Monday, April 22, 2024

Four-Alarm Homicide - Cozy Mystery Review

Goodreads:  Four-Alarm Homicide (A House Flipper Mystery #6) by Diane Kelly

Rating: Really Liked It (4 Stars)
Source:   Publisher

Description:  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?

Genre: Mystery - Cozy

Why I Picked This Book:  I've enjoyed other books by this series so of course I had to pick this one up!

My Impression: This was a fun mystery with lots of home renovation detail and some observations from Sawdust.  Whitney and her cousin Buck are trying to manage two flips - an old firehouse and a townhouse - as well as fighting sabatoging adult children and meddling neighbors.  

This was a fun read.  I like Whitney and Buck as well as their friends and the renovation parts were interesting.  The murder happened later in the book but I never felt like it was dragging and was entertained from the first page.  The mystery was an interesting one and definitely kept me guessing until the end.   There were more than a few possible suspects and I really had no idea how it was all going to play out.

This is a slice of life style cozy with lots of side information.  The characters are likable with interesting jobs and the mystery was solid.  I enjoyed it from beginning to end.

Would I Read More of this Series/Author?  Absolutely!  I've enjoyed everything I've read by this author.

Would I Recommend this Book? If you enjoy cozy mysteries I'd recommend this author, book and series.  This was a fun read.

* I received this book in exchange for an honest review.  As always my opinions and impressions are completely my own. *

3 comments:

  1. I just got this book from the publisher. It looks fun. I'll have to start the series from the beginning and see what I think. Glad you enjoyed this newest installment!

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  2. I've read the first book in this series and hope to continue at some point.

    Anne - Books of My Heart

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  3. Another series I want to read. Sounds like a good one.

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