I enjoy reading this series. This is book 11 in A Fixer-Upper Mystery series. I especially enjoy how we revisit projects from past books.This time we revisit the veterans's small home project. Christmas has come to Lighthouse Cove, but business hasn’t slowed down for Shannon Hammer. She’s been contracted to renovate a local hotel owned by the Garrisons, a family that’s so devoted to the holidays they serve a seven-course dinner every night from Thanksgiving through Christmas. Last year’s festivities featured a train that transported guests around the breathtaking Cliffside property. This year, Shannon and her crew have been commissioned to build a Victorian-style carnival midway with games and prizes galore.
Everyone in town loves the hotel’s spirit, except the Garrisons’ children and their spouses, who are hum-bugged by the money being wasted on holiday cheer while their inheritance goes up the chimney. Things turn nasty when a mischief-maker close to the family is found dead. It’s up to Shannon and Mac to catch a sinister Scrooge before all of Lighthouse Cove receives coal for Christmas.

A Christmas Cozy Mystery to entertain, delight and offer a puzzle for your brain! I love this author as she crafts a strong, intelligent amateur sleuth who stumbles across bodies and then helps untangle the whodunit alongside the police chief who she happens to be friends with. It doesn't hurt that her fiancé is a mystery writer and helps her decode the information that she discovers along the way. The added twist in this mystery is who the victim is and the complicated feelings that person brings up in Shannon (our main character) and her friends. Once again, the author has created a book that will keep you turning pages as you race to solve the mystery alongside the characters while also falling more in love with Lighthouse Cove and the people that live there!

Brought to you by OBS reviewer Jeanie

The Christmas season’s official kick-off at the Cliffs Hotel in Lighthouse Cove, California, is the grand opening of their new outdoor events. Shannon and crew members have enjoyed the challenges of building the Fun Zone, like an old-time carnival. Bill and his wife, Lilian, are the fourth generation of Garrisons to formally run the hotel. Bringing family fun and fine dining into the lives of Lighthouse Cove families and the hotel guests is a priority for the couple.

The Garrisons’ adult children have taken on various responsibilities so the luxurious vacation destination will one day be turned over to them and their spouses. Shannon and her sister Chloe went through school with the three Garrisons. Arabella, one of Bill and Lilian’s daughters, and Randi, their daughter-in-law, were both friends of Shannon’s nemesis, Whitney. Whitney is still mean and spiteful, as is Randi, even to Lilian and Bill, who have only been kind and encouraging to her. Arabella is still influenced by Whitney, yet she has a hidden reservoir of her parents’ best characteristics. Randi is miserable to almost everyone except the patrons in the upscale hotel bar. Stephanie, well-adjusted and hardworking, has been taking on responsibilities to run the hotel and is doing very well.

Logan, the oldest of Bill and Lilian’s children, returned home with an honorable discharge from the Navy. Randi, his wife, didn’t look happy, despite his being a genuinely gentle and loving man. Instead of taking any position of authority at the Cliffs, he accepted an offer to be the Community Director at Homefront, a neighborhood of tiny houses for veterans that Shannon and her crew had built.

Shannon and her crew take turns being at the Fun Zone each evening it’s open in case of emergency. Unfortunately, that emergency occurred. Shannon and Mac, her fiancé, and their close friends were at the hotel restaurant, enjoying the special eight-course Christmas dinners Bill and Lilian offer most nights between Thanksgiving and Christmas. It was difficult to get a reservation for the dinners, so they were thrilled to be there.

During dinner, the power went out. Since Shannon was in the building, she and Mac went to the cellar to check the breaker. Eric, the chief of police, a friend of Mac and Shannon, and soon-to-be Chloe’s husband went with them. Shannon saw a pile of what looked like blankets on one of the sofas, then as she got closer, she saw a foot, and a hand. She thought that, due to the color of the fabric, a worker may have come down for a nap, or got ill. Instead, it was a family member, who had been murdered.

