A Cotswolds Village—a grieving heroine—two furry sidekicks and a murder to solve. When tragedy strikes Leta Parker’s life, the affluent bankerand closet sleuth chases a lifelong dream to retire in England. Leaving friendsand family in Atlanta, she settles into cozy Astonbury with her talkative dogand cat, Dickens and Christie. Tooling along in a refurbished London taxi, Leta, Dickens, and … refurbished London taxi, Leta, Dickens, and Christie explore the countryside. On one of their leisurely walks, Leta stumbles across a scene that awakens her inner Nancy Drew. Before Astonbury’s villagers know it, Leta has enlisted the help of Wendy, a retired English teacher—and even Wendy’s elderly mum.
With a murder to solve, who better to unearth clues than one quick-witted Anglophile and her pets—who speak only to her? You’ll be captivated as this unlikely team sniffs out secrets and claws into clues to unravel a literary mystery—one that would make any BBC cozy mystery producer proud.
No matter the clues revealed, you’ll be hard-pressed to guess who the villain is—unless, like Leta, you’re able to “talk to” the animals.
Grab a copy of Bells, Tails, and Murder today!
Book one of a new and finely crafted Cozy Animal Mystery Series by author Kathy Manos Penn.
250 pages
more
A very pleasant, enjoyable cozy mystery, a good start to a new series. The main character was intelligent and likable, and the other characters had enough depth to make them interesting. I should say, the main human character, because Christie the cat and Dickens the dog, more than held their own and were delightful. All the literary references made the story fun.
I enjoyed Bells, Tails and Murder so much! I have read all 4 of the now available books in this line. I love Leta, the main character. She’s relatable. She just does things like I think they should be done, and I have no problem with the fact that she truly understands what Christie and Dickens (her cat and dog) are telling her. The author includes the right kind of details to draw you into a realistic situation. No overly irritating “oh my god let’s just get on with the story” type details. She lets her dog outside when she should. I hate reading stories about dogs and no one mentions actually taking them out on a regular basis -but author Kathy Manos Penn knows how to write “true to life” with just the right amount of pertinence. Her other characters feel real and also are quite relatable, with just enough background so you “get” them, but they don’t clog the story line with too many crossing timelines or plots. These stories are clean, fun, interesting and enjoyable. I now follow her blog and fb page and await her NEXT book!
After the sudden death of her husband, Leta Parker decides to fulfill their dream and move to the Cotswold region of England. She purchases an old schoolhouse and prepares to settle in with Dickens, her a dwarf Great Pyrenees, and, Christie, her black cat. The bond between the three is enhanced by their ability to talk to each other. However, when Leta stumbles upon a body, her natural sleuthing instincts are awakened and the quiet cozy life she anticipated is abruptly upended. Together with new friends and neighbors, Leta begins to investigate and finds herself immersed in the world of rare books and blackmail. Is she getting close to discovering the murderer or is he or she closer to putting an end to her search for the truth? Like so many pet lovers, I always felt that my fur babies and I communicated on some level and how I wished that communication could be verbal. Animals are tremendously observant and the help that Dickens and Christie provide is an important and extremely fun part of the crime solution. This promises to be a fun and intriguing series and I look forward to many hours of entertaining mysteries in the future.
A real pleasant treat with a talking dog and a couple of talking cats helping to solve a crime. A great complex mystery with plenty of suspects and a town full of wonderful, interesting characters. Lots of laughs, lots of tension, lots of twists. Definitely going to read book 2.
Such a fun cozy with interesting characters, both human and animal, and a great village setting. And I liked that the villains were a mix of good and bad instead of one-dimensional. I’ve purchased the second of the series and am excited to start reading it.
It was my pleasure to receive this free book from the author and give my honest review.
Tragedy struck Leta Parker’s life when her husband was killed in a biking accident in their home of Atlanta. Two years later, she’s retired to a village in Cotswolds England. Living in Astonbury, Leta has made friends and settled into her life with her animal companions, Dickens the dog and Christie the cat.
While on a walk with Dickens one morning, Leta comes upon a body which turns out to be that if Alice, a woman who cleans and bakes for some of the residents. When it turns out that Alice was murdered, Leta is soon looking for clues along with help from her friend, Wendy, and Wendy’s mother, Belle, along with Dickens and Christie.
I absolutely loved this book! I laughed out loud in places and was kept on the edge of my seat in others. Well-written with well-rounded characters, this book had me hooked from beginning to end. I was really drawn into the story which led me through a gamut of emotions and I’m very eager for the next book to come out. I highly recommend this book, it’s a wonderful read.