Primer and Punishment by Diane Kelly is the fifth 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 or in any order 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 had been working as a property manager to pay the bills while she had been living in her parents pool house with her cat, Sawdust. Real estate and renovating were really Whitney’s passions so whenever she got the chance she was diving into the house flipping business with her cousin Buck.

This time around Whitney’s cousin Buck has really taken Whitney out of her comfort zone looking for their next rehab project. Buck stumbled upon an old houseboat named the Skinny Dipper for sale and is convinced it will bring in a nice profit. Unfortunately for Buck and Whitney though another murder occurs when their neighbor at the marina boat explodes.

The House-Flipper Mystery series is another that I have followed from the very start and have fallen in love with reading. I have a secret HGTV addiction so the whole renovation side appealed to me to start but I come back each time enjoying the characters and the humor I find within. This is a great series for those that love a little laughter and a lot of fun in their cozy reads!

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

This was my introduction to the House-Flipper Mystery series - I never felt lost and really enjoyed the book! Whitney and her cousin are refitting a houseboat - and I liked reading about all of the things they did in the process.

The mystery was also enjoyable. Since the houseboat is right next to a louder party boats, we meet a plethora of viable suspects. I found myself wanting to keep reading so that I could know the answers (always a good sign with a book). And although Whitney investigated (as one would expect in a cozy mystery) she cooperated with law enforcement and kept them informed, so I didn't have to roll my eyes at stupid decisions :) I'll be looking for other books in this series.

Primer and Punishment is book 5 in the House-Flippers Mystery series by Diane Kelly. This was my first read in the series and I enjoyed it although the random chapters from her cat, Sawdust’s pov, were a little different but it didn’t detract from the story.

Whitney and her cousin Buck are carpenters and house flippers in the Nashville area and in this story they take on their first house boat to flip. Their neighbor in the marina is an interesting character and when he and his boat go up in flames, Whitney’s boyfriend and local detective is on the case. Of course, Whitney can’t help but offer some insight and suggestions that ultimately lead to an arrest or two.

Since I’ve been enjoying cozy mysteries lately, I will probably go back to the beginning of this series and read it through while I wait for the next installments of a few other series I’m reading.



Thank you @stmartinspress and @netgalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

Primer and Punishment is the fifth book in the House-Flipper Mystery series by Diane Kelly. It's like any other cozy mystery, a murder happens, and a random person from the area plays a large role in finding it.

I'll be honest, the cat on the inflatable rubber duck on the cover is what drew me to this book - how could you not pick it up?

I had trouble getting into this one, not sure if its because I hadn't read the earlier books in the series, or because I'm outgrowing cozies.

I found a lot of the house flipping stuff they were doing to be lacking detail, and was clearly just there to add pages.

Chapters from the pet cat, Sawdust were a highlight of the book, but not enough to convince me to pick up any others from the series.

I really enjoyed this cozy mystery and although this is the 5th book in series it was my first. It was great as a standalone and was easy to follow. I liked the setting of flipping a houseboat and found the storyline very entertaining. There were a good amount of characters/suspects. Thanks to NetGalley for the privilege to read and review this book.

The main character, Whitney, is a no nonsense woman who does carpentry with her cousin, Buck - they fix and flip houses together. In this book, they decide to fix up a houseboat - an unusual project which excites Whitney. The person who is living in the slip next to them is handsome and charming - and yet seems to upset many people. One afternoon, he is blown up in his cabin cruiser. Many people are suspects - and Whitney wants to find out quickly who the culprit is before she and Buck are targeted.

I always enjoy reading cozy mysteries - and this was a fun and quick one to read. Even though it is part of a series, it can be read as a standalone. The story doesn't drag and it was the perfect read after a more intense thriller. This novel is one I read quickly on a Saturday afternoon.

Primer and Punishment Earns 5/5 Boat Slips … Entertaining Gem!

The book: Diane Kelly’s fifth book in her House Flipper Mystery series “flipped” me out from its clever mystery and strong female lead to a complex investigation and perilous arrest, then add an insightful viewpoint of Sawdust the cat and a drink and dessert recipe. The premise: Our Whittaker cousin, Whitney and Buck, are venturing beyond the tradition house-flipping project with a really in need of repairs houseboat, christened The Skinny Dipper, floating in a river near Nashville, Tennessee. The conflict: The neighboring boat owner, Grant Hardisty, is the most challenging: late-night parties, his dog barking, and grilling fish. They ask Grant to move his boat, The Sexy Sheila, father out on the water until they finish their project. The murder: He complies, but his boat blows up with Grant on board ... arson! The verdict: The murder mystery was extremely intriguing and “couldn’t put down” fun with several exes, online dating, suspects taking the blame, threats to Whitney and Buck, and a perilous arrest. Extras: There was so much more to enjoy from the cat’s perspective, information about boat repairs, Buck and Collette’s wedding, endearing cousin dynamic, and of course, recipes .. Mermaid Paradise Punch and Life-Preserver Donuts! Loved it!

