Book Review & Giveaway: Buy A Whisker by Sofie Ryan

From the publisher: Things have been quiet in the coastal town of North Harbor, Maine, since Sarah Grayson and her rescue cat, Elvis, solved their first murder. Sarah is happy running Second Chance, the shop where she sells lovingly refurbished and repurposed items. But then she gets dragged into a controversy over developing the waterfront. Most of the residents—including Sarah—are for it, but there is one holdout—baker Lily Carter.

So when Lily is found murdered in her bakery, it looks like somebody wanted to remove the only obstacle to the development. But Sarah soon discovers that nothing is as simple as it seems. Now, with the help of her cat’s uncanny ability to detect a lie, Sarah is narrowing down the suspects. But can she collar the culprit before the ruthless killer pounces again?

Secondhand/repurposing shop owner Sarah Grayson and feline lie detector Elvis return for their second adventure in Buy a Whisker. North Hampton, ME, is buzzing with news of a proposed waterfront development which will be a boom for the town. The only holdout is bakery owner Lily. Her lone opposition is snuffed out when she's found dead at the bottom of the basement stairs. Sarah and Elvis start sniffing around and discover that Lily has been at the center of controversy before, leaving a fairly long list of people with a motive for murder.

I am absolutely crazy about this series. First, I love cozies set in Maine. It's one of my favorite settings. The cast of characters is phenomenal, particularly Sarah's elderly lady friends Liz, Rose, and Charlotte, who call their detective agency Charlotte's Angels, but also remind me of the Golden Girls. Sarah's love life takes a startling turn when she appears to start having feelings for her "jack of all trades" employee Mac. I can't wait to see how this plays out, as well as how things go with Rose moving into Sarah's old Victorian.

I loved every minute of this book and it was over all too soon. Elvis is a little heartbreaker and did a flawless job helping Sarah weed through her list of suspects. The final pages are gripping and left me on pins and needles for book 3, A Whisker of Trouble, due February 2016 and previewed at the end.

Giveaway: Leave a comment by noon eastern on Monday, April 13th for your chance to win a copy of Buy a Whisker. Don't forget your email address! (US entries only, please.)