When Ellie Warren opens the Kitty Beret Café, her life revolves around finding forever homes for rescued cats and serving lattes. That is, until a woman’s body is discovered behind her shop—the same woman who’d thrown a hissy fit with Ellie in front of lots of witnesses. With Ellie’s cat, Templeton, supplying clues and the help of handsome Detective Simon Dare, she’s on the prowl for the … murderer. Will Ellie discover the identity of the culprit before the murderer sinks their claws into her?
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This is a new to me author. I really enjoyed this cozy mystery. It was well written with likable characters. There were many twists & turns until it was finally revealed at the end who did it. I hop to see more in this series.
A real cozy mystery filled with clues! 5 stars
Looking for the purrfect gift for a person who loves cats and books, then ‘Hairballs and Homicide’ is ideal! It’s the first story in a new series, ‘A Kitty Beret Café Mystery’ for Ruth J. Hartman, talented writer and cat lover! It’s a funny and clean cozy mystery which is very enjoyable to read.
It tells the story of Ellie Warren who owns a café where she lets cats mix with customers ! Her favorite cat is named Templeton and he follows her everywhere. Sometimes, he tends to be more prone to get into mischief with a cute behaviour. Ellie loves cats, she owns a café where cats mix with the customers. She also has a second mini business, she creates clothes, toys and stuff for cats, which helps her to collect money in order to offer them a good home in order to have them adopted. So when a strange woman is killed behind her shop and the husband appears at the café and threatens Ellie, Templeton comes to his rescue. This scene is so funny! Curious as she is, Ellie will try to investigate and find clues to solve the murder. Simon, a charming young detective and Ellie team up to find more clues to find out who is responsible for the murder.
This beautiful mystery came at a time when I wanted a light reading. It’s a great start for this new mystery series! I can’t wait to see the next story!
This is a cute mystery that I enjoyed. This is a new author for me and I look forward to reading more from her in the future. This is a well written story about Ellie and her cat Templeton. She finds homes for rescued cats and makes lattes. What will happen when she finds a woman’s body behind her business? The problem is that this same woman was seen having a fit with Ellie. With the help of Templeton, they are in search of a murderer. What happens next I highly recommend picking up this book. The characters are fun and entertaining. They are relatable and bring the story to life. I enjoyed being pulled in from the beginning. I enjoyed watching Templeton come to life and help solve the mystery. This is a great story that I really enjoyed. It is worth the pick up.
Ms. Hartman knows cats and how to write a fun mystery surrounding them. Ella owns a cat cafe but not everyone who enters the door likes cats. When one irate woman is found dead behind the cafe, the police look to Ella for answers. But then, strange happenings force her to investigate the woman’s death or be killed herself. It’s an interesting mystery.
Ellie’s cat cafe hosts a variety of kitties available for adoption, as well as accessories – for cats, related to cats…. The wide variety of events that help support the kitties and the related not for profit group range from yoga, to Girl Scouts, to dating mixers and yarn arts
The cat fanciers are quirky and seem to enjoy the kitty company and their accoutrements. The anti cat folks seem unstable and more than a bit dangerous – thefts, assaults, auto damage.
Amid the murder and mayhem, Detective Simon Dare is a cat loving cutie who is sometimes as helpful as the kitties.
Add in crazy Nana, and some loyal employees and customers like Shirl, Hooper, and Chester- it’s a fun bunch of furry and mostly loyal mayhem
So looking forward to seeing what happens next!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Set aside an entire day for this family-friendly cat-centric mystery with Ellie Warren as the beset owner of the Kitty Beret Cafe.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
As an avid crazy cat lady this story was right up my alley! I enjoyed reading every word and I was guessing right up until the end! Perfectly balanced and a fun read forsure! I wish my cats would be half as helpful! I can’t wait to read more from this series and this was the perfect first book!
Oh my word – this book!! I love a good cozy mystery and this beautiful work fell into my lap at the best time. I loved how it started. I was immediately pulled in and immediately connected with our main character. She is sassy and spunky and makes cat costumes – how awesome is that?! Just loved this book and cannot wait to read more from this author.
I loved this book! As a cat lover myself, I have been to cafes with kitties roaming and I could just picture Ellie and the rest of the townspeople enjoying spending time with all the feline characters! Especially Templeton! The mystery aspect was very well written and kept me guessing and turning the pages to find out what would happen next! Can’t wait to read more in this series!
This is my first book with this author and It did not disappoint. Ellie and her cat Templeton make quite the team!! When they are not making lattes and placing kitties in forever homes they are taking on mysteries together. When a body is found behind her coffee house all sorts of hell breaks lose. It becomes a silly whodunit that even the cats are starting to become part of the accused. Its an original story that is very well written and oozing with cute cat appeal. I highly recommend this read with cocoa and a cozy blanket.
If you love cats and mysteries and finding love in the most unexpected places this is the book for you! By the time I was finished with the books I felt like I knew each of the cats that were mentioned author Ruth Hartman does very good detailing each cats personality with out causing you to lose interest! I promise you are going to want to adopt each and every cat at the Kitty Beret Cafe, I know I do!!!!
Great fun to read. I’m really looking forward to additional books in this series. I love the main character and her cats!
First book by this author and I loved it! Between the cats, Ellie the main character, her business and just the whole town feel kept me intrigued and hooked.
