Review of "A Face at the Window" by Sarah Graves

Amateur sleuth, former money manager, and ace handyperson Jacobia "Jake" Tiptree returns in Sarah Grave's latest mystery in her "Home Repair Is Homicide" series. Jake's tragic childhood comes back to haunt her when villain Ozzie Campbell is about to go on trial for the 30 year-old murder of Jake's mother when he suddenly disappears. With none of her friends available to support her, Jake is left on her own to set things right when Lenora, a friend's daughter, whom Jake has been caring for and her babysitter are kidnapped. It's all Ozzie's way of pressuring Jake to change her testimony in the pending murder trial.

Definitely darker than the previous installments, "A Face At The Window" ratchets up the tension with each page. Fans of the series may be a bit put off by the level of violence and lack of Jessica Fletcher ambiance they felt in prior novels in this series, but overall, it's a nail-biting adventure featuring one of the most popular characters in mystery books today.