Tuesday, July 14, 2026

The Case of the Bullfighting Builder - A Guest Post & Giveaway

I'm pleased to welcome Cathy Carter Jefferson to Cozy Up With Kathy today. You can find Cathy on the pages of the Buttercup Bend Mystery series by Debbie de Louise. The Case of the Bullfighting Builder is the sixth book in the series and was released earlier this year.

Hi, there. My name is Cathy Carter Jefferson. I’m thirty years old and live in the small town of Buttercup Bend in the Catskill mountains of New York. I’m a detective, but I didn’t start out that way. Ten years ago, I lost my parents in a tragic car crash in which I still carry a scar on my cheek. They were driving me home from college for the winter break. I woke up in the hospital with my grandmother and brother by my side. I have carried guilt about the accident all this time until I discovered recently that someone tampered with the breaks on my parents’ car.

But before I get to that, let me tell you more about myself. After my parents died, my brother and I moved in with my grandmother, Florence Wilson. Doug fell in love with the girl next door, Becky, and married her shortly afterwards. He and I opened a pet rescue center and animal cemetery. Having survived the crash that killed my parents, I found caring for animals a comfort.

A few years after I moved to Buttercup Bend, a woman named Maggie Broom who was known as a crazy cat lady because she kept numerous felines in her house and also cared for strays, was found murdered by the newspaper publisher for whom I take photos. I wouldn’t have gotten involved in this case because the sheriff was handling it. However, I soon learned that Ms. Broom had left my brother and I a sizeable share of her estate to use for our pet business. Because of this and prompting from my good friend, Nancy Myers, I decided to investigate Ms. Broom’s murder.

While that was my first case, I’ve had five others following it. I investigated the murder of my professor who had a parrot and was a member of a parrot club. I also went undercover to a llama farm with the local librarian to discover the cause of her friend’s mysterious death. After choosing one of my boyfriends as the man I wanted to marry, I traveled back to my old home on Long Island where I stayed with my great aunt while discovering that a wedding planner was killed on a whale watching cruise. Next, I even investigated the death of a receptionist at my honeymoon resort where my husband adopted her lizard.

My latest case involved the murder of the builder who was building a home for me and my husband in Buttercup Bend. It was during this case that I discovered the truth about my parents’ accident. I also was surprised to find that I was joining my sister-in-law and best friend in maternity. Knowing that I couldn’t enjoy my pregnancy without closure about my parents, I decided to investigate their murder along with that of my builder. Of course, I had help. Nancy insisted I was too close to my parents’ case so offered to take it on with our boss, Howard.

To investigate my builder’s murder, Nancy, her husband, the assistant deputy, and me and my husband attended a memorial for him at the ranch that his fiancée hosted. At the ranch, we also met Boris, a prize bull. My builder, Jose, had been a bullfighter in Spain before moving to Buttercup Bend and opening his construction business. He’d met his fiancée back in Spain when she was on vacation with her girlfriend.

While there were a few suspects in Jose’s murder, the sheriff was convinced his brother and fellow builder, Ferdinand, was guilty because the bullet that killed Jose was a match for a gun Ferdinand claimed was stolen from him. I believed Ferdinand and vowed to find the real killer.

During the memorial, another person is killed, and further evidence is found that points to Ferdinand’s guilt. When a young ranch hand reveals that he knows the killer but has been threatened by them, Nancy and I go back to the ranch to gather evidence to bring to the sheriff so that Ferdinand will be released from custody. We have no luck, and the ranch hand goes missing. Without a witness or any other proof, we’re stuck, but I can’t give up. Risking it all, I end up with a showdown with my builder’s killer after another showdown with the person who murdered my parents.

I’m relieved that both cases were solved and that I was able to enjoy my pregnancy and share the news with my husband and friends. But before I end this adventure, another murder occurs that may follow me into the next book.

If you haven’t read any of my books, please check them out. Although they can all be read as standalones, the characters evolve as the series continues. The first in the series, The Case of the Cat Crazy Lady is perma free in eBook form. The following books, The Case of the Parrot Loving Professor, The Case of the Llama Raising Librarian, The Case of the Whale Watching Wedding Planner, and The Case of the Reptile Rescuing Receptionist are available in eBook and print formats. There are also two volume collections of the first 3 books and the current 3 books. Buttercup Bend Mysteries Books 3-4 and Buttercup Bend Mysteries Books 4-6.

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 The Case of the Bullfighting Builder (Buttercup Bend Mysteries) by Debbie De Louise

About The Case of the Bullfighting Builder

The Case of the Bullfighting Builder (Buttercup Bend Mysteries)
Cozy Mystery 6th in Series
Setting - Buttercup Bend, New York (fictional town in the Catskills)
Publisher: ‎ Independently published
Publication Date: ‎ May 14, 2026
Print Length: ‎ 268 pages

When Cathy Jefferson’s builder is found dead at the construction site of her new home, she’s pulled into a murder investigation that will test her detective skills like never before.

While sorting through her grandmother’s attic, Cathy uncovers a secret about her parents, who died in a car crash years earlier. Now juggling two cases and determined to learn the truth about her parents’ death and catch her builder’s killer, Cathy teams up with her fellow detectives Nancy and Howard.

Their investigation leads them to a ranch where a prize bull is kept, and to Cathy’s estranged uncle and her college roommate. As secrets unravel and danger closes in from every direction, Cathy discovers that the biggest surprise of all may still be waiting for her.

Will Cathy catch her builder’s killer so that her new home can be finished, and will she receive closure about the death of her parents? Find out in THE CASE OF THE BULLFIGHTING BUILDER, the sixth book in the Buttercup Bend Mysteries series by Debbie De Louise.

About Debbie De Louise

Debbie De Louise is an award-winning author and a retired reference librarian. She is a member of Sisters-in-Crime, International Thriller Writers, the Cat Writers’ Association, and the South Carolina Writers Association. She’s written over twenty books including three cozy mystery series: the Cobble Cove Mysteries, Buttercup Bend Mysteries, and her new series, Soup the Supernatural Kitten Mysteries. She’s also written a paranormal romance, standalone mysteries, a time-travel novel, and a collection of cat poems. Her stories and poetry appear in more than a dozen anthologies. Originally from Long Island, she moved to South Carolina where she now lives with her husband, daughter, and three cats. Learn more about Debbie and her books by visiting her website at https://debbiedelouise.com.

Author Links: 

Website/Blog/Newsletter Sign-Up: https://debbiedelouise.com  

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/debbie.delouise.author/  

X: https://x.com/Deblibrarian  

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2750133.Debbie_De_Louise  

Amazon Author Page: http://amzn.to/2bIHdaQ  

Purchase Links - Amazon Universal Link

1 comment:

  1. Thanks so much for hosting a spot on my blog tour and featuring my character's guest post.

    ReplyDelete