The Book of Old Houses: A Home Repair Is Homicide Mystery

In this multilayered cozy, the 11th in Graves’s home repair series (after 2006’s Trap Door ), Jacobia “Jake” Tiptree has uncovered what looks to be a very old book while fixing up her 1823 house in Eastport, Maine. Local rare book expert Horace Robotham offers to take a look at it, but then dies in what appears to be a mugging gone wrong. Jake doesn’t think too much about this until a stranger drives up to her house three weeks after Horace’s death. He introduces himself as a friend of Horace’s, says he might have some information about the book and then asks Jake if he can hide a gun in her house. Meanwhile, Jake’s father is putting the moves on her sassy housekeeper, Bella. Although the development of minor characters is a little thin, local color and an entirely unexpected denouement combine for engaging reading. (Jan.)