Murder in Cherry Hills: A Small-Town Cat Cozy Mystery Whodunit

Paige Sleuth

Aug 2015 · Cozy Cat Caper Mystery Book 1 · Marla Bradeen

About this ebook

Meet Kat Harper, small-town girl turned amateur sleuth. Can she solve the mystery of her animal-loving neighbor's murder without getting killed herself?

Kat hasn't been back in her childhood hometown of Cherry Hills, Washington, very long before a murder next door thrusts her into a police investigation. She doesn't intend to get involved, but what choice does she have when Mrs. Tinsdale's now orphaned tortoiseshell cat shows up on her doorstep looking for help? After all, Matty was the sole witness to her owner's violent death and might just hold the key to solving this case.

But who would want to see the elderly Mrs. Tinsdale dead? Was it a fellow animal rescue volunteer, driven by a hidden agenda? Or perhaps Mrs. Tinsdale's money-hungry daughter could no longer wait for her much-needed inheritance. Kat also can't discount a local veterinarian possibly harboring dark secrets. Then again, the culprit might be someone entirely unexpected.

It doesn't hurt that this investigation puts Kat in close proximity with Andrew Milhone, Kat's old childhood friend turned handsome lead detective. But how can she persuade a feline eyewitness to reveal "whodunit"? Kat's not sure yet, but she's not going to give up until Mrs. Tinsdale's murderer is brought to justice—even if getting to the chilling truth means putting her own life in danger.

All of the Cozy Cat Caper Mystery books can be enjoyed as standalones but will be better appreciated as part of the series. The books are light, fun cozy mysteries featuring an animal-loving female amateur sleuth, lovable and not-so-lovable quirky characters, and a page-turning mystery that needs solving. None of the books include cliffhangers, bad language, or graphic scenes.

Ratings and reviews

I am a cat lover. How could I not download an e-book with a cat on the cover? The pseudonym, Paige Sleuth, was also a big draw for me. And when the need came for a quick, entertaining, fast paced, tightly knit Cozy Mystery Novella, MURDER IN CHERRY HILLS, satisfied that need. Like all good murder mysteries the protagonist, Kat, was lead by a cat, Matty (full name Matilda), to a dead body, Mrs Tinsdale , within paragraphs! There is some romance thrown into the mix when an old high school heart throb ends up being the lawman Kat calls on for rescue. Nice! I liked it! Four stars from me!

this was a short interesting story... while figuring out the murderer was the main plot Kat's interactions with her cat Matty aka Matilda were also cute and funny... the characters felt a bit too one dimensional though... I enjoyed reading this but I don't think I'll ever read it again...

The scene was set effectively, but the storyline was extremely thin! The motive for the crime was predictable. There was not enough build-up of tension and thus the reader did not really care who the murderer was! I would not read any other books from this author, as the plot was not very exciting.

About the author

Paige Sleuth is a pseudonym for mystery author Marla Bradeen (https://www.marlabradeen.com). She plots murder during the day and fights for mattress space with her two rescue cats at night. When not attending to her cats' demands, she writes.