Dressed Up 4 Murder

Dollycas’s Thoughts

There is always something happening at Sun City West. The new thing is the Precious Pooches Holiday Extravaganza and Harriet Plunkett plans to enter her chiweenie-chihuahua-dachshund Streetman in the event for each holiday starting with Halloween right through St. Patrick’s Day. Her friend Shirley is making his costumes and she knows he is going to win big. Streetman is not thrilled with the costumes at all, he is more concerned with a tarp in the neighbor’s yard.

When Sophie “Phee” Kimball arrives at her mother’s the dog is frantic to go outside. They open the backdoor and Streetman lunges out pulling the leash and Harriet right to the tarp-covered grill where they notice a pair of shoes. When Phee carefully pulls the tarp back they find a man attached to the shoes, but he won’t be grilling anytime soon. Neither woman recognizes the man. He is later identified as Cameron Tully from Phoenix. He is a seafood distributor and he was poisoned by a toxic sago palm leaf.

Police are having a hard time solving the murder but then a woman at a Precious Pooches event almost dies from the same thing. Harriet is afraid she and Streetman could be next. The police finally admit they need help and request Williams Investigations to assist on the case. This means Marshall and Phee are investigating but even they are having trouble. With Harriet nagging them at every move they know they need to solve this case and fast.

These characters are so much fun. You have Harriet and her friends and they are a hoot! You also have the team at Williams Investigations, Nate Williams is a retired detective from Mankato, Minnesota. Augusta keeps the office running and helps with cases too. Phee works for him as a bookkeeper but is turning out to be a great amateur sleuth. When business picked up he lured Marshall, another Mankato detective down to Arizona. Phee was thrilled because she had had a crush on him for years and now they are moving in together. All these characters are so well developed, I can easily picture each one in my mind clearly. The places and events are described wonderfully too. It was so easy to imagine all the dogs and their owners parading around the park and all the chaos that erupts all around them.

Dog lover that I am Streetman does steal the show for me.

The mystery was a puzzler, with several red herrings. It took some serious digging for Phee to start bring things into focus and then the rest of the clues started to fall into place. I love the couple Marshall and Phee are becoming. They make a great team in all aspects of their life. I really enjoyed they worked together on this case, knowing each other’s strengths. It was a lot of fun following them step by step because I was completely in the dark right up to the reveal.

I have to take a moment to compliment the creativeness of the costumes the authors dreamed up for Shirley to create. Detailed and well-crafted and much more complicated than the one Streetman is wearing on the cover. Each described in vivid detail. The attention to detail the authors bring to these costumes and the whole book overall is what really makes this story and the others in this series must-reads for me.

Dressed Up 4 Murder is entertaining and captivating. The characters are strong and relatable and I can’t wait to see what they get themselves into next.

If you like your cozy mysteries to be filled with humor and a complex mystery that will have you really thinking, this is the perfect book for you.

Dressed Up 4 Murder” by J.C. Eaton is the 6th instalment in the “Sophie Kimball Mystery” series. I really enjoy this series and have bought all of them in paperback.

Last one standing is the winner . . .

The holiday season has arrived and bookkeeper/amateur sleuth, Sophie “Phee” Kimball, would love nothing more than to enjoy the comforts of her new home with her detective boyfriend near Arizona’s Sun City West. Instead, her mother Harriet wants to showcase her chiweenie-chihuahua-dachshund Streetman in the Precious Pooches Holiday Extravaganza costume events. The festivities begin in October and end on St. Patrick’s Day—with the winner starring in the St. Pat’s Day parade. But things quickly turn an awful shade of green when Streetman uncovers a dead body under a tarp-covered grill in the neighbor’s yard.

The victim is Cameron Tully, a seafood distributor working out of Phoenix, who died from ingesting a toxic sago palm leaf. Before the police can even find a motive and suspect, another Precious Pooch owner nearly dies from the same poison. With Harriet believing someone’s targeting her and Streetman because of the costume contests, Phee will need a potful of Irish luck to sniff out a killer . .

I found myself engrossed in the story and reading it in one sitting. It was entertaining, full of twists and turns as well as a few surprises.

