{"id":29968,"date":"2023-03-08T08:17:22","date_gmt":"2023-03-08T12:17:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/?p=29968"},"modified":"2023-03-08T08:17:24","modified_gmt":"2023-03-08T12:17:24","slug":"review-primer-and-punishment-by-diane-kelly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2023\/03\/08\/review-primer-and-punishment-by-diane-kelly\/","title":{"rendered":"Review \ud83d\udd0d Primer and Punishment by Diane Kelly"},"content":{"rendered":"<!--themify_builder_content-->\n<div id=\"themify_builder_content-29968\" data-postid=\"29968\" class=\"themify_builder_content themify_builder_content-29968 themify_builder tf_clear\">\n    \t\t\t<!-- module_row -->\n\t<div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_row themify_builder_row tb_9xnc120 tb_first tf_w tf_clearfix\">\n\t    \t\t\t<div class=\"row_inner col_align_top gutter-narrow tb_col_count_2 tf_box tf_rel\">\n\t\t            <div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_column tb-column col3-1 tb_u3uk120 first\">\n                                                        <div class=\"tb-column-inner tf_box tf_w\">\n                        <!-- module image -->\n<div  class=\"module module-image tb_y0ct120 rounded drop-shadow customBorderRad_top image-center auto_fullwidth tf_mw\" data-lazy=\"1\">\n        <div class=\"image-wrap tf_rel tf_mw\">\n\t\t    <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"306\" height=\"500\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/primer-and-punishment-diane-kelly.jpg?resize=306%2C500&#038;ssl=1\" class=\"wp-post-image wp-image-29969\" title=\"primer-and-punishment-diane-kelly\" alt=\"primer-and-punishment-diane-kelly\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/primer-and-punishment-diane-kelly.jpg?w=306&amp;ssl=1 306w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/primer-and-punishment-diane-kelly.jpg?resize=184%2C300&amp;ssl=1 184w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/primer-and-punishment-diane-kelly.jpg?resize=400%2C653&amp;ssl=1 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 306px) 100vw, 306px\" \/>\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<!-- \/image-wrap -->\n    \n    \t<\/div>\n<!-- \/module image --><!-- module text -->\n<div  class=\"module module-text tb_dtqm120 customBorderRad_bottom repeat \" data-lazy=\"1\">\n        <div  class=\"tb_text_wrap\">\n    <p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">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.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">The charming and handsome Grant Hardisty lives on the cabin cruiser in the adjacent slip, but the cousins soon learn he\u2019s 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.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">Whitney and Buck are spraying primer on their houseboat when\u2014KABOOM!\u2014Grant\u2019s 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.<\/span><\/p>    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- \/module text -->                    <\/div>\n                            <\/div>\n                        <div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_column tb-column col3-2 tb_el70120 last\">\n                                                        <div class=\"tb-column-inner tf_box tf_w\">\n                        <!-- module text -->\n<div  class=\"module module-text tb_k69f120  repeat \" data-lazy=\"1\">\n        <div  class=\"tb_text_wrap\">\n    <p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-25881 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/smitten-recommends-banner-1.png?resize=296%2C72\" alt=\"\" width=\"296\" height=\"72\" \/><\/p><hr \/><p><strong>Release Date:<\/strong>\u00a0Feb 21, 2023<br \/><strong>Series:<\/strong>\u00a0<em>A House-Flipper Mystery<br \/><\/em><strong>Book:\u00a0<\/strong>5<br \/><strong>Publisher:<\/strong>\u00a0Macmillan<br \/><strong>Imprint:<\/strong>\u00a0St. Martin&#8217;s Press\u00a0<br \/><strong>Price:<\/strong> $8.99<\/p><hr \/><p style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\"><strong>Whitney Whitaker<\/strong> and her cousin <strong>Buck<\/strong> 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 &#8211; 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.<\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\"><strong>Primer and Punishment <\/strong>is the fifth book in the <em>House-Flipper<\/em> series. I\u2019ve enjoyed other books by the author, but this is the first I\u2019ve 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\u2019s 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\u2019t interfere in Whitney\u2019s work on the case.<\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\">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\u2019m glad that I wasn\u2019t 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.<\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\">I enjoyed this engaging and well-written book, even though I didn\u2019t agree with Whitney\u2019s sleuthing methods. After the case is resolved, the reader gets to experience the wedding festivities when Buck marries Whitney\u2019s best friend, Colette. I loved the sweet, romantic ending of the book. Since this is the only book I\u2019ve read in the series, I don\u2019t 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.<\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\"><em>~ Christine<\/em><\/p>    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- \/module text --><!