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    Dead Bolt
    Dead Bolt
    Dead Bolt
    Audiobook7 hours

    Dead Bolt

    Written by Juliet Blackwell

    Narrated by Xe Sands

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Turner Construction's latest restoration project is a historic Queen Anne Victorian in San Francisco. This time, general contractor Mel Turner has to work around the owners, who insist on sticking around-along with some ghosts that insist in their own way that the work stops.

    The ghosts aren't the only ones standing in the way of the renovations. A crotchety neighbor, Emile Blunt, secretly wants this house and could be behind some of the disturbances. But when Emile is found dead, it's Mel who appears guilty. Now she must restore the building-and her reputation-before it's too late.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateSep 9, 2013
    ISBN9781452685632
    Dead Bolt

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    Reviews for Dead Bolt

    4/5

    91 ratings9 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Great series! I really enjoy the mystery with light-hearted day to day life.
    • 5/5
      family-dynamics, friendship, ghosts, restoration, general-contractor, law-enforcement, murder, secretsFormer anthropologist Mel Turner is a general contractor working to restore/renovate a historic house which has some rather nasty ghosts distressing the young family who are the new owners. Mel is somewhat sensitive to spirits, but this is all new to her and she learns all sorts of interesting things about people who thrive on haunted buildings and that there are people who can help her both to learn and to free the departed to leave. And, of course, there is the murder (as well as physical sabotage which endangered the living. There's laughter and a smidge of romance as well.A great read that is so thoroughly enhanced by the audio interpretation of Xe Sands!
    • 4/5
      I really enjoy Juliet Blackwell's work, both as Juliet Blackwell and as Hailey Lind. Even though this story's *living* plot seemed a bit disjointed and didn't really flow for me, I still gave the book 4 stars because the ghost story was great and the characters continue to develop into likeable characters I care about following. The ghost story was definitely the focus, while the living murder mystery was sort of back burner'ed for most of the first half of the book, with only occasional mentions. I didn't mind this, but then everything started happening in the second half of the book and it sort of seemed, not rushed exactly, but compressed. Still I really enjoyed the book and look forward to the next one in the series.
    • 5/5
      This is the second in the Haunted Home Renovation Mysteries series.

      Melanie Turner is restoring a Victorian for a young executive, his Russian born wife and their young child. The young wife relates some occurrences that have been happening in the house and Melanie strongly suggests they leave until the renovations are complete. Of course this unacceptable to the young husband.

      One evening as Melanie is leaving, she has a nasty encounter with a neighbor across the street and the next morning he is found dead. As she arrives for work that morning she finds her father being interviewed by police. Now she really needs to look into the home and it's ghostly residents. She soon finds the eccentric "cat lady" that had previously lived there. Then she learns that there was something between the cat lady and the murdered man. The young wife disappears and it is learned that she also has dubious past, as related to the dead man.

      The ghosts are two brothers, their mother and the wife of one the brothers. One of the brothers had set sail for South America and dies on the way and is placed in a barrel of rum and sent back home. How did he die and if not a natural death who might have killed him. This is what Melanie must find out so she can get the ghost to move on and for her to complete her renovation project.

      I really enjoy reading this series and enjoy it more than Blackwell other series.
    • 4/5
      A good paranormal mystery.By "paranormal", I mean that although it's otherwise a conventional mystery- maybe with a touch of "cozy"- the ghosts are real. No vamps, weres, etc., and only a few inklings of romance.I love that Mel- our heroine- is a general contractor, and the author has done enough research so that the on-job problems she faces are pretty accurate, as nearly as I can judge (not being in that line of work myself). The one jarring note: I do not think a general contractor would wear frilly clothes to the job site, even if she also had an overall to wear over them if she needed to crawl through grime. There's kind of an emphasis on this, as if we could not admire and sympathize with her unless she has a very "femme" aspect. Weird.This really isn't a "cozy" though it has cozy elements; Mel's to firm for that, and most modern cozies have protags that are essentially doormats. Mel isn't.The ghostly aspects were well-handled and often very creepy indeed. The aspects that had to do with difficult clients were sympathetic and funny. The plot was nicely thought-out and well-paced. The other characters are- as we expect- quirky, but they're not horrible and mostly exist within bonds of affection.This is the second book in an enjoyable series.
    • 3/5
      This was a quick post-finals read. I enjoyed the San Francisco setting, as well as the historic renovation and ghosty elements. I would definitely get a 3.5 rating if available here on GR, but not quite a 4 star. Still, an enjoyable read.
    • 4/5
      First Line: My father always used to say: There's nothing quite like a protracted remodel to test a person's sanity.Mel Turner's father was right. The renovation of the historic Queen Anne Victorian house in San Francisco is taking much longer than it should primarily because the owners insist upon living on site throughout the entire process.When strange things begin to happen and Mel begins to see ghosts out of the corners of her eyes, she knows she's got trouble. A grumpy old man across the street covets the house, and Mel wonders if he could be at the heart of some of the disturbances. He's found dead in his shop and things keep happening, so Mel knows the answers are going to be a bit more difficult to find. These are the first dangerous spirits that Mel has had to deal with, but deal with them she must if this renovation has a prayer of being completed.If you like strong female characters surrounded by a loving if unconventional family and a handsome man or two... and if you like your mysteries housed in old Victorian homes being brought back to life... and if you like your old houses populated with a spirit or two... then you've come to the right book in the right series.Mel Turner is a general contractor specializing in restoring historic homes. She's divorced, lives with her father, and dearly loves her stepson, Caleb. She didn't know she'd inherited her mother's ability to see ghosts until after she'd sustained a solid whack to the head. In this book, the spirits are decidedly unfriendly, and one of them (the "shadow ghost") made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.This isn't just a ghost-laced little mystery, though. There's the renovation to savor, and those homeowners who insist on living in the house while it's being torn apart are every bit as interesting as the ghosts with whom they're sharing space. If you're in the mood for a light, fun, well-written cozy that whets your appetite for old houses and ghosts, Dead Bolt will be just your cup of tea.
    • 5/5
      In Blackwell's paranormal mystery novel, general contractor Melanie Turner's latest restoration job involves a historic Queen Ann Victorian in one of San Francisco's neighborhoods. The owners have decided to reside in the basement while the work is done, making things more difficult for the crew. But when strange things begin to happen around the site, the owners threaten to cancel all restoration plans for fear of disturbing the ghosts who live somewhere on the property. It's soon clear that the ghosts aren't the only ones disrupting the work in progress. The neighbors aren't happy with the noise associated with the project either. When Mel's father discovers a body across the street, Mel is tasked with the duty to finish the job on time, do some ghost busting, and restore her reputation.Melanie Turner is one of the most exciting, sharp, and hysterically funny heroines in any book series I've read. A new and inventive twist on the ghostly paranormal mystery genre.
    • 3/5
      Dead Bolt is cozy ghost story and murder mystery that will keep you entertained and guessing until the end. Renovating an historic mansion is hard work, but becomes dangerous work with the interference of some not so friendly ghosts. With likable characters and maybe some romance creeping in, this story is a delightful but not too creepy way to spend an afternoon or two.