“The Highwayman” by Loreena McKennitt
The title of book seven in my House Flipper series, Dead Post Society, is a nod to “Dead Poets Society,” one of my favorite movies. In this book, carpenter Whitney Flynn and her cousin Buck remodel the former headmaster’s house at a defunct boarding school not far from Nashville. Poems play a big part in the movie, so it’s probably no surprise that I begin each chapter of this book with a quote from a poem. Loreena McKennitt put the famous poem “The Highwayman” by Alfred Noyes to music, and her haunting voice is perfect. You can listen to the song here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGFo0xn4JeY
“If” by Anthony Clohesy
When I still had a day job, I shared an office with a one-of-a-kind real-life character named Gene Edwards. Gene was an incredibly intelligent and wise guy with a unique, sometimes dark sense of humor, and he became like a big brother to me. He’d hung the poem “If” by Rudyard Kipling on his wall. The choice of that poem said a lot about Gene, who he was and who he aspired to be. In honor of Gene, I included the poem in the book. A singer named Anthony Clohesy put “If” to music and did a wonderful job. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98bZDhuCIXI
“Rock ‘N’ Roll High School” by the Ramones
On a much lighter note, because the book involves a cold-case crime that took place back in the 1980’s, writing the book took me back to my own high school days. I was a big Ramones fan back then (still am!), so naturally “Rock ‘N’ Roll High School” comes to mind as a perfect tie-in to the book. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oz7KYUkdlvE
“And She Was” by the Talking Heads
The first poem I reference in the book is by William Blake, and contains the line “Little creature, form’d of Joy and Mirth.” One of my all-time favorite bands is the Talking Heads. They released an album called “Little Creatures” in 1985 and, when I read Blake’s poem, my immediate thought was of the album. My favorite cut from the album is “And She Was.” It’s a lively, unusual song that, like poetry, is subject to interpretation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cl3B_FTDKD0&list=OLAK5uy_nCkYqS0u-DkPwiZXF-CVwkqUE39X91Nko&index=1
“1985” by Bowling for Soup
This song is both humorous and melancholy, and harkens back to my high school days. Because the boarding school in the book closed in the 1980s, it’s essentially frozen in that era. I had to remember what things were like back then to accurately portray the setting and events. The 80’s were a fun era to grow up in, when MTV was brand new and before cell phones and social media turned life into performance art. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K38xNqZvBJI
House-Flipper Mysteries #7
The seventh in the House-Flipper mystery series set in Nashville, TN, where the real estate market is to die for.
This year's honor roll is killer...
Carpenter Whitney Whitaker and her cousin Buck are no strangers to murder. After all, they’ve encountered corpses on their properties before. But this is the first time they’d decided to take a chance on a property where two suspicious deaths have already occurred. Most buildings on the former boarding school property will be repurposed for an upscale retirement community, but the developer has no use for the headmaster’s house given its violent history. The headmaster and his wife were killed there decades earlier, their deaths remaining unsolved to this day.
Still, it seems a shame to see the beautiful Victorian give way to decay or the wrecking ball, even if many claim the unsettled souls of the victims still wander its halls, seeking retribution and justice. Can Whitney and Buck exorcise the structure’s demons, solve the cold case, and give the building new life? Or will ghosts from the past seek to silence them forever?
Mystery | Mystery Cozy [Minotaur Books, On Sale: April 1, 2025, Mass Market Paperback / e-Book , ISBN: 9781250359322 / eISBN: 9781250359339]
Fascinating mystery around unsolved murders...
A former tax advisor and assistant state attorney general, Diane Kelly is no stranger to white-collar crime. When she realized her experiences made great fodder for novels, her fingers hit the keyboard and thus began her award-winning Death and Taxes romantic mystery series. A dog lover and Citizens Police Academy graduate, Diane also writes the hilarious K-9 cop Paw Enforcement series. Her love of vintage homes and renovation shows was a natural segue into her House Flipper mysteries, which feature a fabulous feline. Diane’s other series include her Busted female motorcycle cop series, her Southern Homebrew moonshine mystery series, and her Mountain Lodge Mysteries series, which is set in the Blue Ridge Mountains not far from her home in North Carolina.
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