Review
The Third Urban Tails Pet Shop Mystery
The Fox Hollow Players lost their director, but Shell McMillan's mother has come to the rescue bringing a director, assistant director, and two actresses from Hollywood. Unfortunately, with them comes drama. The director, Raymond Terrill, is a demanding tyrant hated by many, who surprisingly has a soft spot for cats, especially the beautiful Maine Coon that Shell and Purrday just found. Allowing the director use of her shed Shell notices he's up late one night. When she wakes a few hours later she sees the light is out and Princess Fuzzypants is scratching at her back door. The cat leads her to the shed where she finds the door ajar and Terrill dead inside. Though she knows she should leave the investigation in her boyfriend's capable hands, Shell has no intention of doing so. With her housemate and former co-star by her side, Shell will try to discover just who killed the despotic director.
Smart people and smarter animals make for a delightful mystery. I really love the Urban Tails Pet Shop Mystery series and this entry is a great one. The characters are so real, there's good and bad in all, and sometimes you don't know who to believe, or trust. What makes DEATH STEALS THE SPOTLIGHT extra special is this characterization. Terrill was despicable, but as we learn more we see reasons, and we see good. The character dynamics make the book more intriguing-and not only with the mystery. Even if there weren't dead bodies I'd still want to know what's going on with Shell and Gary...and Josh.
The mystery itself was captivating, especially knowing that people were hiding things...but just what were they hiding and who was the murderer? I like how Shell looks into things. And how the cats help. The humor adds to the fun, making me wanting to hang out with these people in this quaint Connecticut town.
Theatrical drama spiced with issues from the past and plenty of secrets makes DEATH STEALS THE SPOTLIGHT a captivating mystery that will have you glued to your seat.
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Death Steals the Spotlight (Urban Tails Pet Shop Mysteries) by T. C. LoTempio
About Death Steals the Spotlight
Cozy Mystery 3rd in Series
Setting - Connecticut
Beyond the Page Publishing (June 27, 2023)
Paperback: 202 pages
It’s exit stage left, permanently, for a big-time director who lands the starring role in an unscripted death scene . . .
Desperate to find a director for their annual production, the Fox Hollow Players have a stroke of luck when Shell McMillan’s actress mother lands a prominent theater director for the job. He’s more gruff and demanding than the small-town cast and crew are used to, but his soft side for animals quickly endears him to pet shop owner Shell. Persuading her to let him use a shed on her property where he can work in peace, Shell is horrified when she finds his dead body there. And with obvious signs of foul play, she can’t help but investigate the murder.
As she digs into the man’s past, it becomes apparent that at one point or another he was romantically entangled with just about every woman involved in the play. And just when Shell discovers he may have been blackmailing one of them, other clues surface that suggest a more sinister motive. With her hands already full with a beautiful stray cat she found and christened Princess Fuzzypants, Shell will have to fill two roles, caring for the Maine coon and trying to track down the killer before it’s her turn for a fatal curtain call . . .
About T.C. LoTempio
While Toni Lotempio does not commit – or solve – murders in real life, she has no trouble doing it on paper. Her lifelong love of mysteries began early on when she was introduced to her first Nancy Drew mystery at age 10 – The Secret in the Old Attic. She and her cat pen the Nick and Nora mystery series originally from Berkley Prime Crime and now with Beyond the Page Publishing. They also write the Cat Rescue series from Crooked Lane and the Pet Shop series, originally published by Midnight Ink and rebranded last year as “Urban Tails Pet Shop Mysteries.” Number three in this series debuted June 27, DEATH STEALS THE SPOTLIGHT. Recent other releases include Book six in the Nick and Nora mysteries, A PURR BEFORE DYING, and book one in the new Tiffany Austin Food blogger series, EAT, DRINK AND DROP DEAD.
You can cat-ch up with them at ROCCO’s blog, www.catsbooksmorecats.blogspot.com or her website, www.tclotempio.net
Author Links:
ROCCO’s blog: www.catsbooksmorecats.blogspot.com
Website: www.tclotempio.net
Twitter: @RoccoBlogger
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/toni.lotempio.5
Sounds like a book I will enjoy reading.
ReplyDeleteI hope so, rita! TC
DeleteMary Holshouser
ReplyDeleteLove T.C.'s books. Can't wait to read this one.
Thank you Mary! TC
DeleteThanks for hosting me, Kathy! and for the lovely review! TC
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for stopping by. Can't wait to see what happens next!
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