Whitney and her cousin Buck flip houses. With the housing market so tight, Buck decided they should try their hand at renovating a houseboat. The man living in the boat in the slip next to theirs is going through a divorce and has an injury that keeps him from working. While Whitney and Buck try to be neighborly, Grant isn't good with boundaries. When his boat blows up there are plenty of suspects and quite a few confess to doing it. Can Whitney sort through the motives and false confessions to discover the true culprit?

While Primer and Punishment is book 5 in the House-Flipper Mystery series, it is the first book in the series that I've read. I had no problem reading it as a stand-alone novel.

I really liked the characters. If you enjoy cozies with cats then you should try this book as there is a cute kitty named Sawdust. He gets his own chapters and it is fun to get his thoughts. But it was also the source of my one dislike about the novel.

Most of the book is told in first person from Whitney's point of view. However, Sawdust's chapters are told in third person and it felt odd. The chapters indicate when they are Whitney or Sawdust's POV, so there isn't an apparent reason for the switch to third person. I would have preferred his chapters to also have been in first person.

Whitney is a great character. She is down-to-earth, intelligent, fun, and caring. She is definitely someone you would want as a friend. I liked that she complemented law enforcement rather than making them look incompetent. Instead of constantly telling her to stay out of the case or discounting her findings, they seem to welcome her help. It probably doesn't hurt that she's dating a police detective.

The mystery is interesting and I didn't figure out "who dunnit" until it was revealed at the end.

If you enjoy home improvement or remodeling and are looking for a fun cozy mystery, then you should pick up this book.

My review is published at Girl Who Reads - https://www.girl-who-reads.com/2023/02/primer-and-punishment-by-diane-kelly.html

Twinkle twinkle little star…

I haven’t read the previous books in this series and I didn’t feel lost or anything. This series can truly be read as a stand-alone.

This series is perfect for cozy mystery readers. It’s cute and has a good mystery! Whitney and Buck flip homes together.
For this installment they are flipping a house boat. One of their neighbors, is a sleazeball and he ends up being murdered.
The narrator, Courtney Patterson did a wonderful job using a variety of tones and inflections portraying the characters. She was a perfect voice for Whitney.
At times I found Whitney to be a bit meddlesome, but without her no one would have gotten the clues.
The story kept me engaged and it had a sweet ending as well.

✨Special thanks to Netgalley, Tantor Media, and St. Martins Press for the gifted copy and ALC in exchange for an honest review.

This flipper duo never allows their work to get boring. A delightful change of pace using a houseboat as the house flipper. Interesting location and characters. Terrific series and great addition. Thanks to the publisher for providing a copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary.

Carpenters and cousins Whitney and Buck are hunting for their next project. They are house flippers and love a challenge. Buck has just the property - a houseboat. Whitney is on board with the purchase so they gather up her cat Sawdust and move onto the boat, planning on living on it while doing the renovations. Too bad the neighbor in the next slip turns out to be a real slime. With numerous ex-wives and shady financial dealings for a start, it isn't long before one of his many enemies blows his boat to Kingdom come, taking him with it. The list of suspects is long but more than one of them steps forward to tell the police "I did it". That isn't usually the case and Whiney and Buck are drawn into the investigation. It's a well crafted puzzle to solve complete with plenty of red herrings to trip up the armchair detective. I enjoyed every page as I have with each of the five books - so far - in the series.
My thanks to the publisher St, Martin's and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Primer and Punishment by Diane Kelly is my first read in the House-Flipper Mystery series. Whitney and her cousin, Buck, buy a houseboat on the local lake to fix up and sell. As they are working on the boat, they come into contact with the sketchy guy in the boat next door. When he meets an untimely demise, Whitney starts following the clues to try to figure out the mystery.

I like cozy mysteries and I go in knowing there isn’t a lot of action and they’re kind of far-fetched. This story was okay, it kept me reading. I didn’t feel super connected to any of the characters, but I did like that there was a cat involved in the story. I would check out another in the series before deciding if I like it or not.

***Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for the advanced copy for my honest review.

Whitney and her cousin are flipping a houseboat in this book. A loud boat owner next to them begins to create problems and finally ends up dead. Lots of suspects and plenty of reasons for people to kill the guy, but only Whitney can get to the true solution. A well written story with plenty of intrigue and motive for murder. I enjoy this series and its continued growth of the characters. It's a comfortable book and a good read!

My favorite rehabbers are back in the latest installment of Diane Kelly's House Flipper Mystery series. Lindsey and her cousin, Buck, are rehabbing something a little different this time. They are not working on land this time around. They have bought a houseboat named the Skinny Dipper which is need of a lot of repair. These two have never seen a project that will scare them away. This rehab project just sounded fun. They meet their "neighbor", Grant Hardisty, who lives on the cabin cruiser on the slip next to them. It does not take long for them to figure out the charming Grant has a long line of ex-wives who want a piece of him, as well as friends and family who have loaned him money that he has not bothered to pay back. He is definitely not the Mr. Nice Guy that he appeared to be. When someone blows up his boat with him on it, the suspect pool is large. It gets larger by the day when multiple suspects confess to the crime.

