A Mobile Cat Groomer Mystery: Book 1
Publication Date: April 18, 2023
The life of a cat groomer isn’t just pampering purring felines, it’s murder.
Mobile Cat Groomer Molly Stewart loves her job. Until she finds the dead body of one of her pet parents stabbed with a garden implement in his back yard. When Molly’s uncle Russ becomes the prime suspect in the murder and the sheriff won’t consider anyone else, Molly claws through obstacles as she prowls for clues.
With help from handsome veterinarian Hank Chenowith and Molly’s two cats, Percival and Jasper, will Molly succeed in proving her uncle’s innocence before the real murderer pounces on her?
Brushed Up On Murder is the first book in the A Mobile Cat Groomer Mystery series by Ruth J. Hartman, and I look forward to reading more by this new-to-me author.
Molly’s an amateur sleuth who’s a cat groomer and seems to gather more clues than the sheriff. She’s also intent on solving the murder of one of her customers when her uncle seems to be the only one the sheriff is interested in questioning.
Life in a small town where everyone knows everyone’s business or makes things up to let others think they do, keeps things entertaining. There are secrets, gossip, cats galore, and a variety of small town businesses. The story has a good flow and is playful at times, especially with Molly’s two cats—one of which belonged to Durbin, her customer that was murdered and his wife didn’t want. The cat’s antics throughout definitely brought out a chuckle or two.
We get to know the characters a little at a time, and there is a lot to learn. According to Molly, there are several suspects, but she won’t be believed until there’s a confrontation between her and whodunnit, which was definitely a surprise to me.
With the murderer arrested, Molly hopes her life will get back on track, and there might be some romance in the air! A satisfying ending to a cozy mystery whodunnit!
If cozy mysteries and cats are some of your interests, Brushed Up On Murder will be a cute read for you. Clues are gathered, the crimes are discussed and evaluated, and there are cats, cats, and more cats and delightful small town vibes.
Ruth J. Hartman spends her days herding cats and her nights spinning mysterious tales. She, her husband, and their cats love to spend time curled up in their recliners watching old Cary Grant movies. Well, the cats sit in the people’s recliners. Not that the cats couldn’t get their own furniture. They just choose to shed on someone else’s.
Ruth, a left-handed, cat-herding, farmhouse-dwelling writer uses her sense of humor as she writes tales of lovable, klutzy women who seem to find trouble without even trying.
Ruth’s husband and best friend, Garry, reads her manuscripts, rolls his eyes at her weird story ideas, and loves her despite her insistence all of her books have at least one cat in them.
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Thank you so much for the book review!