The Julius House

Since she met her fiance Martin Bartell, Roe Teagarden has never been happier. There's a difference in age and in background, but he seems to know exactly what she wants - like the Julius house. Roe is thrilled when Martin gives her the house as a wedding present. She's a keen amateur sleuth, and she has always been intrigued by its infamous history: six years ago, the family who lived there disappeared, never to be seen again. As Roe throws herself into renovating the Julius house, her misgivings about Martin's rather murky past recede. But when Roe is attacked by an axe-wielding maniac, she realises that the secrets inside her four walls - and her brand-new marriage - could destroy her.
"Then Martin gave me their house as a wedding present.
To say I was surprised to get a house is an understatement: “stunned” is more accurate. We did want to buy a house, and we had been looking at fancier homes firmly anchored in the newer suburbs of Lawrenceton, an old southern town that itself is actually in the regrettable process of becoming a commuter suburb of Atlanta. Most of the houses we’d been considering were large, with several big rooms suitable for entertainment; too big for a couple with no children, in my opinion. But Martin had this streak that yearned for the outer signs of financial health. He drove a Mercedes, for example, and he wanted our house to be a house where a Mercedes would look at home. We’d looked at the Julius house because I’d made a point of telling my friend and Realtor Eileen Norris to put it on the list. I’d seen it when I was searching for a house for myself alone."