Whitney uses her abilities as an amateur sleuth to try and help the police find the real culprit. I love the characters in this book. I feel as if I know them personally, and I could sit down and have a chat with any of them. They are full of personality and fun loving hard workers. There are plenty of suspects to choose from as you try to solve this mystery. It is a murder mystery, but Diane Kelly keeps it light-hearted and fun as well. I love the chapters that are told from the perspective of the cat, Sawdust. His thoughts are always a little comical. I enjoyed the planning of the parties, showers and weddings in preparation for Buck and Colette's nuptials. The mystery and plot lines are well written and easy to read, as well as enjoyable to read. I have never been disappointed in a book in this series. This one is another winner! I highly recommend that you read all five books in this series to understand the lives of the characters. You will not be disappointed.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I used to be addicted to renovation and rehab shows. I still am interested in the subject.
This cozy is based a duo, cousins, who flip properties. Their latest is a houseboat. I liked the Tennessee location and it being on the Cumberland River, old stomping grounds of mine.
I liked the descriptions of all the rehabbing in the story.
The mystery aspect was ok, the character killed certainly wasn’t a loss.
I also liked the chapters told from the cat’s perspective.’\
I liked it.

This 5th installment in the House-Flipper cozy mystery series was entertaining and kept me guessing until the end. Whitney and her cousin Buck are renovating a houseboat in preparation to flip it, but keep having run-ins with the owner of the boat in the next slip. There is no end to potential murderers once the body appears, as the story takes turn after turn. I particularly enjoyed the chapters from Sawdust the cat's POV! This is the first book I've read in the series, but I was immersed into the story right from the beginning, and I'll definitely read more in the series. Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the advance digital copy!

Amateur sleuth Whitney returns with her cousin Buck, and this time they're flipping a houseboat! But where these two go, bodies seem to turn up, and in this episode the houseboat next door blows up while the owner is onboard. Even more unsettling, four people have confessed, though none are the actual criminal. Will Collin and Whitney solve the case before Whitney and Buck are the next victims?

This was such a fun cozy mystery! I really enjoyed tagging along as Whitney and her cousin Buck renovated a houseboat. Even though this is book 5 in the series I had no trouble following along with the characters. The mystery was twisty enough to keep me guessing! I’m looking forward to reading books 1-4 of this series.

Thank you to St. Martin's Paperbacks and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

DNF at 22%

I was originally interested in this because I specialize in Houseboat Vacations for my day job. We rent at a couple of locations in the Kentucky/Tennessee area so I was very excited to see this!

I really love the idea, house flippers renovating a houseboat, living the lake life, and a murder mystery...but unfortunately that's where the love ended for me.

I had a really hard time getting past the characters; they were pretty flat, all of them unlikable, and there was just something about the dialogue that rang unrealistic and petty at times. For example, one of the main characters lends money to the loser neighbor guy that everyone hates, then gets mad and steals part of his dinner when he doesn't pay it back immediately? Or getting all bent out of shape when someone bumped into the docked houseboat...
Something about nearly every character interaction just rubbed me the wrong way.

Since I work in houseboats, there were a few small things that were a little cringe but no one else would likely notice unless they were avid boaters. (The idea of towing an inflatable ducky behind the houseboat, or one man changing a portion of a pontoon by himself from the water, anchoring rather than mooring to the shoreline, etc.) Otherwise, I was overall impressed with how much the author got right.

I'm sorry to say this one just wasn't for me, but thank you for the opportunity to check it out before pub day!

This was a good mystery. I really liked Whitney and Buck. Whitney and Buck decided to do something different. They bought a houseboat to renovate. There is a guy in the boat slip next door that looked like he might be a good neighbor, but as they spend time on the boat, they find that he isn't all that great. He seems to have too many exes and he owes money to several people, including Buck. He has a great dog that should be somewhere with a yard to run. It seems when his current wife threw him out of the house, he moved to the boat. There is always someone looking for him because he owes them money, or he is trying out dating sites. When his boat blows up after Buck asked him to move the boat away because of the smoke from cooking next to their boat, Whitney can't help looking into who actually murdered him. The man's wife and stepson seem to be the likely suspects, but there a quite a few others who had good reason to see him dead. Can they find the murderer?

I really enjoyed the setting of this one! I mean, renovating a houseboat?! How fun!! It reminds me of the couple of family vacations we took on a houseboat on Lake Powell!

I liked the cousin duo, Whitney & Buck. Their relationship was great to see. They picked on each other (teasing like) but you can tell their business relationship meshes well together. They make a great team!

