Daisy's Gotcha Day!

Hi friends!

It's been a year since Daisy came to live with me. Daisy is a two year old (could be a smidge younger) Corgi mix who was found as a stray and taken to the county shelter.  When I met her she immediately leaned up against me and sighed. It was a done deal - at that point I knew she was coming home with me!  The photo above is from Daisy's first night here.

Things were a bit overwhelming at first as Daisy learned to walk on a leash, potty outdoors, and to try to remember that the world is not her chew toy (she still needs occasional reminders about chewing!).  It was a difficult year for me personally, as my Mom passed away and there were many changes in my life.  But at the year went on, Daisy and I bonded more and more.

Daisy taught me the joy of long walks, the pleasure that can be found in stopping to explore nature, the happiness of making friends with animals and people as we are out exploring.   She is a loving little girl who loves to sit on my lap or right beside me, and who cuddles up in bed at night.

I am beyond grateful for her and hope we have many more happy years together!

Trish

(with much love to Daisy!)

Book Review and Giveaway - Dial M for Meow (Bookshop Kitties Mysteries) by Ruth J. Hartman

My Review

Children's book author Christy Bailey moves to a small town in Indiana to live with her aunt, who owns a bookstore. She is accompanied by her cats Milton and Pearl, who are the stars of her book series. When Christy arrives at the bookstore, she finds her aunt disoriented and upset, and a woman her aunt disliked dead. Christy is determined to solve the mystery and clear her aunt's name.

I wanted to read this book because I love cozy mysteries. I liked the idea of a bookstore setting, and love books that prominently feature pets.

I have to start by saying Milton and Pearl are stars not just of Christy's children's books, but also this mystery! They are an adorable bonded pair of sibling cats and they helped with the detecting, as well as providing lots of cuteness.

This is a charming mystery and a great start to a new series. I look forward to reading more books in the Bookshop Kitties Mysteries series.  Christy is a likable protagonist - a writer and book lover with a calm nature and a knack for detecting.  She is helped by her childhood friend Janie and a certain handsome ER doctor named Micah. (I hope this relationship develops more with future books!)

There are several plausible suspects, and I enjoyed solving the mystery right along with Christy. I was somewhat surprised by the murderer, but that is what makes mysteries fun.

I recommend Dial M for Meow for fans of cozy mysteries, for anyone who enjoys bookstores or small town settings, and especially for cat lovers.

Book Synopsis

When children’s book author, Christy Bailey, receives a call from her aunt Betty to help out at her bookshop, she drops everything to go. Christy packs up her two cats—Milton and Pearl, the stars of her children’s mystery books—and leaves busy Philadelphia for tiny Green Meadow, Indiana. The timing of the call is perfect, as Christy’s letch of an ex-boyfriend has just cleaned out her savings, leaving Christy with a pile of unpaid bills and a desire to start over. And what better place to do that than a charming small town in Middle America?

But when Christy reaches her aunt’s bookshop, instead of small town hospitality she finds a dead body! Even worse, her aunt is passed out in the corner, hands covered in blood. The dead woman is an old frenemy of her Aunt Betty, and while Christy knows her aunt is innocent, the local detective isn’t so sure. With Milton and Pearl prowling for clues, Christy is determined to find the real killer and clear her aunt’s name… before her story ends in tragedy!

Author Bio

Ruth J. Hartman spends her days herding cats and her nights spinning mysterious tales. She, her husband, and their cats love to spend time curled up in their recliners watching old Cary Grant movies. Well, the cats sit in the people’s recliners. Not that the cats couldn’t get their own furniture. They just choose to shed on someone else’s.

Ruth, a left-handed, cat-herding, farmhouse-dwelling writer uses her sense of humor as she writes tales of lovable, klutzy women who seem to find trouble without even trying.

Ruth’s husband and best friend, Garry, reads her manuscripts, rolls his eyes at her weird story ideas, and loves her despite her insistence all of her books have at least one cat in them. See updates about her cozy mysteries at Ruthjhartman.com.

Giveaway

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