Most characters are delightful; their conversations, demeanors, and behaviors reveal each personality. Shannon is my favorite, and I envy her close relationship with her sister, Chloe. Their mother passed away when she and Chloe were young; Lilian was a surrogate mother to them and holds a special place in their hearts.

Descriptions of structures, gardens, and winter scenery bring three-dimensional life to the hotel, the Fun Zone, and Homefront. The author has fun with some of her descriptions of people or situations that in turn gave me smiles and giggles.

The projects that Shannon’s company takes on are different in each mystery. Each is creative and unique – such as the Fun Zone. I enjoyed the brief reminders of past jobs. The construction projects are fascinating to this former paper-pushing construction admin, one of many things I love about the series. Since Shannon has worked on this hotel for various upgrades and renovations even when her father ran the company, I would love to see it – as well as the property, fully decorated for Christmas.

This was quite a clever mystery! Especially when a beloved staff member was subsequently found murdered. Eric has been trying to solve the murders and catch several groups of porch pirates. Shannon was not been as active in this murder investigation as in the past. Her business, friends, and the upcoming holiday are all keeping her extremely busy. She and Mac only played their thought-provoking Scooby-doo game briefly. I was stumped, and didn’t have my usual “pet suspect” list. There were a couple people who could have had fingers pointed at, but they just didn’t feel right. The killer was someone I had only briefly considered! I enjoyed every minute of this mystery and look forward to the next one. All loose ends have been admirably resolved. I highly recommend this well-written cozy mystery!

Murder! Christmas! Family drama! All the perfect elements of a holiday whodunit. I enjoy the characters normally, but the new Garrison family brought tons of not-so-nice ones, which of course made for great drama. Looking forward to seeing if they play a more pivotal role in the future. Good for a few laughs and tears, and of course, all the drama with Shannon's nemesis again!

Kate Carlisle gets us in the mood for the Christmas season with her fast and entertaining A Knife Before Christmas.

Shannon and Mac get tasked with building a carnival midway with games and prizes by local hotel owners the Garrison. The Garrison’s are completely about the holidays and from Thanksgiving to Christmas. They go above and beyond with all of the holiday cheer. Everyone in lighthouse Cove loves what the Garrison do except for maybe their own children. Turning their nose down at that kind of expenditure on holidays. They feel money should be saved to go towards their own inheritance. It’s all about good holiday cheer until a body shows up. Kate and Mack find themselves rushing to figure out this Christmas caper.

Kate Carlisle did an excellent job bringing me into the Christmas spirit. I will be honest. This book was a little less fixer-upper, a little less mystery, a little more romance and more focused on friendship and family. And I am OK with that. It was nice to have a book about the holiday, to get you in the mood and to be an entertaining read. With it being the 11th book in the series sometimes you need to catch up. And that’s what this was catching up with old friends and family.

I have to admit I relished that one really rotten character got what she deserved.
One really good character was a victim.
The villain also got the appropriate treatment.
The most fun part was the Fun Zone and the descriptions of the different architectural features in the hotel.

Dollycas’s Thoughts

The Garrisons own the local Cliffside Hotel in Lighthouse Cove. Shannon Hammer and her crew have renovated several parts of it. The family loves the holidays and always plans something special for the days leading up to Christmas. They serve a seven-course dinner each night and getting a reservation is darn hard. They also have fun on the grounds of the hotel. Last year a train took guests on a tour of the beautiful Cliffside estate. This year the Garrisons have asked Shannon and her team to design and build a Victorian-style carnival midway with games and tons of prizes. They have an extraordinary ride that needs to be included and installed in the design.

Things seem merry and bright until the Garrisons’ children and their spouses have some concerns about the money being spent on the carnival. They would rather have the cash stashed away for them to inherit. But things take a deadly turn when a dead body is found in the basement. Shannon and Mac are soon on the trail to find out who was at the top of Santa’s naughty list and would be receiving their lump of coal in jail.

Christmas in Lighthouse Cove – sign me up – I am all in!