I voluntarily agreed to read and honestly review this book.
This was a great read. It was fun having a switch from “watching” a boat being flipped instead of a house. Add in the romantic element of preparing for a wedding for the heroine’s cousin, and her best friend. Also, the heroine being an amateur investigator trying to solve a boat explosion, there were a lot of things going on with the story. With all these elements combined I was reading as fast as I could just so I could get the answers.

Primer and Punishment is the fifth House-Flipper mystery by Diane Kelly. Released 21st Feb 2023 by Macmillan on their St. Martin's imprint, it's 304 pages and is available in mass market 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 (this time a houseboat!), plucky female amateur sleuth, requisite grumpy (but handsome) law enforcement officer, unlamented murder victim, resultant amateur 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 denouement is well written and the book moves along at a good clip. It's a well written light read. Despite being the 5th book in the series, it works quite well as a standalone read. Fans of Amanda Flower, Kate Carlisle, and Sarah Graves will find a lot to like with this series..

Four stars.

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

*I received a free copy of this novel from NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and St. Martin's Paperbacks for my honest review.*

Whitney and Buck are flippers and Buck finds a houseboat for their next job. Lucky for them, there is a jerk on the dock next to them. And he gets killed.

I was very hopeful for a new cozy mystery series to start. This is the fifth in this series and you don't need to read any of the previous books to know what is going on, but I will not read any of the others. The chapters from the cat's POV were cheesy, but the use of onomatopoeia through me off. I outgrew the need to read "ding dong" after reading that the doorbell rang. Could just be me. But the rest of the story and the set up to the murder and the reveal were fine. I just didn't connect with the characters.

I usually enjoy cozy mysteries but this book was not for me. Couple of things that I did enjoy were that there were a few short chapters told from the point of view of the cat - cute! and worked as a stand alone since it had enough background in the story. Things I did not enjoy, for me there were to many details about non storyline items and there were too many times I just could not suspend disbelief about the reality of the plot.

While well written, I was not able to be invested in Whitney’s story. I appreciated the uniqueness of the occupation of the amateur sleuth and the situation of the murder, but I felt like the murder happened too far into the book. And because it took awhile for the action to start, I was getting impatient with the pace of the book. I did love the chapter’s in Whitney’s cat, Sawdust as it provided a fun and charming lightheartedness to the story. Overall, the pacing was just a bit too slow and a bit too plot-driven for my liking.

Whitney and Buck are a dynamic cousin duo who flip houses. In "Primer and Punishment," Whitney and Buck purchase a houseboat for their next venture together. While living on the boat together, they get to know their neighbor who then has an accident. I enjoyed trying to solve the mystery with Whitney, it usually takes me to the very end! This was a great cozy mystery that I read as a standalone and can't wait to check out more of Whitney's and Buck's adventures! Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced copy! All thoughts and opinions are my own!

First and foremost, Primer and Punishment was a really good book—I practically read this story in one sitting. This book keeps your interest and the storyline moves along at a good pace. I loved the main characters (Whitney, Buck, Collin and even Sawdust) and did not guess the murderer. I truly enjoy a book that keeps me entertained and guessing to the end. This was the first time I have read a book by Diane Kelly, but plan to go back and read this entire series. It isn't always easy to find an author that writes a story that moves along so well. Diane easily achieves writing a story that leaves you feeling like you know the characters without bogging you down with extraneous text.

If you enjoy a good murder mystery with lighthearted touches, you'll enjoy this book! (I was given a copy of this book from NetGalley for my opinion. I can honestly say I would have gladly paid to read it!)

This cozy mystery didn't catch my attention. I was never interested in any of the characters and didn't find the mystery to be very intruging.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press -- St. Martin's Paperbacks for accepting my request to read and review Primer and Punishment.

Published: 02/21/23

I liked the cover, and thought the color palate was perfect.

The fifth in this house flipping series, my first read in the series. I did chuckle at the flipping. When I think of cozy mystery types -- house flipping never entered my mind.

This was a miss for me. The restoration/flipping did not overwhelm the storyline. There was a nice mix. I didn't connect with the characters and struggled to finish the book.

I appreciated the ending and how it came together -- I found it to be clever.

Cozies are like all genres, while this didn't work for me, I suggest you try it: knitting, antiques, & wine are my cup of teas. But you never know until you try.

This is a 2.5 and I'm rounding up: clever ending and appealing cover.

I would gift this.

