Diane Kelly’s second book, Dead in the Doorway, in the House-Flipper Mystery series, continues with cousins Whitney and Buck and their latest flipping project, along with a cast of quirky neighbors, cool and calm Detective Collin Flynn, and sweet Sawdust. Ms Kelly very cleverly keeps the pages turning, taking the reader on a uproariously exciting and humorous ride of red herrings, misdirection twists and turns, and the “Who Done It” unguessable until the big reveal (house flipper pun intended).

Diane Kelly is my go to cozy mystery author when I want an entertaining story with unforgettable characters…two and for legged alike!

This ARC book was complimentary, provided by the Publisher and NetGalley. I am voluntarily providing my honest review.

This was a fun home renovation mystery with lots of neighborhood coziness and figuring out which one of the delightful poker playing crew just might also be a murderer. I liked Whitney - she's practical and very competent but also relatably nosy. She did cross the line a time or two but nothing outside of the ordinary in a cozy. The mystery was good and the conclusion unexpected. The chapters in the cat's perspective were sweet but didn't really add anything to the story and while I enjoyed the cat's presence I could have done without his POV. This was the 2nd book in the series and I have the 1st book sitting on my shelf and I'm looking forward to picking that one up.

Whitney Whitaker and her cousin Buck are house flippers but some problems that they come across aren't structural - they're deadly. Arriving early to start demolition on their newest project, Whitney has trouble with the front door being stuck so when she enters from the back, she discovers a body blocking the front entrance.

Whitney is drawn into the neighborhood dynamics as well as the investigation as to the identity of victim and murderer alike.

This was a fun book, but I think I would have enjoyed it more if there had been fewer neighbors involved and a little bit tighter mystery.

This is the second book in the House Flipper Mysteries. I enjoyed the first one, but I like this one even more. The characters are funny and real, I loved the neighbors who lived on the street with Whitney’s remodel house. I wish they had printed the exact recipes, they sounded so delicious and it would’ve been fun to make the “lost“ recipes.. I highly recommend this book, 4 stars.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Diane Kelly entertains with another House Flipper mystery, Dead in the Doorway. Whitney and partner refashion houses and rent or sell them.. As she prepares to enter the new venture she finds a local woman dead at the bottom of the stairs. Whodunit? The neighbours, the relatives? Rivalries over recipes, missing jewelry and other clews help Whitney and her cat Sawdust assist the police in this amusing cozy.

Title: Dead in the Doorway

Author: Diane Kelly



Ch: 35



Pg: 323



Series: House Flipper Mystery



Genre: Cozy Mystery



Rating: 4 stars



Publisher: St. Martin’s Press



Dead in the Doorway by Diane Kelly is the second book in the House Flipper mystery series. I enjoyed this one more than the first one in the series and I think that it’s because with this one it’s because the main characters are established. It’s more plot and mystery based than character building. Though my favorite part of the book is the chapters from Sawdust’s point of view. Sawdust who just happens to be Whitney’s cat. This one is a quick read and I look forward to the next book in the series.






I received a copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.

Princess Fuzzypants here: For some obscure reason, we read this months ago but never did the review. As soon as we were a few pages in, we realized our mistake. A sign of how good it was is we decided to reread before we wrote this. We were not wrong. We had a lovely time. I mean how can you not love a book where one of the POV’s and characters is a cat named Sandpaper.
His human, Whitney, is pretty cool too.
She works as both a carpenter and a property manager and is working on her Real Estate license. She gets an offer to buy a house where she can flip it and make a huge profit that she cannot refuse. There are moments in the future where she wished she had refused. She and her cousin join together but when Whitney and Sandpaper move in to prevent vandalism, they almost lose their lives. The house inspection has been fudged. The person who sold her the property is murdered on the property while she is in residence. And one of the former tenants who was angry when she evicted him and his friends, starting the entire cycle, is posing a definite threat. Needless to say there is lots of suspense and action throughout the book. Sandpaper gets to be the hero... of course.
I enjoyed it the first time. I enjoyed it the second. More Whitney and Sandpaper. Five stars and two paws up

Dead in the Doorway by Diane Kelly is the second book in the House Flipper Mystery series. Whitney and her cousin have their first house to flip thanks to a great loan from her employers. A dead body in the foyer threatens to ruin her house flipping dreams. Whitney investigates and is not sue if the property neighbors are good people or murderers. The mystery portion was strong, and I love the characters. I look forward to reading more of Whitney's adventures.

