Four-Alarm Homicide by Diane Kelly

 Four-Alarm Homicide

Book Summary

The sixth in the delightful cozy mystery series from Diane Kelly set in Nashville, TN—where the real estate market is to die for.

Some properties are too hot to handle...

Carpenter Whitney Whitaker and her cousin Buck are hot for a historical property that has just come on the market—a fire station in Nashville’s Germantown neighborhood that was built nearly a century ago.

The cousins have just begun the interior demolition work at the fire station when Joanna Hartzell, who lives in a townhouse around the corner, comes by with a plea for help. Joanna owns the right half of her building, which she proudly maintains in perfect condition, while the left side falls into disrepair: the seven adult children who inherited it years ago refuse to lift a finger on repairs. Never one to turn down a challenge, Whitney and Buck manage to acquire the rundown townhouse—though it turns out Joanna is only one of the many neighbors interested in buying the property once they’ve worked their magic.

Then Joanna shows up at the fire station confused and rambling, then collapses, never to recover. Alarm bells go off for Whitney: she suspects something—and someone—evil could be the real cause. Can she and Collin put the clues together and smoke out a killer?

My Thoughts

Four-Alarm Homicide by Diane Kelly is the sixth A House Flipper Mystery.  It can be read as a standalone for those who are new to the series or who may have missed a book along the way.  Whitney Whitaker and her cousin, Buck are remodeling an old firehouse into a single-family home and a townhouse.  Whitney and Buck need to stock up on the aspirin because these projects are going to be nothing but headaches.  I like that the story begins with an amusing scene.  Whitney and Buck are cousins, friends, and business partners (as you can imagine, they like to egg each other and compete against each other).  When working in a neighborhood, you get to meet the neighbors.  As you can imagine, there are an assortment of characters.  Whitney and Buck have their hands full.  I found the story to be easy to read.  It is an active story with two renovations, a murder, wedding planning, the engaged couple need to decide where to live, and so much more.  

The mystery was interesting.  I enjoyed joining Whitney as she searched for clues and asked questions.  I like noticing those tiny details that lead to the killer.  The method of murder was particularly unique.  Whitney’s cat, Sawdust, is cute and helpful.  The chapters from Sawdust’s point of view are cute.  You can tell that the author has been around cats. The author includes information about home renovations (the various projects that Whitney and Buck tackle), mortgages, loans, home ownership difficulties in an easy-to-understand manner.  The ending left me smiling.  The one thing I did not like is the repetition of information (a pet peeve).  I do not feel that key details need to be repeated several times.  I look forward to Whitney and Buck’s next project.  Four-Alarm Homicide is a makeover mystery with lingering neighbors, a mystifying murder, planning nuptials, kitty discoveries, mouthwatering morsels, and flipping properties.  

Four Alarm Homicide will be released on April 23 and it can be preordered from Amazon*.  You can find the other A House-Flipper Mysteries here.  Check out Diane Kelly's other cozy mysteries. Thank you for dropping by today.  Tomorrow I will be featuring Dating an Amish Flirt by Rachel J. Good.  It is the sixth novel in the Surprised by Love series.  I hope that you have a fascinating day. I am off to do some much needed cleaning in our storage shed (another space that has become disorganized). I am looking forward to break time when I can read another chapter of Mind Games by Nora Roberts and have a Mounds bar (yum).  Take care and Happy Reading!

Kris

The Avid Reader

*I voluntarily read an advanced copy of this book.  I am not required to leave a review.  The comments and opinions expressed are strictly my own.