Publisher: Crooked Lane Books (November 15, 2016)
Hardcover: 304 pages
ISBN-13: 978-1629538426
E-Book ASIN: B01H082DOU
Synopsis
Grandeur and opulence are everything in the famed New Orleans Garden District where pets are family and no bling is too big. Opening Furry Godmother, pet boutique and organic treat bakery, is Lacy Marie Crocker’s dream come true–until the glitter gun used to make her Shih Tzu tutus becomes a murder weapon. And Lacy becomes public enemy #1.
Now Detective Jack Oliver is hounding Lacy, and her Furry Godmother investor wants out before his name is tarnished by association. To make matters worse, a string of jewel heists with suspicious ties to the murder case has New Orleans residents on edge. To save her dream, Lacy must take a stand, put her keen eyes to work, and unravel what really happened at her shop that night. But can Lacy sniff out the killer cat burglar in time to get her tail-raising designs on the catwalk?
What I Thought:
I will admit that the cute kitties on the cover of this book is what drew me in, but then I started reading and was really drawn in by the convincing characters and plot of this book. Lacy has returned home to New Orleans after a painful breakup with her ex-fiancé. Once home, a kind benefactor loans her the money to open her dream shop, The Furry Godmother, a pet boutique. One night, Lacy stumbles upon an intruder in her store and sprays that intruder with her glitter gun. Lo and behold that same intruder ends up murdered, with the glitter gun, and Lacy is the prime suspect. The writing of this story is superb and the setting and characters are so believable. I so look forward to more in this series.
I receive a complimentary copy of this book.
About The Author
Julie Chase is a mystery-loving pet enthusiast who hopes to make readers smile. She lives in rural Ohio with her husband and three small children. Julie is a member of the International Thriller Writers (ITW) and Sisters in Crime (SinC). She is represented by Jill Marsal of Marsal Lyons Literary Agency. Julie also writes as Julie Anne Lindsey.
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Website: http://juliechasebooks.com/
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Purchase Links:
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Guest Post
Baking
For My Neighbors’ Pets
After spending fifteen years on a rural county road,
my family has moved to a literal new
neighborhood. I think the oldest home is less than five years old, and the
homes on my street are closer to two. My old neighborhood had more livestock
than people. This place is crawling with humans. No one rang the bell before.
Which was great because being the introvert that I am, the doorbell often triggers
my stop, drop and roll behind a couch response. I also never had to wave small
children out of my street so I could leave the driveway before. No one played on
the county road. (They would have died). It’s definitely a whole new world
here. Everything’s completely adorable, and I’m having a bit of culture shock. There
are ten houses on our street and thirty-four children. You read that right. Did
I mention the culture shock? *slow nod*
Luckily, everyone seems to have a pet. I don’t always
know what to say to people, but I’m pretty excited about the pets. I strike up
conversations with yard dogs and talk to cats seated in open windows. I know
them all by name. I’m still working on the humans. Pets are just easier for me.
I never feel as if dogs are judging my awkwardness, and when cats are done with
me, they walk away. I can appreciate that. I wish people could do that.
Anyway - As I prepared for the release of Cat Got Your
Diamonds, I had a lot of baking to do, and the new neighborhood became my
biggest blessing. I needed animals to sample my pupcakes and meow yum yums, but
I didn’t have any animals. Quite a predicament for a petless pet writer. Then
it him me. I could test my recipes on the neighbors’ pets! Bonus: What a great
icebreaker for an introvert like me. People like people who are good to their
pets.
It’s as if my new address was destiny.
I immediately began peddling my wares door to door
like a girl scout, expect my cookies were free and meant for the fur babies of
the house. I learned that the dogs on my road like pupcakes. All dogs. All
pupcakes. They liked the bacon and applesauce as well as the banana and peanut
butter. Maybe I’m a wizard chef. Maybe dogs aren’t choosey. Who knows? But they
gobbled them right up in front of me. Added bonus #2: baking pupcakes made my
house smell amazing.
The results were unclear for my meow yum yums. Neighborhood
cats mostly squinted and blinked at my offerings. Though, their people told me
later that the cats eventually ate the treats. It’s anyone’s guess if the
neighbors were lying to be polite, or if it was true. Cats are pickles like
that, but I take the fact the felines didn’t upend the trays to my face as
hope. Hey, I call all cat attention a success.
For more animal-lover antics and a peek at my yummy (I
think) pet recipes, I hope you’ll pick up a copy of Cat Got Your Diamonds. It may not be delicious, but just might make
you smile.
Cat
Got Your Diamonds is book one in the Kitty Couture
Mysteries Series published by Crooked Lane books November 2016.
Grandeur
and opulence are everything in the famed New Orleans Garden District where pets
are family and no bling is too big. Opening Furry Godmother, pet boutique and
organic treat bakery, is Lacy Marie Crocker’s dream come true--until the
glitter gun used to make her Shih Tzu tutus becomes a murder weapon. And Lacy
becomes public enemy #1.
Now
Detective Jack Oliver is hounding Lacy, and her Furry Godmother investor wants
out before his name is tarnished by association. To make matters worse, a
string of jewel heists with suspicious ties to the murder case has New Orleans
residents on edge. To save her dream, Lacy must take a stand, put her keen eyes
to work, and unravel what really happened at her shop that night. But can Lacy
sniff out the killer cat burglar in time to get her tail-raising designs on the
catwalk?
Witty
and whimsical, Cat Got Your Diamonds, the first in a new cozy series by Julie
Chase, will be the cat's meow for fans of Rita Mae Brown and Miranda James.
Meet
the Author
Julie Chase is a mystery-loving pet enthusiast who
hopes to make readers smile. She lives in rural Ohio with her husband and three
small children. Julie is a member of the International Thriller Writers (ITW)
and Sisters in Crime (SinC). She is represented by Jill Marsal of Marsal Lyons
Literary Agency. Julie also writes as Julie Anne Lindsey.
A Kitty Couture Mystery
About This Author