This being the 11th installment of the Fixer-Upper Mysteries the characters are like old friends. I worked in home construction for a couple of years so I enjoy following Shannon around to all her job sites and her creative ability to breathe new life into old homes. She has an amazing crew that can take her ideas and run with them. I love it when she pulls out her pink toolbox and tools and works right alongside them. Shannon and Mac are a perfect match and an awesome sleuthing team. But what I love most about Shannon and Mac is their empathy and huge caring hearts. Family, friend, or stranger – if someone needs help, they will go above and beyond to help the person in any way they can.

The Garrisons are an interesting family. Bill and Lilian are the 3rd generation to own the hotel and they have steadily made improvements to the place. With the exception of their son, Logan, all of their children and their spouses live and work at the Cliffside. Like most families, they have their ups and downs. Bill and Lilian had been Shannon and Chloe’s parent’s best friends. So much so that when their mother passed away Lillian became a surrogate mother to the girls. Featuring this family in this story was grand for many reasons sans the murder. Ms. Carlisle’s detailed descriptions were wonderful. She created distinct images in my mind of the entire hotel and its new “Fun Zone”. You could feel the joy Bill had when his dream space came to life as well as all the people that visited the new attraction.

I appreciated the time the author took to share all the holiday planning and interactions before she delved into a compelling mystery. The victim was not a nice person but those around tolerated them. Anyone could have snapped and killed them. That means the suspect list is a long one. Shannon and Mac have to work through them all. After some well-placed twists, a second death actually provides clues that could lead to the killer. Shannon has her ah-ha moment at what could have been a very inopportune time but she gets help from a surprising person until the calvary shows up to drag the guilty party away.

I did enjoy the subplot at the Veterans’ Village and the three porch pirates. Good people do good things to help people in need. This “village” has been a wonderful place for Lighthouse Cove and veterans with homes, education, jobs, and more. Shannon has a fantastic idea to light the place up for Christmas to bring awareness to visitors and joy and celebration for the residents. It is a special place for both Shannon and Mac and I love that we get to tag along when they visit.

The Knife Before Christmas is a festive whodunit with tons of good holiday feels. I had a delightful time in Lighthouse Cove with genuine and engaging characters who loved Christmas just as much as I do. The mystery was very well-plotted so that the community and family holiday spirit shines as the killer is brought to justice. It was “quite a Christmas” including a Christmas miracle or two.

In this cozy mystery, Shannon is in charge of the construction and restoration of a big deal local hotel. She is even helping them build a giant Christmas carnival on the grounds, complete with a carousel. But when murder strikes, can Christmas be saved?

This is a fun cozy mystery series, with a strong female lead character. The supporting characters are complicated and interesting, and the romances are sweet. The setting is fantastic, especially the carnival, and the mystery is a good one. I would recommend this book.

Shannon Hammer, a hard-working contractor, eagerly anticipates a respite from her demanding schedule with her fiancé, Mac. However, her plans are disrupted once again by a murder, so relaxation is certainly not in the cards for Shannon. Over the past few years, Shannon has honed her skills in solving murders, becoming an adept detective.

This book is set during the Christmas season, a time that usually evokes feelings of warmth and coziness. Unfortunately, the current murder, coupled with the presence of unhappy family members at the site where Shannon has taken a smaller job, casts a pall of gloom over the festive atmosphere.

I binge read this series and it work out that this last book was my favorite and one scene even made me cry. I guess I have about a year to see Shannon, Mac, Eric, Chloe and the others again.

