Give Up the Ghost (Haunted Home Renovation) Mass Market Paperback – December 1, 2015

Love the downs to-do arch yet Woodall heroine -- she's definitely one of a kind. Her friendship/family is nice quirky as are two mysteries. Didn't figure out who the bad guy was until the end,which is always a bonus!

Completely Spectacular! Nailed it!I love this series. The cast of characters, the history, ghosts and of course the bay area. Juliet Blackwell nails the whole package together.Mel Turner is wonderful, eccentric and knowledgeable. She has such a great personality. I loved the way she does what she wants to do. Only in San Francisco could a general contractor be a woman who shows up for work in sequins dresses and occasional feathers with steel toed work boots. It is great how she jumps in and gets the job done, whether it is helping a ghost, taking a wall down or putting in a window. She is so like her father. I like that she restores the homes instead of tearing them down or apart. She is like a ghost talking Rehab Addict.In this addition to the series, Mel takes on a new project that starts out as one of her ghost helping clients, so murder is soon involved. Mel keeps asking questions until motives start to surface. We meet some new characters and some of the old return. Mel is different in this book, she doesn’t talk about running away to Paris, and she seems more accepting of her life as it is. Mel’s definitely fitting in her own skin now. Although she is still a workaholic, she seems to finally be over the ex and has an understanding of what she wants. Her Dad is sort of accepting of her ghost helping in the volume. Mel seems happy.She has quite a collection of ghosts to assist this time. There is one ghost who cleans the kitchen when it is messy. Honestly, I think I would learn to get along with that ghost. In this book more so then before she has to jump through the living hoops to assist the ghosts. Mel meets the murder victims’ family, however this time she feels an unexpected pull towards the brother of the victim. Mel isn’t sure if she can trust her feelings as she doesn’t seem to know what she is doing with regards to this gentleman and her boyfriend is out of town (again) on business.I think that Ms. Blackwell has created such a great world of rich characters and history. She makes it so easy to follow and has creative plots. I am giving this 5 Stars and completely recommended it. Such a wonderful cozy mystery.If you would like to see other reviews like this one, check out BaronessBookTrove.com.This is a Guest Review for Baroness' Book Trove. Thank you for the opportunity to review this book for your site. ~Jen

The Crosswinds, a historical house in Pacific Heights San Francisco is on the market for a "mere" 29 million dollars. Mel Turner a general contractor for restoring historic houses has been hired to restore some of the house back to its original state. It was recently gutted while updating the house. The problem is that possible future home owners are fleeing from the home during the showings. A psychic is called in for a reading and tells the owners that the gut job of the house has enraged a ghost in the house. They should try to bring some of the original features back to the house Enter Mel Turner who besides being the historical contractor but also can see and can talk to the ghosts.I enjoyed this book and series very much. Mel Turner is spunky and has a great sense of humor which can make the reader chuckle. She is still learning this "ghost ability" that she has and tries different methods to resolve issues with ghosts. Another reason that I like this series so much is Mel's home life. She lives with her dad, Stan, Caleb, and Dog. They recently changed the name from Dog to Doug since it was close to the name Dog. They didn't want to confuse Dog. However, the humans were having more problem saying the name and often ended up saying Daw-ugh.The cozy part of the book is the dad can really cook and the dinners around the table are open to whoever Mel invites home to share the meals. So you see many people often unknown to the dad sharing his meals while sitting around the table. Of course Dog/Doug/Daw-ugh is under foot and scouting around the floor looking for morsels.It was a fun book that included a kitchen cleaning ghost from a different house. a ghost trying to find her way home and a cranky pants (Mel's words) ghost at Crosswinds. The mystery was good and I did not know who the murderer was until the author divulged it as there were several good suspects. A new character Landon Demetrius was introduced in this book and he added to the story. He was funny without trying to be and was amazed at Mel. Often he was her sidekick. The historical tidbits added interest to the book too. I am looking forward to the next book as I enjoyed this book and the entire series very much.

Remodel the remodel to please a ghost. How hard could that be? Clear another ghost out of an apartment. Piece of cake (in more ways that one). Mel Turner has more than she can handle when a very rich family can't sell the Victorian house that they remodeled. Gone is all the old style replaced with everything new. The ghost is not happy. Can Mel find the old pieces that belong in the house? Were they sold, junked or recycled. Is someone trying to keep the pieces for themselves. A psychic tells the family to undo the remodel. When Mel tries to meet with the psychic - she is found dead. Found by her brother just before Mel arrives. The brother is new in town. He is kinda lost without his sister. He doesn't know anyone. Except for Mel, who he met at his sisters apartment. During all of this, Graham (Mel's boyfriend) is out of town. Mel feels something for her new friend but she is unsure what to make of it. Meanwhile the main house ghost is trying to find his daughter. She went missing trying to come home to her father on his deathbed. Mel will find the tie between the psychic and the missing daughter. All long, she has the brothers help. What will become of that? Another friend will learn about the ghost buster side of Mel.The friend is not surpised. But she wants nothing to do with the actual ghost busting. The mystery of this story will keep you guessing until the end. The killer is not who you think it will be.

Love the renovation mystery series. Good to start at the beginning, but can be read in any order.

Love the series, the stories are well developed and characters interact believably. You don't have to stretch the imagination too far to follow the plot line.

Great read draws you in. Cant wait for another book

Brilliant read

Love all her books