Lori C. (dollycas) reviewed on 5/20/2023 + 651 more book reviews

Dollycas's Thoughts

Things are going great for Shannon and Mac. They just walked the red carpet for the movie premiere based on Mac's latest book. While she had a good time she is anxious to get home to start her new project. A Victorian church that needs a lot of updates and TLC so that it can be reopened as a museum.

Her entire crew plus a new hire is excited to get started on the renovations but they make an eerie discovery on the walk-through to firm up the project schedule. A door to a chapel was hard to open. When they finally get it open, they see that the dead body of the young assistant art director had been blocking the door. Shannon is devastated by the discovery and she soon realizes the old church is full of secrets, secrets that bring forth several suspects. It's time for her and Mac to drill down on all the clues to hammer out the real killer before they strike again.

It won't take long for new fans to fall hard for contractor Shannon Hammer and her beau author Mac Sullivan. Fans like me who have loved this series from the start will be delighted as Shannon and Mac's story continues.

I love the way the characters in this series keep growing and evolving in such good and realistic ways. Ms. Carlisle has created such strong women in Shannon and Chloe along with their male counterpoints Mac and Eric. I am really happy that Chloe can be in Lighthouse Cove much more often. A wonderful supporting cast supports these key characters. With each story that supporting cast gains more depth. The author also introduces book-specific characters that evolve nicely over the course of the story.

The Victorian church setting this time was so interesting. Stained glass windows always gain my attention and the author's detailed description of those and all the other nooks and crannies of the church put me right there. I was able to visualize everything so clearly.

The way the mystery developed was so well-written and plotted. It was clear that someone associated with the church or heaven forbid someone on Shannon's crew was the killer. A really unique clue really blows open the possibilities of who could have committed the crime and some great twists move the story along. I appreciate the way Shannon works closely with Police Chief Eric even when she knows her findings could slow down or shut down her project. I also like the way she negotiates with him so that doesn't happen often. Their close relationship also means she calls him when all the clues start to fall into place. The reveal surprised me a lot. It was like an entire toolbox dropped on my foot as everything came to a head. Ms. Carlisle did an excellent job of diverting my attention.

Dressed to Drill is a terrific mystery with a fast pace and sensational characters set in a place that will be so awesome when all Shannon's renovations are completed. After that mystery is wrapped up the readers are treated to an awesome epilogue. There are bright things ahead in Lighthouse Cove and I can't wait to find out how it all comes together and plays out.

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