Many thanks to Berkley and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

The day after Thanksgiving heralds the start of the Christmas season for Lighthouse Cove, California, and the entire town kicks into high gear with an abundance of holiday festivals and business events. The historic hotel Cliffs Hotel has built its reputation on over-the-top celebrations, and this year the Garrison family are hosting an old-fashioned carnival with its own antique carousel. Third-generation hotel owners Bill and Lillian Garrison are longtime friends of Shannon Hammer, and her family’s construction business has always been contracted to renovate and repair the massive estate. Shannon has grown up alongside the Garrison family, so she is very familiar with the adult children and their respective partners. Both Shannon and her sister Chloe may have briefly dated Logan Garrison, but he is now married to Randi, bestie to Shannon’s nemesis Whitney Reid Gallagher. Randi continually bah humbugs the senior Garrison’s plans to stage a friendly family competition to renovate another wing of their mansion, and her arrogant attitude definitely makes her a Scrooge in what should be a happy family reunion. At least Shannon and her bestselling author fiancé are able to embrace their own happy celebrations, which they share with their construction team and friends. This year Shannon and her friends have also managed to book highly sought-after reservations for one of the eight-course dinners taking place in the hotel’s gourmet restaurant every night until Christmas. Unfortunately, the discovery of a body endangers everyone’s holiday plans and jeopardizes the town’s happiest season of the year.

What makes this such an especially entertaining holiday mystery is that the murder doesn’t occur until about halfway through the novel, allowing readers to revel in the Christmas setting and homebuilding details. Gourmet meals, descriptions of priceless antiques and decorations, and the town’s festivals all make this the perfect setting for those looking for an ideal holiday read. This generous opening also permits the introduction and building up of the numerous new characters, who quickly become as familiar – and complicated - as Shannon and her Hammer Construction crew. Shannon’s adorable Westie Robbie is sure to please his fans, while her family and their partners bring along their own good cheer and support. Living in her hometown though also means that Shannon must always contend with her rivals and foes from high school, mean girls who never grew past their petty grievances and jealousies. Randi takes up much of this space vacated by the venomous Whitney, whose presence is thankfully brief and felt mostly through friendships with two of the Garrison women. Shining through this 11th of the series is love of the Christmas season and appreciation of family and friends, making this a warm-hearted, funny, and very rewarding holiday mystery.

The latest in the Fixer-Up mysteries is a fun holiday read. Mac and Shannon are on the case of the latest murder at Lighthouse Cove. All decked out for the holidays, the Cliffside resort has added a Fun Zone for families to enjoy during this most festive season. When a body is discovered in the wine cellar, investigation becomes key and some of the festivities take a back seat. Once again, Shannon and Mac along with their friends and family solve the mystery. Loved this installment. A fun read for the holidays.

This was another great installment of the fixer-upper series. As usual, Shannon and her crew have a job restoring a gorgeous old property and stumble upon a body. This time, the victim is a heretofore unknown mean girl friend of Whitney, Shannon's nemesis. While it was no biggie to lose a character nobody much liked, it took me out of the story a bit that Randi was supposedly somebody who Shannon had known all her life and had been mean to her, yet she'd never appeared in previous stories. Still, the mystery unfolded well, although I figured out who did it right away. That's a bit disappointing, but perhaps I just read too many of these! All in all, I enjoyed it.

Things are going well for Shannon as she and her team finish up some construction projects at the Cliffs before the holiday season. She is surrounded by good friends and a loving fiancé. So what if there are some “mean girls” who never grew out of it who revel in being snarky and demeaning. Shannon ignores them as much as possible but two of the three happen to be family members of the people who own the Cliffs so it is almost impossible to avoid them entirely. Then one of them is murdered and she, her fiancé and the chief of police find the body in a wine cellar.

The victim is a beauty but only on the outside. She is not a nice person and has managed to ruffle more than a few feathers both in the family and the staff that run the hotel. Even her husband, who has returned from a tour of duty, is fed up with her attitude. That means the list of suspects is long and involves a lot of people for whom Shannon cares.

A second murder ups the stakes but also provides the clues that will uncover the killer. The villain is not going to go without a fight but does not reckon with the anger of one of the victim’s friends. It is a nice tight mystery with lots of family dynamics and makes for a highly enjoyable read. Five purrs and two paws up.

The Knife Before Christmas is another classic cozy mystery with a Christmas vibe. Shannon and Mac are back and it’s Christmas in Lighthouse Cove. Shannon and her crew are helping old friends set up their annual holiday fair and it’s a whole family affair. But not all the family is in the holiday spirit and pretty soon, Shannon does what she does best—stumbles upon a dead body. Like always she has to follow the clues to help solve the mystery.

