This was a really fun cozy mystery. While it was a sixth installment, I felt like I was able to dive in and catch up with no problem. I really enjoyed the characters and the mystery. I’ll certainly read more in this series.

Whitney Whitaker and her cousin Buck have won the bid to remodel a Nashville fire station into a home while leaving the historically exterior intact. As they started working, they met many neighbors, including Joanna Hartzell and her friend Gideon Koppelman. Joanna, who owns half of a two-family townhouse, is worried that with the other side abandoned by a quarrelsome family may become damaged and devalued. her home might become damaged and devalued. Deciding to risk buying the rundown townhouse from the Bottiglieri siblings, whose parents once lived there until death. Whitney and Buck run into several problems but finally get it done. Several of the neighbors are eager to buy once the property is fixed. There is someone not happy about this development, for there is arson in the fire station and vandalism in the townhouse. Joanna would like the townhouse as a home for her pregnant daughter’s family, Gideon wants it as an investment, and his renters, D-Jay and Samira, need a place offering more room for their growing family. Whitney is stressed out by her failure to find a wedding gown or a venue for her upcoming nuptials to police officer Collin Flynn, Whitney is pushed even further when Joanna staggers into the fire station and dies in her arms. A conversation with Whitney’s pregnant best friend turns into a discussion of how fish can be loaded with mercury. Whitney remembers that there was an awful lot of leftover seafood in Joanna’s refrigerator. Working her way through a long list of people who might have wanted Joanna dead, Whitney is shocked to realize the police are looking at her as the killer. So who killed Joanna and how?

Besides being a story on flip housing, it is also a mystery. I loved the touch of romance that was included in the novel. This is the sixth book in this series “a house flipper mystery.” I was surprised on who tune out to be the killer. I never expected it. It’s a fun novel even with having a murder in it.

Carpenter and her cousin Buck have just bought a historical property, a fire station, and can't wait to get to work on it. While getting to work on their new property a citizen drops in and asks for help. She owns half of a building, the problem, the other half is in disrepair and the owners won't do anything about it. The cousins are able to purchase the property but run into a problem when other people want to buy it besides Joanna who came to them with the problem in the first place. When Joanna shows up to the firehouse acting strange and collapses then dies the two want to figure out what happened. Follow along as Carpenter sets out on her investigation will she find the killer in the end?

Brought to you by OBS Reviewer Jeanie

The years I spent pushing construction documents contributed to my love of cozy mysteries with construction or refurbishing, so this is a fun series for me. Whitney and her cousin, Buck, had amazing, unique features on their special property, making the ones I was involved with boring. I was captivated by the property they were repurposing and the one being refurbished to flip. I also enjoyed Sawdust, the cat who owns Whitney, and the interesting neighbors in the Germantown area of Nashville. The author has given us delightful characters, both regulars and those appearing only in this mystery.

Everyone is defined well, according to their role. Their overall attitudes, conversations, and actions “show” who they really are. Whitney and Buck are caring, energetic, talented people who love their work. Whitney’s fiancé, Collin, a police detective, also loves his work and values Whitney’s insight into his cases. The people who live in the neighborhood behind the fire station, as well as the owners of the condo they are preparing to flip, are a mixed bag. Some are kind, generous, and help others out while others try to get everything they can.

Buck and Whitney won the bid on a project that fascinates me. A century old fire station, historically accurate, will be converted into a one-of-a-kind home, keeping the exterior essentially the same. Collin and Whitney were unable to find a wedding venue for months. Their projected completion date is close to their wedding, so it will be briefly used for their wedding and reception prior to the sale.

Joanna, a neighbor in a townhouse on the next street, questioned Whitney and Buck regarding the townhouse adjacent to hers that has been sitting empty for years. They inspected it and alleviated her concerns. They were curious if it would be sold soon, as it would be easy to refurbish and flip. It took fancy footwork and assistance from their attorney and their investor, but they purchased it from the seven sons and daughters of the former owners. A couple of the siblings tried to cause no end of trouble for Buck and Whitney.

