Good... | Curiosity Killed the Cat Sitter (Dixie Hemingway Mysteries, No. 1)

Mystery & cats are a great combination | Curiosity Killed the Cat Sitter (Dixie Hemingway Mysteries, No. 1) | Blaize Clement

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	• Curiosity Killed the Cat Sitter (Dixie Hemingway Mysteries, No. 1) Blaize Clement St. Martin's Paperbacks, 2007 - 320 pages average customer review:based on 21 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Good first book mystery

This is the first book in a new mystery series by Blaize Clement. I throughtly enjoyed this new mystery and I'm looking forward to the next books in this series. I loved Dixie's character, her pet-sitting business, and the animal character. This is a series to look forward, too.

Good...

Okay- this book had a decent & at time page-turning plot, even though there were a few obvious mistakes that Dixie Hemingway (if a real seasoned ex-investigator/police woman as written) wouldn't have made(like feeding a cat before she called 911 after finding a dead body, allowing the cat to sully the crime scene). It was a very fast moving & easy read. The ending & some of the plot were a bit far fetched, as other reviewers have mentioned.

The thing I didn't like about this book is in one chapter the main character is bad mouthing people who told her that her husband and daughter were, "with Jesus".?! The author at times seems to have some bigotry towards Christians. Also, if you're conservative about foul language & sexual preferences you might be offended. So, even tho I liked the pet sitter aspect of the book I wouldn't read another of the series.

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Mystery & cats are a great combination

Comparative behavior of cats and dogs is an added bonus to this Florida-based mystery. Although I figured out the killer early, I was tempted to change my mind with many of the red herrings. The pet sitter has odd hours, use of a dog's sense of smell, and access to empty homes which are plausible reasons to discover a crime scene and clues. Her characters are flawed and sympathetic for the most part. I look forward to the next Dixie Hemingway mystery.

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Well-Plotted, Clement Has An Excellent Sense of Place

Dixie Hemingway (no kin to Ernest, she tells you on the first page) lives on Siesta Key in Sarasota, Florida. Her career as a sheriff's deputy ended when her young daughter and her husband, also a deputy, were killed in a car accident.

Now she is up every morning at four a.m. to make her rounds as a pet sitter. She prefers dealing with animals rather than people. But all is not as quiet and tranquil as she'd hoped. One morning when she arrives to care for Ghost, a gray Abyssinian cat, she can't find te cat but does find the house in disarray. When she feeds the finally-located puss, she finds a dead man in the water bowl. This is just the beginning of the complicated story. Where is Ghost's owner, the beautiful Marilee? What part is played by the young piano prodigy who lives next door?

While this mystery is classified as a "cozy," it has darker and deeper issues. The author, a psychologist, uses her knowledge to a good advantage as Dixie works to heal from her tragedy while she deals with her pets, her family (she lives in an apartment adjacent to the house of her fireman brother and his partner), and the complexities of this murder.

The book is well-plotted and Dixie Hemmingway emerges as a strong and independent woman who still has deep vulnerabilities. What's more, the author has an excellent sense of place. This sleepy key in the Gulf of Mexico comes to life.

This is the first book in this mystery series, I trust there will be many more. The reader should know that there is some discussion of pornography (not explicit) and that several of the characters are gay. Not a problem for most of us, but be aware.

by Patricia Nordyke Pando
for Story Circle Book Reviews
www.storycirclebookreviewsorg
reviewing books by, for, and about women

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Bravery beyond the call of duty

As with all successful series, it is nice to start with the first book, which this is. I enjoy the way the author evokes the setting and makes you feel like you are lazing around that area yourself. The main characater, Dixie Hemingway, is struggling along in life after the loss of her husband and daughter. I admire her bravery. She comes from law enforcement and knows her limitations in her current emotional state. And it takes bravery just to put oneself out there entering other people's homes while they are away and caring for their animals! That can be kind of spooky in and of itself! The author establishes other interesting characters who appear in subsequent books. The stories are exciting and quite different. I especially enjoy Dixie's friendship with an older woman who bakes heavenly chocolate bread. I can almost taste it!

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Dixie Hemingway knows first-hand that many things in life are worse than a dirty litter box. Once happy as a Florida sheriff?s deputy, she lost everything when senseless tragedy shattered her world. Now Dixie laces up her sneakers, grabs some kitty treats, and copes with one day at a time as a pet-sitter. Her investigations deal strictly with ?crimes? such as who peed on the bed . . . until she finds a dead man face down in an Abyssinian?s water bowl. With the local cops stymied?including a handsome detective who catches her eye?she decides to clip a leash on a lead or two and go sleuthing herself. Dixie soon finds out that the Abyssinian?s pretty owner has vanished and left behind a shocking past, a lonely cat, and a chilling reason for Dixie to start running when she?s out walking the dogs.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

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