Lacy Marie Crocker has settled into a comfortable groove back home in New Orleans, and with Valentine’s Day right around the corner, she’s busier than ever running a thriving pet boutique, helping her mother organize the upcoming National Pet Pageant, and untangling her complicated love life. But when delivering a king-sized order of dreidel-shaped doggy biscuits for a Saint Berdoodle’s … bark-mitzvah, Lacy stumbles into yet another murder scene—and the last person to see the victim alive was her own father.
It’s up to Lacy to clear her dad’s name from the suspect list before Detective Jack Oliver has to cage him for good. But just when she starts pawing at the truth, she receives a threatening letter from a mysterious blackmailer bent on silencing her with her own secrets. And Lacy’s not the only one with bones in her closet.
Time’s running out in this deadly cat-and-mouse game in Cat Got Your Secrets, the delightfully funny third novel in Julie Chase’s Kitty Couture mystery series, perfect for “all those feline fanciers who love to read Rita Mae Brown” (Suspense Magazine).
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Cat Got Your Secrets by Julie Chase was the first book I’ve read by this author and I throughly enjoyed it.
Lacey Marie Crocker is a very likable character, that owns a specialty pet store in New Orleans. He dad the local veterinarian is fingered as the killer of a local murder and it’s up to Lacey to help find the killer before her dad goes to jail for something he didn’t do. Detective Jack Oliver, Chase and Scarlet are there to help and in Jack’s case to save the day.
I received this book as an Advanced Review Copy for my honest review.
I LIKED this book! It is the first in the series that I have read. I enjoyed that I didn’t figure out who did it until near the end.
It is filled with good writing, a good story, great characters that are believable. I liked that is was set around Valentine’s Day without having a sappy romance angle. I also enjoyed that Lacy is wrangled into serving on the National Pet Pageant committee with her mother. She finds that it could be good for business and getting to know others. I will be reading the first two in the series before the fourth one comes out. The author has a good sense of humor and I found myself laughing out loud in very public places.
Lacy Marie Crocker is the main character. Lacy is a costume designer for animals, baker and shop owner in New Orleans. She comes from a well known and wealthy family and has recently returned to NOLA after being gone for a while. She works with her friends Scarlet, Chase, and Detective Jack Oliver to find and resolve clues that may or may not point to the killer. There are a few subplots to the story but that makes it interesting.
Lacy’s father is the main suspect as he was last seen with the victim .Lacy is determined to clear her father.
I was given a free copy of this book and these are my unsolicited opinions.
I read this in Sept 2017.
I simply adore Julie Chase’s Kitty Couture series, and Cat Got Your Secrets just might be my favorite yet. Either the series keeps getting better, or I’ve come to enjoy characters who are familiar by now. But whatever the reason, this witty, well-written story that’s filled with southern charm provided a great reading experience.
New Orleans’s Garden District, known for its stately historic homes and wealthy residents, is a fascinating backdrop for the action that centers around Lacy and her Furry Godmother pet boutique and bakery. I love my pets, but when it comes to the couture designs that Lacy creates for her high-end customers, I just have to roll my eyes. Fun to read about, though!
Lacy might not be the smartest fictional detective, but she cares about her family and leads from the heart as she tries to clear her father’s name. Detective Jack Oliver is a favorite of mine … financially secure through inherited family wealth, but loves police work. The romantic tension and witty dialogue between them is wonderful. Lacy actually has two love interests, but let me just say that if Jack doesn’t win fair lady, I’ll be terribly disappointed.
Strong, appealing secondary characters add richness to the story, such as Lacy’s best friend and also their family employee who used to be her nanny. Lacy’s mother cares about her, but she’s a controlling figure who worries about appearances, and I’m on the fence as to how I feel about her. And then there’s Penelope, the cat. I can just see her riding the automatic vacuum cleaner around the shop!
The murder plot is well crafted. Rarely am I able to solve the murder’s identity; I just enjoy going along for the entertaining ride. The dry wit and some laugh-out-loud scenes are a strength of the story. This is also a clean read with no profanity or anything graphic. Thank you for that, Julie Chase!
Another creative touch that I loved are the quotes at the beginning of each chapter, helpful “tips” from Furry Godmother with a hint of what’s to come. Here’s two of my favorites …
“If you want something done right, do it yourself. Just don’t get caught.”
“Everyone deserves the royal treatment, even the jesters.”
I loved Cat Got Your Secrets and hope the series continues for a good while. Highly recommended.
I was provided a free copy of this book through Great Escapes Tours. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.
http://booksmusicandlife.blogspot.com/2017/09/review-double-giveaway-cat-got-your.html
I won a copy of this book from Goodreads Giveaways. I was not required to give a favorable review. This is the first book I have read from Julie Chase and I found the writing wonderful and the story great. I can just picture having a shop for pets and using her design skills to make pets owners happy. The murder mystery theme is just great and the love of family is wonderful. I hope that things get better in the future for Jack & Lacy. Thank make a great team and he will always protect her. The whole book was very hard to put down.
This is a book to relax with. The story is good, but it didn’t grab me like some other books. I have a problem with the seemingly budding romance developing between Lacy and Jack. I thought, at the beginning of the book, the author indicated that he was old enough to be her father. But that fact is soon forgotten as the two of them become closer. The wide variety of characters enables the reader to identify with at least one of them. Who can you relate to?
Cat Got Your Secrets: Kitty Couture Mystery # 3 by Julie Chase.
Lacy Marie Crocker is excited about her pet boutique, Furry Godmother, finally showing signs of success and that the National Pet Pageant is coming up soon which will bring in new orders for pet costumes. Finally thing seem to be going well for Lacy, but when she received an order of dreidel shaped dog biscuits for a bark-mitzvah and arrives to deliver them she finds out that one of her dad’s friends has been found dead inside the venue. Detective Jack Oliver comes to Lacy’s shop later to let her know her dad is a suspect in the murder of his friend. Lacy is determined no matter what to clear her dad’s name. Can she find the real killer without becoming the next victim?
