by: T.C. LoTempio
Series: Urban Tails Pet Shop Mystery
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Release Date: February 25, 2025
Publisher: Beyond the Page Publishing
When a celebrity chef is murdered, Shell McMillan has to cook up a plan to trap the killer of a man for all seasonings...
With adopt-a-cat month in full swing in Fox Hollow, pet shop owner Shell McMillan decides that hosting a night of murder mystery dinner theater will be a fun way to raise funds for the cause. But she didn’t realize that the celebrity chef she’d hired for the event would turn out to be a tyrannical snob, or that her scoundrel of an ex-fiancé would turn up with his own shady agenda. Still, the show must go on, and as the lighthearted plot on-stage unfolds, the scene off-stage turns decidedly darker when the chef is found murdered.
Rather than question an entire roomful of possible suspects, Shell determines that looking into the victim’s past will lead her to the culprit more quickly. What she finds is that the chef had left behind a disreputable past and a trail of disgruntled people, including a long string of women he’d wronged and a host of others who may have been out for revenge. But as Shell closes in on the killer, the killer is closing in on her. And she’s discovering that while too many cooks can spoil the broth, being a murderer’s next target can really ruin your appetite…
Cats make great detectives, too!
By Purrday McMillan (Urban Tails Pet Shop Mysteries)
As a character in a cozy mystery series, I confess I’m partial to mysteries that feature felines! I thought today I’d mention some of my very favorites!
The Magical Cats Series by Sofie Kelly
This series centers around Kathleen Paulson, a librarian from Boston, and two stray cats with special powers, Owen and Hercules, in fictional Mayville Heights, Minnesota. Kathleen has moved to Mayville Heights from Boston after her fiancée marries a waitress after an argument, and ends up adopting two strays, a tabby named Owen and a tuxedo named Hercules. Turns out the cats have magical powers: Owen can turn invisible and Hercules can walk through walls! Which provides quite a bit of humor! There is also a bit of romance in the form of uptight detective Marcus Gordon. Plenty of quirky characters and homespun charm! Kathleen finds herself a murder suspect in the first volume setting up the romantic tension between herself and Detective Gordon for future adventure.
The charm of this series lies in the quirkiness of its main characters and, of course, the two cats with their seemingly supernatural abilities. A great series!
The Cat in the Stacks series by Miranda (aka Dean) James
Set in the fictional town of Athena, Mississippi, the action centers around librarian Charlie Harris and his Maine Coon cat, Diesel. Diesel is quite large for his size, but very lovable, and Charlie walks him on a leash and takes him pretty much everywhere he goes. Unlike the cats in the “Magical Cats” series, Diesel is more of a sidekick for Charlie than an active participant in the mystery solving – although he does lend a paw from time to time. The series has many charming characters, some of which have even been put into a spin-off series by James. My favorite is THE SILENCE OF THE LIBRARY, which revolves around a library exhibit to honor YA novelists – in particular, one octogenarian, Electra Barnes Cartwright, the author of the beloved “Veronica Thane” series. Once news of the author’s appearance goes viral, another rumor surfaces – that of five unpublished manuscripts – drawing out one rabid fan who will stop at nothing short of murder to get hold of the rare books. Series book devotees will find the references and facts about actual series books interspersed throughout the book interesting, and it adds to the mystery. Charlie and Diesel should be around entertaining us for many years to come.
I feel I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the Urban Tails Pet Shop Mysteries which just happen to feature moi (Purrday), along with my two sisters, Kahlua and Princess Fuzzypants!
This series centers around Shell McMillan, a Hollywood actress who moved to her hometown of Fox Hollow, Connecticut when her tv series was cancelled. Her first week there she became the prime suspect in a murder but managed to clear her name with the help of her former co-star, Gary Presser, and moi! (Not to brag, but my contribution is more significant!!!!!)
In the latest entry, A SIDE DISH OF MURDER, Shell decides that hosting a night of murder mystery dinner theatre is a fun way to raise money for Adopt-A-Cat month. She didn’t think that the celebrity chef would turn out to be a tyrannical snob, or that her ex-fiance would turn up with a shady agenda of his own. And when the curtain rises, the scene off-stage turns dark when the chef is found dead.
With a hurricane trapping everyone at the locale, Shell and company have to work overtime to close in on the killer before someone else ends up in the soup.
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This story sounds good. I would enjoy reading this one.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a good cozy.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a book I would really enjoy reading.
ReplyDeleteThe cover is awesome.
ReplyDeleteFantastic series! Thanks for the giveaway!
ReplyDeletelooks like a fun one
ReplyDelete