If you’ve read the others in the series, this is a cute, easy read. If you aren’t up on this one, it’s probably going to seem boring to you.

This was a fun holiday cozy mystery. Apparently it is part of a series but I read it as a stand alone and it was fine. The author did a great job setting the holiday scene and really got me in the spirit. I wish there was a Cliffside Inn I could visit. The characters were likable and I would read more books about them. The mystery was predictable and didn't even begin til midway through the book. I would recommend this one for the holiday fun but not the mystery.

Welcome to a Lighthouse Cove Christmas. Shannon is working at the Cliffs Hotel to create a Christmas carnival midway with old style games, a carousel and Santa.
The build up to the murder is slow. It doesn’t happen until after 50%. That’s okay because we have a lovely time settling into the story, learning about the Cliffs and the family. The reader is reminded of those who are nice and those who are naughty (the mean girls).
There is more about the Homefront, the tiny home village for veterans. And a Christmas celebration there.
The mystery and death are a big part of the second half of the book. The last chapter reveals the killer.
As the description doesn’t reveal the person who dies, it seems best to be vague about how the mystery plays out. I love the part where Mac and Shannon connect with Scooby Doo type vibes.
I enjoyed reading The Knife Before Christmas. I would recommend it.
This is the first time this series has been printed in hardcover.
Thanks to Netgalley and Berkley for the opportunity to read this book.

I always enjoy Kate Carlise’s cozy mysteries, and The Knife Before Christmas was no exception. We get to visit Lighthouse Cove at Christmas where Shannon Hammer and her crew are creating a Victorian carnival midway on the grounds of the Cliffs Hotel. I loved the descriptions of the hotel and the midway (I wish it was in my town). The carousel was a great addition. The story is easy to read with great characters. Shannon and Mac make a great couple. I enjoy the interactions between them. I like Shannon’s relationship with her crew. I find it funny that the guys do not like to borrow her pink tools. I appreciated that the whodunit did not take place at the beginning of the story. We get to learn about the carnival and spend time there, enjoy the local Christmas festivities, and catch-up characters. I had an idea who would die and who would do the deed, but I did not know why. I enjoyed following Shannon as she asked questions and searched for clues. There is a twist or two along the way as well as with some strategically placed clues for an armchair detective like me. I like that Shannon and Mac work together to solve mysteries by playing their Scooby Doo game. I was sorry when my visit to Lighthouse Cove came to an end. I hope I get to return soon. The Knife Before Christmas is a festive story with a regal hotel, a clever carnival, a delightful dinner with friends, an adorable carousel, Scooby Doo for two, and a cheery Christmas.

Shannon Hammer isn’t slowing down for Christmas. As the head of her own contracting business, she is willing to take on assignments close to the holidays, especially when it’s for such a good cause. The Garrison family have run a local Cliffs Hotel for many, many years. It’s where the residents of Lighthouse Cove as well as tourists come to celebrate good food, good friends, and the Christmas spirit. Last year, the Garrisons installed a train for the holiday season. This year, they’re installing an antique carousel, and they’ve asked Shannon and her crew to create a Victorian-style midway that features booths for games and snacks to go along with it.

Most of the Garrison kids and their spouses worked at the hotel. Logan was the oldest, who was in the military, but his wife Randi worked in the restaurant and was taking courses to become a sommelier. Arabella was the middle child and in charge of the hotel’s day spa, and she was married to Franco, the chef. The youngest Garrison was Stephanie, manager of the hotel, and she was married to Craig, who was the manager of the hotel’s bar. Shannon wanted to like them all, but Randi and Arabella were good friends with the woman who had stolen her high school boyfriend and still acted like she and her friends were high school mean girls.

But she could try to stay out of their way, for the most part, as she was working on the midway booths. However, it will be more difficult when they start on the hotel’s next project, where each couple gets to redesign a part of the hotel, and Shannon and her team will complete the redesign according to their ideas. The Garrison parents were trying to get their kids more invested in the hotel, and they added an extra incentive of a cash prize to the favorite redesign.

