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Murder With a View is the third installment in the House-Flipper Mystery series set in Nashville, Tennessee and featuring house flipper, Whitney Whitaker and her cat Sawdust. Whitney and her cousin Buck have purchased a 1960's abandoned twelve room motel with the intent to flip the building into a six unit condominium complex.

The renovation starts off with a bang when they discover a squatter on the property, Jimmy Weber. Jimmy is a military vet and is taking some time to ride his motorcycle across the country. He agrees to stay and help with the renovations in exchange for free room and board at the motel. The next day while exploring the rooms, Sawdust discovers the body of Beckett Morgan, an up and coming country music star.

With her boyfriend, Detective Collin Flynn eyeing Jimmy as a suspect, Whitney sets out to track down the real killer. There are plenty of suspects including Beckett's background musicians, his manager, a record label executive and a mysterious woman.

A great afternoon read with a well crafted plot and the return of series regulars. It's nice to spend time rehabbing with Whitney and Buck and following along as the characters personal lives continue to develop and evolve with each new addition to the series.

I received an advanced copy of Murder With a View from NetGalley via St. Martin's Press. While not required to write a review I am happy to offer my honest opinion.

Murder With a View is book number three of Diane Kelly’s House Flipper Mysteries series set in Nashville, Tennessee. The first two books are Dead As A Door Knocker (2019) and Dead In The Doorway (2020). In these cozy mysteries, Whitney Whitaker and her cousin Buck Whitaker are flipping houses together. Unfortunately, there seem to be dead bodies coming out of the woodwork on each new project.

In Murder With A View, Whitney, Buck, and a surprising new silent partner purchase an abandoned 1960’s hotel just across the Cumberland River from downtown Nashville. The Music City Motor Court has stunning views and easy access to a pedestrian footbridge leading to the hugely popular “SoBro” area of downtown. The Whitakers intend on transforming the twelve rooms into six luxury condos. On the first day of ownership, Whitney discovers a man living in one of the rooms. She and Buck decide this Navy Veteran, Jimmy, is okay and hire him to help with the renovation. The next morning, as they continue to clear out the rooms, Whitney’s cat, Sawdust, finds a dead body in one of the rooms.

The victim turns out to be Beckett Morgan, a new country singer who had a big hit with his recent song “Party In the Pasture”. There is a long list of suspects for Whitney’s homicide detective boyfriend, Collin Flynn, to track down. Along the way, things take a turn in the simmering romance between Buck and Whitney’s roommate, Collette. With Whitney and Sawdust’s help, the murderer is captured in a dramatic scene.

My absolute favorite part of the novel is the song lyrics to “Party In The Pasture”. I can’t say I have ever been to a party in a pasture, but I imagine most folks in rural areas have been. According to the lyrics, “There’s never a wrong time for a party in the pasture,” so there’s still time for me to get “pasture-ized”. Knowing what a wicked sense of humor Diane Kelly has, it didn’t surprise me she could write such a fun country song. Here’s what she told me when I asked her about her inspiration:

"My cousin (who grew up in Stamford, a small town near Abilene, Texas) told me a joke years ago that “you
might be from a small town if you’ve ever attended a party in a pasture.” It stuck with me. I had a little help
with people on my FaceBook author page suggesting lyrics. I love writing songs. Years ago when we lived
in Nashville I went to a songwriting festival in Gatlinburg. It was so much fun!"

5 Cozy Stars for this fun mystery. I am looking forward to the next flip on an abandoned church. Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for my Advanced Reader Copy. The novel is expected to be published on February 9, 2021. Be sure to add it to your To Be Read List!

I love the author’s writing style and comfortable tone which made it easy to follow along with what the author had intended. The titled chapters by both Whitney and Sawdust was a nice segue between each scenario. The author did a great job in staging this mystery with a solid plot, a bevy of potential suspects and clues just waiting to be deciphered that would gradually point to the motive and the killer’s identity. There were plenty of non-stop actions that kept me immersed in the details and when I thought I had a handle on who the killer was, the author changed directions that enhanced my reading pleasure. Boasting a lovable cast of characters, engaging dialogue and a feel-good atmosphere, this was a delightfully entertaining whodunit and I look forward to more exciting adventures and flipping houses with Whitney and her friends.

This is a new to me series but I am glad I found it.
I enjoyed the characters and the whodunit was interesting.
I am not usually a fan of house flippers books and shows but this one entertained me.
I could have done without the chapters from the cat’s POV. I found it a needless interruption to the flow of the story.
I will definitely pick up the previous books in the series and I look forward to its continuation.
I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book.

Whitney and her quirky cat Sawdust are back for another adventure in this great addition by Diane Kelly.
Buying and flipping properties with her cousin Buck, Whitney finds herself wrapped up in another murder investigation, this time, putting her directly in the killer’s path.

