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theavidreaderandbibliophile's review against another edition
4.0
Furbidden Fatality by Deborah Blake is the debut of A Catskills Pet Rescue Mystery series. I enjoyed reading Furbidden Fatality. It is filled with spunky, smart women who have a soft spot for animals. There are also two men who care about fur babies and were friendly with Kari. The animals in the book were adorable especially Queenie. She is one smart kitten (handy with shoelaces). I thought Furbidden Fatality was well-written with steady pacing. There is humor scattered throughout that provided giggles, chuckles, and laugh-out-loud moments. Kari Stuart is twenty-nine years old with a useless college degree. She has been working as a waitress and living in a rundown apartment. Kari recently won five million dollars, but she is not sure what to do with the money. When Kari catches a black kitten that has been left outside her apartment, she takes it to the local shelter. She learns it is full along with all the other shelters in town. That is when Kari learns that Serenity Sanctuary had to close because of lack of funds and problems with the animal warden. Kari has found a purpose for her life and for her money. When the animal warden ends up dead outside the pet sanctuary, Kari along with two female volunteers and her best friend set out to find the killer. There are several good suspects along with misdirection. The mystery was filled with action that kept the book moving at a brisk pace. I like that the author describes the pet sanctuary, Kari’s new home, the town, and the people. She manages to strike a balance between not enough information and too much. I am looking forwarding to reading the next A Catskills Pet Rescue Mystery. Furbidden Fatality is a doggone entertaining tale with a crafty feline, an aggressive animal warden, valued volunteers, piles of poop, a bothersome brother, and an abundance of animals in need of anodyne accommodation.
greywolfheir's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
holly_keimig's review against another edition
4.0
I stumbled across this book on audio and am glad I did. It was so cute! I loved the cat Queenie and her rescue story. The audio book was done well and a joy to listen to. I loved the crazy premise. Kari, the main character, wins the lottery and decides to buy an animal rescue that is in trouble and renovate. She gets into a lot of trouble when a murdered dog warden who has pending litigation with the shelter turns up dead on her new property. A fun mystery that kept me guessing till the end! I can't wait to read the next one.
jupiter2932's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
gingerbread_void's review against another edition
4.0
This was a really fun and cute read. I really enjoy cozy mysterious especially when animals are involved so I knew this would be the perfect pick for me and I was right.
This was a great start to a cozy series. I loved the characters and the setting was just so nice. It definitely had that classic cozy vibe but had some great unique qualities as well. This is definitely a solid entry in the cozy mystery genre and I can not wait to see where this story goes.
This was a great start to a cozy series. I loved the characters and the setting was just so nice. It definitely had that classic cozy vibe but had some great unique qualities as well. This is definitely a solid entry in the cozy mystery genre and I can not wait to see where this story goes.
jackie_of_all_books's review against another edition
3.0
1st book in the 3 book series. It was a good read. Left me on my toes until the very end of the book and had a happy ending. Kari Stuart finds a kitten running around her apartment and when she tries to take it to the shelter she is told that all of the shelters are full. She asks about the rescue and is told that they are being shut down. She impulsively goes and buys the shelter after recently winning a 5 million dollar lottery. She takes her best friend Suz with her to see the place for the first time. The former owner Daisy are her volunteers are there and upset due to current charges they are facing. When Kari tells Daisy she bought the place Daisy is so happy for her but warns her about how awful the dog warden is. The dog warden had recently turned in one of their Pit Bull Rescues multiple times as escaping and being aggressive. He was trying to press charges that he had attacked someone. Kari went with Daisy to the court date is where she got into a fight with the Dog warden. He didn’t bring the victim to the court date and claims he definitely exists and then told Kari she would be better off selling the place to him with Daisy informs her he had been trying to get her to sell the place for cheap. Not that it was worth much the rescue needed a lot of improvements but with winning the lottery Kari planned on turning it around and serving her purpose. She also decided to keep the kitten that originally made her buy the rescue. Everything changed when her neighbor and her cat woke her up in the middle of the night. The dogs were all going crazy and then she discovered the dog wardens dead body outside of her rescue. When she called the cops they were quick to accuse her due to the fact that she had just had a heated argument with him outside of the court house and due to living alone she had no witnesses that she had been in bed putting her as the #1 suspect of the murder. Coming in second was former owner Daisy who is now stuck staying in town until the case is cleared. Kari and her volunteers begin to do a little investigation of their own on the murder so that she doesn’t stay the prime suspect. Kari gets awoken by her kitten again in the middle of the night and goes outside and doesn’t notice anything so she goes back to bed, just to be awoken in the morning by her volunteer Brynn saying she needs to come outside where her freshly painted building now says “murderer” and “hore”. Now she is really looking into the investigation and the police still don’t seem to be taking it seriously. A few nights later she is awoken again to find they smashed her windows and endangered her cats. All hands on deck to clean the glass out of the enclosures and replace the windows. That is when she gets cameras and an alarm installed. Then she is awoken to the alarm. And it just so happens to be a night hee brother is at the house. They go outside to find 2 of the local cops are trying to break into her alarm box after smashing one of her windows. Her brother had called the sheriff who arrived and is appalled that is own deputies had been behind the vandalism but still not sure that they were the murderers. That’s when the cops start to talk and say that the county clerk did it. That she had been embezzling money for years and that’s why the dog warden and the cops had been working with her was they were getting money from these dog fines. But she had embezzled bigger things and the warden wanted in on it so they believed she murdered him. When the sheriff spoke to the county clerk after arresting both of his deputies he did find her guilty of the embezzlement and that she had weapons in her car and admitted to a plan of murdering the dog warden but she hadn’t done it yet someone beat her to it. The cops called it case closed and moved on. That was until Georgia a former police deputy called Kari and told her her German shepherd who the dog warden had said had been put down showed up on her back porch. That leaves Kari to believe that some of the other dogs the warden claimed were getting put down could still be out there but the sheriff wouldn’t listen to her. She met with the county clerk who told her if she cleared her of the murder charges she would tell her where the dog wardens book or everything he’s done is. Which would clear Buster and also potentially tell them where peoples dogs are. So her, Georgia, and Georgias dog Pepper set out for the hills. Pepper first showed them where he had been tied up by rope to a tree at and then he led them to a little shack in the woods where they discovered a meth lab but before they could escape. Curtis the owner of the local bar found them and said he was going to kill them. That was until Kari faked a snake being on the ground and Georgia was able to shoot Curtis in the leg and her dog was able to apprehend him. They then called the sheriff to meet them. Curtis was found guilty for the murder of the dog warden. The county clerk told Kari where to found the book, it was there. And had all the answers. The sheriff was going to work on paying back the community for all the fines they paid for no reason. He was also going to work to find the missing dogs. And Brutus was cleared. The town also got a new dog warden who was not mean and cruel unlike the last one. And the new vet in town who volunteers at the shelter and is on call asked Kari out for coffee. Kari was finally able to have her open house of the shelter and it was going very successful due to how many people in the community were happy to have their dogs back. The dog warden gone. And the sheriff wants to potentially start training rescue dogs as K-9 units. All in all a good read!
