Happy Tuesday! It is Book Release Day (I just love this day). A Bridge Across the Ocean by Susan Meissner is one of the new releases today. I am looking forward to reading this latest novel by her. A Death by Any Other Name by Tessa Arlen, Cruel Winter by Sheila Connolly, Written in Love by Kathleen Fuller, and For Whom the Bread Rolls by Sarah Fox are a couple of the other new books coming out this chilly Tuesday.
Purr M for Murder by T.C. LoTempio is the first book in A Cat Rescue Mystery series. Sydney McCall has returned home to Deer Park,
North Carolina after catching her fiancé in flagrante with his secretary. Since Preston Renshaw III was the boss’s son,
Sydney quit her job as Director of Marketing at Reid and Renshaw. Her sister, Kat needed her assistance with
the Friendly Paws Animal Shelter. Donations
have been down and their last two fundraisers did not elicit many funds. Kat is hoping Sydney can apply her marketing
prowess to the shelter. Sydney’s first
idea is to hold a cat café at Dayna’s Sweets and Treats. It will help raise funds and, hopefully, some
cats will find forever homes. Trowbridge
Littleton, owner of The Brush and Canvas, is against their event and confronts
Kat. It ends with Kat threatening Mr.
Littleton (not a wise move on her part).
Sydney decides to talk to Mr. Littleton the next morning and arrives at
his gallery around 6 a.m. Sydney finds
the door open, but no one answers her call (you can see where this is
heading). Sydney is startled when Kat
turns up next to her (she had been watching for Sydney across the street). They find their way to office and find it has
been ransacked. Kat admires a beautiful
antique cabinet and is insistent upon looking inside. They open the doors and Trowbridge Littleton
falls out. When the police arrive, Sydney is started to discover that Will
Worthington (high school crush, of course) is one of the detectives. It is soon apparent that Kat is the primary
suspect. It seems that Kat has been
holding back on a few details. Sydney puts
on her detective cap and sets out to find the real perpetrator with the help of
her new cat, Toby (master escape artist).
But the killer must take action when Sydney gets a little too close for
comfort.
Purr M for Murder is easy to read
and nicely written. I found that the
book had a good pace which made it easy to read. I appreciated the pet rescue element in the
book. It will help make readers aware of
the problems facing animals in our society (there are too few no-kill
shelters). I liked the main characters
of Kat, Sydney and Toby. Toby was a
great addition to this tale. Without
Toby, Purr M for Murder would not have been as entertaining (he elevated the
story). I give Purr M for Murder 4 out
of 5 stars. I do wish, though, that the
mystery had been a little more complex.
It was evident which character would get murdered (the nastiest). Solving the crime was easily discernable. There is one big clue that gave it away early
in the story (at least to me). I am hoping that in the next book the author
will not put the murder or crime so early in the novel (it makes for the book
feel long). I liked the subtle attraction
between Will Worthington and Sydney. It
is low-key and plays out nicely in the background until the end. I do wonder, though, why authors feel the
need to provide a romantic counterpart for their main character in the first
book. I like a little romance in my
cozies, but I like it when it plays out slowly over the course of the series. I thought the ending was uplifting and
cute. With a few tweaks, I believe this
will be a pleasurable cozy mystery series.
I am looking forward to reading the next book in A Cat Rescue Mystery
series. Purr M for Murder is out today. T.C. LoTempio also writes Nick and Nora Mysteries.
I am off to get some work done around the house. May each of you have a terrific Tuesday. I will be reviewing For Whom the Bread Rolls by Sarah Fox on Wednesday. Take care and Happy Reading!
Kris
The Avid Reader
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