Stars: 4 out of 5
Pros: Fun characters, laughs, good mystery
Cons: One plot point
The Bottom Line:
Fundraiser murder
With a big pop star victim
Pet cuteness and laughs
A Star is Dead
In addition to pets, the Pampered Pets Mystery series has
also featured plenty of “celebrities.”
Okay, so everyone mentioned has always been fake, but it is fun to
imagine that real celebrities are part of the action. We get plenty of that in Barking with the Stars, the ninth book in the series.
Being an odd numbered book, we are once again visiting Caro,
the pet therapist. However, her focus in
this book is on the Barking with the Stars fundraiser she is helping put
together. The fundraiser is going to
raise funds for a charity that matches service dogs with retired military
members to help them navigate life after they’ve left the service. Caro’s main job is working with the
celebrities and their dogs who will be appearing on stage to make sure everyone
stays calm during the actual event.
The headliner of the event is Purple, the huge if eccentric
pop star. However, Purple is found dead
in her hotel room a few days before the event.
The police suspect foul play, and they focus on Caro’s ex-husband,
Geoffrey. Ever since Geoffrey moved to
town, he’s been making Caro’s life miserable.
But he’s not a killer, is he?
Caro starts digging early, but it seems to take a little
time before she finds a theory or two she thinks is possible. Of course, when we do reach the end,
everything makes perfect sense. And
don’t misunderstand, I was entertained the entire time as I watched Caro try to
figure out what is going on.
However, I do have one complaint with the plot. At one point, we get information that is
pretty much ignore after a few pages. Still,
this is a minor complaint.
The characters are wonderful. Caro is real as are some of the others in her
world, but the rest of the cast can be eccentric. Don’t worry, they fit into the feel of the
book, and they work as viable suspects.
I get a kick out of them.
And these characters provide us with some good laughs. The best laughs once again come from Betty, a
recurring character who is a hoot. I
always love seeing her pop up. The other
characters who populate the pages do provide us with some laughs as well, and
Caro finds herself in a funny situation or two.
Naturally, there’s pet cuteness. While we don’t see quite as much of Caro in
therapist mode, she still does work with a few clients over the course of the
book. And there are Caro’s own animals
and the pets who are part of the event.
If you are new to the series, it is unique in that it
follows two cousins, with the odd books focusing on Caro and the even books
focusing on Mel. Yet there are some
threads that tie all the books together, and I enjoyed seeing those parts of
the longer narrative move forward here.
This series is always light and fun, and Barking with the Stars is no exception. If you are
looking for perfect escapism, you’ve come to the right place.
Be sure to check out the rest of the Pampered Pets Mysteries.
This sounds like a fun series and one that's on my list. Too bad about the information but it doesn't sound like it bothered you too much even if it is a con.
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