Tortie Shorties on Tuesday

Meows from Mudpie!

We're a day late with our Mystery Monday feature because of our participation in yesterday's Pet Blogger Challenge, but we still have a couple of great books to recommend this week!

Be sure to stop by next Monday because after a brief hiatus I'll be back with a brand new installment of "Mudpie Interviews"!

Murder Most Howl: A Paws & Claws Mystery by Krista Davis

From the publisher: This January, Wagtail, Virginia, the top pet-friendly destination in the country, is throwing a fun murder mystery weekend—but no one expected the real thing...

Holly Miller is delighted her grandmother has finally left the Sugar Maple Inn to take a well-deserved vacation. It means Holly’s in charge, but running the inn might be more challenging than she realized. Wagtail’s throwing a weekend-long murder mystery game to draw in tourists during the slow season, the inn has a full house, and a blizzard is on the way.

Trouble is unleashed the night the game begins, when the storm blows in and the lights go out. It gets worse the following morning when Holly’s Jack Russell terrier, Trixie, discovers a body—one that’s actually dead. Now Holly, her calico kitten Twinkletoes, and Trixie must play by the rules and find one dirty dog...

Tortie Shorties: If such a town as Wagtail really existed I would move there in a heartbeat. It's a pet lover's paradise that caters to tourists and their pets where animals are welcome everywhere, even restaurants with special menus for the furry patrons.

In this third book in the Paws & Claws mystery series, Holly finds herself flying solo at the Sugar Maple Inn as her grandmother is on a cruise. The inn is hopping too with everyone excited for the murder mystery weekend taking place. With a blizzard outside the lights go out...and in addition to the fictional murder, a real murder also takes place and it's Holly who finds the body frozen to a bench out in the snow. There's no shortage of suspects as the victim had many enemies, many of whom are stranded at the inn. Everyone gets involved and soon Holly's weekend guests team up to solve both mysteries!

I loved the characters brought in for the mystery weekend, especially the book club with an overly competitive member. Also taking place is an "If the Dog Fits" program where attendees can "try out" an adoptable dog. The mystery itself is a real puzzler, and believe it or not, a mouse ends up playing a key role in identifying the killer in a real game of "cat and mouse".

For pet loving mystery readers, the Paws & Claws mystery series is purr-fection!

The Legend of Tabby Hollow by Kathi Daley

From the publisher: A cozy mystery series set on Madrona Island, a fictional island within the San Juan Islands off the coast of Washington State. As a fourth generation islander Caitlin Hart is struggling to make her way as the economy and culture of the island evolves toward a tourism based industry. Cait lives in a cabin on her aunt's oceanfront estate where she helps her aunt run Harthaven Cat Sanctuary. When she isn't working with the cats, she helps best friend Tara, operate the coffee bar/bookstore/cat lounge they own, named Coffee Cat Books. In the fifth book in the series, Cait and Cody join forces to track down a killer when a body is found in the hollow.

Tortie Shorties: In this Halloween edition of the Whales and Tails mystery series, a black kitty named Ichabod leads Cait to the body of the mayor in a haunted hollow on Madrona Island. The location of the body makes no sense because he had no reason to be there...he hated cats. Additional bodies stack up, all with black poker chips nearby, leading to fears of a serial killer on the island.

I adored Ichabod; he's my favorite feline to enter Cait's life with clues to a murder. Where he ended up at the end of the book put a *huge* smile on my face. This book also introduces us to Cait's sister Siobhan who has lost her job and apartment. As she reconnects with her family and ex-fiance, she also takes a lead role in solving the murder spree. Aunt Maggie is missing through much of the story. She has told everyone that she's going to a yoga retreat, which ends up being a lie. By the end of the book what she was up to is still a mystery. The love story between Cait and Cody really heats up too!

This series is so character driven that each new story is like time spent with lifelong friends, and what's better than spending your favorite holidays with friends!