Joanna’s daughter and son-in-law are expecting a baby. She asked for the opportunity to meet or exceed the highest bidder so she could get it for them. Her neighbor and close friend, Gideon, who buys and rents properties, wanted to buy it. A young couple who rents from Gideon wanted to buy it at a bargain, and the young mother was angry that Buck and Whit wanted to make a profit. She didn’t understand that the profit pays their labor and investment in another project.

The work on the fire station was fun and exciting, and when they had time, Whitney worked in the condo. The seven siblings argued over wanting more money. Someone entered the condo and sprayed graffiti on the walls, presumably a sibling with a door key. Much worse was the fire at the fire station that was determined to be arson. When the smoke cleared – literally – they saw it would cost extra time and money, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as it could have been.

Only a couple days later, Joanna came into the fire station, seriously impaired, after a couple days of not feeling well. Whitney saw she was ready to collapse, and broke her fall. EMT’s tried to save her, but she died in route to the hospital. Purely by coincidence, Whitney was looking something up that Buck’s wife told her about. She realized the symptoms sounded like Joanna’s final days. When Whitney brought it up to Joanna’s daughter and it was discovered she was correct, Whitney became a suspect, as this cause of death rarely resulted by accident and was not a common means of murder.

Whitney has helped solve murders before, but her detective fiancé usually had involvement in the case. This time, a different detective was in charge who forced Collin to recuse himself. Whitney spent all the time she could trying to find the killer, finish their wedding plans, and complete the two projects she and Buck committed to.

I was shocked and saddened by who the killer really was. It was a terrible tragedy, as the person wanted results other than Joanna’s death. There was no joy in the solution, only determination to go forward. I highly recommend this mystery and series, and am looking forward to the next in this series.

Four-Alarm Homicide is the sixth House-Flipper mystery by Diane Kelly. Released 23rd April 2024 by Macmillan on their St. Martin's imprint, it's 304 pages and is available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links.

This is an engaging and well written cozy mystery with a full complement of quirky neighbors, old houses to fix-up-and-resell (a fire station in this case), plucky female amateur sleuth, requisite grumpy (and handsome) law enforcement officer, remodel house neighbor/murder victim, resultant investigations, and a cat who gets some 3rd person narrative alternating with his owner, protagonist house-flipper Whitney. The chapters are labeled with the primary PoV character, so they're easy to keep track of.

The writing is appealing and entertaining, very light and engaging. The language is clean, the violence is off page, there's nothing to horrify or scandalize. The denouement is well written and the book moves along at a good clip. It's an enjoyable and engaging light read. The plot is self contained in this volume and works well enough as a standalone. It's exactly the kind of fun cozy to enjoy on a lazy weekend afternoon.

With 6 books extant in the series at the current time (it's an ongoing series), and a publishing schedule of roughly 1 series book/year, this would be a good choice for a long binge or buddy read.

Four stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes

This is the sixth book in the House-Flipper Mystery series and the second one I’ve read in this series. Whitney and her cousin Buck have a house-flipping business together in Nashville. Their latest project is a firehouse they're turning into a single-family home -- at least until a neighbor asks them to take on the abandoned half of a duplex. This side project is more complicated than they expected and it threatens to derail their firehouse project, which has a pretty tight deadline because Whitney and her police detective fiance, Collin, are planning to have their wedding there. I enjoyed the cat taking over as narrator from time to time. The flipping elements add interest to the story too. The murder weapon and how it was used was intriguing and not one I’ve seen before. It’s a fun cozy that’s part of a strong series and I look forward to reading more of them. I received this Advanced Reader Copy of Four Alarm Homicide from St. Martin's Press and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a copy of this book.

