Wednesday 3 February 2021

Book ~ "Murder with a View" (2021) Diane Kelly

From Goodreads ~ A DREAM PROPERTY

Carpenter Whitney Whitaker, her cousin Buck, and guard-cat Sawdust just scored a hot property near downtown Nashville in a tax sale. While the Music City Motor Court might not be much to look at now, the two plan to transform the motel’s twelve units into six one-bedroom condominiums with popular mid-century styling. But surprises await when Whitney discovers a squatter living in Room 9 and her cat, Sawdust, uncovers a body in the bed next door.

A LIVING NIGHTMARE

The murder victim is none other than Beckett Morgan, an up-and-coming country-western singing sensation who’s taken Nashville by storm with his number-one hit “Party in the Pasture.” Beckett’s left a long trail of broken promises and broken hearts, and the list of suspects seems endless. So does the line of female fans intent on halting the flip and turning the construction site into a shrine for the deceased star. If Whitney and Buck don’t help Detective Collin Flynn nail the killer, they’ll never be able to clear out the star-obsessed groupies, complete the remodel, and recoup their investment. But just who silenced the singer and why?

Whitney works part-time for a property manager so has connections in the building and repair world.  Her uncle is a carpenter so she's learned how to fix and build things over the years.  She and her cousin, Buck, want to buy fixer-uppers, repair them and then flip them for a profit.  

When a rundown motel comes on the market, Whitney and Buck snatch it up with the plan to renovate it and sell as condos.  It's in a great area in Nashville so there shouldn't be any problem.  Except a young popular country singer is found murdered in one of the rooms.  He was considered difficult and arrogant in the business so there are many who might have killed him, including the mysterious drifter who had been squatting at the motel.  Whitney's boyfriend, Collin, is the police detective in charge of finding the killer.

I liked the writing style.  It is written in first person perspective from Whitney's point of view and third person perspective from Sawdust's point of view (which is funny since it's written from the perspective of Whitney's cat).

I've read many books by this author and I liked this one.  Though it's the third in the House-Flipper series, it works as a stand alone (I read the first one a couple years ago but not the second one, which is now on my list to read).  It was a quick light read and is a "cozy mystery" so there is no swearing, violence or adult activity (there's no heat at all between Whitney and Collin).

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