Buying Murder

Buying Murder

Author: Nancy Lynn Jarvis

Reviewed by Fran Lewis

Everyone wants to buy a great house to vacation in or just have in case company comes to visit and they need a place to stay. Regan McHenry and her husband Tom Riley get much than they bargained and definitely way above the sale price when they find something extra in their new home. These two Santa Cruz real estate agents get a call that an old unoccupied cottage is on sale and she decides to buy herself. As a real estate agent before allowing client to purchase a house and before the closing you would have it inspected. But, Regan does not until later on. What the poor inspector found was a whole lot more than inspector needed to find up in the attic of a cottage. Yes, you guessed it: A DEAD BODY! So, as Barry the experienced inspector checks the walls of the cottage, the wiring and much more he finds the body of a young man who has been dead for quite some time. Added to that the murderer made sure that the body would be partly preserved by covering it with kitty litter. But, if you think the murder will be her only woe than you don’t know our creative and talented author Nancy Lynn Jarvis who added more mystery to poor Regan’s life when she has her dealing with being summoned to court and dealing with the person that she wants evicted from a house that she sold to someone else. Let’s not forget her friend at the police department, Dave that provides the gory and detailed account of the murder victim’s demise and temporary burial that starts our amateur sleuth on her own quest for answers when the police show little or no interest in solving the case. The hearing for the eviction should have been a slam dunk and clear cut but you know where Regan is nothing is simple and definitely never clear cut as the defendants are personally offended by her testimony in court and then things happen that let you know there is more to the murder than just a simple burial.

The woman being evicted thinks she sees and hears aliens and wears tin foil to block out rays and her son is her protector who feels she is being wrongly evicted even though she has defaced the house she rented. But, that is only the beginning of Regan’s woes as she is set up by an unknown caller to show a house and is pushed off the road and injured winding up in the hospital. Added to that she finds out the name of the murder victim who seems to have a connection to a man named Charles Alfrey who works for another Realty Company along with his wife Corrine. Sometimes the right questions bring about the wrong results. Regan finds out that sometimes too many questions will irritate the wrong people and the end result might not be what you quite expected. Termite inspection report in her hand from the original owners leads her to the termite inspector that leads her to the connection between his daughter and the murder victim. But, too many questions and suspicions alienate her from others.

Charles Alfrey and Julian Rochette the murder victim have a working past. His wife might have a quite different one with him and yet he seems to be loyal to her and she to him. Could she have something on him that tames his highly volatile and mean personality into something like a docile lamb when she speaks to him? So, why is everyone pointing fingers at the evicted woman’s son? Why is everyone pointing fingers at so many different people? Who really killed Julian and what was the motive? Why was Jessie the termite inspector so angry with him and why didn’t he want him to marry his daughter? Why did she think he disappeared? What happens when she learns the truth?

Regan is persistent and will not give up her own investigation even after verbal threats and the car accident. By the time I complete this book I might actually understand what is entails list a house, buy one and after going through the process recently myself I can honestly say that what Real Estate Owner and author Nancy Lynn Jarvis has written is definitely accurate, interesting and quite informative the reader. Regan is really quite perceptive, she reads people and often banters about her thoughts with her friend Dave who becomes exasperated at her tenacity for always poking her head into murder and often solving the crimes before the police. “ Your house, Regan, your murder,” says Dave Everett. Well: I guess she does not need a real estate license to pursue what has been deemed hers. So, how will this all tie together? Just wait and see!

Confessions from two suspects that claim to have killed the murder victim. Facts that are out of whack and fingerprints that show up but are that enough to hold one suspect and why did the other one confesses? Are they protecting someone else and why?

As Regan thinks she has all of the pieces together creates what she thinks is a fool proof plan, what happens when she confronts the murderer is right out of a Thin Man Movie. She is clever and has the right perpetrator but she outfoxes our Regan or so she the police think. But, Regan is lured to her new cottage with a phone call that sends her into more than just a dangerous situation. What happens you won’t believe? Who was behind her attack and you were behind the murder you will have to find out for yourself. You see: The listings are sealed and the murderer has the evidence hidden away in the triangular space in a lockbox in Regan’s new house and no one can get the key. You will have to go to Amazon or Barnes and Noble.com and buy a copy of the book to find out who killed Julian yourself and why. So, who killed Julian and why? What happens to the suspects you won’t even come close to figuring out? Author Nancy Lynn Jarvis weaves a story so true to life filled with humor, suspense and two people that are so right for each other and yet not perfect. Tom and Regan: Who knows what she will get herself into next?

Fran Lewis: Reviewer

This book gets FIVE PERFECT LISTINGS FOR REGAN AND TOM!