A Purr-fect Relic Cozy Mystery Book 5
Author: Deanna Drake
Genre: Mystery/Paranormal
Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #: 9781966593812
Tule Publishing
262 Pages
$11.99; $4.99 Amazon
May 21, 2025
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
A glamorous gala, a cursed dagger, and a killer on the loose -- Rebecca Cuthbert and her talking cat, Aneksi, face their most dangerous mystery yet.
When Rebecca Cuthbert volunteered to help with the Citrus Grove Women's Club gala, she envisioned a night filled with elegant silk drapes, Egyptian-themed decorations, and tasty hors d'oeuvres -- certainly not murder. But then the lights flicker out during the party setup, and club president Deborah Ralston is found dead, stabbed with an ancient dagger.
With Aneksi purring by her side and a murder weapon steeped in legend, Rebecca must unravel a twisted web of secrets, blackmail, and bitter rivalries behind this sinister murder. Everyone from suspicious club members to scorned lovers is a suspect, and time is running out as Rebecca's own antique shop becomes linked to the deadly artifact.
Can Rebecca and her cat corner the killer before tragedy slashes her world again?
✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽
Rebecca Cuthbert lives in a small town with her grandfather Stirling, who owns an antiquities shop that specializes in Egyptian artifacts. She grew up in Montana with her parents, who passed in a car accident, which led her to the grandfather she never knew she had.
Nor did she know that she now had a kitten named Aneksi, who is immortal and has powers of her own. She also discovered that in the basement of their shop lies a vault full of cursed artifacts that Stirling's grandfather brought home from Egypt. Some of the artifacts were stolen, and they have been searching for them whenever they can. I give you this backstory for the following...
When Rebecca accepts an invitation to join the Citrus Grove Women's Club, she didn't think it would be so stressful or take so much of her time. But here she is, anyway. While working with the other ladies on the annual club gala, there is a sudden blackout, and when the lights go on, president Deborah Ralston is lying with a knife in her back. A very distinctive knife, and Rebecca believes that it may be one of the items in the collection that was stolen. But during the chaos, the knife disappears, and now everyone who was attending is a suspect.
There is also the issue of the man who was trying to break into Deborah's apartment, which is near Rebecca's. Accidentally (of course) Rebecca confronts him and discovers he is a private investigator who has been hired by Deborah's soon-to-be ex-husband, in order to find if she has hidden assets. But Rebecca herself finds evidence that Deborah was blackmailing people in town, and this may have led to her death.
Trying to keep her detective boyfriend Nick Devon in the dark may not be an option this time. But will telling him the truth only cause more problems? And is one of her friends a murderer? With Stirling and Aneksi by her side, Rebecca knows she needs to find out more about the dagger. But will it lead to danger for her?
This is the fifth book in the series and I am absolutely addicted to it. I love the characters, who are quite believable, and I love little Aneksi as well. The tale is written beautifully, and it draws you in from the very beginning. Learning more about the artifacts, and encountering them in each story, is a tale all its own. The author is quite talented, and she draws situations well.
Each story brings us closer to Rebecca's new life and that which she left behind, with questions that are sometimes answered. (I don't mind waiting for more answers in later books). Although Stirling's cousin from England, Phineas, seems a bit of a slime, I believe he is meant to be so. We will see in the next book what awaits him.
The mystery is worth waiting for, the ending giving us satisfaction. The murderer was a bit of a surprise; but not too much for me, although it doesn't matter because I enjoyed the book so much. This was a new author for me, and I am glad that I took a chance and read all the previous books.
The ending comes together nicely, giving us a hint of what is to come; and the murder conclusion is all that it should be. I eagerly look forward to the next book in the series. Highly recommended.
More on Deanna Drake's Books: https://www.fantasticfiction.com/d/deanna-drake/
No comments:
Post a Comment