-- module text -->\n<div  class=\"module module-text tb_r2gn120 customBorderRad repeat \" data-lazy=\"1\">\n        <div  class=\"tb_text_wrap\">\n    <p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><span class=\"s1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3JmnADX\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Amazon<\/a><\/span><span class=\"s2\">\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/apple.co\/3JjOkVH\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"s3\">iBooks<\/span><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/w\/primer-and-punishment-diane-kelly\/1141344006?ean=9781250816078\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"s3\">B&amp;N<\/span><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kobo.com\/us\/en\/ebook\/primer-and-punishment\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"s3\">Kobo<\/span><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/books\/details\/Diane_Kelly_Primer_and_Punishment?id=SG9pEAAAQBAJ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"s3\">Google Play<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- \/module text -->                    <\/div>\n                            <\/div>\n            \t    <\/div>\n\t    <!-- \/row_inner -->\n\t<\/div>\n\t<!-- \/module_row -->\n\t<\/div>\n<!--\/themify_builder_content-->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>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, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":29969,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[89,119,48,59],"tags":[152,223,367,404,405],"class_list":["post-29968","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-christine","category-macmillan","category-reviews","category-st-martins-press","tag-4-stars","tag-cozy-mystery","tag-mystery","tag-recommend","tag-recommended-reads"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - 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The old houseboat sure could use some work, but the unusual project has Whitney bubbling with excitement.<\/p><p>The charming and handsome Grant Hardisty lives on the cabin cruiser in the adjacent slip, but the cousins soon learn he\u2019s 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.<\/p><p>Whitney and Buck are spraying primer on their houseboat when\u2014KABOOM!\u2014Grant\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/smitten-recommends-banner-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"296\" height=\"72\" \/><\/p><hr \/><p><strong>Release Date:<\/strong>\u00a0Feb 21, 2023<br \/><strong>Series:<\/strong>\u00a0<em>A House-Flipper Mystery<br \/><\/em><strong>Book:\u00a0<\/strong>5<br \/><strong>Publisher:<\/strong>\u00a0Macmillan<br \/><strong>Imprint:<\/strong>\u00a0St. Martin's Press\u00a0<br \/><strong>Price:<\/strong> $8.99<\/p><hr \/><p style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\"><strong>Whitney Whitaker<\/strong> and her cousin <strong>Buck<\/strong> 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.<\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\"><strong>Primer and Punishment <\/strong>is the fifth book in the <em>House-Flipper<\/em> series. I\u2019ve enjoyed other books by the author, but this is the first I\u2019ve 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\u2019s 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\u2019t interfere in Whitney\u2019s work on the case.<\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\">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\u2019m glad that I wasn\u2019t 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.<\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\">I enjoyed this engaging and well-written book, even though I didn\u2019t agree with Whitney\u2019s sleuthing methods. After the case is resolved, the reader gets to experience the wedding festivities when Buck marries Whitney\u2019s best friend, Colette. I loved the sweet, romantic ending of the book. Since this is the only book I\u2019ve read in the series, I don\u2019t 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.<\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\"><em>~ Christine<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3JmnADX\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Amazon<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/apple.co\/3JjOkVH\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">iBooks<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/w\/primer-and-punishment-diane-kelly\/1141344006?ean=9781250816078\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">B&amp;N<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kobo.com\/us\/en\/ebook\/primer-and-punishment\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kobo<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/books\/details\/Diane_Kelly_Primer_and_Punishment?id=SG9pEAAAQBAJ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Google Play<\/a><\/strong><\/p>","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29968","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29968"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29968\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29975,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29968\/revisions\/29975"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29969"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29968"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29968"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29968"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}