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Joanna Campbell Slan

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Tear Down and Die: Book #1 in the Cara Mia Delgatto Mystery Series Kindle Edition

by Joanna Campbell Slan (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.5 2,363 ratings

Book 1 of 9: Cara Mia Delgatto Mystery Series

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She began a journey of self-discovery. She never expected to uncover an old boyfriend and a dead body…

Stuart, Florida. With her parents deceased and her son away at college, Cara Mia Delgatto longs to reinvent herself. And a sentimental purchase of a fixer-upper in a small, coastal town seems ideal for a new business selling repurposed relics. But when she trips over a corpse at her rundown building, she flips from renovator to prime suspect.

Desperate to clear her name, it shocks Cara to discover that her property once housed a multi-million dollar art collection—stolen after the original owner’s death. And when her first love shows up and tugs at her heartstrings, her whirlwind life upgrades to a hurricane. With accusations of murder and theft looming, she’s running out of redos…

Can Cara crack the case and rebuild her reputation, or will her desire to upcycle treasures send her to jail?

Tear Down and Die is the charming first novel in the Cara Mia Delgatto traditional mystery series. If you like cozy reads, witty heroines, former flames reconnecting, and Florida’s beautiful Treasure Coast, you’ll adore Joanna Campbell Slan’s captivating tale.

Buy Tear Down and Die and relive the joy of a second chance at life and love today!
(Previously published as Second Chance at Love)

From the Publisher

Do you believe in second chances? Cara Mia Delgatto does!


Ever wish you could start over? Cara fell in love with the wrong man. It was a mistake that almost cost her parents their livelihood. The only silver lining? Her son, Tommy. Now Cara wants a second chance, so she leaves St. Louis... If you believe in second chances, you'll want to read the Cara Mia Delgatto Mystery Series today!	She started on a journey... When her car acts up, she stops in a familiar town, Stuart, FL. Cara was searching for that fresh start. But nothing ever turns out exactly as we plan, does it? You'll want to read about Cara Mia's new life today!	Buys a vacant shop! The Treasure Chest was going to be torn down. But Cara has this THING for second chances. She buys the empty store...except it's not empty. There's a corpse inside. Love amateur sleuths? You'll want to read Tear, Down and Die: Book #1 in the Cara Mia Delgatto Mystery Series.	Do you love happy endings? Where good triumphs? Where the bad guy gets caught? Where people see the best in each other? If you do, you'll love the Cara Mia Delgatto Mystery Series. Start with Tear, Down and Die (Book #1) today!

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Nationally bestselling and award-winning author Joanna Campbell Slan has written thirty books. Her nonfiction has been endorsed by Toastmasters International; her first novel was shortlisted for the Agatha Award; and her historical fiction has won the Daphne du Maurier Award. Joanna edits the Happy Homicides Anthologies and coauthors the Dollhouse Decor & More series. One of her short stories is included in the prestigious Chesapeake Crimes: Fur, Feathers, and Felonies anthology.

Em Eldridge's audiobook career really began when her little sister was born and she started reading to her. Em has narrated over 100 titles and has earned an Earphones Award from AudioFile magazine and a Voice Arts Award. She loves playing the piano and singing along when no one's listening.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07XYF1DB4
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Spot On Publishing (October 16, 2019)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 16, 2019
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 826 KB
Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 416 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #25,180 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #132 in Cozy Crafts & Hobbies Mystery
- #305 in Cozy Animal Mystery
- #444 in Cozy Animal Mysteries

Customer Reviews:
4.5 2,363 ratings

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Joanna Campbell Slan

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"Our best friend, our next-door neighbor and ourselves with just a touch of the outrageous." That’s how RT Book Review describes Joanna’s protagonist, Kiki Lowenstein. The truth is that’s a pretty good description of Joanna as well.

Joanna is a New York Times Bestselling, USA Today Bestselling, and Amazon Bestselling author as well as a woman prone to frequent bursts of crafting frenzy, leaving her with burns from her hot glue gun and paint on her clothes. And the mess? Let’s not even go there.

Otherwise, she’s a productive author with more than 80 written projects to her credit. Her non-fiction work includes how to books, a college textbook for public speakers, and books of personal essays (think Chicken Soup for the Soul).

