Kneading to Die (Pawsitively Organic Mystery, #1)

by Liz Mugavero

Maybe the best thing that ever happened to Kristan "Stan" Connor was losing her high-stress public relations job. Now there's plenty of time to spend in her sleepy new Connecticut town working on her dream: baking healthy, organic pet treats!

Before long the neighborhood dogs are escaping their yards to show up at Stan's doorstep, begging for the kinds of special homemade treats her Maine coon cat Nutty loves so much. And Stan's pet-loving neighbors are thrilled with the new organic options available to their furry family members. But not everyone loves Stan and her newfangled organic ways. . .

It seems Carole Morganwick, the town vet, is from the old school of pet care. But when Stan swallows her pride and brings a very unwilling Nutty in for a checkup, she not only finds Carole dead under a pile of kibble. . .but also that she's in the dog house as the prime suspect! Finding the real killer and clearing her name will require some seriously surreptitious sniffing around. . .and hopefully, curiosity won't kill this innocent cat!

Includes Gourmet Pet Food Recipes!

"Like the goodies Stan makes for her Maine coon kitty Nutty, Kneading To Die is a treat! Liz Mugavero weaves animal knowledge into a fun and frisky whodunit, with plenty of lively pet action." --Clea Simon, author of Cats Can't Shoot

• ISBN10: 0758284780
• ISBN13: 9780758284785
• Publish Date: 7 May 2013 (first published 1 January 2013)
• Publish Status: Out of Stock
• Out of Print: 6 May 2017
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Kensington Publishing
• Format: Paperback (US Mass Market)
• Pages: 304
• Language: English

Reviews

[Mystereity Reviews]

Just ok. To much inner dialogue (why so much of the book is devoted to the soon to be ex boyfriend is beyond me, she didn't seem to care about him much) and the plot was terrible. Character development was iffy, too many secondary characters introduced with little or no context. Overall there's room to grow, so maybe it'll get better but I won't rush out to get the next one.

[MurderByDeath]

A solid 4 star read and an excellent start to a new series! I'm loving the characters in this book - each is unique and there's no struggling to keep them straight in one's head. The town sounds charming, except for the small town atmosphere when things get tense. The author goes further than most cozy authors detailing just how difficult and devastating it can be to be a suspect in a murder in a small town - especially when you're not a 'native'. This angst can get a bit heavy once or twice, and there are a few times when it feels like the story is stalled in "let's pile on the protagonist" mode. But overall, this book kept me involved from beginning to end with a very well-crafted murder plot that had me guessing until the very end.

I'm looking forward to future books in this series and I'm definitely going to try at least one of the pet treat recipes that are included. :)