Through NetGalley, I received a free copy of MURDER WITH A VIEW (Book 3 of the House-Flipper Mysteries) by Diane Kelly in exchange for an honest review. Whitney Whitaker and her cousin Buck have designs on the Music City Motor Court as their next project. Whitney plans to keep the retro vibe but to convert the motel into condos. On the first day of demo, Whitney and Buck find a squatter living in the motel. On the second day, Whitney’s cat Sawdust uncovers the body of Becket Morgan, a near-famous country music singer. Whitney must assist Detective Collin Flynn to identify the murderer if she wants to clear the tons of grieving fans from the property so she can complete the renovations and if she wants to cleanse the stigma of murder from the property so she can sell the units.

I enjoyed this book as well as the prior novels in the series. I recommend this book to fans of cozy mysteries featuring murder, renovations, house-flipping, family, cats, country music stars, music agents, fans, and broken promises.

Rehabber Whitney Whitaker and her partner Buck purchase an outdated, in desperate need of renovation motel near downtown Nashville. They plan to give it a kitschy update with wild colors and mid century furnishings, but their plans are almost derailed when a body is found in one of the rooms. Turns out to be country singer and rising star Beckett Morgan.

Beckett is headed for stardom, but can't seem to make things work with his record label, his manager, his backup band and the array of women in his life. There are plenty of suspects.

This is the first rehabber book I have read in this series, but I enjoyed it very much and hope to read others.

Murder With a View by Diane Kelly was an advanced reader copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Whitney Whitaker and her cousin Buck Whitaker have a business where they buy a house, fix it up and then sell it making a profit, flipping houses. They buy an old motel at an auction. There is a lot of work needed to get rid of beds, tables, dressers, etc. They meet up with a veteran, Jimmy Weber, who helps to clean the rooms. Then they find a body in one of the rooms. Whitney's boyfriend, Detective Collin Flynn, is trying to find out who killed the singer Becket.
What a story! I really enjoyed it. It was well written, funny, and reading some chapters from a cat's point of view was interesting.

A good afternoon's read, though I could do without the chapters pretending to be written by the cat (they seemed to just be there to pad the book and didn't advance the plot to develop the characters at all).

I am really enjoying this series! It’s been fun to read about Whitney and the gang, plus the little interludes from Sawdust are adorable. Tad bit long, it could have had less mulling from our heroine, but enjoyable; great scene setting and the characters are all intriguing. Can’t wait for book 4!

Thank you to the publisher for sending me a digital galley of this book in exchange for feedback, and I apologize for not being able to read it. It isn't Diane Kelly's fault that I just finished reading Alyssa Cole's new thriller, "When No One Is Watching," and now I'm finding it impossible to read about real-estate investors without seeing them as extremely sinister. I'm going to send this one back for a reader who doesn't have the same problem.

When an old abandoned motel is up for auction, Whitney and Buck are hoping they make the winning bid on the property. Having to join a third person to get the property, they manage to work together to secure the winning bid. Now Whitney and Buck can remodel the motel and turn it into condos while saving a Nashville landmark from demolition.

On their first visit to the property they find a squatter in one of the rooms. On the next visit they find a body in the room next door. When the body turns out to be a promising new talent, the property becomes the memorial point for the star’s fans. In order to keep their investment from washing out, Whitney helps her boyfriend, Detective Collin Flynn, try to figure out which of the many suspects had it in for Beckett Morgan and did the deed on their property.

This is the first book I have read in this series and it serves fine as a stand alone with no gaps or missing links. There is an abundant pool of suspects, red herrings and music to keep you guessing whodunit until the very end. I really enjoyed this book and am glad I found the author and her series. I’ll be back for more in Music City.

This is a cozy mystery with likeable characters. Determining the ending is not difficult and is fun to do. This author weaves a story that the reader enjoys from beginning to end. Try this one.

This is an entertaining book that fans of the genre will enjoy. The who-done-it murder kept me guessing until the end. I enjoyed the budding relationship between Whitney and Collin and am looking forward to more of them in future books. I also enjoyed the descriptions of Nashville - especially the bridge as crossing that bridge has kicked my butt more than one, lol.

To me, the book seemed to lag and move slowly in its middle third. If I wasn't such a fan of the author, I might have been tempted to put it down. For that reason, I'm giving this one 3.5 stars, but am rounding up to four stars. The author is on my must read authors' list.

I enjoyed this book. I really liked the characters and the mystery was interesting. I enjoyed following the investigation except for one part that was just a reprisal of what had happened before, that part was slow. I was surprised by the reveal of who the killer was. #Murder With a View #NetGalley