The plot is well fleshed out with several possibilities but remains light-hearted and filled with interesting characters and fun situations as Whitney and her friends get ready for Buck and Colette's wedding.

Whitney Whitaker and her cousin Buck flip houses. But Buck sees an opportunity to profit by flipping their first house boat. Everything is going well with the restoration. Except that their "neighbor" is kind of a jerk. He's got a handful of former wives and a whole lot of people who he owes money. And, he's got a bird watcher who doesn't seem to be watching a whole lot of birds.

It's not hard to guess who gets murdered. But Whitney sets out to find the murderer. She has an extra incentive. Her testimony has caused the police to arrest a former wife for murder. But Whitney doesn't believe she was the murderer and Whitney needs to find the real murderer to get her off the hook.

I've read several books by Diane Kelly. I really like her writing. Her character development is wonderful. She doesn't burden the reader with countless recipes and other distracting information like you find in many cozy murders. I highly recommend this book.

This is the fifth book in the series and I am still enjoying them. This time Whitney and Buck have taken on the restoration and flipping of a houseboat, which is an original idea and different from anything I have read lately. When the person who owns the boat in the slip next to them dies (not saying how!) there is a number of convincing people to lay the blame on. I was surprised to find out who it was. A side story is the wedding of Buck and Colette....the party for Colette sounds like a blast. Wondering what they will take on next. I always enjoy the little asides from Sawdust! Thanks, Net Galley and St. Martin"s Publishing.

Whitney Whitaker and her cousin Buck have decided that their flipping business is going to take on a houseboat renovation. During the work, they get acquainted with the owner of the boat "next door". Buck is also getting ready to get married so Whitney plans the bachelorette party at the houseboat while the bachelor party will also be there at another time. When the neighbor is murdered, Whitney is caught up trying to figure out why and by whom.

Love the writing style, especially the tiny chapters narrated by the cat. Fun series.

The absolute best story I have read in a long time. Will be sharing this one with everyone I know! This will be a popular book club pick.

Primer and Punishment, the fifth book in the House Flipper Mystery series by Diane Kelly. Set in Nashville and following Whitney and her cousin Buck as they flip properties and solve murders. Whitney and Buck are taking on a new project in this book, a houseboat flip!
I've read one or two others in the series and this one can be read as a stand alone. Lots of red herrings and twists in this mystery left me on the edge of my seat. There's also a nice side story with Buck's upcoming wedding and lots of cute cat moments. I really enjoyed this one! Highly recommended, my favorite of the series.

I was originally given this book in through Netgalley in kindle format. I had however read all the previous books in this series through audiobook format and really wanted to continue reading the series in that way.
So, I waited for the audiobook to become available and read this book in that format.

I really enjoy this series and will absolutely continue to read all the books as they become available. I wish I had the skills and ability to do the home renovations that Whitney and Buck can do. However I would not like to find the number of bodies that they do find while renovating houses.

This is a really enjoyable series and I recommend it to all cozy mystery lovers.

A great murder mystery full of sibling issues and romance, too. Very entertaining. not been writing professional reviews for a while now, but I strongly recommend this book.

I was given a copy of this from NetGalley for my honest review. This was entertaining and a good read. Carpenter Whitney and Buck, her cousin, are looking for another house to flip. They find a houseboat and set to work fixing the houseboat. The man on the next boat, Grant Hardisty, is a millionaire with many ex-wives. One day, Whitney and Buck are working on the boat and Grant's boat explodes killing him. Wendy sets her mind to solving this mystery. A delightful whodoneit.

This is the first book I’ve read in the house-flippers series. But I enjoyed this one enough that I’ll go back to read the first four books as well as any new ones. I loved the characters and their interactions with each other. Lots of drama with the “houseboat” neighbor and his former and current relationships. The mystery surrounding the neighbor being blown up on his boat has lots of twists and turns. As soon as you think you know who “did it,” you get another clue. A fun cozy mystery that has you hooked from the first page.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Publishing for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

For more reviews, please visit my blog at: https://www.msladybugsbookreviews.com/. Over 1000 reviews posted!

Primer and Punishment
A House-Fipper Mystery, Book #5
Diane Kelly
5 Stars

Synopsis:

Primer and Punishment marks the fifth in the delightful cozy mystery series from Diane Kelly set in Nashville, Tennessee. Whitney Whitaker has a knack for nailing down murderers . . . but this time she might just come unmoored.

Carpenter Whitney Whitaker and her cousin Buck are looking once again to rehab and resell a house, only this particular house is made of fiberglass, floats, and has been dubbed the Skinny Dipper. The old houseboat sure could use some work, but the unusual project has Whitney bubbling with excitement.

The charming and handsome Grant Hardisty lives on the cabin cruiser in the adjacent slip, but the cousins soon learn he’s left a half dozen angry ex-wives in his wake and made enemies of all sorts of unsavory folks. The man is clearly caught in an increasingly dangerous current with no life preserver in sight.

Whitney and Buck are spraying primer on their houseboat when—KABOOM!—Grant’s boat blows sky high with the man himself inside. Detective Collin Flynn has no shortage of suspects, but the waters become muddied when several of them confess to the crime. Is one of those who confessed truly guilty, or are they taking a dive for someone else? When anonymous threats are made against the cousins, Whitney must quickly determine who killed their neighbor at the lake, or she and Buck might also be sunk. (Amazon)

Review:

Whitney and her cousin, Buck, are going to try to rehab an old houseboat. While they are working, there is an explosion and a boat explodes. Now Whitney has to find out why her neighbor, who owned the boat, was killed and who was responsible. That will not be easy because more than one person confessed.

