Author: Chelsea Thomas
Genre: Mystery
Digital Book
ASIN #: B098FG665V
Independently Published
369 Pages (Bonus Book Added)
$5.99 Amazon
October 15, 2021
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Everyone adores Amy Stewart...
...except the guilty.
In a small SoCal town, where neighbors know each other, beach chairs stay out all year, and everyone knows your dog by name, there are still skeletons in every closet.
The body was found at a cooking school.
Amy spends most of her time working at her pet salon, keeping her head down, re-building her life after heartbreak. But when dead bodies turn up, her own life drama seems less important...and she can't help but investigate.
Who would have killed the cooking school instructor?
Amy's granny helps with all the investigations and she thinks the owner of the place has a suspicious vibe. Muscular and stubbled Detective Mike Fine disagrees. Amy is caught between them, digging for the truth like a Terrier out in the backyard.
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Poor Amy Stewart can't catch a break. First her boyfriend breaks up with her so she moves home to SoCal to be with her Granny, and opens a pet salon. Then dead bodies start finding her. No matter where she is...
When Amy and Granny are gifted a class for creating pet food at a local culinary institute, Amy is happy, Granny not so much. But the day is ruined when the teacher - Brian Lee - complains throughout the class about having to teach people to cook for dogs, and he has a blowout just outside the door with the owner, Chuck. Soon after the class, someone notices a fire and the two women gravitate toward it, discovering that it's in Brian's room, and he died from smoke inhalation. Or did he?
When a strange woman approaches the two claiming she's his sister and asks for help in reclaiming an heirloom, they agree, thinking it will get them back into the room to look for clues. But the police think it was accident. Everyone thinks it was an accident. Except Amy and Granny... and they're not known for being wrong.
Meanwhile, her cat Fluffy has his own problems with a household pest and is determined to put the intruder out of the house for good, but needs to figure out a way to do it. Ah, the life of pets can be just as complicated as the lives of humans sometimes...
But Amy has more to worry about than just a murder. Mike has made a move to progress their relationship, and neighbor Jacob, a doctor, is starting to flirt with her. Is this going to go anywhere with either of them? Or is Amy still relationship-shy after her last debacle with love?
This is the fourth book in the series and as such, the characters are well-honed by now. Amy still has her own insecurities, but she keeps telling herself that's she's strong and capable, which boosts her up. Betsy, her assistant, is still convinced she's going to get her screenplay picked up by a Hollywood agent, and she's still acting wacky and far-out-there, which only endears her to both Amy and Granny. And Granny is still trying to mold three local bachelors into some semblance of men who can get themselves dates.
The mystery itself is well-written, and there are so many angles, twists and turns that the maze just keeps going. Each time Amy picks out a suspect, another one appears around the corner. And there are a couple of times Amy and Granny have close calls and have to figure a way out.
But the ending is a complete surprise, and I never really saw it coming at all. When the murderer is discovered, the tale is strange indeed, and the motive is age-old; but then, most motives are. It is a story that is fun, action-packed, and at the end, gives us something to look forward to in the next in the series. Highly recommended.
BONUS: This story also contains a bonus story written by Chelsea Thomas and author Steve Higgs, which is a crossover containing the characters from the Apple Orchard Mysteries and Steve's characters from the Patricia Fisher Cruise Ship Mysteries. It's a hoot to read as the four women find themselves in New York City, trying to solve a murder that puts them between rival Chinese gangs. You will love it.
More on Chelsea Thomas's Books: https://www.fantasticfiction.com/t/chelsea-thomas/
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