Curiosity Killed the Cat Sitter - Blaize Clement

Ever since I joined the Cozy Mystery group I've been discovering a whole new genre.

I was a big Agatha Christie and Erle Stanley Gardner fan when I was growing up but in this past decade I've read very few mysteries and the ones I did were more thrillers or suspense novels.

This month book for discussion is Blaize Clement's Curiosity Killed the Cat Sitter. This is the first book in the Dixie Hemingway series. Dixie is a Pet Sitter, she used to be a deputy in the Sheriff's Department but a personal tragedy lead her to leave the force and choose a job where she doesn't have to deal with people. She chooses to be a Pet Sitter, taking care of the animal while people are away on vacation.

On one of her visits to groom a cat she finds a dead man drowned in a cat bowl. She calls the police and tries to find the cat's owner who seems to have vanished. As she tries to contact her she finds herself more and more intrigued with the woman's life and the secrets she was keeping. She strucks a friendship with a young neighbour who also has some secrets of his own and soon another body is found.

Dixie can't stop herself from trying to know more about the situation, especially when she fast becames the target of malicious gossip for having found the bodies, and soon is adding up clues to find the truth.

I really liked Dixie. She is a woman which had to deal with loosing her husband and child and is now trying to get back on her feet after 3 years. Although she thinks she is doing fine a comment by one of the detectives makes her realise she has been hiding emotionally and she starts to reflect on that.

Then I really liked this small town atmosphere with the diner, the club... it seemed very real and with real people. No nosy old ladies here...

And especially I liked Dixie interaction with the animals - cats and dogs - and her reflections on each's personality. It was so much fun and the animals were really lovable.

All in all one of my favourite books so far in 2007, and A.