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Kittyzen's Arrest
by
Addison Moore, Bellamy Bloom
cozy mystery in a Kindle edition that was published by Hollis Thatcher Press LTD on September 24, 2019 and has 175 pages.
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First in the Country Cottage cozy mystery series and introduces Bizzy Baker and Jasper Wilder as well as their pets, Fish and Sherlock Bones.
My Take
Eeek. Bizzy really lets you know how unwelcome it is to read people’s minds. And she also lets you know how much she enjoys running the inn. I do like some of those innovations she promotes.
Okay, that mindreading is useful in gauging how that romance?? is progressing between Bizzy and Jasper. One-sided, of course.
I wish that Moore/Bloom had been more forthcoming with why Bizzy dropped out of college. She claims she was going for a business degree, but I don’t see how her clumsiness at baking plays into this.
Moore/Bloom use present tense from Bizzy’s perspective in a first person protagonist point-of-view. I’m almost a third of the way through when the cozy starts to wear off. Bizzy is so self-righteous about her right to investigate her friend’s death, and it’s incredibly annoying. I almost want to knife her myself.
The action circles around the characters, and some of the “facts” don’t make sense. Of course, it is a rigamarole of cheating and backstabbing. As for pace, it’s uneven and not in a good way. Bizzy is so up and down about Jasper, and near as I see she’s being a jerk. Jasper is trying to work with her, but Bizzy delights in keeping information from him. It’s stupid and doesn’t work for me. She’s just being mean and insecure. I wonder if she’s doing this to compensate for all the “sucking up” she does with everyone else?
I do wonder how the earl makes money when so many of the cottages are let to the cook, the manager, Emmie’s brother, and “Grandma”. What is so dark about Cameron? It certainly wasn’t obvious in his interview. As for Bowden Development, why mention it? It goes nowhere.
So many of the witnesses, boyfriends, and family members are scummy for all sorts of reasons. Some of which are pretty twisted about.
I do adore how Sherlock and Fish become friends, lol.
Moore/Bloom do provide some minor cliffhangers that do have me wondering what happens in Dog Days of Murder.
The Story
Life as the manager of the Country Cottage Inn is great, but Bizzy Baker still has her regrets. It’s a self-reproach she quickly casts aside when she discovers the body, a person for whom she cared.
It’s that care that sends Bizzy on a tizzy of an investigation to discover who killed her friend.
The Characters
Ever since she “drowned”, the twenty-six-year-old Elizabeth “Bizzy” Baker can read people’s and animals’ minds — the animals can talk back to her. Fish is her four-month-old tabby. The mean, cranky, sarcastic Macy is Bizzy’s sister who runs Lather and Light, a soap and candle shop. Huxley “Hux” is a prominent divorce lawyer and Bizzy’s brother. Their mother, Reann “Ree” Baker, used to run a realty business until she sold it. Retirement ain’t workin’ out so good. Nathaniel Baker is Bizzy’s oft-married father.
Detective Jasper Wilder works in Homicide and has recently transferred to the Seaview Sheriff’s Department. Sherlock Bones is his funny dog. His ex is a counselor at the Sheffield High School; now she’s dating Jasper’s newly ex-best friend, Deputy Leo Granger, and he has a troubling secret. Jasper’s sister, Ella, is an artist who works in acrylic; she lives in Rose Glen where she clerks for the fishing company her husband owns. Maximus “Max” is a brother who owns a restaurant, also called Maximus. Another brother, Jamison, is an attorney in family law. Dalton is another brother, and he’s the football coach for Ward University.
Cider Cove, Maine, is . . .
. . . where Bizzy lives and manages the Country Cottage Inn. Mackenzie “Mack” Woods was considered one of Bizzy’s best friends along with Elizabeth “Emmie” Crosby. Now Mack’s the mayor and has never let up on harassing Bizzy. Some of the shops in town include Espresso Yourself, Thaime for Thai, the Dragon Express, and the Breakfast Bender run by Clara, a friend of Bizzy’s. Dawson Brawn runs the Cider Cove Library. Melissa and Topher Montgomery own Cider Cove Orchards; Valerie Montgomery is their daughter and a friend of Bizzy’s.
The Country Cottage Inn
Its owner is an English earl, Quinn Bennet, and he’s left policies to Bizzy, including the Country Cottage Critter Corner, a pet daycare for guests and townspeople. Emmie is the inn’s fabulous baker. Georgie “Grandma” Conner is a celebrated artist with a hippie vibe who lives in one of the inn’s cottages. With a love for the picturesque, Georgie is the only person who knows about Bizzy’s gift. Sea Glass Treasures will be Georgie’s booth. Jordy is Emmie’s older brother who works as the inn groundsman . . . and lives in one of the inn’s cottages. And Bizzy accidentally married him a few years ago. Asher is Jordy’s assistant. Grady and Nessa man the front desk but are not interested in the work. Both Nessa and her sister, Vera, are mean girls and cousins to Emmie.
Kaitlynn Zimmerman is one of the waitresses. Rissa McNeil is Kaitlynn’s stepsister. Ben is Rissa’s boyfriend who’s stepping out on her. Chris Davidson, Kaitlynn’s fiancé, is stepping out on her as well. Chris’ family owns What Ales You, a brewing company. Sammy Walton is one of their friends and a sorority sister to Kaitlynn. Cameron Weiss — and his dark side — was best friends with Kaitlynn; he’s a professor and guidance counselor at a community college. Another Ben, Ben O’Riley, is a photographer who’s been in Singapore. Hannah Osmond had been all over Chris at the first beach party.
Jeanette Branch is Kaitlynn’s business partner of a skincare and cosmetics line, Natural Beauty. Bowden Development is Jeanette’s dad’s company.
Edison, Maine, is . . .
. . . directly west of Cider Cove and has a big city appeal in spite of its unkempt, grungy appearance. Sweet Cheeks is for women what Hooters is for men. It’s run by Rissa. Grayson, an ex-boyfriend of Emmie’s, is one of the waiters. Hannah works at The Rat Tat, a tattoo parlor in Edison. Rod is the owner.
Dexter University and Ward University have a rivalry going. Leo De Camps built the inn. Tina is a girl some guy was thinking of when he was kissing Bizzy. Jim is the Cider Cove mailman.
The Cover and Title
The cover is bright with a blue brick-paved patio and lots of greenery climbing the yellow wall and surrounding the bright blue shutters. I gotta wonder which of the two — Fish or Sherlock — dumped the orange pot of dirt and flower…I’m thinking both of them playing around. Yeah, don’t be misled by their innocent looks with the white and orange freckled Sherlock Bones splayed out on the patio and Fish sitting on top of his head. At the very top is a tiny print info blurb in yellow and a much larger font for the authors’ names. There is another info blurb between the names, in yellow. The title waves across the shutters in white. To the right of Fish’s ear is the series info in a paler yellow.
The title, Kittyzen’s Arrest, doesn’t make sense. It’s cute, but, huh??