The mystery is interesting and well plotted, and I loved the characters which are well developed. There is plenty of humour, too with Harriet and Streetman her Chiweenie and the rest of her crew from the Sun City Retirement Community.

I highly recommend this series to all my cozy loving friends.

I requested and received an Advance Reader Copy of this book from Kensington Books and NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my OWN.

Boring

This is the first book I’ve read by this author and I can’t wait to read more in this series! Sophie Kimball, an accountant who likes to investigate on the side, and her boyfriend, a detective, is happy to just enjoy their new home. Her mom, who lives nearby Iin a retirement community, plans to enter her dog into several costume contests and of course wants Sophie there. Everything is going smoothly until her mothers dog finds a dead body in the neighbors yard. Who is the person and why would someone want him dead? You’ll have to read the book to find out! The characters are great! Especially Sophie’s mom and her friends! I definitely recommend this book!

Phee is an accountant and that isn’t the kind of job that would seem to be all that exciting. When the job is being the accountant for a PI it might be a bit more interesting. In the world of Phee, dead bodies come her way with too much frequency. This time, her mother’s pup, a Chiweenie, Streetman, is the one to find the dead body. It’s under the neighbor’s BBQ tarp and he was poisoned. When a second person, a woman from the dog park, is also poisoned but survives, Phee is asked to see what she can find out. As the poisonings are being investigated, Phee’s mother, Harriett, is laser focused on getting Streetman entered in the Precious Pooches Holiday Extravaganza – a contest in three parts complete with elaborate costuming. Harriett is determined that Streetman will be the winner.
Between the homicide investigating and the antics of the pooch extravaganza entrants the laughs are plentiful. The senior ladies of the Booked 4 Murder book club are a hoot. The puzzle is full of red herrings, twists and turns and it all makes for a great read. The perfect escape on a cold wet winter day.

Dressed Up 4 Murder by J.C. Eaton is a hilarious tale regarding the things that people will do for love.

Who will make more headlines, Phee, or Streetman? Will the Williams Detective Agency solve the newest rash of crimes plaguing the Sun Valley West area?

Phee is such a great character who has confidence, intelligence, and a knack for investigating. Marshall and Phee move in together in this installment. It is nice to see them together. Phee and Marshal work for Williams Investigations, Marshal as an investigator and Phee as their accountant.

In case you haven’t figured it out, Phee is our sleuth and main character. However, one of the things that make Phee so unique is Harriet. Harriet is such a riot. She and her book club ladies are all over any crime that takes place in their neighborhood. These ladies drive the local Sheriff’s department crazy. But mostly they drive Phee nuts like when her mother calls her to look for clues and pass on gossip. Oh, and Phee is expected to be there for all of her mother’s activities and to support Streetman (Harriet’s Chiweenie).

The Mysteries
Multiple crimes are going on, as one would expect in the Phoenix area. The breakdown: two poisonings that result in one murder and one attempted murder; break-ins around the city, a streaker, a hold-up at a restaurant, and a lady is going around threatening other contestants in the Precious Pooches Holiday Extravaganza. So, lots of things to keep Phee, Marshal, and Nate busy.

Some Humorous Things to Watch For:
• Streetman’s Costumes are adorable, but watch how he acts. And watch for the turkey incident.
• Precious Pooches Holiday Extravaganza decorations are over the top. I hope these ideas come from our authors’ imaginations.
• Whenever Herb shows up, he makes me laugh at how serious everything is. And what a gossip.
• The things that Augusta (Receptionist at Williams Investigations) talks about when comparing her former life to her current life.
• The things that Phee does to get on the local news television shows are fun. However, I don’t think she appreciated the spotlights at all.

Five Stars
Oh, my! I have to say that I love this series. Harriet and Streetman are riots, its all poor Phee can do to keep up with them. This book has such a fun story, I love the way the mysteries combine with the characters and how I keep guessing what is going to happen next, but it completely surprises me. It is five stars for Dressed Up 4 Murder by J.C. Eaton. I highly recommend this series to all cozy fans out there.

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from the author. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Dressed Up 4 Murder by J.C. Eaton.

This Guest Review is for Baroness’ Book Trove. Thank you for the opportunity to review this book on your site.

Until the next time,
~Jen

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