To bark or not to bark . . .Professional pet sitter Daphne Templeton loves the holidays in Sylvan Creek, Pennsylvania. And nothing gets her into the spirit more than the town’s annual Bark the Halls Ball. The whole community will be there to wag their tails, especially this year’s special guest—Celeste “CeeCee” French, founder of a national chain of pet care franchises, who’s returning home to … who’s returning home to announce plans for a bright new flagship store.
But not everyone’s celebrating CeeCee’s homecoming. Daphne’s friend Moxie Bloom, owner of Spa and Paw, a unique salon for people and their pets, has plenty to growl about. So when CeeCee is found face down under Sylvan Creek’s town Christmas tree, stabbed with a distinctive pair of professional-grade pet shears, suspicion lands squarely on Moxie. Despite Daphne’s promises to Detective Jonathan Black, she quickly reprises her role as amateur sleuth. Ably assisted by her basset hound sidekick, Socrates, she must hurry to prove her friend’s innocence before a killer barks again . . .
Includes recipes for homemade pet treats!
“Doggone charming from start to finish!”
—Cleo Coyle, New York Times bestselling author on Death by Chocolate Lab
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i thought it would never end.
I didn’t finish the book I thought it was silly.
It’s Christmas time in Sylvan Creek, Pennsylvania, pet-friendly town. This was a great book filled with plenty of twists and turns. As usual, Daphne can’t seem to keep trouble from finding her. When a former classmate returns to town and announces plans to open one of her pet stores, the town is in an uproar. When the woman is found murdered, Daphne’s best friend, Moxie, becomes the prime suspect. Daphne, of course, will do whatever she can to help her friend. I love this town and it’s characters. Everything is just so charming and the town seems to be a neat place to live (other than the occasional murder). I can’t wait to see what’s next for everyone and see Daphne and Jonathan’s relationship start to grow and develop. A must-read book if you love pets and cozy mysteries!
A cozy winter themed story with quirky characters and a clumsy, kind-hearted and intelligent protagonist. An animal menagerie including dogs, a cat and a rat add a special touch too. I love this series and am anxiously awaiting book #5 in the Lucky Paws Petsitting Mystery series.. Thanks to Kensington and NetGalley for an ARC. The opinions expressed are my own.
Holiday Cheer, Mystery, Murder, and Mayhem
A Midwinter’s Tail is the fourth book in Bethany Blake’s Lucky Paws Pet Sitting Mystery series. The storyline is well plotted, and the characters are well developed. This book held my attention from beginning to the end and has plenty of twists and turns, and red herrings that keep the reader guessing. This steadily paced book is an enjoyable, clean read, with an interesting mystery and touches of humor and romance. Ms. Blake provides sufficient background information that this book can easily be read as a standalone. I’m looking forward to seeing what future adventures are in store for Daphne and her friends.
Daphne Templeton is the owner of Lucky Paws Pet Sitting in the quaint, pet-friendly village of Sylvan Creek, and because she loves baking healthy treats for cats and dogs, she recently opened Flour Power, a bakery for pets. She has a Basset Hound named Socrates, who is her loyal companion, and a black Persian cat named Tinkleston. She lives in Plum Cottage on her sister, Piper’s, farm, Winding Hill. Piper is a veterinarian, and her relationship with Professor Roger Berendt is getting serious. Daphne has been casually dating Gabriel Graham, the local newspaper owner and reporter, but building a relationship with Detective Jonathan Black is beginning to look possible. Jonathan has a well-behaved Chocolate Labrador named Axis and an energetic one-eared, crooked toothed, drooling Chihuahua named Artie. Moxie Bloom is her best friend, has a white rat named Sebastian, and owns Spa and Paw, a salon for humans and pets. Daphne’s mother, Maeve Templeton, is the owner of Maeve Templeton Realty.
Sylvan Creek residents are looking forward to the town’s annual Bark the Halls Ball for people and pets. On the night of the town’s showing of “It’s a Wonderful Life” at the Bijoux theater, former resident and founder of French’s Poodles & More, a large pet care chain, Celeste “CeeCee” French, announces she’s bringing her flagship store to Sylvan Creek. The opening of this store will adversely affect all the pet businesses in the area. While talking with Jonathan in Pettigrew Park, Daphne’s attention is drawn to the town Christmas tree by a little pug wearing a red sweater and sees a body, which turns out to be CeeCee, under the tree. Moxie’s on the suspect list and while Jonathan thinks it’s almost impossible to believe she committed homicide, he and his partner, Detective Fred Doebler, can’t rule out the possibility, not only because of her potential loss of income but also because of her history with CeeCee. In high school, CeeCee, who was the head cheerleader, future valedictorian, and frequent bully, stole Moxie’s boyfriend, Mike Cavanaugh, at the Sylvan Creek High Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree formal, and she’d never recovered from her broken heart. After her death, CeeCee’s assistant, Jeff Updegrove, dumps CeeCee’s spoiled French poodle, Snowdrop, in Daphne’s lap. Daphne is determined to prove her friend’s innocence, and, with the help of a mischievous pug, sets out to track down the killer.
I received an Advance Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and voluntarily reviewed it.
Pet sitter Daphne Templeton loves the holidays in Sylvan Creek, Pennsylvania. And nothing gets her into the spirit more than the town’s annual Bark the Halls Ball. The whole community will be there to wag their tails, especially this year’s special guest—Celeste “CeeCee” French, founder of a national chain of pet care franchises, who is returning home to announce plans for a bright new flagship store.
But not everyone’s celebrating CeeCee’s homecoming. Daphne’s friend Moxie Bloom, owner of Spa and Paw, a unique salon for people and their pets, has plenty to growl about. So, when CeeCee is found face down under Sylvan Creek’s town Christmas tree, stabbed with a distinctive pair of professional-grade pet shears, suspicion lands squarely on Moxie. Despite Daphne’s promises to Detective Jonathan Black, she quickly reprises her role as an amateur sleuth. Ably assisted by her basset hound sidekick, Socrates, she must hurry to prove her friend’s innocence before a killer barks again.
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Series: Lucky Paws Petsitting Mystery – Book 4
Author: Bethany Blake
Genre: Cozy Mystery/Pet/Business
Publisher: Kensington Books
The Lucky Paws Petsitting Mystery series is a fun, happy set of books that any cozy lover will cherish. A Midwinter’s Tail is no exception. This is a fast-paced, enjoyable read in a wonderful pet-friendly town with tons of memorable moments and plenty of twists and turns that will keep the reader guessing.
Daphne is a great character who is very much like many small-town shopkeepers. She is always trying to keep her head above water, and always wanting to help her fellow business neighbor. Unfortunately, she keeps having to find killers to help, and that lands her in trouble much of the time. Daphne loves and cares for her neighbors and friends and no matter what the cost to her personally, she will find a way to solve a murder to protect them.
The characters in this story are truly dedicated to animals and their businesses. They are very robust, lifelike and pleasant. Even the murderer is not a horrible person, just one that has some issues that just about anyone could understand but still doesn’t excuse murder. However, the victim is not someone anyone would like and has no redeeming value.
A Midwinter’s Tail is a page-turner. The writing is smooth without being too formulaic. The characters are believable, the location perfect and the murder unique. The dog treat recipes in the back are worth getting the book by themselves. This book can stand on its own without the need for a lot of background information. I highly recommend this series and this individual book to anyone who loves pets, and a wonderful who-done-it.