Keeper of the Castle

Although I tend not to like much of the paranormal in the books I read, Juliet Blackwell knows the one angle that I like most: haunted houses. I've enjoyed her Haunted Home Renovation series from its inception, not only for the spooky old homes, but because it's a series with a lot of meat on the bone.

Mel is a perfect heroine for a cozy series. She's quirky, smart, funny, and hard-working. Since this new job site is in a remote location, she has to pack a bag and move in. Her job isn't made any easier when she discovers that she has to deal with people who remind her of Mrs. Danvers and Nurse Ratched. To the author's credit, Danvers/Ratched do not remain mere cardboard cutouts. We can also see how good Mel is at her job by the way she show more gets the new crew on her side-- not an easy task when they're ready to head for the hills.

The secondary characters back Mel up perfectly, from her dad to Graham to the eccentric billionaire footing the bill for the ancient monastery to her stepson Caleb who spends his time getting in hot water.

Another aspect of this series that I enjoy is that readers always learn something relating to architecture and renovation. In Keeper of the Castle we learn how to stay true to medieval architecture while meeting modern building codes (in addition to the proper way to run a construction crew).

The mystery is strong as well. Blackwell provides plenty of misdirection to keep everyone guessing, and there's a good resolution to the ghostly subplot, which is more involved than originally thought.

I can count on Blackwell's Haunted Home Renovation series for quick, entertaining, and enlightening reads. Bring on Give Up the Ghost! show less

general-contractor, anthropologist, architecture, renovation, murder, law-enforcement, amateur-sleuth

***** She's an anthropologist, general contractor, daughter, sort of step mom, girlfriend, and if a ghost or two want to talk to her she'll do whatever she can to help. Besides being a good mystery novel, there's lots to learn for those of us who geek history, architecture, proper research and renovation. I loved it!
Xe Sands is absolutely marvelous as the voice artist!

This is one of those go-to series for me, the ones I can always count on for a good story and good writing.

Mel is suckered into taking on the reconstruction of an old Scottish monastery by visions of green technology integration and a big fat check at an opportune time. Everyone else wants her on the job because not only is she competent but she can see and communicate with the ghosts haunting the project.

I enjoyed the story a lot and if it suffers at all it is only by comparison to some of the earlier books; I thought those plots, which directly involved the ghosts and their presence, more eerie and tense than this one, in which the ghosts were only tangentially involved (although frequently present). But Mel is always fun to read show more about and I like Graham and the rest of the characters. Ms. Blackwell has a way of introducing new characters that you like enough you wish they'd stick around, even though you know they won't.

My only real complaint: Overly repetitious need to tell the reader how dim Mel's dog is. The dog is dumb as dirt: got it the first time.

If you like cozies and ghosts but don't like having to sleep with the lights on, this one (and this series) is definitely worth trying. show less

Mel needs some big paying jobs to keep Turner Construction going and continue employing her construction team. Her boyfriend Graham wants her to be the general over a large project. The project is reconstructing an ancient monastery brought over from Scotland stone-by-stone. The project is for a motivational speaker, Ellis Elrich, who will use the reconstructed monastery as his new retreat center. When Mel is touring the project, she finds the county building inspector dead and two ghosts that followed the building. In spite of the murder, she joins the team and finds protestors outside motivational speaker's home, a man from Scotland wanting to repatriate the monastery back to Scotland, Florian Libole, a dodgy but famous historic show more building consultant, potentially the wrong man taken into custody for the murder, and too many things that don't add up on the project.

There is a mini-mystery involving the ghosts. Why would there be a Spanish female ghost, the Red Lady, in a Scottish monastery, and why does she envelope anyone who comes close with overwhelming sadness and hunger? Then there is the Scottish highlander who is very confused about what he is supposed to be guarding, but takes his sword and charges any man that comes near. Why is this ghost so confused and how can Mel get him settled? Now add the rumor of a curse attached to the ancient building and another that there is a treasure with the building! These were interesting and added to the overall dilemmas of the construction site and may figure into the murder.