I loved trying to figure this out as i was reading and I was way wrong! I hope this is a series as I want more
What a great read with an easy-going vibe with a twist of a mystery that just satisfies the quick, fun book craving. As a cat lover, I thoroughly enjoyed the cats’ personalities in this book and how they are developed and are interwoven throughout a murder mystery. I love how the author, Ruth J. Hartman, incorporates the cats in such a way that they become parts of the clues to the mystery unfolding here.
Ellie, the owner of a cute cat café, runs across a very rude customer. That customer is Margaret, and she seems to hate cats with a passion and even wishes death to all cats. How ironic is it that Margaret is found dead later that day? Follow Ellie and her cats in this cute, cozy read to discover what has happened.
This is the first book in this series and I honestly cannot wait to read more!
Hairballs and Homicide (Kitty Beret Café Mysteries Book 1) by Ruth J. Hartman. This is such a fun cozy mystery. Its the story of Ellie Warren who owns a cafe and also likes to re home and help stray cats. The cafe is a cat friendly cafe and the customers love to interact with all of them. Templeton is one of Ellie’s favorite cats and he seems to know how to get into trouble without really trying! When a woman is found murdered right behind her cafe Ellie is thrown right in the middle of the investigation and the woman’s husband comes into her cafe and threatens her! Detective Simon Dare is on the case and he happens to be very cute. Ellie wants to find her own clues to help solve the murder but getting closer to the cute Detective is an added bonus. This fun and funny book about cats, humans and murder is so good. You won’t want to put it down!
This is a really lovely book that I thoroughly enjoyed. I am a recently converted cat-lover, and I about fell in love with the idea of a cat café. So many lovely kitties in this story, and their owner/protector extraordinaire Ellie Warren is a great protagonist. She has a huge heart, and doesn’t abide people taking advantage of her. I enjoyed trying to put the clues together about the identity of the murderer (I failed!) and seeing how the drama played out. The flirtation between Ellie and hottie officer Simon Ward spiced up the novel as well. A couple of the details of the case were a bit more convenient than I think would happen in real life, but honestly the writing and the story just charmed me. I just read the final page, and I’m still smiling about how adorable this book is. If this sounds like your cup of tea, I highly recommend it!
While there were some things I liked about the book, I felt like the story could have better flow, overall. The quirks about the cats and their personalities, as well as Ellie’s little comments about them, were cute, fun, and interesting; I really loved Templeton and all of the shenanigans he pulled. Unfortunately, I didn’t feel like most of the human characters felt very realistic or had much depth to them. A group of cat-haters protesting inside a cat cafe didn’t strike me as very plausible, and some of the dialogue between the various characters who seemed to harbor unknown grudges against Ellie seemed stiff and awkward. The mystery did keep me guessing, and I’d suspect someone who loves cats would really gobble this book up with delight; they are certainly the stars of the story. In the end, it wasn’t really my cup of tea, but I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the book to some of my cat-loving friends.
To be frank, I only just really became a cat lover over the last couple of years. I grew up always having dogs and have always favored them by far. I picked up this novel initially because I was feeling like I needed a change of pace with respect to the genre I have been quite keen on, and also I thought this was one of the most thought out titles I’ve come across as of late. Mysteries, especially murder mysteries are typically not something I’ve ever shown any interest in before, but I’m quite glad to have started on this Kitty Beret Café Mystery adventure.
Ruth J. Hartman does a spectacular job at setting the scene in which we explore within this novel, and an even better one at allowing the reader to get to know each of the characters involved. Ellie Warren is the owner of the Kitty Beret Café which is what and who the whole plot line revolves around. She is a sweet, single, cat loving café owner and operator that adores her dear fur babies and enjoys supporting and contributing to her community. You can tell right from the get-go that she has a big heart and will do everything she can to nurture and protect her loved ones. Unfortunately, the warm fuzzy feeling you get from visualizing this sweet cat café is short lived, as things start to get sideways for Ellie, and a murder victim is discovered right out behind her business, and she suddenly finds herself in the middle of the murder investigation. How intriguing!
I love the way that Ruth puts the time and effort into bringing new ideas, and scenery into this book, and the way she makes you want to keep reading, because so many questions are left unanswered. I personally look forward to the next Kitty Beret Café Mystery installment, as I want to know more about Ellie, her special furry friend Templeton, her Nana, and the detective that was on the murder case. The only thing I did find, was that there seemed to be A LOT happening at times, and I felt as though I was reading a series, rather than just one book. I did find it took away from the primary plot, but did find it to be quite enjoyable, nonetheless. Keep them coming, I’ll be keeping an eye out for the next book. Thank you, Ruth!
Hairballs and Homicide drew me in just from the title. The book cover is cute, not intense, so I knew it would be a light hearted mystery. I am glad I took a chance, because this book was great. It was a little cheesy at the end, but it was funny throughout and kept me engaged wondering who the murderer was going to be. The biggest downfall, is I now want to adopt ALL THE KITTIES! I wish this café was in my hometown so I could go and love on all the cats, and people watch all the quirky people that hang out there. I love that the author gave each cat a name and personality, as well as all the café patrons. We got to know several of the townsfolk, and that was fun. Ellie is also such a fun personality, and I hope she has a steamy relationship with Detective Simon in the next book. I look forward to reading more by Ruth Hartman.
Ellie has a cat cafe in which she rescue cats. Suddenly one day there a lady screaming in her shop when another had turned up dead. Oh how her world has changed now and if course she’s a suspect I really enjoyed the cat element as a cat lover. There was plenty of twist and turns and laugh in this story.