Murder Can Haunt Your Handiwork

Murder Can Haunt Your Handiwork by Rose Pressey an amusing cozy mystery. Celeste Cabot is on the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina for the Fifth Annual Biltmore Estate Craft Fair. She was touring the Biltmore Mansion with her family until her father and brothers got them kicked out. Celeste realizes she has lost her keys and returns to look for them. Instead of her keys, Celeste finds a strangled female employee. Celeste returns to her pink-and-white trailer where she is compelled to paint a man from a time long past. When the ghost of the man in the painting appears, Celeste knows that she must get answers regarding the murder. Murder Can Haunt Your Handiwork is the 3rd A Haunted Craft Fair Mystery. Everything a new reader needs to know is included. I thought Murder Can Haunt Your Handiwork was easy to read thanks to Rose Pressey’s engaging writing style. Celeste Cabot is a quirky main character who makes her living by selling her paintings at craft fairs. She has a cute pink truck which pulls her pink-and-white vintage trailer. Celeste has an adorable Chihuahua named Van (after Van Gogh because of his floppy ear). Celeste’s family is in Asheville with her along with her best friend, Sammi and her two detective love interests, Caleb Ward and Pierce Meyer. I do not know how Celeste puts up with her family. The father and brothers would drive me crazy within five minutes (they are always getting into or causing trouble). Celeste’s grandmother is a sweetie. I liked the ghost, Mr. Vanderbilt. He made some funny remarks. I would have liked to know more about him and the reason for his appearance. The mystery was straightforward. There was a small suspect pool and pointed clues. Celeste follows suspects, asks questions, and eavesdrops on conversations. She is told repeatedly to stay out of the investigation by Caleb and Pierce (she ignores them both). I found Murder Can Haunt Your Handiwork very similar to the first two books (craft fair, murder, ghost, she clumsily investigates, her family causes chaos). I was left with unanswered questions at the end of the book especially regarding the ghost. The whodunit was simple, and it was no mystery as the identity of the killer. The love triangle between Celeste, Caleb, and Pierce continues. I had hoped the author would have resolved it by now. There is also a repetition of information. We get it the first time. I found this A Craft Fair Mystery to be lacking (as you can tell). It could have used a good rewrite. Murder Can Haunt Your Handiwork is a droll cozy mystery with a mysterious manifestation, an executed employee, spooky paintings, a frenzied family, and a prying painter.