I’ve never read a cozy mystery where there is another point of view. And this one has about 9 chapters about a page long of Whitney’s cat, Sawdust. Does it add anything to the storyline? Not really. Is it a cute little addition though? Yep!

This was a fun cozy mystery! I definitely want to go and read books 1-4 now. I really like the house flipping aspect and the characters. Can’t wait to learn more about them.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press & Netgalley for the eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was a super cute cozy mystery, I haven't read the first 4 books, but I definitely want to. This book had a great mystery and there was no end of suspects who wanted Grant dead, and endless red herrings so it kept you guessing who the killer actually was.
I loved the houseboat setting! It was fun and different and I loved learning all about them along with Whitney and Buck. I also really enjoyed the random povs from Sawdust. while it didn't really add anything to the story it was super cute, and I like to think it's how cats actually think lol.
I'm looking forward to what comes next and checking out what happened in the previous books.

Primer & Punishment was a cute, cozy mystery. Though I felt like I grasped all the characters just fine during this 5th installment of the series, I’d rather have started from the beginning.
I liked the setting outside of Nashville and the cousins, Buck and Whitney, with their house flipping aspirations. This cozy mystery is very "tame." I've read a couple recently that have horrible language and some raunchiness, which I don't mind on general fiction, but I don't love in the "cozy" genre and this one was straight cozy. Think engaged couples living and sleeping separately- very PG. But there were definitely some seedy characters at the marina while they fixed up their houseboat, Skinny Dipper, and that's where we get our main mystery.
In general, I liked Whitney's sleuthing style. She wasn't unrealistic or unsafe, BUT she DEFINITELY interfered in the police investigation and, had I been the fire inspector, I wouldn't have been happy when she overstepped. Heck, she was specifically told not to talk about the death and immediately she gave details to every stranger who showed up at the marina. And the Tanner kid was too whiny for me.
I loved the cat, Sawdust.
Recommend for cute, cozy mystery fans looks for a sweet,
PG series.

Primer and Punishment the 5th instalment in the House Flipper Mysteries series by Diane Kelly. This is 4th book I have read in the series, and it can be read as a standalone.

Whitney Whitaker has a knack for nailing down murderers . . . but this time she might just come unmoored.

The characters of Whitney, Sawdust (cat), Buck, Collin and Collette are ones I have really come to love. I also enjoy the setting of Nashville, Tennessee. I like how the series continues to alternate chapters narrated by Whitney and her cat Sawdust.

This time around they are flipping an old rundown houseboat and living on it during the repairs. It becomes a great place to hold the bachelorette and bachelor parties, have some fun out on the water. I like where the characters are heading in their personal live too. Overall I really like this series and it’s on my must read list.

The mystery is interesting and had lots of twists which kept me guessing. I had no idea who the killer was till Whitney did.

I highly recommend to all my cozy mystery loving friends.

I requested and received an advance reader copy of this book from St.Martin Press and Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The next in the series with a new house to rehab and flip but this one is a houseboat that is in desperate need of repair and tlc. When a chance meeting helps they dive into a romance. This is a cheeky series that anyone will enjoy

Primer and Punishment Is the fifth A House-Flipper Mystery. It can be read as a standalone for those new to the series or if you have missed a book. I was immediately drawn into this engaging cozy mystery. I liked Whitney and Buck’s latest flip. It was interesting learning about a houseboat. I can certainly see the perks to living on one. Buck and Collette (Whitney’s roommate and friend) are getting married. There is wedding planning and preparations for their bachelor and bachelorette parties. The houseboat is the perfect venue for both parties. Whitney finds herself drawn into the murder of Grant Hardisty, the man who lived on the houseboat next to them. Whitney ends up with a lengthy suspect list. Grant had a string of ex-wives and owed money to several people. The mystery kept Whitney hopping. I enjoyed piecing together the clues and identifying the bad guy. I was delighted with the stimulating reveal. Sawdust had a good time on the houseboat. He was not a fan, though, of his life vest. He did enjoy getting to meet a new friend. The chapters from Sawdust’s point-of-view are entertaining (they make you smile and laugh). The ending of Primer and Punishment will delight fans of the series. Primer and Punishment is a cute cozy with a feline in a life vest, a joyful JoJo, party planning, a slain smooth talker, an overhauled houseboat, a wonderful wedding, and a special surprise.

I did not realize when I got this from NetGalley that it was the fifth in a mystery series. I picked it because the cover suggested cozy mystery, and that's pretty much what you get. I read cozies when I wake at one a.m. and can't get back to sleep, and this story was perfect for that.

The two main characters are fun, there is a thread of romance, and there is even a cat inserted, because I guess cats are a hot item in cozy mysteries now. The cat chapters didn't add anything to the story, but that was okay--the rest was a fun read, which is all I asked for.