Batten Down the Belfry (House-Flipper Mystery #4), by Diane Kelly

Although the going seemed slow initially, by the end of the book I was thoroughly invested in trying to sort out who did it. This was a new series to me but "Batten Down the Belfry" worked quite well a a stand-alone, especially for someone like me who had no real interest or knowledge about fixing up and flipping houses. The fact the "house" in this instance isn't even a house but a run-down rural church only added to the interest. The main characters seemed likeable and left me rooting for them to make a success of this, I guess you'd call it, failed flip project.

Toss in a horse ranch next door with an antagonistic owner that claims he owns the property Whitney and her cousin Buck just purchased, wandering horses, the prospects of the property when refurbished becoming part of the Nashville entertainment scene, murderous money making schemes, and, yes, murder, and there is a lot to take in. Although I had an inkling about the identity of the killer of the antagonistic neighbor, like Whitney and Collin, her police boyfriend, I had no clue who killed the deliveryman in the belfry until the very end. Kudos to Diane Kelly for weaving together such an intricate plot so well. She even managed to give Sawdust, Whitney's cat, a role in the action.

Finally, while you go add this to your "to be read" list, I'm tempted to ponder what the Stained Glass Cookies in one of the recipes at the end might taste like. They sound beautiful, that's for sure.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #StMartinsPress for the ARC.