Dead in the Doorway by Diane Kelly is the second in a delightful cozy series from Diane Kelly set in Nashville—where the real estate market is to die for.

A very enjoyable cozy mystery. Warm friendships between characters enhance the story. Again, you can guess who the killer is, but you wont find out until the last few pages. This book is fast paced and can be read in one sitting. I’ve always enjoyed Diane Kelly’s books. Thank you to Net Galley for sending an advance reader’s copy for review.

Whitney Whitaker has scored the perfect piece of real estate: a ramshackle white Colonial at the top of a hill with views of downtown Nashville. What more could a self-taught home-improvement maven and occasional house-flipper ask for? Ideally, the property of Whitney’s dreams would not have come with a dead body blocking the entrance to the foyer. But Whitney, always quick to take heavy-duty matters into her own hands, also happens to be a skilled amateur sleuth. So that helps.

AND SKELETONS IN THE CLOSET.

Who is this older woman—and how did her corpse end up at the bottom of the staircase of this locked, unoccupied house? That is what Whitney, along with the support of her wood-working cousin Buck, Detective Collin Flynn, and, of course, feline partner-in-crime Sawdust, intends to find out. Her friendly-neighbor investigation takes a sharp turn, however, when Whitney discovers that the house’s former owner was a gourmet baker whose secret recipe for peach pie was to die for—perhaps literally. Now it’s up to Whitney to learn the truth about what happened before she loses this killer real-estate deal . . . and the killer comes knocking at her door.

Dead in the Doorway is the second House-Flipper mystery by Diane Kelly. Released 31st March 2020 by Macmillan on their St. Martin's imprint, it's 352 pages 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. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

This is an engaging and well written cozy mystery with a full complement of quirky neighbors, old houses, plucky female amateur sleuth, requisite grumpy (but handsome) law enforcement officer, much hated (and violently deceased) neighbor, 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 scene, there's nothing to horrify or scandalize. The author does refer unnecessarily to the house which Whitney and co. are flipping as the "flip-house" about a zillion times (I counted 66 instances, which is about 60 too many). It wasn't a huge deal, it's easy enough to glide over, but it did get to the point fairly quickly where it yanked me out of the story every time. Other than that, the denouement is well written and the book moves along at a good clip. I enjoyed it. I was previously unfamiliar with the series and this one worked well enough as a standalone. I will keep an eye out for more books in the series. It's exactly the kind of fun cozy I enjoy on a lazy weekend afternoon.

Four stars.

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

Whitney and her cousin have completed their first house flip and have purchased their next property. When they go to inspect the new purchase there is a dead woman in the foyer. The house was locked up tight so how did the neighbor get inside and what was she looking for. This book can be read as a stand alone. It is book 2 in the House-Flipper Mystery. The required pet is present in the form of Sawdust the cat who helps keep the investigation moving forward. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I read this book on the recommendation of a friend and now have to recommend it to more friends. It's an absolutely wonderful read and sets itself apart with the backstory of an extended family of home repair experts to be and the community of unusual suspects around each murder. And the POV of the cat adds a very unique twist to an already amusing cast of characters. DEAD IN THE DOORWAY is where our entrepreneurial house flipper finds her neighbor on her first visit to her new property. In order to quickly fix and flip the house, she must first help solve the murder. As she meets and suspects her closest neighbors, she and her cousins, with a little help from the law, will keep readers amused and guessing to the end.

