Jacobia "Jake" Tiptree left her high-powered career for a dilapidated fixer-upper and the dream of a quiet existence in the quaint town of Eastport, Maine. But she found that no matter how carefully you remodel your life, murder can take up residence anywhere.
It's Eastport's most notorious landmark: the old Harlequin House. Named for the disgraced physician Chester Harlequin, it was used as a hideout for gunshot gangsters and their molls during Prohibition's heyday. Now fixer-upper enthusiast Jake Tiptree and Harlequin's only living descendant, Ellie White, are refurbishing the mansard-roofed mansion to host the local Historical Society's upcoming gala. But when stripping down old wallpaper reveals a secret door to a room containing not one but two corpses, Jake and Ellie once again find home repair leading to homicide.
One of the bodies is a skeleton dressed in 1920s flapper chic. But the other is that of
real-estate mogul Hector Gosling, and in his pocket is a paper bearing the single word "Guilty." The less-than-scrupulous tycoon has been poisoned, and when it's learned that the offending substance is the poison that Ellie's husband George has been using to kill red ants, he is immediately taken into custody. Then it develops that George had recently accused Gosling of a scheme to scam George's vulnerable old aunt out of her life savings--and George out of his inheritance.
With George held for murder, Jake and a pregnant Ellie swing into action. In between Ellie's Lamaze sessions, baby showers, and CPR classes taught by Jake's ex-husband
Victor, the two amateur sleuths must sift their way through a trail of seemingly contradictory clues. Then another corpse surfaces and suddenly Jake and Ellie realize they must find this killer fast. A clever culprit is not only building an airtight case against Ellie's husband. He--or she--is planning to nail everyone who stands in the way.

"From the Hardcover edition."

When it comes to home repair, Jacobia "Jake" Tiptree is a fervent wielder of power drills and paint brushes. And when catching criminals, she's been known to really bring down the hammer. But when a shocking murder rocks the small town of Eastport, Maine, Jake may be the next victim for whom the bell tolls.
It is nearly midnight when the enormous bell in the belfry of All Faith Chapel--silent for decades--booms forth, startling awake the entire town of Eastport. Upon inspection of the steeple, the police uncover the body of local teenager Karen Hansen, who had climbed the belfry's dark, rickety stairs for a midnight rendezvous. But instead of the promise of an exciting new life, Karen meets her death.
Meanwhile, as an epic nor'easter bears down on the idyllic island town, Jake Tiptree hurries to shore up her ramshackle old house against the big blow. An amateur detective, she has sworn off chasing criminals. But when the news of Karen's murder spreads and much of the evidence points to Jake's likable houseguest, she and her sleuthing partner, Ellie White, get to work.
They discover an unexpected ally in newcomer Lizzie Snow, a woman from "away" who seemed to have blown into town with the nor'easter, and who also seems to know a lot about the mind of a killer. Can Jake and Ellie trust her? As a killer roams free and the townsfolk struggle against the pounding, screaming storm, the resulting tempest of gossip and suspicion rivals anything the Atlantic could brew up--and threatens to keep Jake and Ellie from putting the final nail in this cold-blooded case.
Complete with Home Repair Is Homicide repair tips
Praise for "A Bat in the Belfry"
"Stylishly suspenseful."--"Milwaukee""Journal Sentinel"
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"Nobody else can take a home repair project and turn it into a first-class mystery the way Graves can. It's a top-of-the-line story."--"RT Book Reviews"
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"Graves does the Down East region justice, nailing not only the scents, sounds, sights, and people, but the culture. . . . It doesn't hurt that she's a damn good storyteller, to boot. Her] prose is sharp, smart, and witty."--"Crimespree Magazine
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Praise for Sarah Graves and the Home Repair Is Homicide""series
"Graves's trademarks are edgy, traditional mysteries peppered liberally with humor, and sprinkled with layered, well-written characters."--Julia Spencer-Fleming, "New York Times" bestselling author of "One Was a Soldier"
"Just hearing her list the ways you can kill yourself fixing up an old house . . . is a hoot."--"The New York Times Book Review"
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"What distinguishes the novel are its likable, no-nonsense protagonist-narrator, her references to home repair that the author cleverly fits tongue-and-groove into the story and, especially, the detailed descriptions of the town."--"Los Angeles Times"
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"Graves makes rehabbing shutters and other chores suspenseful."--"The Boston Globe"

"From the Hardcover edition."

When a bestselling true-crime author arrives in Eastport, Maine, to research the infamous Dodd murders for a new book, she finds herself about as welcome as a spoiled clam. But surely no one in the quaint seaside town would harm the crime writer--or would they? Suddenly the unsolved and not-quite-forgotten slayings of the wealthy Dodd women go from cold case to hot topic, while just as quickly, onetime Wall Streeter Jacobia "Jake" Tiptree turns from probing the mysteries of old-house insulation to an investigation that's reopened old wounds and unearthed a string of deadly secrets. Jake would have preferred to insulate herself and her family from danger, but someone with a taste for terror has already crept closer than she dares to imagine.