I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from Great Escapes Book Tours. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
A Blue Ribbon Murder
by T.C. LoTempio
Series: Urban Tails Pet Shop Mysteries #6
Series Rating:
Published by Beyond the Page on March 31, 2026
Setting: Fox Hollow, Connecticut
Genres: Cozy Animal Mystery
Pages: 260
Format: Kindle, Paperback
Source: Great Escapes Book Tours
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Also in this series: The Time for Murder is Meow
When the organizer of a major cat competition is murdered and the grand prize is stolen, Shell McMillan will have to claw through the clues to catch a killer . . .
The Kitty Club Cat Show has come to Fox Hollow, and everyone from casual cat lovers to competitive breeders has shown up for the contest. Pet shop owner Shell McMillan has two cats entered, and like everyone else she has her eye on the grand prize, a vibrant red leash with a solid gold cat-head figurine attached. As the judging begins, cat owners clash and the fur flies, until a power outage throws the whole arena into darkness. But when the lights come back up, the event’s organizer is found dead and the grand prize is missing.
Shell knows the obvious suspect is the victim’s stepson, who’s up to his neck in gambling debts and would kill to get his hands on his inheritance. But there are plenty of disgruntled competitors to consider too, including some who had an old score to settle with the victim. Every clue is catnip for Shell, especially as she puzzles out whether the thief and the murderer are the same person. Either way, with two crimes to solve and a killer on the loose, she’ll have to tread carefully so that her dreams of Best in Show don’t end with Rest in Peace . . .
In A Blue Ribbon Murder by T.C. LoTempio, Shell McMillan is both a vendor and the owner of two contestants at the cat show.
Can Shell nab the culprit before they strike again?
Shell McMillan
Crishell, also known as Shell, McMillan, was talked by her mom into not only being a vendor but also having two of her cats become contestants in the cat show. Shell and her business associate, Gary, are a hoot. I enjoyed following them as they solved crimes. She has a knack for solving crimes that are different from other mysteries that I read, which is nice. Her cats are hilarious. I like Shell a lot as a character, and I think that if I were to come across her walking down the street, I would talk to her. Probably even go into her shop, the Urban Tails Pet Shop, to see what they had for my pets.
The Mystery
Shell and Gary find the body, and they decide to put on their sleuthing caps again to solve the mystery. I feel like both Shell and Gary use a bit of what they did on their show, Spy Anyone, when they start to solve a mystery. Even I had to admit, though, that this one was a tough one. I had an inkling of who did it, but I definitely didn’t get the motive. Ms. LoTempio did a great job of hiding that one in her clues really well.
Four Stars
My rating for A Blue Ribbon Murder by T.C. LoTempio is four stars. I do recommend this book as it kept me guessing. One can read these books out of order without getting confused by references to earlier mysteries. Ms. LoTempio is a great author. She gets you to think while reading her books.
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Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of A Blue Ribbon Murder by T.C. LoTempio.
Until the next time,
Happy Reading!
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About T.C. LoTempio
While Toni Lotempio does not commit – or solve – murders in real life, she has no trouble doing it on paper. Her lifelong love of mysteries began early on when she was introduced to her first Nancy Drew mystery at age 10 – The Secret in the Old Attic. She (and ROCCO, albeit he’s uncredited) pen the Nick and Nora mystery series from Berkley Prime Crime – the first volume, MEOW IF ITS MURDER, debuted Dec. 2, 2014. Followed by #2, CLAWS FOR ALARM. #3, CRIME AND CATNIP, was released in December. She, Rocco and Maxx make their home in Clifton, New Jersey, just twenty minutes from the Big Apple – New York.
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 2026 Cloak and Dagger
- 2026 Craving the Cozies
- 2026 Cruisin' thru the Cozies
- 2026 Goodreads RC
- 2026 Medical Examiner Mystery RC
- 2026 Traveling the World
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