Dead in the Doorway by Diane Kelly is the second book in the cozy House-Flipper Mystery series. As with most cozy mysteries each of these books in the series could be read as a standalone if choosing to do so as the mystery within is fully solved during the book. There is of course some character development carried over book to book for those fans following in order from the beginning.

In the House-Flipper Mystery series Whitney Whitaker has been working as a property manager to pay the bills for a while now while living in her parents pool house with her cat, Sawdust. Real estate and renovating are really Whitney’s passions so whenever she gets the chance she’s diving into the house flipping business.

This time around Whitney has obtained a ramshackle white Colonial with the help of a loan so she plans to move this flip quickly if she can. However, when coming over to inspect her new property Whitney has trouble opening the door only to find the body of one of the neighbors is blocking her new front door from opening so Whitney yet again finds herself with a murder mystery to solve.

This series takes a couple of my favorite things, renovating real estate and kitty cats, and combines them together so how could I say no to reading this one? Being a little different than the normal cozy this series come with chapters from the point of view of Sawdust, Whitney’s kitty. While Whitney and the secondary characters are likable enough Sawdust’s POV just gives the story that extra twist of cuteness that I enjoyed. I found this to be another fun addition to the series and will definitely look forward to more.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Twisty cozy that kept me guessing as I was falling for Whitney Whitaker and her family and friends.Whitney and her cousin's house renovation project in Nasville hits a snag when she finds the body of an elderly woman blocking the front door. Solving the murder may be the only way to protect their investment. As she gets to know the ladies of Songbird Circle, she finds she likes them and respects their decades long friendship. Second in an excellent series. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is the second installment in the wonderful "house flipped" mystery series by cozy author Diane Kelly. I read the first in series and highly recommend it . .Thank you to the publisher and to Net Galley for the opportunity. My review is my own and is cross posted .

In this next installment we return to the charming town of Nashville to our :house flipper"/ construction worker protagonist Whitney Whitaker. Whitney has found her dream home, a white Colonial at the top of a hill with views of downtown Nashville. She went in on the purchase with her cousin . She is in house heaven with her cat Sawdust when a dead body is found at the house. Whitney decides to investigate as the house was both locked up and abandon. The victim is a older woman who was a resident of the area and Whitney wants to solve her murder as well as settle the matter of a murder taking place in her new home. Soon she finds clues and suspects abound and the history of the former owner is soon to figure into the mystery.

This was such a enjoyable mystery. I loved the charming setting of Nashville, how Whitney cultivates friends and is well liked and adorable Sawdust who is a fun addition. The supporting charcters are all likable and add to the charm of the story. I like the well crafted mystery and how the sleuth came together to conclusion. A very fun cozy read and I look forward to the next in series .

Brought to you by OBS Reviewer Jeanie

The first novel in this new series hooked me completely. This second cozy has been worth waiting for! I really like Whitney, Buck, and their friends; the primary characters are unique and three-dimensional. Sawdust is the perfect fluffy feline companion and protector. The setting is in Nashville, primarily in friendly neighborhoods instead of the hustle and bustle of the city. The mystery is mentally stimulating and worth the read.

Whitney Whitaker is the modern active woman, working three jobs and enjoying each one. Her primary job is for Home and Hearth as a property manager. She does anything from collect rent to evicting those who haven’t paid to making repairs to the various rental properties. Whitney does part time carpentry work for her uncle, Roger, when time allows, as do her cousins Buck and Owen. She and Buck started a new house flipping business last year. After completing the first home remodel, Whitney and two of her friends moved in. With a cash loan from Home & Hearth, Whitney purchased a charming split-level home desperately in need of repairs.

Buck and Whitney walked through the home and took photos of where they plan to do work. The next morning, Whitney went over to begin packing up the stuff left behind of the previous owner’s, but the front door was blocked by something. She entered another way, then went to see what was blocking the door. It was actually a who. An elderly woman was lying inside the door, her body bent as if having fallen down the second-floor stairs. The woman was clearly dead. At first it seems like an accident, until the autopsy was performed and found it to be murder.

