When
the Midwestern Cat Fanciers' Organization comes to Merryville,
Minnesota for its twenty-fifth annual retreat, it seems like
a great opportunity for Izzy McHale to promote her pet boutique,
Trendy Tails. After all, cat fanciers only want the best for
their fabulous felines, and her custom designed pet clothes
and collars, along with the treats her business partner Rena
Hamilton makes, are top quality goods.
Along with the
cats and their owners comes trouble, however, and when Izzy's
involved that usually means someone gets murdered and she
finds herself in the thick of things. This time, it's Phillip
Denford, the financier of the retreat who is killed, and unfortunately
for Izzy, he'd threatened her business by producing cheap
knockoffs of her designs, and that puts her squarely in the
lead of persons of interest. Yet Phillip had more than his
fair share of affairs and it's just possible that his wife
or one of the other women in his life killed him. What's more,
the valuable grand prize pendant has been stolen, and when
it turns up in the purse of Pris Olsen, local pet groomer,
Izzy starts to wonder what is really going on behind the scenes
of the retreat. Did Pris kill Denford? If so, why?
Will the police,
or perhaps even Izzy, unmask the murderer before he or she
kills again? There are plenty of suspicious people and possible
motives, but limited opportunity for the murder to have taken
place.
This is yet another
fun cozy in an up-and-coming series. I enjoyed getting to
know Izzy, Rena, Izzy's boyfriend Jack (a police officer),
and the rest of the characters in Merryville. Anytime an author
mixes adorable cats and dogs into their book, I'm hooked right
away.
A thoroughly
enjoyable cozy with a smart amateur sleuth, Collared for
Murder kept me reading with interest for a whole afternoon.
This is a great summer read, and a series people of all ages
from teen through seniors should enjoy. Happy reading!
Reviews of other titles in this series
Paws
for Murder
Groomed
for Murder
Note: Annie Knox also writes the Mystery a
la Mode series as Wendy Watson
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