The Last Curtain Call

April 15, 2020
A renovation contractor labors to restore a historic movie palace, rehome some squatters, investigate a contemporary murder, solve an 80-year-old murder, and make her new home fit for habitation. Mel Turner, who shares ownership in Turner Construction with her dad, Bill, really does mean to set a date for her wedding to Berkeley professor Landon Demetrius, who bought her "a beautiful and rather good-sized house in Oakland" as an engagement gift. But a girl can get distracted when she has to remodel said house. And when the armoire she moves discloses a secret door. And when she opens the door to find a ghost named Hildy Hildecott, who offers her a fabulous dress with a tiny hole in it, just big enough to have been made by a knife. But she barely has time to ask vintage clothing expert Lily Ivory about the dress because Gregory Thibodeaux, who represents investors from the Xerxes Group, is in a hurry for Mel to complete the restoration of the Crockett Theatre in San Francisco's Mission District--a restoration that can't even begin until Mel finds another place for the band of illegal residents firmly entrenched in the Crockett. Gregory doesn't realize the theater is also home to dozens of otherworldly inhabitants, one of whom Mel hopes can tell her more about Hildy. Before anyone can, the Crockett's organ, the Mighty Wurlitzer, arises miraculously from the orchestra pit bearing the body of Isadora Sepety, one of the squatters. Two murders, two restorations, and a healthy dose of family drama leave Mel scant time for her fiance, who fortunately has less to say that any of the ghosts. Like the Mighty Wurlitzer, Blackwell pulls out all the stops.

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Starred review from May 1, 2020

Ghost-talking home renovator Mel Turner can't resist taking on the job of renovating the historic Crockett Theatre in San Francisco. Of course, everyone has heard that it's haunted, but Mel is more interested in the gorgeous fixtures and building itself. However, she's told she has to get rid of the squatters living in the theater. Someone moves faster than Mel can, though, and one of the squatters is murdered. Mel's traumatized by the events because she saw an audience of ghosts and a murdered usher just before she saw the dead woman dancing on stage. What's the connection to Mel's own house and the ghost of a Twenties starlet? This latest haunted story escalates to a dramatic conclusion. VERDICT It's been several years since A Ghostly Light, the last book in the "Haunted Home Renovation" series. In the meantime, Blackwell has honed her craft, and this intriguing mystery combines the best elements of Bay Area history, historic home renovation, and the paranormal. The protagonist's family and friends add a homey feeling to an atmospheric book that will be welcomed by Blackwell's readers and fans of Kate Carlisle's "Fixer-Upper" mysteries.--Lesa Holstine, Evansville Vanderburgh P.L., IN

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