Stars: 4 out of 5
Pros: Light, fun story with fantastic characters
Cons: Mystery could be a little stronger
The Bottom Line:
Missing cat owner
Connected to a murder?
Pet friendly, fun book
Dead Body and a Tabby’s Missing Owner
I was definitely due for a visit to Laguna Beach. Okay, so I could drive down there any time I
wanted (and was willing to fight traffic), but I wanted to visit it via the
world of the Pampered Pets Mysteries.
Over the previous six books, I’ve fallen under the spell of the
characters, human and animal, in this series, so I was quite happy to dive into
Downton Tabby.
Since this is book seven, we get to spend time with Caro
Lamont, a successful pet therapist in the area.
She’s spending this morning in her office working on some paperwork,
which is why, when Graham Cash asks her to watch his tabby cat, Toria, for a
little while, she readily agrees. Cash
and his business partner, Jake, have rented an office for their very successful
app making business in the building that Caro uses, and Caro has enjoyed
getting to know them both.
When Cash doesn’t return in the agreed upon time, Caro
begins to get worried. After all, she
has afternoon appointments. She decides
to take Toria to the house that the business partners share. However, when she arrives, she finds no sign
of Cash and Jake’s dead body floating in their pool. What happened to Jake? Is Cash okay?
Or is he the killer?
There is plenty going on in this book. We’ve got Caro’s clients, her ex-husband
showing up uninvited, the on-going feud with her cousin Mel (the star of the
even numbered books in the series), and the mystery itself. The result is a book that kept me turning
pages since I was never bored. I did
feel some of these elements did distract from the mystery at times, but they
were still fun. The mystery itself takes
some wild twists and turns before reaching the logical conclusion.
I already mentioned the characters, but let’s go back to
them. They are a hoot. While Caro and some of the others are almost
normal, others are pretty outrageous.
The worst of the bunch is Betty, Mel’s employee who has managed to work
her way into Caro’s life as well. Not
that I’m complaining because Betty is always good for a laugh or two each time
she shows up. Other characters will also
make you grin. I do wish we’d see Caro’s
neighbor, April Mae, again, since she is a hoot as well. In fact, her and Betty in the same scene
would be hilarious.
And that’s not counting the antics of the pets in the
series. Seriously, if you love animals,
this book is right up your ally. These
pets will steal your heart when not making you smile and laugh at their antics.
Sadly, I am allergic to animals, so I don’t have any pets of
my own, but if you do, there are a couple of cat treats at the end you can make
for your own animals.
This series never fails to charm me, and Downton Tabby was no exception. If you enjoy light, fun mysteries, you need
to be reading this series.
Enjoy this one? You'll definitely want to read more of the Pampered Pets Mysteries.
I always prefer to visit places via books (way less people-y that way!) and this sounds like a fun series! I really need to give it a try!
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