Katelyn here from Lethal Flip. If you’ve read any of my other home flipping stories, you know that renovation is my passion. Rehabbing houses was the brainchild of my BFF Myra after I was ‘right-sized’ from my regular job at the hospital. Okay, maybe terminated, maybe it was a mutual decision by all parties concerned.

In my day-to-day life, I live with my tuxedo rescue cat, Boots, in a townhome in Crocus Heights, Minnesota. We have a mutually satisfying relationship where I feed him, and lavish him with treats. In return, he comes to my aid in the face of a bad guy, like he did in Deadly Flip, the second book in the series.

My ex-husband, Eddy, shows up willy-nilly, and calls me “wifey.” Mostly, to annoy me after our tumultuous teenage marriage and resulting divorce. It’s all good. I made peace with Eddy when I married Jake, who died in an accident with a train. So, Eddy is a safe bet who helps in renovations when he’s slow on the rent check for my first rehab in Fatal Flip. I’d never wanted to be a landlord, but with the economy as it was, my best option was to rent the house to Eddy to make the mortgage payments. What could go wrong with that arrangement? Sigh.

I’m single, and it can be lonely. It’s never more apparent than in Lethal Flip. Myra is busy with her new project. Eddy is talking marriage with his girlfriend. Wayne, my handyman and neighbor, is on an extended vacay with Gillie, his girlfriend. And to top it off, Sheriff Don Williams, with his dreamy blue eyes and solid build, has declared it’s best if we are “friends.”

Along with navigating complicated relationships, flipping houses isn’t all about interior decorating and staging homes for sale. There are downsides, like dead bodies, ghosts, floods, and bad electrical. Believe me, I’ve had my share of challenges.

For instance, my first day on the job in Lethal Flip began with a ghost busting ritual with Myra. Said ghost is hampering her progress on rebuilding the haunted house that blew up in my last renovation in Hiptown.

After that little chore, I no sooner start renovations on my easy breezy project in Crocus Heights, when emergency responders remove a body across the street from my rehab. The husband looks distraught. Since I’m widowed, I can empathize. Can you blame me for enjoying a little attention from the neighbor whose wife is recently deceased? The husband, Fernando Antonio Garcia is handsome, friendly, trim, and lonely. Hardly killer material. Okay, maybe that wasn’t the best idea, either.

When the sheriff tells me to back off at the start of the investigation, he may as well have waved a red cape in front of a bull. I’m much too curious. Besides, what would a possible homicide do to my resale value?

Lethal Flip, A Home Renovator Mystery #3
Genre: Cozy
Release: October 2020
Purchase Link – Lethal Flip is on sale for $1.99 on kindle from February 11-18, 2021

Katelyn is back with an easy breezy home renovation project in Crocus Heights, Minnesota. It’s a breath of fresh air. No drama or bad juju. The split entry house needs cosmetic work, painting and flooring, nothing an experienced home rehab specialist can’t handle.

But nothing about this flip is easy.

When investigators remove the neighbor’s wife, deceased, she is curious and alarmed. A murder in the neighborhood will only discourage buyers. The spouse is handsome, charming, and overcome with grief.

Katelyn can empathize, she’s a widow. Her BFF, Myra, is preoccupied with a ghostbuster and rebuilding the Hiptown house. Don Williams, the hunky sheriff, wants to be ‘friends.’ Ex-hubby, Eddy, (it’s complicated) is talking marriage with Lola. Her handyman, Wayne Hamer, is away with Gillie in Las Vegas, the marriage capital of the country. She has Boots, her rescue cat, but he isn’t very good at conversation.

It’s a fun ride as Katelyn uses her amateur sleuthing skills to find the killer, while her rehab goes from creampuff to nightmare. Is it the plumber, carpet layer, an angry ex-husband, the mob, or an owl?

What else can a lonely house flipper do, except play detective?

Meet the Author
An avid reader, M. E. Bakos writes the kind of books she likes to read. Fun light fiction. Cozy mysteries with a house flipping theme and an amateur sleuth was a natural, as she’s an enthusiastic DIYer, loves home improvement shows, and is hooked on mysteries.

Lethal Flip is her newest release in the Home Renovator Mysteries. The first is Fatal Flip, followed by Deadly Flip. Her short stories have also appeared in anthologies and national women’s magazines.

When she isn’t plotting mysteries, she’s planning home projects. She lives with her husband, Joe Sebesta, and a spoiled Morkie in Minnesota. Visit her on Facebook or her website at  mebakos.wixsite.com/author.

All comments are welcomed.