The Case of the Cat Crazy Lady by Debbie De Louise - Blog Tour with Guest Post and Giveaway

Cathy Carter and her brother Douglas own a pet cemetery and animal rescue center in the small, upstate New York town of Buttercup Bend.

After the local “Cat Crazy Lady,” Maggie Broom, is found dead in her home, Cathy is stunned to learn that Rainbow Gardens and Rainbow Rescues is the recipient of most of Maggie’s estate.

Maggie’s estranged brother and sister come to town and are upset with the terms of their sister's will. Sheriff Leroy Miller is convinced one of them killed Maggie.

When another person turns up dead, Cathy sets out to solve the murders with her reporter friend, Nancy Meyers. But who really wanted to kill the "Cat Crazy Lady," and why?

About the Author:

Debbie De Louise is an award-winning author and a reference librarian at a public library on Long Island. She is a member of Sisters-in-Crime, International Thriller Writers, the Long Island Authors Group, and the Cat Writers’ Association. Her novels include the five books and four stories of the Cobble Cove cozy mystery series, a comedy novella, When Jack Trumps Ace, a paranormal romance, Cloudy Rainbow, and the standalone mysteries; Reason to Die, Sea Scope, and Memory Makers. Debbie has also written a time-travel novel, Time’s Relative, and a non-fiction cat book, Pet Posts: The Cat Chats, written from the points of view of four of her cats and has also published articles in online and print pet magazines including Catster.com. Her latest book, Meows and Purrs, is a poetry collection of cat poems that includes photos and notes about her cats.

Debbie’s stories and poetry appear in the Red Penguin Collections, What Lies Beyond, ‘Tis the Season, Stand Out, Volumes I and II, Until Dawn, Treat or Trick, and Pets on the Prowl. Her poems are also featured in the Nassau County Voices In Verse 2020 anthology and the 2020 and 2021 Bards Annual. She lives on Long Island with her husband, daughter, and two cats.

Author Links:

Website/Blog/Newsletter Sign-Up: https://debbiedelouise.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/debbie.delouise.author/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Deblibrarian

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2750133.Debbie_De_Louise

Amazon Author Page: http://amzn.to/2bIHdaQ

All Author: https://allauthor.com/author/debbiedelouise/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/debbie_writer/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/debbiedelouise/

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/debbie-de-louise

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/debbiedelouise

Debbie’s Character’s Chat Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/748912598599469/

Sneaky the Library Cat’s blog: https://Sneakylibrarycat.wordpress.com

The Pets in The Case of the Cat Crazy Lady

In the first book of my Buttercup Bend mysteries, Cathy Carter and her brother Doug own a pet cemetery and rescue center. There are several pets who play big roles in the story. Cathy’s Siamese, Oliver, has the most parts. He is based on my cat, Oliver, who passed away from kidney disease during the writing of the book. Many of the fictional Oliver’s characteristics are based on my Oliver. For instance, he loved splashing in his water fountain and sleeping on my bed.

 

As Oliver ate noisily, slurping up the food and then dipping his paws in his fountain and splashing some of it over the floor, Florence came into the house. She was already dressed. She jumped at the sight of Cathy sitting at the kitchen table. “Oh, you gave me a scare, dear. I was checking on the pets at Rainbow Rescues. It’s important that Becky gets her sleep now, and it’s hard to get a volunteer over there so early.”

“Oliver woke me. He was looking for his breakfast.” “Sorry. I would’ve fed him, but he was still in your room when I left.”

 

Another cat featured in the book is Hobo, an orange tabby, who Cathy’s friend, Nancy adopts from Rainbow Rescues after he shows signs of depression from not having a home. Nancy had lost a previous cat that had been buried in Rainbow Gardens and was reluctant to take another. But when she adopts Hobo, the two of them bond immediately.

 

Even though most of the pets that were brought to the Rainbow Rescues were nameless, the staff gave them temporary names. Hobo was one of their oldest residents in the cat section of the center. Cathy found him five years ago when Rainbow Rescues first opened. He came crying to her grand‐ mother’s door, a starving orange kitten with matted fur and big green eyes. She named him Hobo because he was dirty and seemed to have traveled from a distance. They went through the normal procedures to find his owner, placing his photo in the Buttercup Bugle and on telephone poles around town asking if anyone had lost him and including the phone number of the rescue center. When he wasn’t claimed, they made him an official resident of Rainbow Rescues.

 The three other cats who were present when he arrived were all adopted within a few weeks after he came. Cathy tried to convince Florence to take Hobo, but her cat Floppy was receiving twice daily insulin injections for diabetes. Florence felt adding another cat to their household would be too much work. Cathy still regretted not taking Hobo after Floppy passed away, but she’d promised Oliver’s owner on her deathbed that her old cat would have a home with her and Florence. Then several other cats were admitted to Rainbow Rescues, and Cathy believed Hobo was adapting well. He became a favorite among Becky and the volunteers who cleaned the cages and changed the litter pans and food.

 

Deputy sheriff, Brian, is another big pet lover. Not only does he care for Maggie’s cats after she’s murdered, but he has several pets of his own. One of them, a female named Boots, dies, and Cathy and her grandmother plan a memorial for her. The poem that Brian recites at the service is one that I wrote about Oliver when he died. I just substituted Boots’ Name.

 

There’s a spot next to my pillow that's bare.

Boots always used to sleep there.

She loved me to stroke her chest. Of all my cats, she was one of the best.

She was a pretty tuxedo cat. There was no doubt about that.

Although I only had her four years, I can’t help shedding so many tears.

But she is out of pain now on Rainbow Bridge waiting for me with my other special cats who one day I’ll see.

 

There aren’t only cats in the book. Max and Mille are German shepherds who belong to Cathy’s brother, Doug, and his wife Becky. There’s a scene where Cathy encounters Becky walking them and is amazed that her small, very pregnant sister-in-law can handle the big dogs.

 

As she turned down her block, Cathy ran into Becky walking her German shepherds, Max and Millie. The dogs were brother and sister rescues that Becky and Doug adopted as puppies five years ago when Rainbow Rescues opened. Cathy found it amazing how petite and very pregnant Becky could handle the pair, but Doug had trained the dogs well. They walked on either side of her without pulling their leashes.

“Hi, Becky. Would you like me to give you a hand with the dogs?” Cathy offered. Max and Millie weighed about eighty pounds each and, although gentle, they were still a handful for a pregnant woman.

Becky shook her head. “No, thank you, Cathy. I’m ne. It’s a lovely day, and I can use the exercise. It’s good for the baby.” She patted her stomach, gave the dogs’ leashes another tug, and smiled at her as she continued down the path.

Most of my other books include pets, especially cats because I’m so fond of them. However, because of the cemetery and rescue center, the Buttercup Bend mysteries will feature more than their share of animals. In fact, the next in the series, The Case of the Parrot-Loving Professor, that I’m currently working on, will feature a Charlie, the parrot.

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