Review: Deck the Hallways

Deck the Hallways by Kate Carlisle
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4.5 Star Review! This is the fourth book in the Fixer-Upper series, and I must say this one has that Christmas charm of long ago.

Shannon Hammer has taken on a huge project with just a few short weeks before Christmas. She is the General Contractor for the Forester House project. The mansion is one of the longest standing mansions in Lighthouse Cove and instead of the city tearing it down, it will be remolded to into apartments for people in need, to give them a home. Several contractors, plumbers, electricians, painters, and a host of volunteers are donating their time to see this project through and for the people to be able to move in on Christmas Eve, complete with Christmas trees, decorations, and food for a holiday meal.

Peter Potter, who is the town Scrooge, is the oversee that is representing the bank, he keeps showing up unannounced, causing problems with everyone, including Shannon and her father. Not only is he trying to interfere with the workers and the work being done on the house, but he's also threatening the volunteers, by telling them he can take their business's away from them, causing distress for all.

One morning when Shannon gets to Forester House early before anyone show up she discovers the body of Potter, killed with the ax owned by her dad. But with the whole town as suspects, including herself, Shannon must get this murder wrapped up pronto so they can finish the house on time for the new residents by Christmas Eve.

With Shannon's love life in limbo, she hasn't heard from Mac, the guy she's been seeing and a best selling author in 42 days, planning the annual Christmas parade, overseeing Forester House project, the murder of Potter, someone has left a new baby girl in Shannon's truck, one more thing Shannon doesn't need to deal with, nor does she know how to take care of a baby. She turns the baby over to the only person she knows, her friend Lizzie, who not only is a mother of two and willing to care for the baby until they can either find the mother or find a couple that is willing to adopt her, but Lizzie herself is a suspect for making a threat about killing Potter herself, right in front of Potter's assistant. All of these things need to be wrapped up tightly and with a bow on top by Christmas Eve. Can Shannon get this all done in time.

I did try and get a couple of my book groups to read this one for the holidays, but no one seemed to be interested in it. I really think they would of enjoyed this one as much as I did. This was an entertaining book, with plenty of suspects right off the bat, before the murder had even taken place. Which made it a nice change of pace and you learned why someone wanted to kill the person, instead of not knowing them until the end. There were some laugh out loud moments, character's were easy to follow and get to know them, the lead character, Shannon is strong, feisty, smart and likable.

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