Sooooooooo slow! I couldn't even finish it and that's rare for me. ( )

This book, the fourth in the Home Repair is Homicide series, is mostly about the ghost of Jared Hayes that has been a sort of character here and there throughout the previous three books.

The story starts with the arrival of a summer visitor who supposedly knows some of Jacobia's cousins. Jonathan Raines. He's searching for the fabled violin that Hayes had, the violin that's supposedly a Stradivarius. Then, he disappears, apparently dead.

That's when Jake and Ellie really get into the mystery. Not just of what happened to Hayes, who also happened to simply disappear, but then also of what happened to Jon. They're sort of helped and sort of hindered by Jon's girlfriend, who also has an uncle (who raised her) who may or may not be a suspect in Jon's death.

It's a winding, sometimes confusing mystery with a whole lot of twists and even more characters, a lot of whom are new, that get introduced. That made some of the book quite scattered at times, although the stories all coalesced properly at the end in a a natural way.

My favorite part of the book was the Victor/Jacobia/Sam subplot that was wove throughout the story. It seemed very real life to me, and I think I may even be getting used to the annoying character of Victor. Even if he's written so well that I generally just want to slap the man.

Overall a good book, solid three stars. Just a bit hard to follow here and there. ( )

Is there really a treasure hidden in Jake's house?: Jacobie Tiptree has a great deal on her plate just now. Her old house is still in the process of restoration, her exhusband still lives in Eastport, her son is seeing a girl she doesn't like, her ghost is unpredictable, and worst of all, a summer guest she doesn't remember inviting has invaded her home for the summer to finish his dissertation. At least, that is what he said he was there for. Jake believes that he is there to search for a Stradivarius allegedly hidden in the house by a former owner. Jake believes that this is merely a local legend and is incensed when her guest disappears, allegedly drowned, leaving a huge hole in her dining room wall just days before the local reading circle is due to meet in her home.The visitor's exgirlfriend Charmian arrives to bring home the body(there is none given the currents surrounding Eastport) and dives into the mystery herself. Jon Raines wasn't a graduate student, he was an adventurer who looked for lost treasures. Charmian's uncle wouldn't let them get married(sounds a little like a gothic romance doesn't it?), so he went off to find a real treasure to make his reputation. The uncle also makes a trip to Eastport, but thankfully, doesn't stay with Jake. This was a very good addition to the series, Jake and Ellie solve the mystery with the usual help of the local characters and their families. This was a very fast read, great to take on vacation.

Jacobia Tiptree and her teenage son are used to their Eastport, Maine home attracting more than its share of houseguests. This year Jake is hoping the plaster dust will keep them away while she finally gets her gem of a fixer-upper into shape - from doorknobs and chandeliers to ghostly phenomena. But when the charming and mysterious Jonathan Raines appears on her doorstep and then just as suddenly disappears, remodeling the house becomes the least of Jake's problems. Could Jonathan's disappearance have something to do with his quest for a cursed violin that local legend says was hidden by a long-ago owner of Jake's house before he too vanished without a trace? Jake needs to strip Eastport's past of its idyllic veneer before a killer paints her very dead indeed! ( )

Financial counselor turned innkeeper Jacobia Tiptree owns a much-in-need-of-repair Bed and Breakfast Inn in Eastport Maine. This episode of the "Home Repair Mysteries" is Good not Great. It was lots of fun, but there were times when the author left the reader dangling trying to figure out where she was going with her story; there were minutes of head-scratching while I tried to fit who went with whom. Motivation of characters was a bit light at times. In addition, one of the main characters really demanded I check my need to believe literally at the door.

In this one, the searches for missing persons, buried treasure maps, and secret compartments all loosely hinge on finding a "missing" Stradivarius violin that may or may not exist. When no one else seems interested, Jacobia, as all good amateur sleuths are supposed to, leaps into the void to find that which was/is lost. A tad mixed up, but still a pleasant enough read for a lazy summer afternoon.

The home repair parts were actually the most interesting - finding out how the layers of plaster were deployed in old homes was, to me anyway, really fascinating. Who knew the true meaning of the phrase "lathe and plaster?" If you read this one, you definitely will. I'm looking forward to reading at least one more of these to see if Sarah Graves can develop into a more coherent author, but I also look forward to being entertained by the dry DownEast humor. Ayuh. ( )