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Tuesday, May 3, 2022

Book Review: Claws for Suspicion by Deborah Blake (Catskills Pet Rescue Mysteries #3)

Stars: 4 out of 5
Pros: Strong characters, well plotted mystery, animal cuteness
Cons: Pacing of the set up could be stronger
The Bottom Line:
Ex wants some winnings
Complicates Kari’s new life
Another strong book



Kari’s Life is Upended Before Murder

The first book in the Catskills Pet Rescue Mysteries set up the series with a fun twist in the premise.  That twist pays off with a great set up in Claws for Suspicion, and fans will enjoy this third book in the series.

If you are new to this series, it features Kari Stuart, who bought a pet shelter after she won the lottery.  She’s spent the past several months getting it back into the shape it needs to be in, when she wasn’t solving murders, that is.  She is very happy with her new life and the work she and her volunteers are doing with the pets.

However, all that is threatened when Kari’s ex-husband shows up in town.  Charlie Smith arrives baring the news that there was a mistake with their divorce, and they are technically still married.  As a result, he is entitled to half Kari’s winnings.  Or, he will settle for the land the pet shelter is on.  Kari has no interest in giving Charlie anything, so she starts trying to figure out how to get him to go away.  Then he dies, and his death looks like murder.  The police view Kari as their prime suspect since she is the only one in town with a motive.  Can Kari convince them that someone else killed Charlie?

The ex coming into town to cause problems is very common in cozy series, but Charlie’s coming to town has much bigger stakes than normal, and I appreciated that.  Of course, it wasn’t any surprise that he turned out to be the murder victim.  I do feel like his death came a little late.  I’m of two minds about that.  The book was introducing us to alternative suspects, but I felt like the plot stalled a bit waiting for him to die before it could kick into gear again.  Fortunately, about the time I was feeling that, it happened.

From there, Kari follows a logical trail to the solution, getting distracted by some red herrings along the way.  I love how this series plants the clues along the way, so that when Kari does piece things together, we can look back and see how she logically reached the solution.

The characters in this series are fantastic, and that continues here.  I love the people Kari has surrounded herself with, and it’s great to spend more time with them here.  It’s easy to see why Kari was willingly fight to keep the life she has now.  Meanwhile, the new characters we meet are strong and make us care about the outcome.

Obviously, there are plenty of four legged characters in the book as well.  Honestly, they made me want to go out and get a pet of my own.  If only I didn’t have allergies to contend with.

If you’re not reading this series, you need to pick it up today.  And if you are a fan, you’ll be delighted with Claws for Suspicion.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.

2 comments:

  1. I do love books with lots of animals in them! Terrific review, Mark!

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