Cat Got Your Diamonds (A Kitty Couture Mystery)

Author:  Julie Chase
Genre:  Mystery

Hardcover; Trade Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #:  9781629538426; 9781683311973
Crooked Lane Books
336 Pages
$17.67; $10.87; $1.99 Amazon
November 8, 2016

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Grandeur and opulence are everything in the famed New Orleans Garden District where pets are family and no bling is too big.  Opening Furry Godmother, pet boutique and organic treat bakery, is Lacy Marie Crocker's dream come true -- until the glitter gun used to make her Shih Tzu tutus becomes a murder weapon.  And Lacy becomes public enemy #1.

Now Detective Jack Oliver is hounding Lacy, and her Furry Godmother investor wants out before his name is tarnished by association.  To make matters worse, a string of jewel heists with suspicious ties to the murder case has New Orleans residents on edge.  To save her dream, Lacy must take a stand, put her keen eyes to work, and unravel what really happened at her shop that night.  But can Lacy sniff out the killer cat burglar in time to get her tail-raising designs on the catwalk?

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Lacy Crocker was born to wealth but wants to make it on her own in New Orleans by opening a pet fashion store.  Yes, that's right - a pet fashion store.  She makes clothing for animals; but also sells homemade treats on the side.  I say 'on the side' because her main business is selling clothing.

She is conducting business one afternoon when a shady-looking character enters her store and she can't wait to get rid of him.  What happens, though, is she returns to the store after hours and realizes someone else is there.  She is surprised by the same man, runs through the back door, and before he can catch her she sprays him with her glitter gun, effectively blinding him, and leaves.

When she calls the police and is asked to return to the store she is surprised to find the man dead, and the police detective thinks she did it.  Her investor, Mr. Tater, tells her he will have to pull funding from her store because he can't be associated with it right now, and she's desperate to find a way to keep the store open, even if it means taking on extra work.

With her store on the line, and Detective Oliver seemingly not looking for any other suspects, Lacy decides to do a little investigating on her own, trying to find out the identity of the dead man and who might want him dead.  But she soon realizes that there's more at stake then losing her shop; if she's not careful, she could also lose her life...

 I felt that the story started out S-L-O-W.  So slow I had to stop a couple of times and start again.  Probably because the first part dealt with dressing up dogs.  I have to say this is something I don't agree with.  Dressing up dogs like people is, in my opinion, odd to say the least.  They're not toys or even children.  Putting them on display for your pleasure isn't right.  They want to run and play and get dirty, not perform like a seal.  Secondly, I thought - because it's listed as a Kitty Couture Mystery - that it would be about cats, or at least one cat.  Not so.  I also didn't like the idea that Jack Oliver called her 'kitten,' it wasn't professional; it was condescending.

But once I got a little deeper into the story the plot seemed to pick up, and that was a good thing.  We began to learn a little more about Lacy's life and the people in it, and more about the dead man - Miguel - and who wanted it that way.  There were plenty of red herrings and just enough of a mystery to keep me reading through the night.

When all is said and done, the ending was satisfactory and it all came together nicely.  Since this is the first in the series, I feel that the author is still learning her way around all the characters, and I will read the next in the series.  All in all, and enjoyable read for a quiet evening.

https://www.amazon.com/Cat-Got-Your-Diamonds-Couture/dp/1629538426/

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2167716045

More on Julie Chase's Books:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/c/julie-chase/