This was such a cute and fun cozy mystery! This was the first book of the House-Flipper Mystery series I've read and now I want to read the others! You don't need to have read the others to know what was going on or know the characters, which is always a concern when I pick up books in the middle of a series. It was so easy to get sucked into the story too. There are a couple of chapters from Sawdust's (the MC Whitney's cat) perspective which I thought was a really fun addition. I will say the mystery itself is a little emotional, especially when it's solved but there are a lot of other lighter parts to the story to lighten it up a bit.

This is book six in the House-Flipper Mystery series. I hadn't read the other books, but this one was just fine to read as a stand-alone. I was missing some of the characters' histories, but there were enough context clues and mentions of past plots to easily know who was who and what was going on.

I liked the mystery. It was well thought out and kept me guessing. However, it did take quite some time into the book to get to the actual murder. Much of the first part of the book was focused on the house flipping and introducing characters.

Overall, this was an enjoyable, cozy mystery that I recommend to anyone who reads the genre.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Carpenter Whitney Whitaker and her cousin Buck are hot for a historical property that has just come on the market a fire station in Nashvilles Germantown neighborhood that was built nearly a century ago. They had just begun the interior renovation on the fire station when Joanna Hartzell who lives around the corner in a townhouse comes by with a plea for help. Joanna owns the right half of her building g which is maintained in perfect condition while the left side falls into disrepair the adult children that inherited it refuse to lift a finger on repairs. So Whitney and Buck manage to take on the challenge though it turns out Joanna is only one of many neighbors interested in buying the property once they’ve worked their magic. Then one day Joanna shows up at the fire house confused and rambling then collapses never to recover. This was a fun story with great characters I would recommend this book to everyone.

Four-Alarm Homicide is the sixth book in Diane Kelly’s House-Flipper Mystery series, featuring Whitney and Buck Whitaker, house-flipping cousins who renovate properties in Nashville, Tennessee. I had never read a book in this series before, but I didn’t feel that this was a problem since Kelly does a good job fleshing out the characters and the general background of the series.

Four-Alarm Homicide has all of the hallmarks of Diane Kelly’s other mysteries, such as the Mountain Lodge Mysteries. Quick to read and deceptively simple, the plot of the book is complex and the characters are well- developed, making for a satisfying reading experience. For example, in this novel, the “how” of the murder is rather obvious, but the “who” and the “why” are not as there are many suspects with a motive and the means to commit the crime. 4.0 out of 5.0 stars. Highly recommended.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a complimentary advanced reader’s copy of this book.

I enjoyed this book. There was a lot going on with essentially 2 mysteries to solve. Both kept me guessing. I look forward to more. I liked the main character and their relationship.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The old firehouse is a house flippers dream. When Whitney Whitaker and her cousin and partner Buck are awarded the opportunity to improve the building they are thrilled. When they are visited by Joanne, owner of a townhouse in the neighborhood and asked to take on the flipping of the townhome adjacent to hers, Buck and Whitney decide why not. Until that Joanne shows up at the firehouse one day, and collapses at Whitney's feet.

I enjoy a good mystery, but cozy mysteries baffle me. I can never understand why the usually mild mannered title character is determined to solve the murder. Yet I found myself quickly engrossed in this story. The interesting cast of characters kept the story moving. Each chapter provides reason to suspect another character. I found this a quick and entertaining read that provided for satisfying escape for a rainy afternoon.

This series follows Whitney Whitaker and her cousin Buck, who are house flippers in Nashville, TN. In Four-Alarm Homicide they successfully bid on a fire house restoration project and are working to renovate it as a single family home. Whitney is also preparing for her upcoming wedding to her police detective fiance and the firehouse could work as the perfect venue. Things get complicated when their new neighbour suggests they buy the adjoining home to her townhouse to renovate, as it's fallen into neglect since the owner passed. They are able to buy out the family members for the property, but it doesn't go smoothly and soon they have issues with vandalism and harassment for more money. Then one of the neighbours collapses in the fire house and now Whitney must determine what's going on to avoid becoming a suspect or worse the next victim.
I found this cozy entertaining and the twists unexpected. I would recommend this series!

