Dead Post Society by Diane Kelly

Available: April 1, 2025

Rated: 5 stars

Whitney and her cousin Buck buy a derelict Victorian mansion near an abandoned prep school. The school and house were abandoned after the last Headmaster and his wife died in what appeared to be a murder-suicide. But the sheriff at the time was never confident in that seemingly obvious conclusion and the case had never been officially closed. Forty years later, as Whitney and Buck prepare to turn the mansion into a boutique hotel, Whitney finds an overlooked piece of evidence that turns the entire case upside down.

I actually started reading this series with book five, Primer and Punishment. Though I know I missed a lot of back story and character growth from the first four books, I didn't have any trouble following the story or connecting with the characters. I've continued reading the new books as they come out and I love that Whitney has a non-traditional job and how her cousin and her new husband support her in her investigations. This book in particular is a bit of a departure from the typical cozy mystery in that the crime being investigated took place 40 years earlier and this book takes place over the course of several months instead of a few days or weeks as is normally the case. It all works, we get a fun, retro story and it advances Whitney to a pretty big life milestone at the very end (no spoilers!)

The villains in this story are many and it's very interesting to see these characters as their 1982 selves and then again as their current day selves. I think there's a message there about how people can change and how people can stay the same and also how some people may never have been who you thought they were. I particularly appreciate how the title plays on the movie Dead Poets Society, which takes place at a boarding school in the 50's but was made in the 80's.

Another thing I like about this series is how Whitney and Buck work to save old buildings while salvaging so much of what's inside them. Instead of smashing everything up and throwing it away, they repair and refurbish what can be saved and recycle whatever is usable but maybe not needed for the projects they're working on. I love the home renovation shows but I can't stand how they demolish and trash so many perfectly good things, things that others may be extremely happy to salvage, just for the sake of a good camera shot. That kind of waste of resources is so taxing to the environment. Whitney and Buck get big props from me for being responsible earth citizens!

All that to say, this was a non-standard cozy so it may not be everyone's cup of tea but it was a fun jaunt into the 1980's, along with a very interesting investigation and some big surprise twists.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.