Tortie Shorties on Mystery Monday

Welcome to this week's edition of Tortie Shorties on Mystery Monday!

We hope you enjoy our choices.

From the publisher: A witch, a kitty and dark chocolate magic...

Caitlyn is used to being the ugly duckling in her glamorous showbiz family... until the day she learns that she was adopted as an abandoned baby. Now, her search for answers takes her to the tiny English village of Tillyhenge where a man has been murdered by witchcraft - and where a mysterious shop selling enchanted chocolates is home to the "local witch"...

Soon Caitlyn finds herself fending off a toothless old vampire, rescuing an adorable kitten and meeting handsome aristocrat Lord James Fitzroy... not to mention discovering that she herself might have magical blood in her veins!

When she's dragged into the murder investigation and realises that dark magic is involved, Caitlyn is forced to choose. Can she embrace her witchy powers in time to solve the mystery and save those she loves?

Tortie Shorties Review: Many of us have long believed that chocolate has magical powers, but for Caitlyn LeFay there's no doubt.

Having just lost her mother in a car accident and learning she was adopted, Caitlyn arrives in the small Cotswold village of Tillyhenge to find some answers. It's a strange little village lacking Internet access, poor cell service, and it doesn't show up on GPS or satellite images. The people she meets are even more interesting, especially Widow Mags, owner of the local chocolate shop where Caitlyn rents a room for her stay. Widow Mags is rumored to be a witch, and has found herself the main suspect in the recent murder of a gamekeeper. As Caitlyn learns some shocking details about who she really is, she's pulled into the murder investigation aided by her fun cousin Pomona, the handsome Lord who lives in a real manor house, and a hysterical vampire guardian Count Viktor Dracul.

Even if you aren't typically into paranormal mysteries this is a very fun and quick read, and trust me, you'll want a huge slab of chocolate cake by the time you're finished reading Dark, Witch & Creamy!

From the publisher: Pet sitter Daphne Templeton has a soft spot for every stray and misfit who wanders into the quaint, lakeside village of Sylvan Creek. But even Daphne doesn’t like arrogant, womanizing Steve Beamus, the controversial owner of Blue Ribbon K-9 Academy. When Steve turns up dead during a dog agility trial, Daphne can think of a long list of people with motives for homicide, and so can the police. Unfortunately, at the top of the list is Daphne’s sister, Piper—Steve’s latest wronged girlfriend.

Certain that Piper is innocent, in spite of mounting evidence to the contrary, Daphne sets out to clear her sister’s name—and find Axis, Steve’s prize-winning chocolate Labrador, who went missing the night of Steve’s death. Aided by Socrates, her taciturn basset hound, and a hyperactive one-eared Chihuahua named Artie, Daphne quickly runs afoul of Detective Jonathan Black, a handsome and enigmatic newcomer to town, who has no appreciation for Daphne’s unorthodox sleuthing.

Can a free-spirited pet sitter, armed only with a Ph.D. in Philosophy and her two incompatible dogs, find the real killer before she becomes the next victim?

Tortie Shorties Review: Sisters Daphne the pet-sitter and Piper the vet - two women who have absolutely nothing in common but blood and a mutual love for animals - live together in Piper's cozy Pennsylvania farmhouse. The farm is the site of a dog agility trial, drawing in many dog aficionados including Piper's ex-boyfriend Steve, owner of the Blue Ribbon K-9 Academy. The first morning the competition comes to a grinding halt when Steve is found dead in a retractable tunnel. Daphne finds herself playing amateur sleuth when Piper becomes the main suspect and Steve's chocolate lab Axis goes missing.

This is my favorite debut of 2017 so far. Daphne is such a fun character - her constant car and phone issues had me chuckling more than once. Solid, dependable Piper reminded me in many ways of myself. Handsome and mysterious detective Jonathan is a character I can't wait for Daphne to learn more about - especially from during his time as a Navy SEAL when he lost his canine partner. The four-legged characters - particularly Daphne's basset hound Socrates and the needy chihuahua she's fostering - are scene stealers. The identity of the killer crushed me because it was a character I really liked and hoped to see more of in subsequent books.

Four paws WAY up!!!