Jacobia (Jake) Tiptree and her best friend, Ellie, are new real estate owners in their town of Eastport, Maine. They're thrilled when tenants decide to move into the fixer- upper on Long Cove Road, even if they are a coven of witches and a barely verbal teenage girl. The only problems, at first, are a few calls from the renters about electrical problems and a leaky faucet.

When the body of Eugene Dibble is found in the shed behind Jake and Ellie's house, the local cops suspect he was murdered for a batch of oxycontin pills in a spat between two partners. But why would the murderer have come back for the mute girl, Wanda Cathart?

As Jake investigates, she's drawn into an increasingly miasmic situation -- was Mac Rickert, the local mountain man, Dibble's partner? If so, why did he kidnap Wanda? What do the current tenants have to hide, and why is Greg Brand so jumpy when questioned?

This is an easy read and a really fun cozy mystery. I could relate to the fact that Jake has a nickname, has been previously married and has a son by that marriage, is into guns and home repair, and continuously gets into scary situations. The story line is solid, while not oversimplified. NAIL BITER is a good, well-written book.