Summary
Lara returns to Whisker Jog, New Hampshire to check on her aunt, Fran. Lara hasn’t seen her in 16 years. A childhood friend tells her Fran is having some health issues. She’s also trying to take care of eleven cats. Lara feels responsible for checking up on Fran.
There’s tension between the women from the start. Lara feels guilty for being out of touch for so long. Fran is hurt that Lara never responded to her letters. Only, Lara never received them.
Before they can dig very far into the events of the past, the local land developer is found dead on Fran’s property. He was notorious around town for being a bully. And everyone in town had heard about the argument Fran had with him over property lines and his development plans. Now, Fran and Lara are prime suspects in his murder.
Lara is feeling torn between her responsibilities back in Boston and her desire to help Fran in New Hampshire. Maybe, if she can pin down who really killed the developer, she can clear Fran and get back to her old life.
Review
This was really good! The mystery was great. The rotten land developer is a fairly common set up for cozy mysteries, but there were some other twists in this case that kept the story fresh. There were plenty of suspects to choose from, and the overall solution kept me guessing regarding the motive and the big picture.
The characters were delightful in this book. The tension between Lara and Fran gave a nice layer to this story that is not typical in cozies. I hope future books will dig more into the lost years between them. Lara’s childhood friend and the potential love interests for both Lara and for Fran rounded out the core group well. I’m eager to see what happens next for these folks.
The cat angle was fun. They each had some personality, which was great. The mysterious Blue added yet another interesting layer to the story. I will definitely read more books in this series in the future.
Thanks to Netgalley and Kensington/Lyrical Underground for the opportunity to read an early electronic review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.