I put this book off for a long time because the original author of the series, Blaize Clement, sadly passed away, and her son took over writing the series and frankly I was pretty sure he wasn't going to do it right. But the PopSugar challenge has a "set in your hometown" prompt and this one fits. Then DH found me yesterday staring at the TBR pile with a glazed look and closed his eyes, pointed, and said "read that one". This is the one he pointed to.

I wasn't wrong, John Clement didn't get it right, but he didn't really get it wrong either. Aside from a few spots that screamed "I'm a man trying to write a woman's inner dialogue" and one line that just flat out screamed "chauvinist!" ("With everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours, I'd be happy to have a big strong man around."). There was also a line about her becoming turned on because her date started swearing, which was just eye-rolling-ly ridiculous.

But most of the book was pretty close in tone to Ms. Clement's work, and the mystery was nicely plotted. I wasn't shocked by the killer, but I think that's just become I'm a cynic about murder mysteries; the author certainly did nothing to telegraph the solution early on. There's a heavier atmosphere in these books than you'd normally find in the lightweight mysteries, and he stays pretty true to that, too. The setting might as well double as a travel guide - Ms. Clement and her son both obviously know Sarasota and Siesta Key very well; I'm pretty sure one could draw a pretty accurate map based on the narrative alone.

I don't know if I'm reading the next one or not; John Clement didn't often go wrong, but when he did it wasn't subtle, but these books are like teleporting home. So, probably.


[PopSugar 2015 Reading Challenge: A book that takes place in your hometown.] ( )

This was a book that I picked up at the library's book sale. I am not sure if I've read this series before. I don't think so, but sometimes I am surprised when I am on another site and see the author's name or series name come up in a tag. One of the reasons I don't think I have read this series before is that I see other reviewers saying that the author Blaize Clement passed away and that her son John assisted with this book.

The main character, Dixie Hemingway, is a former police officer who left the force after her husband and child died. Her second career is as a pet sitter. In addition to her regular clients, she takes on cat and fish sitting for the Harwick family when the parents go to Tampa.

I enjoyed getting to know some of Dixie's regular clients and learning a bit about animal behavior.

WARNING: SPOILERS MAY FOLLOW--READ ON AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION:

*****

We never find out what happens to Charlotte. We know she's currently at the boarding kennel and that Mrs. Harwick asks/tells Dixie to find a new home for Charlotte--but Charlotte's fate is left unresolved.

We don't find out if Becca really was pregnant or just thought she was because her period was late. Either that or Kenny did tell Dixie but in a way that wasn't clear to me when I read it. I am glad that Kenny decided to stay in the area though. I was wondering what Dixie would do without him to call on as an overnight pet sitter--though I guess she does have a retiree she can call for day to day stuff.

We don't really learn if Corina was the person informing on August's smuggling ring or the fate of Corina and/or Dixie Joyce. Dixie was going to ask Paco about it, but again, that didn't happen before the book ended.

This is a series I might read another book from if I came across it, but not a series that I plan to seek out previous books or look to see if John Clement has continued the series.

Notes (for when you're deciding if this is a book you want to read):
*There is a same sex couple among the supporting characters.
*Mr. Harwick is not the ideal dad or step-dad. He calls his step-children "worthless". He walked out on his biological child. He stole the Harwick identity. ( )

The 8th in the Cat Sitter’s series—this time finding intrepid pet sitter Dixie Hemingway dealing with exotic birds and fish. On an early morning walk, she spots an exotic bird rarely seen north of the equator. At first, Dixie thinks the bird has been blown off course, but as she digs deeper into where the bird came from, Dixie becomes increasingly suspicious of its origins. Soon Dixie finds a new client dead in the pool and a new friend and her baby disappear without warning. As always, Dixie is pulled into the crime (both as ab investigator and potential suspect). There have been some changes in this series—Guidry is gone and we have a new love interest lawyer Ethan. This is definitely a cozy mystery but I feel that the plots are becoming quite thin—it was pretty easy to interrupt the clues—so not really much of a mystery. I also feel that I have read this plot in another earlier book—this series need to take it up a notch for me to continue reading. 2 ½ out of 5 stars. ( )

This book was very good. There were subtle things that alluded to the different author, but nothing too jarring. I enjoyed Dixie's character growth. I am excited to see where things go with Ethan from here. ( )