Currently she writes four fiction series: The Kiki Lowenstein Mystery Series (Agatha Award Finalist, contemporary, St. Louis setting, crafting), the Cara Mia Delgatto Mystery Series (contemporary, Florida setting, DIY and recycling), the Jane Eyre Chronicles (Daphne du Maurier Award Winner, 1830s England, based on Charlotte Brontë’s classic), and the Sherlock Holmes Fantasy Thrillers (late 1800s, based on Arthur Conan Doyle’s books).

A former TV talk show host, college teacher, and public relations specialist, Joanna was one of the early Chicken Soup for the Soul contributors. She won a Silver Anvil for her work on the original FarmAid concert to benefit farmers.

In her ongoing quest never to see snow again, Joanna lives with her husband and their Havanese puppy, Jax, on an island off the coast of Florida. You can email her at jcslan@joannaslan.com or visit her website at http://www.JoannaSlan.com

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5

2,363 global ratings

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Kindle Customer

Good read

Reviewed in the United States on October 3, 2023

Verified Purchase

Good story line and nice to have main character as a strong woman with a past who is able to persevere.

Helpful

Eileen R (Bangor Belles)

Worth picking up

Reviewed in the United States on April 12, 2016

Verified Purchase

This was a new author to me, i say was, I will definitely be reading more.
Cara Mia Delgatto has not had the easiest of lives. Her mother controlled her youth, her husband was a doofus, she's raised her son alone. Now after looking after her parents, and losing them both close together, she had decided to up sticks and move to a new life in Florida so she can be closer to her son. On the way she stops at a little town called Stuart, to visit with her grandad and then the fun begins. She buys an old antique store, trying to stop her fathers garage being taken away from him, only to find the dead body of the estate agent in the building.
Although a murder mystery, the crime almost took second place to the rainbow of friends Cara meets, whilst trying desperately to take care of everything happening, her grandfather ill in hospital, trying to get the store reopened, she makes great friends and allies in Skye and Mj and also has the hot connection reopened between her and the love of her life, Cooper. As if all that isn't enough, she also has to clear herself as a suspect, deal with finding out she has a mean nasty sister and said sister is engaged to Cooper!!
The story had a nice pace, although it wasn't filled with exploding drama, and seemed to concentrate on the relationship of the people involved and their booming friendships, with the murder taking second place. I thoroughly enjoyed it, endearing and made you feel fully involved. I felt like i got to know everyone as if they were real people and i definitely didn't predict who the murderer was !!! Although the story ended with another murder and a cliff hanger, at least the second book is available, so i guess i'm gonna keep reading!!
Well worth picking up, its an easy, enjoyable and endearing read, and i am hoping some of the hot chemistry between Cara and Cooper does more than smoulder in the next episode !!

5 people found this helpful

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Beth T

Ooh!

Reviewed in the United States on October 15, 2023

Verified Purchase

I really liked this book, so I'm rounding 4.5 stars up to 5. The reason it's not a solid 5, is because it ended with a cliff hanger. Great characters. Nice Florida vibe. Good mystery. Cute puppy. Now I've got to go read book # 2.

Reviewed in the United States on April 27, 2024

Verified Purchase

Great book looking forward to reading the next book in the series. It’s a good book for everyone any age.

Reviewed in the United States on April 6, 2024

Verified Purchase

This is a great find. The chihuahua plays a minor role in this delightful mystery that reminds us of the importance of friends and family and that it is important to nurture oneself while helping others.

Reviewed in the United States on May 13, 2019

Verified Purchase

This book was just okay for me. Cara, the main character, was very annoying throughout most of the book. She meets a sleazy real estate agent who tells her some story about her former "flame" wanting to put her grandfather out of business and immediately believes everything he says - without bothering to check out whether or not the story is fact. Further along, the current fiance of the "flame" visits Cara to try talking her into giving up the building she just purchased. Again, Cara believes everything this woman says. Yet, when people Cara knows try to tell her things, she won't hear them out and jumps to conclusions. How stupid can you be? Fortunately, I liked some of the secondary characters, and the story line was interesting. Don't think I will read anymore books in this series though. Just can't read books with a silly main character.

13 people found this helpful

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Kindle Customer

Newcomer Finds Body in Old Building

Reviewed in the United States on June 4, 2023

Verified Purchase

I enjoyed this mystery. I also loved the trash to treasures ideas in the developing of the new store. This book had me guessing right until the end.

