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.
Death By A Whisker
by T.C. LoTempio
Series: Cat Rescue Mystery #2
Series Rating:
Published by Crooked Lane Books on February 13, 2018
Genres: Mystery
Pages: 320
Format: Kindle
Source: Great Escapes Book Tours
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Getting used to life back home in Deer Park, North Carolina, Sydney McCall and her right-hand tabby, Toby, are helping her sister Kat run the local animal shelter. Syd and Kat are all excited about the prospect of the shelter’s newest fundraiser: shopping channel queen Ulla Townsend. Shelter admin Maggie Shayne vehemently refuses to have anything to do with the woman, but the fundraiser ensues as planned. That is, until Ulla turns up dead in the middle of the event.
The cause of death is determined to be an allergic reaction, but Syd and Toby are sniffing out something fishy. When Syd met Ulla, it was clear she was distasteful and rude. And right before the event, Syd spotted some behind-the-scenes drama between Ulla and her manager. As they begin to investigate, they realize there is no shortage of suspects, and Maggie is at the top of the list.
Now Syd and Toby must claw their way to the truth before everything goes paws up at their animal shelter in Death by a Whisker by national bestselling author T. C. LoTempio.
Revenge is best served shiny.
Death By a Whisker by T.C. LoTempio was a pretty different book in terms of a cozy. We have everything that makes a cozy a cozy in this book, but the murder was weird. It took me for a spin, and I do have to say that I was enthralled and wanted to know who killed her.
Sydney McCall
Our sleuth is Sydney McCall, more commonly known as Syd. She works with her sister, Kat, at a shelter called Friendly Paws. Syd owns an orange cat tabby named Toby, and he is a tomcat that now loves being indoors. She is there at the shelter for publicity and to help out when she’s not solving cases that she shouldn’t be solving. Like this newest one.
What I like about Sydney is that she knows that she shouldn’t be doing any sleuthing or getting involved in a case. However, she wants to help her boyfriend to succeed in the workforce. Another thing that I like about her is that she loves animals and will do anything to help them get a home. What I dislike about her is that she isn’t good at lying on the spot and yet she is getting in situations where she has to lie. Another dislike is that she sometimes does things without thinking about the consequences.
Will Worthington
Will Worthington is Sydney’s old high school crush/boyfriend and one of the detectives on the case. We don’t see much of him or the other detective as much as we do in some of the other cozies. What I like about Will is that he is by the book, but he lets Sydney assist with this one because he knows she will be a great help. Another thing that I like about Will is that he has saved Syd’s butt countless times in the book. What I don’t like about him is that he should know not to tell Sydney to stay away from something.
The Crime
The crime in this one was pretty ingenious. The murder victim was a bully back in high school named Ulla Townsend, and she came back to make amends so that she could get to be the spokesperson for a makeup company named Glow. She died at her event with the Friendly Paws Animal Shelter, and she died from an allergic reaction. The fun thing was trying to figure out how this happened, what her allergy was, and who did it. I figured out how it happened before the sleuth and yeah. Can’t tell you what it was or who did it but I do have to say that it was pretty surprising.
Four Stars
Death By a Whisker by T.C. LoTempio is a pretty entertaining cozy mystery series. The sleuth was okay, the love interest wasn’t really in there that much, and the crime was good. I am giving this book a four-star rating as it is good. I recommend this book to those who love cozy mysteries.
Other Books in the Series
Purr M for Murder
By T.C. LoTempio
Series: A Cat Rescue Mystery#1
Published by Crooked Lane Books on March 14th, 2017
Genres: Mystery, Cozy, Women Sleuths
Pages: 295
Format: Hardcover, ebook & Paperback
Buy on Amazon
Sydney McCall left behind an ex-fiance; and a New York advertising job to return home to Deer Park, North Carolina and help her sister, Kat, run the local animal shelter, Friendly Paws. Determined to save the shelter from financial trouble, Sydney and Kat organize a cat cafe; fundraising event at a local coffee shop. Things are looking up until their landlord, Trowbridge Littleton, threatens to shut down the event. When Sydney drops by his art gallery to make peace, she finds Kat–along with Littleton’s dead body.
Local homicide detective Will Worthington–who just happens to be Sydney’s old high school crush–is highly suspicious of the sisters’ involvement. Desperate to clear their names from the suspect list, Sydney pounces on the investigation. With the help of one of the shelter cats, a savvy orange tabby named Toby, Sydney begins poking her nose into other local businesses whose owners may have benefited from Littleton’s death–until the killer notices she’s pawing a little too closely at the truth.
Delightfully clever and charming, Purr M for Murder, the first in a new series from nationally bestselling author T. C. LoTempio, will leave readers clawing for more.
Tour Schedule
February 12 – Sneaky the Library Cat’s Blog – SPOTLIGHT
February 12 – Carla Loves To Read – REVIEW
February 13 – My Reading Journeys – REVIEW
February 13 – Babs Book Bistro – SPOTLIGHT
February 14 – The Book Diva’s Reads – SPOTLIGHT
February 14 – Laura`s Interests – REVIEW*
February 15 – MJB Reviewers – REVIEW*
February 15 – Mallory Heart’s Cozies – REVIEW
February 16 – Baroness’ Book Trove – REVIEW
February 17 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
February 17 – Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT
February 18 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW*
February 18 – A Holland Reads – SPOTLIGHT
February 19 – I’m All About Books – SPOTLIGHT
February 19 – Mystery Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
February 20 – Lisa Ks Book Reviews – REVIEW*
February 21 – View from the Birdhouse – SPOTLIGHT
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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:
- 2019 Cloak and Dagger
- 2019 Craving For Cozies Reading Challenge
- 2019 Cruisin' Thru The Cozies Reading Challenge
- 2019 Goodreads Reading Challenge
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