Primer and Punishment by Diane Kelly is a wonderful book in a great series. For one, the setting: the duo, Whitney and Buck, are cousins, and house flippers. It is a unique way of getting around to various murder sites and an amusing side story leading up to the murder and in moments away from investigating. Buck is getting married, soon, to Whitney’s best friend, Collette, who was a professional chef and as far away from being a house rehabber as one could get. They were a great couple, though, and nice relief from Whiney and Buck. This rehab/flip is a little different. It is a boat: not exactly a houseboat, rather a pontoon boat, but three bedrooms with everything needed to live on it. It’s in rough shape but Buck thinks they can make money on it and there is little there that they can’t fix themselves. They have a neighbor in the slip next to theirs, a man with women troubles, if his visitors are anything to judge by.

One day, Grant, that was the neighbor, was fixing to grill fish at the same time Buck and Whitney were varnishing the side of the boat. Worried the fumes and heat would damage the wet varnish, Buck asked him to put out into the lake a little, which he acquiesced to immediately. Once he got out there and lit his charcoal, the whole thing went KABOOM! Well, what made that happen? As they were to discover, Grant was not a great guy. He had hurt his leg (but had he?) and was suing; he had been kicked out by his wife and stolen her son’s dog; and he had multiple angry ex-wives, as well. It took a little bit of sleuthing but, even with several suspects, Whitney figured it out, and with the help of her police detective boyfriend, got her suspect. This is a terrific story. Kelly writes good characters and there is enough side action to keep the story in balance. Whitney and Buck are so cute together, and their business in interesting as well as successful. The plot was good and realistic, sadly. All-in-all, a terrific book. I recommend it.

I was invited to read a free e-ARC of Primer and Punishment by St. Martin’s Press, through Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #StMartinsPress #DianeKelly #PrimerAndPunishment

Cute mystery story about Whitney and Buck two cousins who decide to rehab a boat. They are in the business of flipping houses and decide to try something new. Their neighbor Grant winds up having his boat explode and Whitney tries to figure out who did it.

5 Stars!
Diane Kelly returns with a new entry in A House-Flipper Mystery series, Primer and Punishment!

Whitney (protagonist) and her cousin Buck return with a new flip project: a houseboat called the Skinny Dipper. While working on their latest project, their next door neighbor dies when his boat suddenly explodes sky-high. Was it an accident or murder? Whitney, her detective boyfriend Collin, and her cousin Buck take up the case.

A lot happens in this book, a houseboat flip, explosion, parties, ex-wives, and a charming end to the book.

I really liked the idea of Whitney and Buck's flip project being a houseboat. The book was a wonderful read for me, and I recommend this book to readers. While you can read this book as a standalone, I highly recommend checking out the other entries in A House-Flipper Mystery series.

For me, the book gives almost a summerly feel with adventure.

My thanks to St. Martin's and NetGallery for a digital copy of this book for my review. Here's to more of Whitney and Buck's adventures!

Whitney Whitaker and her cousin Buck enjoy their jobs of buying houses, fixing them up, and then selling them for a profit. For their newest project, they are taking on a different type of house-flipping – fixing up a houseboat called The Skinny Dipper. Grant Hardisty is living on a boat in the slip next door to Whitney and Buck. Their temporary neighbor makes quite an impression with loud parties and even louder arguments with more than one ex-wife. Grant is killed when his boat explodes, and there is no shortage of suspects. Whitney is determined to find out who among all those with a motive is the person who actually murdered Grant.

Primer and Punishment is the fifth book in the House-Flipper series. I’ve enjoyed other books by the author, but this is the first I’ve read in this series. The author does a good job catching the reader up on all the characters, and I never felt confused. I love that there are many scenes with Whitney and Buck doing the restoration work on the boat. It makes the series stand out and is among the best parts of the book. I like the friendly teasing between cousins, co-workers, and friends Whitney and Buck. It’s entertaining and makes the characters seem realistic. Whitney also has a good relationship with her boyfriend, Nashville Police Department Detective Collin Flynn. He worries about her but doesn’t interfere in Whitney’s work on the case.

The murder occurs about one-third of the way into the book. I appreciate the longer-than-usual build-up that gives the reader a chance to get to know the victim and the potential suspects. I’m glad that I wasn’t able to easily figure out the identity of the murderer since there were so many suspects and motives. I appreciate the fact that Whitney is smart and hard-working. However, Whitney often oversteps while investigating and definitely crosses a line at one point by setting up a cloned social media account to trick a couple of witnesses into a meeting with her. This really made me rethink my initially favorable opinion of her.

I enjoyed this engaging and well-written book, even though I didn’t agree with Whitney’s sleuthing methods. After the case is resolved, the reader gets to experience the wedding festivities when Buck marries Whitney’s best friend, Colette. I loved the sweet, romantic ending of the book. Since this is the only book I’ve read in the series, I don’t know if the way Whitney investigates in this book is typical for her or not. However, since I enjoyed the house-flipping aspect of the book so much, I would like to read the next in the series and hope Whitney tones down her methods.

~ Christine