Measure Twice, Murder Once

I had a hard time getting into this book. I thought the main characters were a little flat. I was surprised by who the killer is. #MeasureTwiceMurderOnce #NetGalley

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, Backlit PR and by #NetGalley. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

Cute, fun cozy mystery.

Intrigue and romance
Ms. Barrett writes with believable characters and scenarios.
Detective Rowena Summerfield retires after an on the job injury and starts a second career in renovation with her daughter, Val. The pair buy a former bordello and Ro is dragged into the investigation...with her former partner. We follow along through their investigation, through the boring questions and the enlightening answers. As suspects are added and eliminated, Ro picks up an admirer. I recommend this fun and qiock moving tale.
I requested and received a NetGalley ARC to peruse gratis and offer my opinion the same.

You will be kept guessing as to the identity of the killer. Rowan Summerfield has her hands full. A former homicide detective turned home renovators gets a shock when the new house turns out to be a brothel. Then the former owner turns up dead. Everyone seems to have secrets. Can the killer be found in time? Good story plot. Good characters.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Backlit Publishing for the ARC. I am voluntarily reviewing this book. This is a cozy mystery, the first in a new series. This was a bit different as the main character used to be a detective, but now renovates homes with her daughter. Interesting plot. 3.5 stars

A clever cozy mystery. Nicely paced and without the typical excessive descriptions and repetition of some cozies. Likeable characters. Intriguing premise. It kept me guessing. A smidgeon of romance. Thanks to the publisher for providing a copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary.

Measure Twice, Murder Once is full of believable characters and interesting storylines. It centers around Rowena, a retired detective, and her divorced daughter. The pair have started a home renovation business and purchase a home that turns out to be a former bordello. The former owner was anxious to sell and sold quickly for a low price. Her haste to distance herself from the brothel becomes clear when after the purchase, her dead body is found. Ro and her daughter work to unravel the secrets and motives that led to the homicide in order to restore the integrity of their purchase.

Another reviewer remarked that this book is devoid of the usual excessive bland descriptions found in some cozies, and I agree. There are some authors I can no longer read because the bland excessive descriptions to increase wordcount dull an otherwise interesting plot. Measure Twice, Murder Once is an enjoyable cozy that’s both engaging and well-paced.

Thank you NetGalley, Barbara Barrett and Backlit PR for the copy of Measure Twice, Murder Once. This is my personal review.
I enjoyed this book quite a lot. It was a twist on cozy mysteries that I liked a lot. Rowena is a retired detective who along wither daughter run a home renovation business.
They got a great deal on a house to do renovations on and they found a very interesting reason why the deal was so good, and the owner was eager to sell to them. The house used to be a bordello. When they started renovations, they discovered a lot more than they anticipated.
This is a good start to a new cozy series. I look forward to reading more.

I received this ARC via Netgalley and Backlit PR, in return for an honest review. First book in a new cozy series featuring a retired police detective and her daughter who co-own a home renovation business. When their latest project involves a former house of ill repute and the seller/madam is killed, there are multiple solutions need to a host of problems with the house and its history. Fun first book with lots of potential for future challenges between the business or the mother/daughter dynamic.

Who knew that buying and renovating an ex brothel could lead to murder but thats exactly what happens when Mother and Daughter renovating team get the chance to snap up a property before it goes on the market

A great start to a new cozy mystery series. Measure Twice, Murder Once is about a former homicide detective, turned home renovation designer, named Ro. She's in her mid/late 50s and has overcome some hardships while raising her daughter, who is in her mid 30’s and her partner in the home renovation business. Their latest house once belonged to madam who ran a brothel out of the house. The madam has been killed and Ro’s homicide detective ex-partner, Herc, asks for her help tracking down suspects. It’s a good mystery with plenty of suspects, and Ro and Herc feed off each other’s strengths like old times. It’s an easy going, entertaining, and enjoyable cozy. Very even paced. I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

Thank you NetGalley and Backlit PR for this wonderful ARC. I’m submitting my honest review and opinion. I will post this review to my blog, Goodreads, Bookbub, & Amazon accounts.

Princess Fuzzypants here: Flipping properties is a risky business at the best of times. Finding just the right place and turning it into something desirable is a chancy affair. But when your business partner, who also happens to be your daughter, buys a property that you have never seen, the anxiety level increases. And then, after the ink has dried, you discover the property had been a brothel, well, let us just say it complicates things one thousandfold. Then, when the former madame is murdered the risk factor goes off the charts.

Former cop Ro now must contend with the renovations, assuage the neighbours who disliked having a house of ill repute on their doorsteps, figure out how to market said tainted house and find the killer. As she digs deeper into the investigation any idea of a madame with a heart of gold vanishes. The deceased was a nasty piece of work and her ex employees all have a good reason to have wanted her dead. But is it possible that one of them, or one of her former clients, had an extra reason.

Four purrs and one paw up.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC for an exchange for an honest review .

A really good one, I had fun reading it.

Well, that was fun – which sounds really weird when you’re talking about a murder mystery, but that’s one of the things that I love about cozy mysteries. The characters usually don’t take theirselves overly seriously, mainly because they’re imperfect and real. They also tend to be full of characters that are a little on the quirky side, which is where most of the fun comes in. 😉

Rowena was a little unique compared to most of the sleuths found in cozy mysteries, mainly because her background was in law enforcement. She thought that an injury had left that part of her life behind. Discovering that her newly acquired flip house was connected to a shady background and an even shadier murder seemed to pull her back into the detective business – from a consultant standpoint anyway.

The characters were witty, the mystery was intriguing and there was even a touch of romance with a little bit of over-protective jealousy thrown into the mix. Nailed It Home Reno Mysteries is definitely a series I’d be willing to continue.

Rowena Summerfield is in business with her daughter renovatingand flipping houses. Ro is the designer and her daughter, Valerie, is the muscle of the business. Valerie, without her partner/Mom's approval acquires a new house to work on but they are both surprised when they learn that this building was once a brothel hidden in a quiet residential neighborhood. Shortly, after starting the work, the previous owner is found murder. It turns out that Ro is a retired homicide detective and that her former partner, Herc, needs some assistance because of staff shortages.

Digging into the past of the former madam Ro and Herc unearth former ladies of the night and clients that all had reason to fear disclosure but who was scared enough to kill?

I liked the premise but the characters needed a bit more fleshing out. The mystery was entertaining.

Measure Twice, Murder Once by Barbara Barrett is the first book in the Nailed It Home Renovation Mystery series. Seems Rowena Summerfield's daughter and business partner bought a former brothel. The price was right but will its reputation lead to a loss? Ro and her daughter Val have a renovation business called Nailed It. An earlier mistake by Val led to a loss so Ro wanted this project to go well. Shortly after the sale the former owner and madam is murdered. Ro, as a former homicide detective, helps her former homicide partner investigate the murder. I enjoyed this storyline. It's a little different: mother/daughter renovation team, and a former homicide detective called back to temporary duty. The investigation kept my attention and I found the characters to be likable. I look forward to the next book in the series.

A good start to a new cozy mystery series. When Ro, a former cop now in a partnership with her daughter Val, purchase a house to renovate and sell, they are both surprised to find out it had been a brothel. When the previous owner was found dead a few days later, Ro's former partner asks for her help in solving the case. Enjoyed this one and look forward to more in the series. Would recommend.