The writing style flows smoothly and the book is an easy read. The author is very talented in her descriptive and these descriptions helped pull me into the story from the very beginning and took me on a fantastic ride. The mystery was well plotted and there were enough clues to sift through and suspect to consider.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a well crafted cozy mystery. These books just keep getting better.

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

This is book 5 in the House-Flipper Mystery series. It can be read as a stand alone but you enjoy the interaction of the characters with insight from previous books. this flip is a houseboat that Buck has found. Whitney and Coletter go with him to see if the boat is worth saving and they decide to buy the Skinny Dipper. Between planning the Buck and Collette’s wedding and rehabbing the boat they have little time for Grant, the next door neighbor and all his drama. When his boat explodes someone doesn’t want Whitney investigating, but Collin her boyfriend police detective is happy for the help. A fun read and a happy ending for all.

I’d been wanting to try this series. Now I have, and my curiosity has been resolved.

This isn’t a series for me. But this book reads well as a stand-alone, so feel free to jump in and give it a try.

Problems I had:

The story took forever to get going. Then when things do happen, you have to suspend all disbelief as the MC jumps in to investigate and solve the case.

We have short chapters from the cat’s POV. I mean, I love cats, and I love animals as sidekicks in stories. But this cat’s thoughts added nothing to the plot.

Most annoying: The author spells out sound effects ALL the time. The pages are full of: woof, arf, thump, splash, knock-knock… UGH! I felt like I was reading a children’s book.

Therefore, not for me. But it’s a well-loved series, so ignore me and go about your day.

Renovating a houseboat while staying on it seems enticing to Whitney and Buck and the perfect setting for Buck and Collette’s bachelor and bachelorette parties. That is, until the neighbor's ex-wives show up, and his boat is blown into smithereens, along with its owner, and sends Sawdust flying into the lake. Is it murder or just a horrible accident? There is only one way to find out; Whitney is on the case.

The cast of suspects is plentiful, colorful and gives readers endless possibilities. Sawdust is at his feline finest. But when several suspects confess to the murder of a neighbor near her and Buck’s houseboat project, it makes readers sit up and take notice. Throw in a couple of ex-wives, a deal gone wrong, and you have everything needed for mystery and intrigue. The motive and means are cut and dried; there is no need to search for why the victim is blown to pieces. The only thing readers need to figure out is the who. But this might not be as easy as some may think.

The killer's identity is slowly revealed, and honestly, no one is surprised. But as usual, uncovering a killer is never easy and always puts Whitney in peril. The narration of Sawdust is a fun part of this series, and readers will be happy to know that he plays a significant role in this story. The situation with the ex-wives is cleared up, and the houseboat is finished in the nick of time. Primer and Punishment is a welcome addition to the series and will leave fans clamoring for more

In this fifth installment in Diane Kelly’s House-Flipper cozy mystery series, cousins Whitney and Buck are now renovating a houseboat. When a nearby boat goes up in flames, Whitney and Buck again act as amateur sleuths as they try to discover who was responsible for the explosion that cost a man his life.

As it turns out, the man that died in explosion was not well-liked, thus there are no shortage of suspects who could have been responsible for his murder. This was an intriguing as well as informative story. For example, when painting a boat, how is the underside painted? I found that tidbit rather interesting.

Aside from a quick renovation education, the intrigue, plot and characters all worked well to make this book quite an enjoyable read. This review would not be complete if I didn’t factor in the interesting dialogue Sawdust the cat had running in this as well as the previous books in the series. Oh, and I also learned that there are cat life vests. Fun, entertaining and with excellent pacing, I loved that I binge read all five books in this series and could have easily kept on reading

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Paperbacks and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

In this novel, two cousins rebuild a house boat, and also solve a mystery. I have read others by this author but not in this series. This book was as well-written and enjoyable as the others I read. My only problem with this book was the added chapters after the mystery was solved, which seemed unnecessary, other than as a lead in to the next book in the series. This was an easy, cozy read, without strong language or explicit violence or intimacy. It can be read as a stand-alone even though it it part of a series.

I received this novel from the publisher and from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

Diane Kelly continues her House Flipper cozies with Primer and Punishment. Whitney Whitaker and her house flipper partner decide to rehab a houseboat for sale. Then the free loading boat dweller next door went up with his exploded boat. Numerous suspects who he had ripped off including five former wives. Multiple confessions. Whitney and her cat Sawdust have to find out whodunit to save the last wife and her son from being charged. More turns of events than a corkscrew.

A Cozy Mystery That Will Keep You Guessing & Make You Smile!



This is a series that I enjoy a lot. The mystery is always fun to try to guess and I love the cat that has a shared some insight. It’s cute and fun and entertaining. Perfect for a weekend read! Enjoy!



*I did switch back and forth between reading and listening to the Audiobook Read by Courtney Patterson She had just the right voice for this book and did not distract or read too slow.

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from NetGalley on behalf of the Publisher and was under no obligation to post a favorable review.

Primer and Punishment by Diane Kelly is a fun cozy flipping mystery. I loved the setting of the houseboat and look forward to reading the previous 4 installments in the series.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

This was such a fun house flipping mystery - this time set on a houseboat on a lake in Tennessee. It was so much fun to follow along the plot and what is going on with the neighboring boat and it’s shady occupant who annoys Whitney and her cousin Buck for a couple of days before going up his boat suddenly explodes out on the lake. Since they have seen him annoy not just themselves but also quite a few other people Whitney is quickly convinced this was no accident quickly confirmed by the arson specialist - but whose grudge became too big to bear ? One of the ex wives ? One of the people cheated out of money or a boat ? Is this an insurance fraud gone wrong ? Whitney is on the case and she will not be stopped !!