Tuesday, November 22, 2016

A Killer Location by Sarah T. Hobart

Sam Turner is hoping to be the next great real estate agent.  She hasn't garnered her first big sale but she's going to host an open house and she has high hopes.  Her boss tells her no one has ever sold a house during the first open house, but she's not discouraged.  She should be but for a different reason...

Alibi and Net Galley let me read this book for review (thank you).  It is being published today.

She encounters the horrors of open house.  The next door neighbor tells her they need to trim the overhanging trees or he's going to sue them.  The couple next door come to snoop and smell up the bathroom.  There's a lady with a dog that gets the white carpet and couch dirty.  And let's not forget the young eager couple who exit with half the household goods.  If that isn't enough, when she tries to make cookies to give the place a nice homey smell, she finds a decapitated finger with a wedding band on it.  It has her boss' initials on it, so it must have been from one of this wives.  If that isn't enough to put you off eating cookies, the woman's dog finds a buried body in the backyard.

With this strong opening, the rest of the story settles down to a slower pace.  Her sister shows up on her doorstep.  She has paid for part of the down on the house so she has access to the little cottage in the back.  She's also Sam's current boyfriend's ex.  Sam hasn't told her sister about that yet.

In the meantime, her son has found a part-time job and is growing into a mature young man.  Her ex is back in town trying to make friends with his son but he's not making much progress.

She's busy asking questions and trying to solve the murder because her boss was thrown in jail and she can't do real estate anymore.  She could get another job but she likes where she works.  She's real good at getting herself in odd situations.  Most people don't question suspects in a sauna.  Especially since she started questioning the wrong man.

But then most people don't solve crimes, do they?

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