Nice mystery, but I feel like I kept missing things or some background was missing. I kept going, and I’ll definitely read more in the series!

This was part of Houseparty promotion. The book is 7 years past publishing. I sent a review through Houseparty.

Death at a Fixer-Upper: A Home Sweet Home Mystery – Book 1 by Sarah T Hobart

220 Pages
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Alibi, Alibi
Release Date: May 17, 2016

Fiction, Murder Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Amateur Detective

Sam Turner is a newly minted real estate agent. The old fixer-upper has a lot of interest but then one of the clients dies unexpectedly and the other ghosts, she becomes frantic. She really needs a sale. She finds out one of her clients is the wife of his ex-husband Wayne. They were still married when he married Sam.

Sam drives a vintage VW bus complete with tent, sink and fridge that is in serious need of repairs. is moving from her rental to a house with her fifteen-year-old son but must take money from her sister to pay the down payment. Her sister agreed to rent her guest house for six months in exchange for the money. Sam doesn’t know how to tell her she has feelings for her sister’s ex-husband Bernie Aguilar.

The book has a steady pace, the characters are somewhat developed, and it is written in third person point of view. This is a cute cozy who dun it like Diane Mott Davidson’s Goldy Bear and M.C. Beaton’s Agatha Raisin. If you like amateur detective cozy books, you will enjoy reading this one.

I love a good light hearted cozy read. Death at a Fixer-Upper didn’t disappoint in that department. The town and characters are quirky and fun enough to hold your interest. There was just enough mystery to keep me guessing until the end!
I received an ARC of this book from the publisher, via Netgalley and Chatterbox, in exchange for an honest review.

Just last week, I read four books, all part of the same series, one after another. I took a day off from reading and then received Death at a Fixer-Upper: A Home Sweet Home Mystery and came to a complete halt when it came to reading. I tried with all my might to get into this book and to finish it, but I just could not do it. When it comes to reading, I cannot force myself to like a book or finish it. If I try, I end up skipping over lines and not truly comprehending what it is that I am reading. Therefore, I find it best to just stop reading the book and be done with it.

Death at a Fixer-Upper is described as “wickedly funny and fast-paced”. To be honest, I did not find it to be funny nor fast-paced. I thought it was a very slow read and long-winded. One of the things I always look forward to when I start a new book is the connection that I will have with a character, unfortunately that never happened – with any of the characters in this book. I thought some of the reactions that they had were odd when they were in different situations.

I will be frank and just say it straight out – I wish the author did not try so hard. Sometimes the best books are those that the author does not really think about and they just write whatever comes to mind.

I really cannot recommend Death at a Fixer-Upper: A Home Sweet Home Mystery, which is a disappointment, since the book does sound good. It just did not do it for me.

I did receive Death at a Fixer-Upper: A Home Sweet Home Mystery for free, in exchange for an honest opinion. Despite that, my thoughts were not influenced.

A good mystery book to pass the time. The story stayed pretty level, with no big "a-ha" moments. Didn't make me want to read the others in the series, but I would if I happened to stumble upon one.

This was an excellent book, and I loved the story. It was an excellent cozy mystery, and I would love to read more by this author. I had actually forgotten that I had received this book from this site, which is why my review is, umm, a bit late.

I found this to be a difficult read, normally I love a cozy mystery, but this was hard to get into. I'd be interested in hearing what others thought of this book.

I was selected to read this book by House Party/Chatterbox and received a copy for free. This book reminded me a lot of the Janet Evanovich Stephanie Plum series. It was a very fun read, full of humor and fun dialogue. I think I actually laughed out loud more than once! Hobart was able to create a mystery story that was fun to read and kept you guessing how it would end-- all while keeping you entertained throughout. #Sponsored #Chatterbox

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25937646-death-at-a-fixer-upper?ac=1&from_search=true

Interesting mystery, engaging characters, beautiful setting. It is the first book in a series, It seems like a little information is missing about Sam but hopefully that will get cleared up in the novels that follow this. It was sometimes confusing because of this.

Entertaining who done it! Fun and interesting characters and story flow. Hard to put down. Would recommend!

I did not enjoy this book. It was not what I was looking for and couldn’t hold my attention. I would try more by the author but I wouldn’t purchase them. I would rather go to the library.

This is a fun "whodunit" for when you're between more serious books. The main character, Sam, is a plucky single mom who is trying to make it as a realtor. The problem is, Sam isn't a very good realtor. She IS a pretty good detective, though. Which is good, since trouble seems to find her. Although I never fully became invested in the particulars of Sam's life (she has a son, a love interest, and an ex that shows up after 13 years), I did find the tidbits about real estate law and rose cross-breeding rather interesting. There seems to be two stories going on at once here - the mystery surrounding 13 Aster Lane, and what's going on in Sam's life. Unfortunately, only one of those stories is interesting.

This is a fast paced read with lots of mystery and humor. I think that readers are going to love this one and that it will be a great series from Sarah T. Hobart.

Sam Turner has just gotten her realtor's license and has listed one of her first properties, and old Victorian home that is definitely going to be a fixer upper. When the calls start coming in about the property, Sam finds herself running around trying to gather all the information the inquiring potential buyers want to know.

Sam is also a mom to a teenage boy whose dad, after 14 years of not being anywhere around for him, has decided to pop back up. Sam herself is trying to close on a new home after being convicted from her current place for owning a cat. Sam is also trying to pursue a romantic relationship with a handsome detective that also happens to be her sisters' ex. Could there be anymore craziness going on all at the same time?

When the potential buyers start coming up dead, Sam is left wondering what in the world is going on. The ending to this story will leave you open mouthed and wondering where it came from. I can't wait to see what Sarah T. Hobart has in store for the rest of A Home Sweet Home Mystery series!

Review from 2016:

I received a copy of this book through House Party Chatterbox & Random House Monthly Mysteries: #RHMysteryPack

This was my first Sarah Hobart book, and it was entertaining. I liked it, but I didn't love it, and at times I had a hard time keeping focused on the book. Not sure if it was the book or just me. However, towards the end it really started picking up the pace and my interest. I did feel that there was an abundance of characters to keep track of -- which normally I don't have a problem with, but I had a hard remembering everyone in this book. There was a lot of stuff going on, a lot of clues, and a lot of twists. I kind of felt like the culprit/villain of the mystery came out of nowhere, I didn't see it coming and I'm not sure if that's good or bad, LOL! All in all, it was entertaining.

Thanks to House Party/Chatterbox and Random House Monthly Mysteries for the opportunity to try out this book and author!

This was a great mystery. Everything about the house had me intrigued and what an original story. I liked it a lot and I sailed through it wanting to know what happens! A great, quick easy read that keeps you interested at every twist and turn.

This was a very interesting book. I thoroughly enjoyed it and found myself engrossed in it. It has a interesting plot that keeps you guessing. The characters are easy to relate to and submerge you into their story.

This was a fun quick read with plenty of twists and plot turns to keep you interested!

Death at a Fixer-Upper by Sarah Hobart is a good story with enough mystery to keep the reader guessing. The characters are well developed and somewhat relatable. The book is a slow starter, but not so much that I didn't want to finish it. It feels like there may have been some background information that was cut during editing or perhaps there were previous books with the same main character. There are references to past events, including the discovery of bodies, without explanations of those events. This is a good story, but not one that I would care to read again (and I am a read it again kind of girl).

I just struggled getting into this book right from the beginning. I tried to keep reading to see where the hook would be to keep me interested but several chapters in I just wasn't feeling it at all.