Product Description

Back in the day, Jacobia “Jake” Tiptree turned profits managing the fortunes of Manhattan’s most fortunate. Then she fled the rat race for a stately old fixer-upper in easygoing Eastport, Maine. But now a rat from an even darker corner of Jake’s past has turned up…a killer with a blueprint for demolishing her new life.

As a home repair enthusiast, Jake knows that nothing lasts forever—not windows or doors, not plaster or plumbing. And not good fortune.

After more than three decades eluding justice, the man who murdered her mother is finally about to stand trial—until he vanishes into thin air. Jake has a terrible foreboding of where Ozzie Campbell will turn up next. And while the local police chief is sure she’s overreacting, the truth is far worse than even Jake’s worst fears.

With her normally full house empty for at least another week, Jake has been looking forward to the unaccustomed peace and quiet. Now her cozy, well-loved home feels more like a big empty death trap ready to snap shut. First a pair of out-of-towners clearly not in Eastport for vacation turn up asking questions about her. And if she has any doubt they’re connected to Campbell, those doubts are erased when he calls her with a grim warning.

But exactly what Campbell wants from her isn’t clear, only that he’ll stop at nothing to hurt those closest to Jake. And his first victims are the most defenseless of all. Suddenly Jake can’t help but feel that her house—and her life—has far too many windows. And in any one of them she might see the face of her killer.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #117779 in Books
• Published on: 2008-12-30
• Released on: 2008-12-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: 1.00" h x 6.40" w x 9.40" l, 1.09 pounds
• Binding: Hardcover
• 320 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780553806793
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Publishers Weekly
Ozzie Campbell disappears just before he's about to go on trial for murdering Jacobia Jake Tiptree's mother in front of the then three-year-old Jake in Graves's engrossing 12th mystery to feature the handywomanand former Manhattan financial manager who's resettled in Eastport, Maine (after 2007's The Book of Old Houses). Jake's instincts go on high alert after a pair of obvious out-of-towners show up in Eastport, asking questions about her. Then someone abducts Leonora, the little girl Jake has been caring for while her mother is on vacation in Europe, and Leonora's teenage babysitter, Helen Nevelson. The narrative twists around Helen's desperate escape and survival story, and Jake's own tale of capture and rescue as they both battle heartless kidnappers, the harsh terrain and puppet master Campbell's efforts to force Jake to recant her witness statement. Relentless pacing, an appealing heroine and perfectly loathsome antagonists will more than satisfy series fans. (Dec.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Jacobia (Jake) Tiptree was a high-powered money manager in Manhattan before she moved with her son to Eastport, Maine, where she purchased a nineteenth-century house and began a long series of home repairs mixed with amateur sleuthing. By this twelfth book in the series, Jake has remarried and has a well-established group of friends—but the home repairs continue (each chapter is headed by one of Tiptree’s tips for keeping the house shipshape). Graves continues to explore Jake’s backstory in this installment. Three decades ago, Ozzie Campbell murdered Jake’s mother, and now he is finally about to stand trial. When Ozzie disappears before his trial, all of Jake’s friends and relatives are out of town, and she is feeling especially jumpy at being alone in her multiwindowed home. Things escalate rapidly as Ozzie’s intentions become clear. Graves almost moves beyond the bounds of a typical cozy this time, with relentless dramatic action and steadily building suspense. Still, the comforts of home survive in the end. --Judy Coon

Review
“This first-rate thriller features nail-biting suspense…. Graves has written one of her best mysteries, full of courageous women and compelling action.”—Library Journal, starred review

"Graves continues to explore Jake's backstory in this installment... Relentless dramatic action and steadily building suspense."—Booklist



From the Hardcover edition.

Customer Reviews

Good, But.....
I've read the whole series but this one just didn't keep my interest. The usual cast of Eastport characters are dispatched early on in the story which may have been part of the problem for me. I thought the plot was so-so although the story did move right along. On the plus side, I felt the character of Anthony was very well written and actually generated quite a bit of sympathy. There has been a void in this series since Victor was written out...he was always such an interesting and unpredictable character. I wish the author would develop another character along the same lines. Not a bad read but not the best in the series by far.

Did Sarah Graves really write this?
This book was so different from previous books that I really wondered if Ms. Graves actually wrote it. I was very disappointed. This book was dark and depressing. It was also so illogical that the police would not believe Jake about the threats from her Mother's killer. Why not? They actually suspect her of the kidnapping of Lee and her babysitter. Why? And why would her husband leave her to face obvious danger while he flew back to the ship? There were just so many things that didn't make sense.
I've always loved this series, but this book was a waste of money.

Forget Eastport as you have come to know it!
Although one of the most suspenseful of the series, it missed the mark for me. Like many reviewers I had trouble getting into the book and finishing it.

The joy is series fiction, for me as a reader, is reconnecting and catching up with the cast of characters. They are all missing in Face at the Window- or reacting totally out of character. I was not in East Port and these were not the characters I have come to know. A couple who have never expressed a desire to be anywhere but Maine are in Rome, why??? A devoted husband rushes to the rescue and gets back on a boat???. Lets not even go to the out of character behavior of the son, father, police chief, or the people of Eastport.The story is suspenseful but....just off.