The dead woman was the next-door neighbor, Nelda. Her husband and daughter don’t appear to be grieving, neither do the neighbors, who had nothing good to say about her. Why Nelda was in the home of her late neighbor – who died of natural causes – is anyone’s guess, much less how she got into the home. Who would have even known she was there? This murder must be solved quickly. Not only are there elderly ladies living alone nearby, but when a murder is committed in a home, the value drops like a rock, especially if the killer is not found.

Whitney and Detective Collin Flynn met when Sawdust found a body buried at the first house she and Buck remodeled. To help clear herself of suspicion, Whitney more than helped find out who the culprit was. Much to her surprise, Detective Flynn share Nelda’s real cause of death and asked Whitney to pay attention to what goes on in the neighborhood and let him know what she learns. Joining the ladies’ poker game when invited was just the beginning and forged new friendships. The more time Flynn and Whitney talked about the murder, the more she hoped another kind of friendship was being forged.

Each of the characters is defined for their respective roles. I enjoyed learning more about Whitney and seeing a slight shift of focus between her and Collin Flynn. Whitney and Sawdust are, paws down, my favorites! Most of the chapters are written from Whitney’s point of view, and a few from Sawdust’s. True to catsonality, I could see how his mew-sings echo that of felines everywhere. Colette is the perfect best friend to Whitney, and it was delightful to see how they could see their friendship as it could be in the future, when they would be seniors as the close friends in the neighborhood.

The twists and turns move the plot quickly. As with the first in series, this one invited me in on the first page and held my attention throughout. There were several suspects, including family members of the murdered woman and of the lady who used to live in the flip house. There is laugh out loud humor and edge-of-the-seat suspense. I enjoyed every bit of the mystery and overall novel! Sawdust adds to the appeal of the novel, and it brings back memories of years spent in construction admin. I had an idea who the culprit was but not why. I couldn’t believe one person would kill another for that reason! All loose ends are tied up; I was very satisfied with the conclusion and highly recommend this cozy mystery and series. I’m looking forward to reading about the next property Whitney and Buck will purchase to flip!

*OBS would like to thank the publisher for supplying a free copy of this title in exchange for an honest review*

Whitney and her cousin Buck are house flippers. One morning, Whitney can’t open the front door of their most recent flip. After entering through the garage, Whitney finds a body Dead in the Doorway. She also finds the former owner’s grandson, Dakota, squatting in the house. Dakota identifies the body as the next door neighbor, Mrs. Dolan. It appears she fell down the split-level house’s stairs. But what was she doing there in the first place? And was her death truly an accident?

Whitney’s cat, Sawdust, is adorable. His love and protectiveness for his owner is sweet. I’m pretty sure my cats love me mostly for my height and opposable thumbs, which allow me to give them their daily cat food can.

Dead in the Doorway is a good cozy mystery that includes many insider house flipper secrets. If you like any of the many flipping shows on tv, you are sure to enjoy this light and gently humorous book too. 3 stars.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

Wow, I really enjoyed reading this book! I really enjoyed the first one, and I really enjoy her Paw Enforcement series, and yeah, this book sounded like a really great read, and I'm so glad that I did read it! It was such a cute and fun read, and I enjoyed it a lot!

So of course there's a problem with their next house flipping project. And that it brings them in contact with the police again. I really enjoyed getting to know this neighborhood of pretty close neighbors, all friends with the previous owner of the house. Though not so much with the victim that kicks off this case which leads to a lot of suspects!

So the little details that solved this mystery, they were just throwaway lines. But then again, in a mystery novel, any throwaway detail could be important. It just felt like normal details, you know, that bring a book to life, not ones that are important to the plot. Very well done!

The ending was really satisfying, though I wish it'd been tweaked just slightly, if they'd added one thing, because it would've made the climax all the more satisfying and gratifying. Oh, well. I love that we got a peak at their next project-who knows, maybe it'll also become involved in a crime!

This book was such a great read, and I can't wait to see where things go from here!