I’m a fan of Diane Kelly, this was my first book in this series and I was not disappointed. I liked it enough that I’m going to go back and read the others in the series. The characters seemed great, I enjoyed the mystery of it all. The pace was good. It was a quick enjoyable read. Thank you to netgalley and st Martin press for a free copy.

Whitney Whitaker and her cousin Buck are house flippers, and they just got their hands on century old fire station in a lovely neighbourhood. As they are starting work some neighbours wander over to get their advise on a house that has been standing empty as the heirs can’t agree on what to do with it. Whitney and Buck agree that it is a perfect house, and are ready to tackle it, but it sadly starts bad as one of the neighbours wanders over and collapses dead in the fire station.
Lovely cozy - I still need to read the previous ones, but it a great read on its own.

This series set in Nashville, Tennessee always presents an interesting mystery and a unique flipping project for Whitney and Buck. This time around they’re rehabbing an old fire station into a single family home, when they’re approached by a neighbor who is concerned about the deteriorating townhouse next to her impacting the structure and value of her portion of the two family building. Whitney and Buck have barely finalized the purchase of the vacant townhouse when drama ensues about who will have the opportunity buy it after the renovation is complete. Needless to say, Whitney now has a murder mystery to solve before she can walk down the aisle to get married. This is an entertaining mystery that offers up plenty of suspects who could have had a reason to want the victim out of the way permanently.

This is the first book I’ve read in this series, and it read fine as a stand-alone. It was an amusing read with lots of twists and turns, interesting characters, and was well written. I enjoyed this book and am looking forward to the next in the series. I received a complimentary copy of this book and chose to write a voluntary, unbiased review.

Another great cozy mystery in the series. I love the characters and the way the story is told from the perspective of different characters including Sawdust. Looking forward to the next adventure. Thanks to NetGalley for the privilege to read and review this book.

Diane Kelly never fails to deliver a solid, entertaining, cozy mystery. Four Alarm Homicide is entertaining with twists and turns that the reader doesn’t see coming.

Whitney and Buck are back at it again and this time they’re flipping our fire station. I have read many books of this series but I will admit I have not read them all. But this one is quite intriguing with turning a Fire Station into a livable home. We can always expect more than just a house renovation when it comes to the series. Not only are they transforming the fire station into something beautiful. They also take on a nearby townhome that has much better days. Soon we realize there seems to be some type of agenda with this townhouse when an elderly lady dies, and Whitney herself becomes a suspect. So we have one crazy mystery. Two renovations, a Murder, all while planning a wedding in between.

The chapters included from the cats point of you are always a highlight and a funny tape to the story

What a fun and instructive cozy mystery, sixth in series, featuring Nashville, TN house-flipping cousins, Whitney Whitaker and Buck Whitaker. How is it that I am just hearing about this fun series now?! This time around they've been awarded the option to renovate and convert an old fire station into a private residence. They've got their schedule set and are well on their way to getting things done in time for Whitney's nuptials. A neighbor around the corner from the station approaches them to ask for professional advice about the neglected adjoining property to her own and wouldn't they consider taking on that project too? Hmmm, what to do? Everything is going according to plan. That is until the neighbor dies in Whitney's arms. Sleuthing Whitney is now on the case.

Although I was familiar with Diane Kelly's Mountain Lodge Mystery series, which I adore, this was my first foray into her House Flipper Mystery series. Ms. Kelly again does not fail to please this reader. Her writing is solid. The characters are well developed. I particularly liked the character strength which Whitney displays yet there is also a tenderness and empathetic nature to her. It's obvious that Ms. Kelly has done her research and the result of which is a fun, informative, and captivating story.

I am grateful to author Diane Kelly and St. Martin's Press for having provided a complimentary e-book through NetGalley. Their generosity, however, has not influenced this review - the words of which are mine alone.


Publisher:‎ St. Martin's Paperbacks
Publication Date: April 23, 2024
No. of pages:‎ 304
ISBN:‎ 978-1250816085