Occupation: Home Rehab Specialist

It’s a dream to do what you love and get paid for it. Well, there is the pesky dead body showing up occasionally, and the mystery of who and why there is a murder in others. But, it’s all good. Okay, maybe I could do without the dead bodies, or a murderer showing up while I’m breathing new life into a neglected house. At least, my fiancé would like that. He gets worried about my working alone in an empty house. Probably for good reason. But he knew what I did for a living when we met at a house auction.

I didn’t expect my fiancé, Don Williams, the hunky sheriff in our burg, to get all macho about my vocation in my new project on Thrush Street, a sweet two-story I bought from the owner, and not at auction. How could I know the eager seller was a suspect in a murder? For the past few months, my days have been spent being wined and dined by said sheriff, warm in the cocoon of our upcoming nuptials. Which has made me very nervous. With two marriages under my belt, another union is nearly as scary as facing off against a murderer.

Boots, my rescue Tuxedo cat, is having a tough time of it too. He isn’t used to the luxury of a mansion with an awesome view of the lake. Left to his own devices, he clawed his way up the custom draperies in my suite to the top of the rod and perched, glaring. He’s adjusting though, with the help of Esther, Don’s housekeeper, a cat tower, catnip, and lots of tuna. I’m adjusting too, with good food, wine, and a little help from my BFF Myra, Wayne, my carpenter, and my ex-hubby Eddy Pascal.

Yes, Eddy is my annoying, a little too available, first husband. We’re friends now, and he’s helping with a little sleuthing with this renovation. Part of me yearns for the days when times were simple, and we were teenagers in love. But those days are long gone, and we’re at peace with our relationship. At least I am. Been there, done that.

Every day is different in the renovation business. Every house is different. What doesn’t change is the mystery of finding the soul of a house, and making it whole for a new owner. Besides the cleansing aspect of painting, cleaning, and fixing what needs to be fixed. Myra and I have found our happy place by clearing out the bad juju in every renovation with a ritual of sage burning, wine, and reciting a mantra for good karma. And, of course, solving the dead body mystery. Getting married again should be so easy.

Mortal Flip, A Home Renovator Mystery Book 5
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Release: August 2024
Format: Print, Digital
Purchase Link

Flipping Houses Exposes A Mortal Enemy!

Katelyn’s happy place is renovating houses in fictional Crocus Heights, Minnesota. She buys a two-story home on Thrush Street, but learns the eager seller is a person of interest in a local high-profile murder.

Along with the pressure of renovating the house, she becomes the target of a deranged killer. With a chatty neighbor willing to share her suspicions about the seller, his friends, and his wife, and ex-hubby Eddy’s help in sleuthing, Katelyn must unravel the web of friendship turned deadly before it’s too late.

Throw in pre-wedding jitters with hunky Sheriff Don Williams, Gillie’s sleepwalking confession to murder, and ex-husband, Eddy’s unusual attentiveness, and it’s high time for Katelyn and BFF Myra to have a reading with famed psychic, Gabriella, to give some clarity.

But nothing is clear about the murder until the killer is caught.

Katelyn and crew are back with a fun filled adventure in home renovation in Crocus Heights, Minnesota. Oh, and Boots, the best rescue cat ever, doesn’t like change.

This “gotta read series” is perfect for cozy mystery readers who love amateur sleuths. Buy now to continue Katelyn’s home renovator mysteries.

About the author
M.E. Bakos writes cozy mysteries about a house flipper, turned sleuth, in fictional Crocus Heights, Minnesota. She has published short stories in Twin Cities Sisters in Crime anthologies, and was a regular short fiction contributor to national women’s magazines. She is a member of Twin Cities Sisters in Crime, the Guppies, and an alumna of the University of MN.

If she isn’t plotting mysteries, she’s planning home improvements. She lives in Minnesota with her husband, Joe, and a spoiled pooch named Chipper.

You can reach her at mebakos.wixsite.com/author, Facebook at M. E. Bakos – Author and Mary Bakos Sebesta.

Her series: A Home Renovator Mystery starts with Fatal Flip, Deadly Flip, Lethal Flip, and Killer Flip. All earned five-star ratings from Readers’ Favorite. Mortal Flip, Book 5, released August 1, 2024.