Book Review: Furbidden Fatality by Deborah Blake (Catskills Pet Rescue Mysteries #1)

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Charming animals, great characters, fun plot

Cons: None for me

The Bottom Line:

Buying pet shelter

Then finding dead dog warden

Charming series stars

Glad I Adopted This Debut

Try as I might (and believe me, I am trying), it just isn’t possible to read every cozy mystery published.  As a result, I pay attention to recommendations from others.  Last fall, I saw someone recommend Furbidden Fatality. It was someone I trust, so I added it to my to be read list.  I’m so glad I did.

Kari Stuart wasn’t exactly content with her life as a waitress in her small down in the Catskills, but she didn’t expect her life to change as quickly as it did when she won the lottery.  She hasn’t quite figured out what to do with the money – until she learns about the needs of a local animal shelter.  Despite her determination to not be impulsive, she buys it sight unseen, knowing it needs to be fixed up before it can reopen.

What Kari doesn’t realize is that it comes with issues from the local dog warden, Bill Myers, who has been harassing the previous owner for years.  When Kari finds Bill dead outside the shelter’s fence in the middle of the night, things only go from bad to worse.  The police are considering her their prime suspect, with some of Kari’s new friends as their other suspects.  In order to clear her name, Kari begins investigating herself, and quickly finds Bill had made lots of enemies.  Can she figure out what happened?

The book does a great job of pulling us in right from the start.  Kari is a strong main character, and the pets are charming, especially Queenie, Kari’s new kitten who really starts the ball rolling and steals many scenes.  I’m allergic to many pets, so I have never had any of my own, but I was quickly charmed by the animals here.

We only get a couple of scenes with Bill before Kari finds his body, but it is enough to recognize that we will have plenty of suspects.  Even so, I was surprised by where the story went.  There are lots of twists along the way, but when we reach the climax it all makes sense.

I’ve already talked about the animal characters, but the human characters are just as strong.  While we are meeting all of them for the first time here, Kari already knew some of them.  Still, they all come to life for us on the page.  We are already seeing some growth in the characters and their relationships, and I’m anxious to see where those relationships go as the series progresses.

This is author Deborah Blake’s first cozy mystery, but this isn’t her first novel.  That experience shows in the pacing, the characters – everything, really.  It’s easy to get pulled into this story and hard to put it down when the time comes.

I’m very glad I picked up Furbidden Fatality, and I’m already looking forward to my next visit.  If you enjoy adorable animals in your cozies, adopt this book right away.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.