Even Cat Sitters Get the Blues by Blaize Clement

This is the third book in the Dixie Hemingway Mystery series. I am an avid mystery reader. So if you keep reading this little blog, I’m sure you’ll see lots of mystery series reviewed, as I enjoy a number of mystery series and keeping up with them seems to consume most of my reading time. But since the writer’s strike is still going on what else should I do?

Anyway, Dixie is a former Sheriff’s Deputy who suffered the devasting loss of her husband and child, which led her to give up law enforcement and become a pet sitter. She lives in Siesta Key, outside of Sarasota, Florida.

I enjoy the Dixie Hemingway series because they’re not just a cozy animal mystery. Dixie’s got grit and humor. Plus I find her believalble and she reminds me of Kinsey Milhoune (she lives in a small apartment above the garage and her brother lives in the house).

In this book, she’s struggling with having killed a man (at the end of Book 2) and she finds another dead body. But she doesn’t want to report it because she doesn’t want to get caught up in another murder investigation. Of course she does get caught up because someone sees her leaving the scene, which makes her a suspect; and the house where the murder occured is also where an iguana she supposed to care for lives.

Also, it’s been 4 years since her tragic loss and she’s struggling with her attraction to two men, handsome laywer Ethan Crane and Lieutenant Guidry. (This reminds me of Stephanie Plum’s struggle between Joe & Ranger, although I hope Clement doesn’t string us out as long as Evanovich has.)

The fun thing I learned – chickens and iguana have identical respiratory and digestive systems.

One thing I found annoying was a subplot involving a kitten and the topic of declawing animals. I felt the author spent too long going on about the evils of declawing pets.

But other than that it was a great addition to the series!