I really like how Lacy is maturing as the series progresses. She has finally decided to have a better relationship with her mother even though she still wants to make a success on her own without financial help from her parents. She finally decides what she wants as relationship wise from Chase and Jack. I was also glad to see Jack show some trust and open up, letting Lacy know more about his life past and present. I love Lacy’s cat Penelope and her obsession with riding the Roomba around Furry Godmother. I am looking forward to seeing what trouble Lacy can get into in the next book and seeing how Jack and her other friends and family can help get her out of harm’s way.
I recommend this book to mystery lovers especially lovers of cozy pet mysteries. This is a funny, well written book, with lovable characters and just the right amount of red herrings. There is no graphic language, sex, or violence. This book can be read and enjoyed as a stand alone mystery. There is continuing storyline in the series and to have better understand of the backstory on the relationships you should read Cat Got Your Diamonds and Cat Got Your Cash first. Recipes included as a bonus.
**I voluntarily read an advanced reader’s copy of this book. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**
Cat Got Your Secrets by Julie Chase is the third story in A Kitty Couture Mystery series. Lacy Marie Crocker owns Furry Godmother in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is a pet boutique and organic treat bakery that caters to all animals. Lacy is dropping off dreidel dog treats for a bark-mitzvah at a catering hall next to The Cuddle Brigade when she notices a slew of emergency vehicles. She gets out to inquire what is occurring and discovers that her father’s friend, Wallace Becker is dead. When Lacy discovers her father was the last person (besides the killer) to see Wallace alive, she knows she needs to act quickly. Lacy starts delving into Wallace Becker’s life to find out who would have wanted him dead. She needs to work in her investigation in between baking pet treats, creating costumes, helping with the preparations for the party honoring her father, and her NPP Welcoming Committee commitments (thanks to her mother). In addition, there are her two suitors, Chase Hawthorne and Detective Jack Oliver.
Cat Got Your Secrets was easy to read and had a good pace. I did feel that the murder occurred too early in the book (right at the beginning) which makes the book feel long. Cat Got Your Secrets can be read alone. Everything a reader needs to know is provided in the story. I felt the author tried to stuff too much into one book. There are numerous people and animals introduced (along with wacky costumes for the pets). None of the human characters are fully developed (very superficial). There are details missing from the story (an example is the father’s first name). I am rating Cat Got Your Secrets 2 out of 5 stars (just not for me). Lacy is a difficult character to like (and lacks depth). She is 30 going on 16 (I might be giving her too much credit). Lacy has unreasonable expectations, runs around like the Roadrunner, overreacts to every little thing, breaks laws, etc. There is just one zany antic after another. Then there is her demanding mother (a woman who loves parties and events). The mystery is not complicated and it is easily solved early in the novel (one clue will give it away). There was a repetition of information especially in the beginning. Cat Got Your Secrets failed to capture and hold my attention. I wanted more substance and less wacky. I am not the right audience for A Kitty Couture Mystery series.
Lacy Crocker has settled into a routine with her business and her social life in New Orleans. Her business, Furry Godmother is a pet boutique and organic treat bakery that caters to all animals and is booming. With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, she’s busier than ever. She is also helping her mother organize the upcoming National Pet Pageant.
When delivering an order of dreidel-shaped doggy biscuits for a Saint Berdoodle’s bark-mitzvah, Lacy stumbles onto a murder scene. Unfortunately, the last person to talk to the victim alive was her own father.
It’s up to Lacy to clear her father’s name from the suspect list before Detective Jack Oliver decides to arrest him. Things are as simple as she thinks they should be when she starts receiving threatening letters from a blackmailer. Threat aside, Lacy doesn’t know when to stop.
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Series: A Kitty Couture Mystery – Book 3
Author: Julie Chase
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
The third addition to the Kitty Couture mystery series, Cat Got Your Secrets is a fun and entertaining read. The character of Lacy is interesting even though a bit immature at times. However, this helps the reader understand the gravity of the situations Lacy gets herself involved in. Which her friends and family are continuously trying to prevent her from getting hurt by.
The character of Jack Oliver is a wonderful romantic lead and is clearly the soul love interest for Lacy. Chase is great, but he is too far into the friend zone to be a real love interest. It will be interesting to learn how this plays out in future additions to the series. Will Lacy grow up and accept that Jack is the only man for her?
Lacy’s mother and father are parents who care deeply about their daughter and also their community. They may not be perfect but they try to do the best they can under the difficult circumstances Lacy puts them into. It would be great if Imogene played a bigger role, and the hints of otherworldly inferences could be made a little more prominent. This will be interesting to see if this happens in future books in the series.
Of course, the story is filled with animals of all types, cats, dogs. llamas, and more, as well as their eccentric owners. Each of the animals and owners is a welcome addition to the story and the plot.
The setting of New Orleans is portrayed vividly. If the reader closes their eyes, they can almost smell the Cajun food cooking, hear the music of the bayou, and feel the sticky heat on a humid day. For anyone who has ever paid a visit to this historical and busy community, they will have a sense of going back in time. For those who haven’t visited New Orleans, they will definitely want to spend some time there.
Ms. Chase writes an easy to read, an entertaining and soul filled story of murder, relationships and ultimately, home and family. The plot is easy to follow if a little disjointed at times. The reader is never led so far down another path that they forget which direction the story is going.
Cat Got Your Secrets is highly recommended. Love of animals, food, and family will draw the reader in without ever having to read the first two books. It is hoped that this series continues on for many more books to come.