Plaster and Poison

 Plaster and Poison by Jennie Bentley (2010) 294 pages

Avery is a textile designer who came to Maine to deal with the house she inherited from an aunt who lived in the small town of  Waterfield. When Avery met Derek, a renovation expert (and former MD), she ended up staying and teaming up with him to renovate houses. In this book, the third in the series, they are working to transform a carriage house into a home for their friend Kate, who owns a bed and breakfast business and who is soon to marry Wayne, the police chief. When the father of Kate's daughter shows up in town, and later shows up dead in the carriage house, suspicion is aimed all directions: Kate, Wayne, Kate's daughter, and more. Meanwhile, Avery's mother and stepfather come to stay at the B&B. Derek's sister disappears, and it's not at all clear whether she has left on her own or by force and whether her absence to related to the murder. Leave it to the spunky Avery and her friends and mother to delve into the multiple cases. It's a quick read.

Flipped Out

 Flipped Out by Jennie Bentley (2011) 293 pages

Avery Baker and her boyfriend Derek Ellis have gotten the opportunity to renovate a house for a TV series called Flipped Out! The plan is to use an empty house owned by Tony Micelli, the local news anchor in their small town of Waterfield, Maine, and to start and finish the renovation in a week. The TV crew arrives, consisting of the director, camera operator, production assistant, tech guy, and the guy who will be interviewing them on camera.  The "before" footage is filmed, and then the couple, along with some friends, start tearing out cabinets, counters, sinks, etc. The next morning, though, Tony is found inside, stabbed to death. Is the murder a random thing, or is it related to Tony's new fiancée (who happens to be Derek's ex-wife), or does it have a connection to the film crew? For instance, Tony had worked with Nina, the director of the show, twenty years prior, and there seemed to be some tension between them when they saw each other again.

After the police release the house back to the renovation crew, the renovations continue as the list of suspects grows and changes. Can the house be finished in time? And more importantly, who murdered Tony? 

The book was an enjoyable read, and like the other book that I read from this series, at the end there were numerous home-renovation tips.

Spackled and Spooked

 Spackled and Spooked, by Jennie Bentley (2009) 309 pages

Spackled and Spooked is a new-to-me mystery series featuring Avery Baker, a textile designer, and her boyfriend, Derek Ellis. Derek has bought a house that has been empty since a murder-suicide 18 years ago. The only family member who escaped was a five-year old boy who ran away during the horrific event. Avery and Derek have high hopes for renovating the house and reselling it, hoping that it won't be  considered tainted by the long-ago events. From the very start, though, the house seems to be haunted, and soon, when Derek is digging under the crawl space to prepare to put in new floors, he discovers human bones. More sinister events happen, and it's hard to tell who in this small college-town of Waterfield, Maine is responsible for the latest murder attempts, and whether there is any tie-in to the murders of the past. Avery and Derek try to help the police solve the murders so they can get back to renovating the house.

There were also  renovation tips at the end of the book, which described how to get various effects that were described a bit in the story.