Tortie Shorties on Mystery Monday

Purrfect Murder (The Mysteries of Max Book 1) by Nic Saint

From the publisher: There’s something special about Max. He may look like your regular ginger flabby tabby, but unlike most tabbies, he can actually communicate with his human, reporter for the Hampton Cove Gazette Odelia Poole. Max takes a keen interest in the goings-on in their small town, by snooping around with his best friends Dooley, a not-too-bright ragamuffin, and Harriet, a gorgeous white Persian. Their regular visits to the police station, the barbershop and the doctor’s office provide them with those precious and exclusive scoops that have made Odelia the number one reporter in town.

But when suddenly the body of a bestselling writer is discovered buried in the last Long Island outhouse, and a new policeman arrives in town to solve the murder, it looks like things are about to change in Hampton Cove. Detective Chase Kingsley doesn’t take kindly to nosy reporters like Odelia snooping around his crime scene or interviewing his suspects. And to make matters worse, he’s got a cat of his own in Brutus, a buff, black bully, who, just like his owner, likes to lay down the law. Soon Brutus isn’t just restricting access to the police station, but he’s putting the moves on Harriet, breaking up the band.

Now it’s all Odelia, Max and Dooley can do to try and solve the murder, in spite of Detective Kingsley’s and Brutus’s protestations, and show the overbearing cop and his bullyragging feline how things are done in Hampton Cove. Will Odelia find the killer before Detective Kingsley does? And will Max prevent Brutus from moving in on his territory and taking over the town? Find out in Purrfect Murder, the first book in the new Mysteries of Max series.

Tortie Shorties Review: Just when you think the cat cozies on the market today can't possibly get any better, a little gem like this comes along. The publisher's blurb tells the gist of the story but I have to focus on the cats. Max, Harriet and Dooley, a feline version of the Three Musketeers, have pretty sweet lives communicating with their humans (a grandmother, mother and daughter who can all communicate with them). No one understands how local reporter Odelia Poole gets the scoop on local happenings long before anyone else, not knowing that her sources have fur and four legs. Then a controversial cop moves to town and with him comes Brutus, a black cat in need of an attitude adjustment, causing trouble wherever he goes and stealing Persian Harriet's heart in the process. Their little worlds are turned upside down and then to top it all off a dead body is pulled from the outhouse (ewww!!!) at a local writers' retreat.

This book is non-stop fun from start to finish. The cats' antics and conversations are hysterically funny. (One particular scene where Max and Dooley make a blood oath with feral cat Clarice and Max worries about gangrene setting in had me in stitches.) Paws crossed that the wait isn't too long for the second book in this purrfect new series!

Mission Impawsible (A Paws & Claws Mystery) by Krista Davis

From the publisher: Holly and her grandmother, Oma, are working their tails off to prepare the Sugar Maple Inn for an upcoming matchmaking event for pet owners. While Holly has no interest in pairing up, Oma plans on playing Cupid and finding someone to warm her reluctant granddaughter’s heart.

Unfortunately, one man Holly does meet is cold—dead cold—and he has a personal letter from Oma in his pocket. As suspicion is cast over the inn's guests, Holly—with the help of her furry friends, Trixie the Jack Russell and Twinkletoes the cat—must fetch the real killer, or she may soon have a date in court.

Tortie Shorties Review: Every visit to Wagtail, Virginia is to be celebrated, 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. Mission Impawsible, the fourth book in the series, takes place during Sugar Maple Inn's Animal Attraction Matchmaking event. It's a time for fun, flirting, and maybe a little romance, but no one expects it to be the scene of not one but two murders! The two victims were as different as night and day but they will forever be linked in death.

This book has loads of twists and turns, no shortage of suspicious suspects, and a furry cast of characters that lovers of pet cozies will adore. (The cats and dogs' late night pantry raids are hysterical!) While the mystery is quite complicated the resolution is tied up nicely. I'm already looking forward to the next book in the series set at Christmastime!

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