentary, provided by NetGalley and the Publisher. I am voluntarily submitting my honest review.

Death by Demo is a great start to this promising new series. I really enjoyed this book, and was hooked from page one! There are lots of suspects, a solid plot, likeable interesting characters, and a cute cat named Demo. I can't wait to see how the characters develop in the next book in this series. Thank you for this ARC netgalley. 5/5. *****

Meet Jaime and Henry, who seemed perfect to everyone, from their picture-book life to their successful home reno company. Unfortunately, Jamie finds her husband in a compromising position and realizes she doesn't know him...at all. The ray of sunshine in this awful circumstance is that Jaime does get a beautiful house that is in bad need of repairs, along with a body.

Like many secrets hidden inside the house, the body has been "walled" in, leaving Jamie to wonder why and more importantly who. Follow along as Jamie tries to reconstruct her life, amidst the shambles, and solve this murder before its too late.

It all comes tumbling down, or that’s what Callie Carpenter’s main character Jaime Moore in “Death by Demo” thought when she discovers a body during demo of a Queen Anne home graciously given to her by her ex-husband Henry King.

Follow Jaime as she uses her construction smarts, intuition, and help from friends, family, and a cat named Demo to investigate her ex-husband, his new girlfriend, a family friend/uncle, and other community members to find a killer.

“Death by Demo” is a great first novel by Callie Carpenter, and I am excited to see how she develops Jaime into a strong female Main character.

4/5

Thank you to Crooked Lane Books, Callie Carpenter, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Death by Demo was a relaxing vacation read until the unexpectedly page-turning climax. I enjoyed the non-cliche protagonist but am still wondering why the cat is in the book. Would recommend if you’re looking for a guided, cozy mystery.

This was a nice cozy mystery. I like that the main character was in a profession that is out of the usual for women. I also appreciated seeing how she grew into herself and became stronger as the book went on. As what I consider to be a strong woman who knows her worth outside of a relationship I like seeing other women figure out that about themselves too. I found the mystery aspect to be interesting enough to keep the story going and seemed to come to a logical conclusion. All in all, this was an enjoyable read for a couple of hours entertainment,
I received an advanced copy of this book through Netgalley. This review is my own opinion.

Just an OK read for me. Nothing exasperating to me (Jaime talks and reacts to the men in her life in a mature, thoughtful way) that made me want to stop reading. However, the character of Jaime and the secondary characters weren't really engaging to me. I'd consider reading the next book, but I'm not anxious for it.

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I enjoyed this book very much. I like the writing style, it’s light and focused. I like how she handles the ex husband character, not too bitter and not to heavy handed. The conversations with the cat are great. I did think oh, there’s a wall to be demolished, there’s going to be a body in it. I even recommended this book to someone on Facebook who was looking for new house renovation books. #DeathbyDemo #NetGalley

After Jamie’s recent divorce, she’s left with one thing: a Victorian Queen Anne house in desperate need of some TLC. Luckily for her, she’s quite familiar with home renovation as a result of the contractor company she and her ex started and ran. When a body is discovered in the house her plans are suddenly stalled, Jamie decides to take the investigation into her own hands to quicken the process. When she finds out it’s all a little to close to home, she can’t cross anyone off her suspect list.

Overall, I enjoyed the plot of the book. Jamie was extremely focused on solving the case and following her leads even if she didn’t want to. I would have like for her contributions to the investigation to be more substantial in regards to new information that the police don’t already know. I like the cover but I also look forward to an updated version.

Rating: 4/5

3.5 stars

I enjoyed this book. It had a fun and interesting premise -- calling all HGTV lovers! I think there's a lot of potential with our main character and her inner circle and look forward to reading more in this series.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Crooked Lane Books through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you, Crooked Lane Books.

This was a cute and interesting first book in a new series. I liked the theme of home restoration. It was a quick read.I hope to see more in this series

Great book! I thoroughly enjoyed it! Any fan of Kate Carlisle’s Fixer Upper Mysteries would probably enjoy this book too. I can’t wait for the next one!

#DeathbyDemo #NetGalley is the first in a new series and I'm eager for more books!
Jaime thought she had it all, until her ex husband cheated on her, and a prenuptial agreement has her wondering how she will get through it.
Her only option is to renovate the home she was offered in her divorce, but when she discovers a body in the wall, Jaime feels defeated.
She figures the only way to get ahead is to solve the mystery and get the house fixed up.
This is a great start to a new series and I'm looking forward reading more.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for selecting me to read an advanced copy of this book.

Callie Carpenter’s Death by Demo – Home Renovation Mystery #1 is a fantastic beginning to a brand-new series. She will be on my radar as a new author to me. Callie’s writing style was entertaining, and the characters were magnificent. Jaime starts performing renovations on an old property and unintentionally discovers a body in the wall. Things begin to get out of control because of this, and Jaime joins the search for answers, who? why? And when?

I highly recommend it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

This was such a fun cozy mystery! I read it in less than 24 hours because I was enjoying it so much! Following along with Jaime as she renovated an old house and unexpectedly finds a body in the wall. Things spiral from there and Jaime gets involved in the investigation. There are so many suspects and I loved trying to figure it out. I look forward to reading more books by this author!

Thank you so much NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the gifted copy!