One person found this helpful

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Sara M. Barton

Love-weary Cara Mia Delgatto has to restart her life again, and what better place to do it than the Treasure Coast of Florida?

Reviewed in the United States on April 11, 2016

Verified Purchase

5 stars -- 24 out of 25 points

1. Plot: 5 out of 5 points
I admit it. I didn’t guess the bad guy in this mystery, but I think that’s because I was too busy enjoying the ride-along with the main characters. The author found a logical culprit to pin the crime on in the end, but there were plenty of suspects, not only for the murder, but for the art heist.

2. Characters: 5 out of 5 points
Three women, all with broken relationships, and not a man-hater among them -- that was refreshing. Sure, they have trust issues, but so does Lou Murray, the good-hearted detective who still confers with his long-dead partner on cases. Lesser characters also showed their human sides, some good, some not so good. Pop was a pip, but a lovable one.

3. Setting: 5 out of 5 points
By the time I finished the book, I was ready to pack up and move down to the Treasure Coast of Florida. With the action surrounding intelligent, resourceful women getting together to run a shop of repurposed and original décor, the story was ripe for an intriguing mystery in the form of missing artwork by the very real “Florida Highwaymen”, a group of talented black artists who painted local scenes over several decades. As a landscape artist, I loved that historical tie-in, and having checked out their work, I can understand why someone might want to steal the paintings.

4. Pacing: 4 out of 5 points
I had a little bit of trouble understanding Cara Mia’s attitude early on, but as the details of her life began to mesh with the story, I found myself drawn in, especially when she started to find herself again in friendship with the other women. The ending seemed to come on suddenly, but I think that’s because I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to the characters quite yet. I wanted to know more about what happened to them. Good thing this is the first of a new series.

5. Tone: 5 out of 5 points
This story stayed with me long after I finished reading the book. It’s comfort food for the reader weary of the endless parade of users and losers. Even though Cara Mia was sometimes so passionate that she got herself into hot water, she also tried to do right by people...and dogs, even when it wasn’t necessarily convenient or fun. As a divorced mother, she even bit her tongue when it came to her ex-husband spending time with their son.

11 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Sandee L

Well-written cozy with an abundance of story

Reviewed in Canada on January 23, 2019

Verified Purchase

A wonderful book. The first in a spin-off series from the Kiki Lowenstein series. This one is about Cara Mia starting a new life after her son heads off to college. A murder mystery, a possible romance and a cast of interesting characters, each of whom I want to know better.
There is just so much story in this story. An ailing grandfather with a business he can't keep up by himself, a detective who may be in love with Cara Mia's new friend, a new business to set up and develop, a new pet, an old boyfriend with a new fiancee, a son in college and a not-so-nice ex husband. I couldn't put it down and am looking forward to the next book.

2 people found this helpful

g g k

Great read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 8, 2018

Verified Purchase

Really enjoyed this book, couldn't put it down. Looking forward to reading the next one. Good storyline, really descriptive. Character's and places brought to life.

Elisa

Really disappointing

Reviewed in Australia on September 14, 2015

Verified Purchase

i really wanted to love this book but I just couldn't the heroine had been through so much in her life that she really deserved a happy ending the whole thing with Cooper and his fiancé turning out to be her sister just felt wrong and to find out at the end that he stayed with the sister again felt all wrong even with this being a series it would have still worked if Cara Mia and Copper finally got their happily ever after that they deserve and further mysteries would have seen them grow as the couple they deserve to be. I really love Cara Mia but I just can't bring myself to read more when her nasty sister is keeping her and Cooper apart really disappointed

One person found this helpful

GAdams

An enjoyable read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 7, 2016

Verified Purchase

This was a fun read. The mystery is secondary to the story, but it doesn't matter as so much else is going on. The characters are very likeable and the story was entertaining.

Joanne Pope

A fun easy read.

Reviewed in Canada on August 24, 2021

Verified Purchase

Enjoyed the story and plot line was easy to follow. A nice light read. I enjoyed it so much that I downloaded books 2-6.

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Tear Down and Die: Book #1 in the Cara Mia Delgatto Mystery Series Kindle Edition

From the Publisher

Do you believe in second chances? Cara Mia Delgatto does!

Ever wish you could start over?

She started on a journey...

Buys a vacant shop!

Do you love happy endings?

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Product details

Videos

About the author

Joanna Campbell Slan

Customer reviews

Top reviews from the United States

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Top reviews from other countries