Curiosity Killed the Cat Sitter

3.75 stars

Dixie Hemingway used to work for the Sheriff, and is now a pet-sitter. She is cat sitting for one of her clients, Marilee, when she finds a dead man in Marilee’s home. Dixie feels she must find, not only Marilee, but whoever killed the dead man.

I really liked this book. I liked Dixie’s character - Dixie is also trying to get past a personal tragedy at the same time as she is rebuilding her life - as well as a lot of the other characters in the book. I was also impressed by how much the author knows about cats (must be a cat-lover herself). I plan to continue with the series.

My 4 yo was drawn to the pink cover at the library and chose this for me while we were wandering down the mystery section. I thought the cover looked kind of silly, but actually I liked this novel quite a bit. While many Goodreads readers have objected to the unnecessarily crass language, this didn't detract from the book for me. I was annoyed however by the stereotyped people of color in the book and found the ending very fast with a melodramatic turn of events. Still, I really enjoyed the main character and the Florida setting, and I may even pick up the next one in the series.

Summary: Dixie worked on the police force until a personal tragedy left her devastated. Unable to return to her previous life and work, Dixie has become a pet sitter. One day, Dixie goes to care for a cat whose mom is away on business and discovers a dead body. She doesn't know who the mystery corpse is or what relationship they have to the cat's mom but she needs to find out for the well-being of the cat in her care.

My Rating: 4/5

I loved Dixie's story. She felt real to me and the difficulties she had in everyday life rang true. She struggles to function after the tragedy that happened and I could see myself being the same way if I was in her shoes. Her pain and back story were authentic enough that I cried a few times for Dixie.

I show more loved how devoted Dixie is to the animals in her care. Dixie isn't just a casual pet sitter who is feeding animals to make money because she can't cope with a regular job. Dixie loves the animals in her care and gives us all kinds of animal info throughout the book. I felt like the author either is very into animals herself or did a ton of research about animal behaviors.

While I loved many aspects of Dixie's character I didn't always like her. The book is told in first person and sometimes Dixie said something that just made me cringe because it was unnecessary and often crass.

I did love Dixie's brother and several of the other side characters in this book.

The mystery was fine but not amazing and after the mystery ended the book had a too quick for my tastes wrap up.

I liked the character development Dixie went through in this book but things also didn't go how I was hoping and for all the hope in Dixie's healing I felt let down by the end of the book because I felt like she hadn't come as far as I hoped she would. I do hope she continues to heal in future books and some of the story lines that were started by not finished or fully fleshed out are tackled in the sequels.

I absolutely plan to read more books in this series.

If you love animals and mysteries I recommend you give this book a try. show less

Dixie Hemingway (no relation) was a deputy with Sarasota County's Sheriff's Department in southwest Florida. After a tragic accident she has problems dealing with people so she leaves the Sheriff's Department and starts a business pet-sitting on Siesta Key. She takes her job seriously but also realises that her life needs something else.

That something else is probably not a dead body at one of her jobs. Drowned in a cat's water bowl she finds herself a suspect and being chased by some unsavory characters.

It's a cosy mystery, you don't really expect much but this one was quite interesting in itself. I did guess the murderer but the red herrings kept me questioning my guess which made it all the more enjoyable. I look forward to more in show more this series. show less

Delightful read and from the 1st page you like Dixie Hemingway. All the characters are likable, or "evil", or deliciously nuts, and story is well plotted--Blaize Clement gives nothing away, and not a word is "filler". Look forward to the rest of the series and will probably add to my personal library. Terrific for the beach, cold winter night in front of the fire, or just a quiet time with a good book.

A frivolous Bon Bon of a mystery - decently written, nice atmosphere, interesting characters. Short, not deep. But enjoyable.

I don't read a lot of mysteries, but I must say that I really enjoyed this one. I read it from start to finish the day it arrived!
The protagonist Dixie is multifacted and interesting. The other characters, both human and animal, are well-conceived. And, Clement adds a lot of things that make this book more substantive than your run of the mill cozy. I'll be eagerly awaiting the next installment in this series.