Murder Most Finicky: A Pawsitively Organic Mystery

by Liz Mugavero

Kensington Books

Mystery & Thrillers

Pub Date: December 29, 2015

Description

The dog days of summer have arrived in the small town of Frog Ledge, Connecticut, and business is booming for Kristan "Stan" Connor. Her Pawsitively Organic pet food has even caught the attention of celebrity pastry chef Sheldon Allyn, who helps Stan open a fancy pet pastry shop in Frog Ledge. A partnership is born, and Sheldon invites Stan to Newport, Rhode Island, for an appreciation weekend he's hosting for all his independent chefs. But the gourmet getaway turns sour when one of the chefs turns up dead, and a second one goes missing. . .

As Stan tries to figure out who had a recipe for murder, the pool of suspects expands. And if she can't sniff out the culprit soon, this killer may just serve up a second helping of murder. . .

Includes Gourmet Pet Food Recipes!

Review

Liz Mugavero serves up yet another tasty mystery with her newest Pawsitively Organic novel. Filled with delicious food and distinctive pets, Murder Most Finicky is certain to please even the most demanding of readers. When you throw in the delectable treat recipes for pets, it is easy to see why Liz Mugavero is a popular author.

Navigating the cutthroat world of professional cooking is not Kristan's thing, but at the request of celebrity chef Sheldon Allyn she agrees to take part in a chef's retreat. The idea is that the invited chefs will work together, inspire each other, and create a menu to tantalize a team of investors. If all goes well, a show on the Food Network may follow. Stan could care less about being part of a cooking show, but she is eager to open her own shop in Frog Ledge – which Sheldon has promised to help with.

The theatrical beginning to the weekend is marred by Stan's discovery of the body of a celebrated pastry chef, Sheldon's prodige. When a second chef goes missing, and a third never arrives, the weekend looks like it will go up in flames. On top of everything, Stan's sister has confessed to having an affair with the missing chef, and she wants Stan to find out what has happened to him.

Murder, mayhem and a hearty helping of pets is always a winning recipe. Nutty is adorable – cuddly, moody, food motived and totally self centered, ie. a cat. Mugavero does a great job of depicting Nutty when aloof/annoyed. I wanted to fawn over him just like Maria. Gaston/Jaws the Australian Shepherd is another great animal who not only helps solve the murder – he manages to get a loving home as well.

I really enjoyed Murder Most Finicky. I liked how Mugavero took the action outside of Frog Ledge. As always, she does a great job of developing likable, distinctive characters, and creating fresh plots.

5/5

Murder Most Finicky is available for preorder and will be released December 29th, 2015.

I received a copy of Murder Most Finicky from the publisher and Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.

--Crittermom

Murder Most Finicky is a treat for mystery lovers

12/9/15

http://muttcafe.com/2015/12/murder-most-finicky