Dead In The Doorway
House-Flipper Mystery, Book #2
Diane Kelly
5 Stars

Synopsis:

A HOUSE WITH GOOD BONES. . .

Whitney Whitaker has scored the perfect piece of real estate: a ramshackle white Colonial at the top of a hill with views of downtown Nashville. What more could a self-taught home-improvement maven and occasional house-flipper ask for? Ideally, the property of Whitney’s dreams would not have come with a dead body blocking the entrance to the foyer. But Whitney, always quick to take heavy-duty matters into her own hands, also happens to be a skilled amateur sleuth. So that helps.

AND SKELETONS IN THE CLOSET.

Who is this older woman—and how did her corpse end up at the bottom of the staircase of this locked, unoccupied house? That is what Whitney, along with the support of her wood-working cousin Buck, Detective Collin Flynn, and, of course, feline partner-in-crime Sawdust, intends to find out. Her friendly-neighbour investigation takes a sharp turn, however, when Whitney discovers that the house’s former owner was a gourmet baker whose secret recipe for peach pie was to die for—perhaps literally. Now it’s up to Whitney to learn the truth about what happened before she loses this killer real-estate deal . . . and the killer comes knocking at her door. (Goodreads)



Review:

The characters are well developed, well rounded and three dimensional. Whitney knows her way around a hammer and she and her cousin, Buck, are doing another house flip. But this one comes with a dead body, and if she and Buck are going to make a profit, she needs to catch the killer. With the help of Sawdust, her cat, she is going to find the murderer, even if it kills her. And it just might. I enjoyed the Sawdust chapters, seeing things from his perspective.

The writing style flows smoothly and it defines the characters very clearly by their actions and words. The author is very talented in her descriptive writing and these descriptions pulled me into the story from the very beginning. And the mystery was very well plotted and not easily solved. There were enough clues to sift through and suspects to consider and I was not completely sure until the reveal at the end.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a well written cozy mystery. The characters are engaging, the setting was inviting and the mystery was intriguing. I cannot wait for the next book in the series.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book provided by the publisher, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley, which I greatly appreciate.

Dead in the Doorway by Diane Kelly is the second book in A House-Flipper Mystery series. Dead in the Doorway can be read without having picked up Dead as a Doorknocker. However, I recommend reading the cute debut of this series. A House-Flipper Mystery series is similar to A Paw Enforcement series written by Diane Kelly with chapters from an animal’s point-of-view. Sawdust, Whitney’s cat, is cute and smart, and I like reading about his perspective on things. I would like his chapters to have a wee bit more humor (I love Brigit’s snarky comments from A Paw Enforcement series). I thought Dead in the Doorway contained good writing, steady pacing and friendly characters. Whitney Whitaker works as property manager as well as a carpenter (for her uncle’s carpentry business). Her true love, though, is flipping houses which she does with her cousin, Buck Whitaker. They are both hoping for a better experience after the murder that happened in their first slip that prevented them from selling it (Whitney and two roommates are currently living in it). Whitney arrives early on demo day to find a woman dead at the base of the stairs and the deceased owner’s grandson squatting in the house (that gets the blood pumping). At first blush, it appears the victim fell down the steps during the night. Unfortunately, Detective Collin Flynn soon informs Whitney that the victim did not fall on her own. Whitney, who was going to snoop anyway, is thrilled when Detective Flynn asks for her assistance. There are definite sparks flying between the detective and Whitney (and he is a cat lover too). The mystery had a handful of suspects along with misdirection. There are clues to aid a reader in solving the crime. I would have preferred more sleuthing and less speculation. There was too much conjecture for my liking (I ended up skimming through some of it because it was repetitive). My favorite line from Dead in the Doorway is courtesy of Detective Flynn when he said, “You again?” when he sees Whitney at the crime scene. I did enjoy reading Dead in the Doorway, and I will be reading the next A House-Flipper Mystery with Whitney, Buck, Detective Flynn and Sawdust. Dead in the Doorway is a purr-fect cozy mystery to cuddle up with in a comfy chair.