Book 6, 2024

Even Cat Sitters Get the Blues by Blaize Clement

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



I took shameless advantage of my snow day yesterday to read Even Cat Sitters Get the Blues cover-to-cover. It's the third installment in author Blaize Clement's "Dixie Hemingway" cozy mystery series, starring former cop and current pet sitter, Dixie Hemingway.

After getting wrapped up in two previous murder investigations, Dixie has had enough. It's for that reason that she doesn't report it when she finds a dead body in a guard shack. Dixie figures someone else can find the guard and call it in. Unfortunately, someone saw her leaving the scene, and the bullet that killed the man came from the same type of gun that Dixie owns. Now she's embroiled in the investigation, whether or not she wants to be. The odd thing is, Dixie never should have been at the scene; she received a call from a man asking her to take care of his pet iguana while he was delayed in NYC. Dixie doesn't normally take on new clients without meeting them first and learning the pet's routine. As if that wasn't bad enough, the home owner is not the one who called Dixie. Nevertheless, he's in poor health and allows her to come in and take care of Ziggy. The more time she spends in Ken Kurtz's house, the more Dixie is dragged down the rabbit hole of espionage and murder. It's enough to give this pet sitter the blues.

I was thoroughly engrossed in this book, which is how I managed to read it in a day. I love Dixie as a character, and other characters are also portrayed well, even the various pets she encounters. The plot grew ever more convoluted, which kept me turning the pages. In some respects, Dixie was acting out of character (which even she acknowledged), but as her less than stellar decisions are what drove the plot, I reckon I can't complain. On top of being dragged into yet another murder investigation, Dixie is also juggling her unwanted attraction to two men. She's still mourning her husband and feels disloyal to him. Dixie is such a complex character; I'd like to meet her in real life.

Favorite lines:
♦ One of the sucky things about life is that your problems always begin with choices you make.
♦ The living room was decorated like you see in Architectural Digest, the sort of room that makes me want to run amok flinging cat hair and peanut shells.
♦ Since I love chocolate second only to crisp fried bacon, the devil could leave a trail of it and I'd probably eat my way straight to hell.
♦ If I had to tell it one more time, I might start making stuff up to make it more interesting.
♦ "He has a man's fear of the truth. Women know it's the only power we have."
♦ "Why are you frowning? Did you lose that gorgeous guy that was with you Wednesday?" // "I didn't lose him. He's a close friend." // "If I had a friend like that, I'd tie him down and molest him."
♦ A kitten waiting for you to come home is a spot of love in your life.

Alas, not even a book this well written escaped the 'holding my breath' line:
♦ I let out a pent-up breath I hadn't known I was holding.

Exciting, enthralling read, start to finish. Five stars!

Book 7, 2024

Fatal Fixer-Upper by Jennie Bentley

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I nearly finished the book I'd taken to work, so I brought it home with me and finished it this evening. The book was Fatal Fixer-Upper by Jennie Bentley, and it's the first in her "Do It Yourself" cozy mystery series. The main character is Avery Baker, an interior designer.

Avery has the world by the tail. She's an interior designer, living and working in New York. Her boss, Phillippe, is also her boyfriend. When Avery catches Phillippe cheating on her with his receptionist, she quits her job. She's not at loose ends for long. Avery receives a letter from her great-aunt Inga, asking her to come visit. By the time Avery arrives in Maine, Inga has died. However, she left everything, including her dilapidated Victorian home, to Avery. Although her aunt's attorney recommends she leave the sale of the house to him, Avery can't help but be charmed by the home's "good bones". She hires a contractor, Derek, to do the heavy work while she concentrates on the things she's good at. Not everyone in town is happy that Avery is staying put. The local realtor is hounding her to sell as is, while her twin cousins, who tormented her in her youth, make vague threats. On top of that, Avery learns that a local professor, who'd been meeting with her aunt, has disappeared. While researching local history, Avery begins to suspect that some of Inga's belongings may be far more valuable than originally thought. They may even be valuable enough to kill for.

I found the story interesting. Characters were fully realized, even the more odious ones. While Avery did do some investigating, it was mostly in the realm of historical research. I enjoyed reading about her work on the house and her squabbles with Derek, and it was fun to meet new characters right along with her. There were some surprising twists and turns that added to my enjoyment of the book.

Favorite lines:
♦ "There were cats. Lots of cats. Five, at least."
♦ "I brought you a present." // "From the hardware store? How sweet of you!" I wondered what it might be. A pound of nails? A hammer? Some new PVC pipe for the bathroom?
♦ "Can't have people going around pretending to be Frenchmen. Not in my town."

Very good. I have more in this series and am looking forward to reading them. Four stars.

( Trope Test )