katreader's review against another edition
4.0
FURBIDDEN FATALITY by Deborah Blake
The First Catskills Pet Rescue Mystery
Kari Stuart has every intention of turning over the stray kitten she caught to the local shelter. When Kari discovers the local shelter is full and a nearby animal sanctuary is floundering, she makes a life changing decision. With her recent lottery winnings, Kari buys the sanctuary and starts making much needed improvements. Kari knows it's going to be a tough job requiring a lot of hard work, made even more difficult by the dog warden who seems to have it out for the shelter and one of its dogs in particular. When Kari finds his dead body on the sanctuary grounds, she becomes a prime suspect, but the town is full of people who despised the warden. Will Kari be able to save the sanctuary, its animals, and herself?
The first Catskills Pet Rescue Mystery introduces readers to an eclectic group of characters, from the school teacher who taught pretty much everybody in town to the waitress who has finally had it with bullies. They are a diverse group, with the diversity coming naturally. I really like Kari, who after overcoming a lot in her life has found purpose and a no nonsense attitude. She is smart, strong, but willing to accept help. Of course I adore Queenie, but I feel that Kari's other pets were given short shrift. I hope they get a little more action, or at least attention, in future outings.
There are lots of surprises and plenty of twists and turns in FURBIDDEN FATALITY, keeping me engaged and concerned. I thought things were bad enough when the dog warden was alive, but even after death the hits keep coming for Kari, and not just being a suspected murderer. One of my primary worries was the welfare of the animals, not only Buster and the other animals in the shelter, but the fate of other animals during the dog warden's tenure. Anger doesn't begin to cover it and if I was one of those owners, he may not have made it to this book!
Animal rescues are a vital part of this world and I'm delighted to have a mystery series that shows the hard work and determination necessary to provide a decent quality of life and a chance for a home of their own for all animals while also providing a great mystery to read!
FURBIDDEN FATALITY with its tenacious characters, lovable animals, and captivating mystery is a fantastic start to a new series.
FTC Disclosure – The publisher sent me an e-copy of this book in the hopes I would review it.
The First Catskills Pet Rescue Mystery
Kari Stuart has every intention of turning over the stray kitten she caught to the local shelter. When Kari discovers the local shelter is full and a nearby animal sanctuary is floundering, she makes a life changing decision. With her recent lottery winnings, Kari buys the sanctuary and starts making much needed improvements. Kari knows it's going to be a tough job requiring a lot of hard work, made even more difficult by the dog warden who seems to have it out for the shelter and one of its dogs in particular. When Kari finds his dead body on the sanctuary grounds, she becomes a prime suspect, but the town is full of people who despised the warden. Will Kari be able to save the sanctuary, its animals, and herself?
The first Catskills Pet Rescue Mystery introduces readers to an eclectic group of characters, from the school teacher who taught pretty much everybody in town to the waitress who has finally had it with bullies. They are a diverse group, with the diversity coming naturally. I really like Kari, who after overcoming a lot in her life has found purpose and a no nonsense attitude. She is smart, strong, but willing to accept help. Of course I adore Queenie, but I feel that Kari's other pets were given short shrift. I hope they get a little more action, or at least attention, in future outings.
There are lots of surprises and plenty of twists and turns in FURBIDDEN FATALITY, keeping me engaged and concerned. I thought things were bad enough when the dog warden was alive, but even after death the hits keep coming for Kari, and not just being a suspected murderer. One of my primary worries was the welfare of the animals, not only Buster and the other animals in the shelter, but the fate of other animals during the dog warden's tenure. Anger doesn't begin to cover it and if I was one of those owners, he may not have made it to this book!
Animal rescues are a vital part of this world and I'm delighted to have a mystery series that shows the hard work and determination necessary to provide a decent quality of life and a chance for a home of their own for all animals while also providing a great mystery to read!
FURBIDDEN FATALITY with its tenacious characters, lovable animals, and captivating mystery is a fantastic start to a new series.
FTC Disclosure – The publisher sent me an e-copy of this book in the hopes I would review it.
katy82's review against another edition
4.0
It was a solid cozy murder. Fun read, good mystery , but I didn’t fall in love with the characters
readerjenn's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
3.25