Batten Down the Belfry
Carpenter Whitney Whitaker and her cousin Buck have successfully flipped houses, but this is the first time they’ve attempted to renovate a house of worship. Still, the colorful stained glass in the country church has caught Whitney’s eye, and she’d love to breathe new life into the abandoned building. What’s more, the place has perfect acoustics. Could the worship hall be reborn as an entertainment venue, with its parsonage repurposed as a pre-show bistro?
The owner of the horse farm next door has asserted a legal claim to the church property, rendering their title uncertain. If that’s not bad enough, while rehabbing the church, Whitney’s cat Sawdust discovers a bombshell in the bell tower, the body of the man who’d delivered their beautiful new replacement windows. What transpired in the spire? Who rang the man’s bell and why?
The steeple keeps its secrets, and when a second body turns up, things become even less clear. Can Whitney help Detective Collin Flynn solve the crimes before someone else is sent to meet their maker?
The Details
Series: A House-Flipper Mystery – Book #4
Author: Diane Kelly
Genre/Category: Cozy – Business/Pet
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
ISBN# 1250816033
Page Count: 304
Rating: 
The Review
I have long been a fan of the “A House-Flipper Mystery” series, and with book four Batten Down the Belfry, my enjoyment and admiration for the series and the author have grown. An old church, a bell tower, stained glass, a bistro, and all of the delightful characters of this series create a mystery that will take readers from interested to obsessed.
Whitney and Buck love the idea of renovating an old church. They want to use the bell tower to attract entertainment to their doors and create a place that will have an audience thrilled and willing to spend their hard-earned dollars. To complete the look, they add stained glass windows that reflect music, art, theater, and everything that will give the idea of entertainment at its finest. Add the parsonage-turned-bistro; they have everything an artist or an audience could want. If it weren’t for the bodies that keep turning up, it would be perfect. To top it off, the local horse rancher next door has claimed the property and is trying every dirty trick in the book to take Whitney and Buck’s property for his own.
Characters in this series have always been exciting and the kind of people you would like to get to know. Each has a distinct personality that compliments the other and each situation. This time the victim is a stranger, but as he died on Whitney and Buck’s property, you know instantly that the hunt for the killer will not be left up to the authorities. Evidence is slim, but it’s there waiting to be uncovered. I adore the bell tower, and adding the stained glass windows with an artistic theme is delightful. The scene of the crime is the Church. This contains and restrains the locations but gives readers a nice idea of what the area looks and feels like. The killer isn’t hard to figure out, but the twist that comes along with the investigation will have readers putting on their thinking caps.
Whitney, as usual, places herself in danger, having more guts than brains at times, it seems. Buck does what he always does, backs Whitney and tries his best to keep out of trouble. In Batten Down the Belfry, we enjoy a new side of Buck we didn’t see coming. Readers will be awed by the bell tower, the stained glass, the bistro, and even the horse ranch. This book has an eye toward keeping the reader guessing, adding more mystery than investigation, and making sure that readers are left breathless.
The Author
A former tax advisor, Diane Kelly, inadvertently worked with white-collar criminals. Lest she end up in an orange jumpsuit, Diane decided self-employment would be a good idea. Her fingers hit the keyboard and thus began her “Death and Taxes” romantic mystery series. A graduate of her hometown’s Citizen Police Academy, Diane Kelly also writes the hilarious K-9 cop “Paw Enforcement” series.
Books from other Diane Kelly series readers may enjoy include “The Mountain Lodge Mysteries” book one, Getaway With Murder, or from the “A Paw Enforcement Novel” series, Paw of the Jungle.
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