The Barn Identity by Diane Kelly

Reviewed by Jeanne

Building-flipper Whitney is embarking on more than one new project:  together with her cousin, she is working on rehabbing a historic livery stable; she’s now expecting her first child with her detective husband Collin; and she’s has a new murder to solve.  That’s a lot for anyone to handle, but Whitney is a pro at all of the above—except for impending motherhood.

When Whitney meets with Gail Pittman, owner of the property in question, journalist podcaster Tyler Yee tags along.  He’s interested in doing a story, both on the history of the property and on its forthcoming transformation.  Whitney has an idea of turning the stable into apartments, providing affordable housing while preserving the history of the place as part of an old plantation.  The owner is interested, so they all agree to meet in a few days to look at Whitney’s drawings and to decide whether to proceed. Whitney arrives early for the meeting, and due to pregnancy induced sleepiness climbs up into the old hayloft and dozes off. She’s awakened by the sounds of shouts.  By the time she gets down from the loft, she finds Yee dead and the killer gone.

It turns out that Yee has covered a lot of stories in his time, not all of them favorable to the subjects.  This means there are many out there with motives to do away with the reporter, but which one actually stuck a pitchfork into him?

Although part of a series, this can indeed be read as a standalone.  However, I’d advocate for starting a bit earlier, just to get to know the characters. I have enjoyed all the books both for the mystery and bits of renovation thoughts, especially when Whitney talks about colors and amenities—it’s like watching one of those home make-over shows.  Whitney is a take-charge sort, and she knows her way around a hammer or a miter saw.  I like the history she tosses in, especially about the area around Nashville. I’m always interested in seeing how Whitney plans to renovate a boat or motel or firehouse.

While I don’t know for certain, this had the feel of a last in series book.  Many of my favorite authors’ work has been published in mass market paperback, a format which is rapidly headed for extinction, apparently.  The good news is that the library still has copies of paperbacks for checkout.  I am looking at older series and starting to read those. 

If you’re intrigued by this series, earlier titles are:

Dead as a Door Knocker

Dead in the Doorway

Murder with a View

Batten Down the Belfrey

Primer and Punishment

Four-Alarm Homicide

Dead Post Society

The Barn Identity

Batten Down the Belfry by Diane Kelly

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

Whitney and Buck, cousins who have gone into the house-flipping business, have taken on a new project:  an abandoned country church.  While not exactly a house, Whitney thinks it could have a new life as a theater or entertainment venue.  The acoustics are marvelous, the stained glass windows are beautiful, and there’s even another building that could be a bistro.  Besides, it isn’t as if Nashville hasn’t had a church turned music hall before: that’s the origin story of the Ryman, original home of the Grand Ole Opry.

But as if the rigors of renovation aren’t enough, the owner of the horse farm next door shows up to claim that Whitney and Buck are trespassing on his property and he is calling the law on them. Their problems only get worse when a man making a delivery to Whitney ends up dead in the church’s bell tower. 

Unless Whitney and her beau, homicide detective Collin Flynn, can solve this murder, the curtains may never go up at their new venue—much less come down.

This is the fourth in the House Flipper series, and I have enjoyed all four.  It’s not just that Whitney has an adorable cat named Sawdust, but I’ll admit that doesn’t hurt.  I like that Whitney is a sensible heroine who is as handy with a hammer as she is with interior design.  She doesn’t badger Collin for inside information and tells him of any clues she picks up. She and her cousin Buck have an almost sibling relationship, complete with bickering, but it’s all good natured.  I also like the bits of Nashville and Tennessee history that are dropped into the plots, as well as other information (this one has some neat legal tidbits, for example) and I enjoy the descriptions of Whitney’s decorating ideas.  The plots have been inventive as well.

This is probably my favorite of Kelly’s series which include Paw Enforcement, Southern Homebrew, and Mountain Lodge mystery series.

While this isn’t a series that needs to be read in order, the earlier titles in the House Flipper  mysteries are:

Dead as a Door Knocker

Dead in the Doorway

Murder with a View

Batten Down the Belfry

Getaway With Murder by Diane Kelly

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

There are milestone birthdays and then there’s Misty Murphy’s birthday: as she turned fifty, she got a divorce and bought a run- down lodge in the mountains of North Carolina. What could go wrong?

As it turns out, the lodge needs more repairs than Misty had anticipated, thanks to some unusually heavy rain that washed away a chunk of ground and leaving the lodge less stable.  Just as she thinks she has made a horrendous mistake, she finds a genius handyman who will work for board.

It doesn’t hurt that he is very attractive, either.

With a full house for her week, Misty is almost ready to breathe a sigh of relief. Good thing she was only almost ready, because one of the guests ends up very dead and now everyone is a suspect.

This is a first in series book from Diane Kelly, author of several other enjoyable series including the Paw Enforcement and House-Flipper mysteries.  As with most starts, this one takes time to set the stage a bit and to introduce characters.  Misty herself is clear-headed and thoughtful, even though her purchase of a lodge seems impulsive. She’s also refreshingly unburdened by the break-up of her marriage, an amicable parting of the ways between two people who still like and care for one another but who haven’t been in love for a while. She has grown sons who are off on their own, and a cat named Yeti who has a chance to voice her opinions periodically. (This is a technique Kelly used in other books as well.)  The supporting case looks promising, from Patty (friendly owner of the Greasy Griddle diner) to the aforementioned hunky handyman, Rocky Crowder. 

There’s a nice selection of suspects and while I am not sure I really bought the motive, I’ll go with the flow on this one.  I had a nice visit, and will no doubt return for the next book in the series, A Trip with Trouble which is due out in October 2022.

Murder with a View by Diane Kelly (A House Flipper Mystery)

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

Carpenter Whitney Whitaker and her cousin, Buck, are “flippers” who buy rundown properties and rehabilitate them to sell at a profit.  It’s not easy money.  There’s a lot of back-breaking work involved, but they both have the skills to pull it off.  This time around, though, they may have bitten off more than they can chew by acquiring the old Music City Motor Court.  Instead of keeping it as a motel, they plan to turn the old motel units into condos.  It’s a good location, great view—what could go wrong?

First, they discover a squatter on the property, but he seems a good enough sort.  The other trespasser is less obliging, mostly because he’s dead.  What’s worse, he was a rising country star so the press and fans are about to descend.  Whitney and Buck are about to give the old adage about “all publicity is good publicity” a first class work out.

This is the third in the series, and I have enjoyed them all. The first one had the “first in series” slow spots as are many “first in series” books as the author tries to introduce characters and set the stage.  The next two have been good quick reads.  I like Whitney who has a good head on her shoulders, and she loves her cat Sawdust—always a way to my heart.  I like learning a bit about the process of rehabbing buildings, especially when Whitney starts describing her decorating visions.  This time she’s going with mid-century modern, which I particularly enjoyed.  Whitney’s significant other is a detective (always handy in a cozy) but they have a good steady, relationship:  she doesn’t try to pump him for information and reports anything she uncovers.  He trusts her not to do anything stupid, so he doesn’t lecture. While Whitney has a good support system, she’s also had her share of difficult people but Kelly does give these characters some depth; or at least allows them not to be thoroughly bad apples and gives some validity to their points of view.  The plots are interesting and there are useful clues.  Kelly usually avoids the “info dumps” at the end, thank goodness. (Info dumps are what I call it when a sleuth spends the whole book running down dead ends and then about two chapters from the end she discovers a treasure trove of information that solves the case almost immediately. I find them annoying.)

And Sawdust is adorable.

Titles in the series:

Dead as a Doorknocker

Dead in the Doorway

Murder with a View

Batten Down the Belfry (2022)