But when Shannon stumbles on the dead body of Randi in the hotel basement, the holiday celebrations are put on hold for the investigation. And when Shannon realizes that the murderer borrowed her pink-handled drywall knife as the murder weapon, she has extra motivation to wrap up the killer before Santa comes.

The Knife Before Christmas is book 11 in Kate Carlisle’s Fixer-Upper Mysteries that focus on the restoration of Victorian houses and businesses in California. Contractor Shannon Hammer solves mysteries that show up on or near her projects along with the help of her team, her fiancé Mac, her sister Chloe, and the local sheriff. She is known for quality work and her pink tools, as well as her knack for finding killers.

I really liked the Christmas theme for this mystery, which is good, because the holiday theme started right away but the mystery didn’t get started until the story was well underway. There were a lot of things happening in the book before the murder, but it was a fun story with lots of Christmas spirit. I read these books as much for the restoration and construction work (HGTV fan) as for the murder mysteries, so I didn’t mind the late entrance of the victim, but I think it was almost 50% of the way in. So that’s something to keep in mind if you’re someone who likes your cozy mysteries with a crime right away. But I like these characters, I was ready for some holiday cheer, and I had a great time with The Knife Before Christmas, even though I didn’t actually get to play Bonk the Christmas Bunny.

Egalleys for The Knife Before Christmas were provided by Berkley through NetGalley, with many thanks.

3.5 stars, actually.

Despite not being a huge fan of cozy mysteries, this series is a favorite - largely because for once the main character is a real woman, not a ditzy female who never listens to reason, and the stories always are intriguing and relatively fast-paced. This one, too, was enjoyable, but it was noticeably lacking in the usual pizzazz.

Yes, there's a murder in the small California coastal town of Lighthouse Cove (make that two murders, in fact); but those events take up a only a few pages - the rest mostly filled with characters running around talking about how much they like (or dislike) each other. Even the relatively brief reference to a current real-life trend (a particular concern for online shoppers) ends up with a not-quite-realistic conclusion and seems more like an afterthought than part of the plot.

Shannon Hammer is an accomplished builder with her own construction firm (for those not familiar with the series, yes, that's her real last name). It won't be long till she marries her true love, MacKintyre Sullivan, who's a successful writer of mystery novels (though it's a mystery to me when he finds the time to do much writing). This book takes place a few weeks before Christmas, so the small town is gearing up for the season. That's especially true at the Cliffs Hotel, a restored (much of it by Shannon and her team) Victorian mansion owned by Bill and Lilian Garrison, who apparently have money to burn and are by all accounts the most lovable people on the planet. Bill has asked Shannon to create a "Fun Zone" to entertain locals and tourists for the holidays, and there's plenty of enthusiasm and hoopla surrounding that.

The Garrisons have three grown children, all married to other characters - some of them are perfect like the parents/in-laws, some way at the other end of the lovable spectrum. One beloved son, Logan, has been away as an officer in the U.S. Navy and just returned home, to the delight of everyone. His wife, Randi, is one of the nasties - she can't seem to tolerate anyone except herself, and Shannon is at the top of her enemy list. Since she's married to the son of the resort owners, though, she's been given a relatively cushy job despite everyone's dislike of her (and she of them). No big surprise, then, when she turns up as the first murder victim.

At this point, I can't reveal much more without spoiling things for others, so I'll say simply that, like almost all cozy mysteries, there's a happy ending (well, except for those two dead people). If you're already a fan of this series, do read it - it may not be my favorite, but it's definitely worth it. If this will be your first, I suggest starting with an earlier book (but then that's what I suggest to all new-to-a-series readeers). As for me, I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review a pre-release copy of this one.

I enjoyed this book. I don't always remember to read everyone in the series, but I never feel lost when I find the next in the series. This is one of my favorite authors however. I like the MC and the setting. The mystery kept me guessing. I like how things do move forward in the books.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review.