Mudpie Interviews...Baskerville from Paige Shelton's To Helvetica and Back (w/Review & Giveaway)

Meows from Mudpie!

We have a special treat for you on this Mystery Monday...a brand new hard-hitting installment of "Mudpie Interviews"! 

I'm chatting with Baskerville, the feline star of Paige Shelton's brand new Dangerous Type mystery series. He's a cool cat with a name that might not mean what you think!

Welcome Baskerville, thank you so much for chatting with me today! Could you start by telling us a little about yourself and how you came to live with Chester and Clare?

Hi, Mudpie, it’s good to be here. I’ve heard about you. You’re kind of famous actually. Thanks for the interview.

My mother, Arial, was by all accounts – mine too – the greatest cat in the history of all cats. Chester and Clare and my other people love me mostly because I’m Arial’s son, but sometimes I do try to be a little loveable on my own accord. Sometimes.

I love your name! Was it inspired by the classic Sherlock Holmes story?

Nope, I’m a font. Arial was the first font. I’ve heard my people joke around with customers about the Sherlock Holmes connection, but they insist my name was either going to be “Baskerville” or “Calibri.” I like Baskerville.

What is a typical day like for you?

Lots of sunning. I live in the shop; the retail part during the day, the apartment upstairs with Chester at night. There are high shelves and windows on the west and east sides of the shop. I can always find a sunny spot from which to observe the humans below or take a nap.

It must be fun hanging out at The Rescued Word! Do you ever get into any mischief there?

Sometimes the customers can get really annoying – all that chatter and such. Mostly, I like to watch for trouble. New people garner my suspicion, but I’m getting used to the regulars. They expect me to be all lovey-dovey though. I’m not that easy. They need to prove that they’re worthy of my lovey-dovey.

Can you tell us about the first Dangerous Type mystery, the new series that you star in?

One of my people, Clare, is threatened by a guy who wants her to give him a typewriter that’s in the back of the store. She doesn’t, and then she finds his dead body out back the next day. Of course she had to know why he wanted the typewriter so badly and who would have killed him. She’s pretty good at figuring things out. It was interesting to watch her work through the clues.

Do you help to solve the mystery in any way?

Of course. These humans – sometimes you’ve just got to jump in and maybe help point out the obvious.

Cat to cat, do you have any favorite toys, treats or napping spots?

The shelves are my favorite napping spots. The sun is amazing up there. Don’t tell my people, but every now and then I grab one of the promotional pens they’re selling and take it up to my secret spot on the shelves. I have a pretty good collection. I’m not one much for playing with the pens; I just like having them.

Can you tell us anything about your upcoming adventures?

The next Dangerous Type mystery takes place during the Star City Film Festival. I’ll have to deal with movie stars and murder. I can handle it though. I’ll just have to be extra diligent and keep those people of mine on task. Some of them can get so star struck, you know.

Thanks, Mudpie, and thanks to your person, Melissa, too.

From the publisher: The New York Times bestselling author of the Farmers’ Market Mysteries and the Country Cooking School Mysteries introduces readers to Star City, Utah, and a little shop called the Rescued Word...

Star City is known for its slopes and its powder. But nestled in the valley of this ski resort town is a side street full of shops that specialize in the simple charms of earlier eras. One of those shops is the Rescued Word, where Chester Henry and his adult granddaughter Clare lovingly repair old typewriters and restore old books. Who ever thought their quaint store would hold the key to some modern-day trouble?

When a stranger to town demands they turn over an antique Underwood typewriter they’re repairing for a customer, Clare fears she may need to be rescued. A call to the police scares the man off, but later Clare finds his dead body in the back alley. What about a dusty old typewriter could possibly be worth killing for?

Is it possible to find your favorite new series of the year in January? I'm not sure...but this one will be hard to beat!

To Helvetica and Back, the first book in Paige Shelton's new Dangerous Type mystery series, introduces us to Clare Henry and her grandfather Chester who own Rescued Word, a typewriter repair/book printing and restoration/stationery shop. The drama begins when Mirabelle, a romance author and old friend of Chester's brings her old Underwood typewriter in for repair. As soon as she leaves a leather-clad man demands that Clare turn it over to him. The police are called and the shop's security is upgraded, but the next morning the man is found dead in the alley behind the shop. How can a typewriter lead to murder??? Upon further inspection of the Underwood Clare discovers a mysterious serious of numbers and letters scratched into the key bars which ends up being a very important clue!

All of the characters in this book are memorable, from cranky kitty Baskerville to Clare's BFF/cop Jodie to her love interest, geologist Seth who might be keeping a secret or two of his own. And speaking of secrets, where was Chester on the night of the murder and why has he been seeking out information online on pancreatic cancer?

The setting of Star City, Utah is a character all it's own: a skiing mecca, old mining town, and home to both a monastery and polygamist compound!

This book was of great interest to me because I still have the old typewriter that my mom used during her secretarial days and I used to love playing on it as a little girl. It didn't disappoint in the least. I predict a bright future for this series and I'm already looking forward to book 2!

Giveaway: Leave a comment by noon eastern on Friday, January 22nd for your chance to win a paperback copy of To Helvetica and Back. (US entries only, please.)