Doggone Christmas

A Polly Parrett Pet-Sitter Cozy Murder Mystery, Book #1

By Liz Dodwell

ISBN13: 9781939860163

Brought to you by OBS reviewer Andra

 

Synopsis:

Polly is juggling the care of her wheelchair-bound mother, her pet-sitting business and the sale of the family home. On top of that she finds herself having to deal with an arrogant but really sexy realtor, and Christmas is coming! None of that seems important, though, when she finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation and must find the real killer before an innocent homeless man and his dog are wrongly convicted.

Nothing much happens in the small town of Mallowapple, Maine, but with the Christmas holidays coming it’s a busy time for Polly Parrett and her pet-sitting crew. Temperatures are plummeting, snow is falling.

Review:

A novella about a certain time of year I really enjoy (Christmas) as well with a main character who is an animal lover. Needless to say, I had high expectations. Well…the storyline fell short of its Christmas theme, however, the mystery portion was well done.

Polly Parrett is a 27 year old entrepreneur running a pet-sitting business in the small town of Mallowapple (who came up with that name…certainly does not roll off one’s tongue). While trying to juggle her business obligations, she is assisting with the sale of her family home as her mother is wheelchair-bound and the property is getting to be too much to look after by herself or even with Polly’s assistance. The decision is made to list the property in hopes of selling and getting Polly’s mother into a more suitable living arrangement. The real estate agent who comes to the door is a “hottie” and this does not go unnoticed by Polly .

Following the review of the paperwork to list the property (at a dinner meeting…or is it a date?), Polly and Tyler Breslin (aka Mr. Hottie) stumble across a policeman threatening a homeless man’s dog. Being the animal lover that she is, Polly inadvisably intervenes and this is where the mystery and intrigue begin.

Following the trail to who was the murdered was an enjoyable ride. As well, the progression of the relationship between Polly and Tyler was engaging. I found the story flowed rather well for a novella. After all, it is difficult to wrap many parts of a story in such a small time frame.

An enjoyable, afternoon read. If you like a bit of a mystery, a bit of a romance and involvement of the whole village (so to speak), then I suggest this novella.