Furbidden Fatality by Deborah Blake
Book 1 in the Catskills Pet Rescue Mystery series. Cozy mystery.
After taking in a stray cat, Kari decides to buy the local pet rescue sanctuary with her lottery winnings. With the sale comes a couple of employees and a threat from the game warden. When Kari finds him dead on the property she ends up as a suspect. So she does a bit of investigating.

An intriguing and fast moving mystery with adorable animals and a handsome vet. Kitten Queenie is still a bit of a mystery that I can’t wait to see develop. A feel-good rescue mission adds to the enjoyment of the well written story. ( )

Furbidden Fatality by Deborah Blake is the debut of A Catskills Pet Rescue Mystery series. I enjoyed reading Furbidden Fatality. It is filled with spunky, smart women who have a soft spot for animals. There are also two men who care about fur babies and were friendly with Kari. The animals in the book were adorable especially Queenie. She is one smart kitten (handy with shoelaces). I thought Furbidden Fatality was well-written with steady pacing. There is humor scattered throughout that provided giggles, chuckles, and laugh-out-loud moments. Kari Stuart is twenty-nine years old with a useless college degree. She has been working as a waitress and living in a rundown apartment. Kari recently won five million dollars, but she is not sure what to do with the money. When Kari catches a black kitten that has been left outside her apartment, she takes it to the local shelter. She learns it is full along with all the other shelters in town. That is when Kari learns that Serenity Sanctuary had to close because of lack of funds and problems with the animal warden. Kari has found a purpose for her life and for her money. When the animal warden ends up dead outside the pet sanctuary, Kari along with two female volunteers and her best friend set out to find the killer. There are several good suspects along with misdirection. The mystery was filled with action that kept the book moving at a brisk pace. I like that the author describes the pet sanctuary, Kari’s new home, the town, and the people. She manages to strike a balance between not enough information and too much. There is mild foul language in the book. I am looking forwarding to reading the next A Catskills Pet Rescue Mystery. Furbidden Fatality is a doggone entertaining tale with a crafty feline, an aggressive animal warden, valued volunteers, a bothersome brother, and an abundance of animals in need of anodyne accommodation. ( )

Furbidden Fatality is the first book in the A Catskills Pet Rescue Mystery series by Deborah Blake.

Kari Stuart recently won the lottery and is now a multi-millionaire. She’s still working as a waitress at a local diner until she decides what she wants to do with her life. One day she sees, what appears to be a three-month-old kitten, and she catches it. As Kari already has two cats and a dog and living in a small apartment, another animal is out of the question. Kari learns from her friend, Suz, a groomer, of an animal shelter, and when she goes there, they inform her that they are packed and not accepting any dogs or cats. Once a lawsuit on a pitbull is settled, she will close the shelter unless she can find someone who has more money than sense. The shelter’s property also has a small home that Kari has moved into the house. Late one night, Kari awakened by her phone ringing, learn from a neighbor across the street that the shelter dogs are barking continuously, and to do something about it, or he will call the police. Kari heads to the shelter, hoping none of the dogs have gotten, only to find they are all in their cages. She then heads out to inspect the exercise area. Kari notices a shovel leaning against the fence, which wasn’t there earlier in the day. As she arrives at the fence, she finds the body of the dog warden, Bill Myers. Having had words at a hearing for the pitbull with Myers, Kari will become a person of interest for his murder. With the volunteers’ help at the shelter and the handsome new vet, Kari will begin to clear her name. Kari will learn that Myers was very zealous with ticketing and taking into custody dogs for various charges and that some might not have been euthanized as claimed.

This book is an excellent start to an interesting new series. The story is well-written and plotted. I felt the characters are well-developed, engaging, and believable. I would like to learn more about the community and learn more about the Kari and the animal shelter staff.

I will be watching for the next book in the series. ( )

cozy-mystery, law-enforcement, family-dynamics, friendship, amateur-sleuth, murder, murder-investigation, animal-welfare, animals, verbal-humor, situational-humor*****

Kari thought her life was at a dead end. Graduated from college with double major but only able to get jobs waitressing and divorced from a bully. Until she randomly bought a lottery ticket and won a few million. While trying to see how this could improve her outlook she found herself buying a foundering animal shelter. The idea was good, the new friends fantastic, and rescue animals are her very thing. But. Enter the Best Candidate To Be Murdered. If only she hadn't been the one to find the body, and if only it wasn't on her property. Now add in the bumbling deputies, the suspicious sheriff, lots of problems left by the deceased, a fear of being railroaded, two separate and costly episodes of vandalism, and both the new animal control officer and the new veterinarian.
The sleuthing needed a little work but the story was cohesive and very entertaining, and the light on the plight of private shelters was fantastic. I absolutely loved it!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Berkley Publishing Group via NetGalley. Thank you! ( )