WRECK THE HALLS, by Sarah Graves, Bantam, New York, 276 pages, hardcover, $21.95.

Living in Down East Maine can be murder, if the works of Sarah Graves are to be taken at face value.

In her fifth “Home Repair Is Homicide” mystery since 1998, Graves returns us to her adopted hometown of Eastport, which serves as a character itself in her series.

At the center of “Wreck the Halls,” Graves’ hardcover debut, are wannabe sleuths Jacobia “Jake” Tiptree, a transplanted Wall Street broker turned amateur home renovator, and her native best friend, Ellie.

This unlikely crime-solving duo is trying to uncover who killed and mutilated Merle Carmody, the town’s butcher and an abuser of his wife, Faye Anne, who gets arrested for the crime. Ellie remembers a past favor that Faye Anne had done for her, and doesn’t believe she’s capable of the murder, although she had substantial motive.

They find more than a few other viable suspects: town lothario Peter Christie, who was having an affair with Faye Anne; Melinda Devine, Peter’s current squeeze; Ben Devine, Melinda’s brother with a veiled past; and Mickey Jean Bunting, Ben’s mysterious, never-seen girlfriend. Jake and Ellie try out their theories throughout the short mystery, and a series regular even suffers a grievous injury. Graves rightly doesn’t overdo the home-repair hints (try Home and Garden TV for that), but she does get across Jake’s frustration with the money pit in which she lives. It’s an annoyance that many Mainers share.

In the end, Graves takes a skidding left turn in the December snow, and the true murderer is caught red-handed. But it’s enjoyable following the runabout path that Jake and Ellie, wrong almost until the end, follow to inadvertently capture the killer.

Many will agree that working around the house can definitely be murder. Sarah Graves’ “Home Repair Is Homicide” series, however, is a much more pleasant way to kill time.