ARC Review: Four-Alarm Homicide by Diane Kelly

Four-Alarm Homicide
Author: Diane Kelly 
Series: A House-Flipper Mystery (Book 6)
Publication: St. Martin's Paperbacks (April 23, 2024)

Description: 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: The sixth in the House Flippers series has Whitney and her cousin Beau renovating an old fire station in Germantown, a Nashville suburb. This leads them to a townhouse around the corner from the fire station which is owned by a bunch of feuding siblings. The owner of the attached townhouse - widowed Joanna Hartzell - is afraid that the neglected building is bringing down her property values. 

After some legal manipulations, including quit claim deeds, Whitney and Beau add the townhouse to their slate of renovations. But arson at the fire station, vandalism in the townhouse, and the suspicious death of Joana are delaying their renovations plans. Whitney needs to solve the murder and get the reno done at the fire station because she and her fiancé detective Collin are planning to use it as the venue for their upcoming wedding. 

With a wide variety of suspects including the arguing siblings, the man across the street who wants to buy the newly renovated townhouse, the victim's daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter, and the family from across the street who also really want to move into the renovated townhouse, Whitney has plenty of people to investigate. 

This was an entertaining cozy mystery. I enjoyed the chapters told by Sawdust, Whitney's cat. 

Favorite Quote:

"It's already got a stripper pole." Keeping one hand on the pole, Buck hooked a knee around it and swung in a circle, arching his back in a poor imitation of an exotic dancer. "Maybe we should lean in nd turn it into a gentleman's club. It could be called Hooker and Ladder."

I rolled my eyes. "You get a hard no from me on that. But I agree on the leaning in."

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.