Review
The First Mobile Car Groomer Mystery
No one in town really likes the persnickety Durbin Haines, even Molly Stewart. Molly tries to make allowances, seeing as the man saved her from an accident when she was a child, and his cat, Jasper is a sweet client of her grooming services, but it's challenging. When he rushes from a grooming appointment, leaving his beloved cat behind, she's a bit surprised, but agrees to bring Jasper home. When Durbin doesn't answer his door, she finds him in his garden-dead! While she sees murder, the sheriff disagrees. He does come around to her way of thinking, however, except he's certain Molly's Uncle Russ is the killer. With the help of her friends, including the hunky veterinarian and her cat Percival, she's determined to find the real killer all while keeping the cats of Whitewater Valley looking their best.
The first Mobile Car Groomer Mystery brings a variety of characters together in an entertaining mystery. There's action, laughs, and intrigue along with several plausible suspects and two adorable cats. My favorite characters by far are Percival and Jasper and I absolutely loved them in the climactic confrontation.
While the main characters are likeable, I found their behavior quite juvenile, especially when it came to the possible romance between Molly and Hank. I also wasn't thrilled with the portrayal of the Sheriff, a bumbling good ol' boy. I'm unsure of the level of Molly's cat expertise, at least when it comes to properly introducing cats. I'm hoping the reason she threw them together was merely a way to get a plot point across.
The first in a new series, BRUSHED UP ON MURDER is an enjoyable cat-centric mystery.
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Brushed Up On Murder: A Mobile Cat Groomer Mystery by Ruth J Hartman
About Brushed Up On Murder
Cozy Mystery 1st in Series
Setting - Indiana
Level Best Books (April 18, 2023)
Print length: 275 pages
The life of a cat groomer isn’t just pampering purring felines, it's murder.
Mobile Cat Groomer Molly Stewart loves her job. Until she finds the dead body of one of her pet parents stabbed with a garden implement in his back yard. When Molly’s uncle Russ becomes the prime suspect in the murder and the sheriff won’t consider anyone else, Molly claws through obstacles as she prowls for clues.
With help from handsome veterinarian Hank Chenowith and Molly’s two cats, Percival and Jasper, will Molly succeed in proving her uncle’s innocence before the real murderer pounces on her?
About Ruth J. Hartman
Ruth J. Hartman spends her days herding cats and her nights spinning mysterious tales. She, her husband, and their cats love to spend time curled up in their recliners watching old Cary Grant movies. Well, the cats sit in the people’s recliners. Not that the cats couldn’t get their own furniture. They just choose to shed on someone else’s. Ruth, a left-handed, cat-herding, farmhouse-dwelling writer uses her sense of humor as she writes tales of lovable, klutzy women who seem to find trouble without even trying. Ruth’s husband and best friend, Garry, reads her manuscripts, rolls his eyes at her weird story ideas, and loves her despite her insistence all of her books have at least one cat in them. See updates about her cozy mysteries at Ruthjhartman.com.
Author Links:
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ruth.j.hartman
Website https://www.ruthjhartman.com
Twitter https://twitter.com/ruthjhartman
GoodReads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3312900.Ruth_J_Hartman
Purchase Link – Amazon
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