ABSENCE OF MALLETS

After her harrowing experience in Premeditated Mortar(2020), contractor Shannon Hammer is hoping for a quiet life. As if.

Shannon shares her home with former Navy SEAL Mac Sullivan, a bestselling author whose philanthropy is helping build a community of tiny houses for needy veterans in Lighthouse Cove, California. As a sideline, Mac runs writers workshops in his historic home. Though the visiting writers are usually a joy, his latest group proves dramatically different, especially cocky, obnoxious Lewis Bondurant, who immediately hits on Linda Rutledge, a glass artist Shannon vaguely remembers from high school. Joining Shannon’s construction class for women, Linda plans to do some custom backsplashes for the tiny homes—plans that are canceled when she’s found dead on the beach near the lighthouse. Shannon and Mac team up with Shannon’s sister, Chloe, who hosts a building show on TV and is engaged to Police Chief Eric Jensen, to investigate. Linda was evidently killed with one of her own mallets, which were easily available to anyone, and another mallet has gone missing. Mac suspects Lewis of stealing a laptop from a veteran who’s been writing some excellent stories he’s too shy to promote and passing the stories off as his own. It’s not much of a leap from stealing to murder, but there are certainly other suspects to check out in the writing group and even among the vets, many of whom suffer from PTSD.

Believable characters, romance, and a solid mystery combine for an enjoyable read.