Mel Turner is a unique heroine who can hold her own on a construction site with a gang of men, and faces ghosts with courage but is afraid of a commitment with her boyfriend. Graham is the romantic interest who at least accepts Mel's talent with ghosts, which is a huge plus. Alicia Withers, Ellis Elrich's personal assistant is a breakout star. She is very reserved, even uptight initially but her true self is eventually brought forward. I can see a future for her teamed with Mel, so I hope she will be in more books. Caleb, Mel's step-son from her failed marriage, is always a delight along with her dad and his business partner Stan.

The Wakefield property with the mis-matched Victorian house and Spanish Revival interior next to the Scottish highland monastery being built on the land gave us a new setting without leaving the state even. It has a quirky mix that provides delicious gothic touches all around. The plot plays off of the Hearst castle and how structures would be brought over from Europe and reconstructed by the wealthy in the States. A touchy subject between countries and what if there were something of high value that was brought over with the building? The pacing was steady although not fast. I would say on par for a cozy particularly when many new characters are involved.

The climax occurred suddenly, rather surprised that *bam* you are confronting the killer. That felt a little rushed and was resolved equally as quickly. I would have liked more time to get to the climax, some build up so it was more suspenseful, and a little more tension before it is all over. The wrap-up was fine in general, but I would really have liked to know more on how the ghosts did with the solutions Mel arranged to give them peace.

Overall I found this yet another highly enjoyable adventure with Mel that gave us a Scottish fling without leaving California.

Rating: Excellent - Loved it! Buy it now and put this author on your watch list

Obtained Through: Publisher for honest review

Please join my at my blog, Mysteries and My Musings
http://mysterysuspence.blogspot.com/ show less

Listened for Review (Tantor)
Overall Rating: 3.75
Story Rating: 3.50
Character Rating: 4.00

Audio Rating: 4.50 (not part of the overall rating)

First Thought when Finished: Keeper of the Castle by Juliet Blackwell was not my favorite in the series but still full of the characters and solid writing that I love!

Overall Thoughts: Juliet Blackwell writes my favorite cozy mystery characters! She really does have a great way of bordering that amateur sleuth without knocking down the police in the process. Both of her series are excellent. I was a little disappointed that the ghosts weren't a bigger part of the mystery in Keeper of the Castle but otherwise the case was solid. So overall this was a great listen and as always you will learn a bit of show more history surrounding her current renovation (always a nice bonus)!

Audio Thoughts:

Narrated By Xe Sands / Length: 7 hrs and 57 mins

Xe is excellent at this series. Seriously she nails it and in this one she displayed some great new accents for new characters. It was a fantastic listen!

Part of my Read It, Rate It, File It, DONE! Reviews

NOTE: Love that the book she is reading during the story is Keeper of the Castle---clever Juliet, Clever! show less

In the latest Haunted Home Renovation mystery from New York Times bestselling author Juliet Blackwell, San Francisco contractor — and reluctant ghostbuster — Mel Turner gets hired for a job that's to die for.

Lately, Mel has been worried about finding enough historic renovation work to pay the bills. But while Turner Construction is in need of a project, Mel’s boyfriend, Graham, has his hands full managing the reconstruction of an ancient building shipped over from Scotland.

With the job plagued by rumors that the stones are cursed, Graham brings in Mel to look for paranormal activity. And while the ghost of a charming Scottish clansman does seem to be hanging around the site, the real shock comes when they stumble upon a body.
show more
When the original construction crew starts running scared, Mel brings in her team to finish the job. Now all she has to do is nail down the killer, and put the spirits to rest, before anyone else winds up heading for the highlands…Haunted Reno #5 show less

I like this series. Mel is a historical building contractor who is sensitive to ghosts- plus being a woman in a man's field.

Combine ghosts with murder, and both need to be resolved.

You could start here, but reading the past books is helpful in understanding the various relationships among the characters.

Anyway! This was a fun read, and I look forward to more in the series!