Search - Curiosity Killed the Cat Sitter (Dixie Hemingway, Bk 1)

Much better than I thought it would be - I thought it would be a fluffy little light read, but there was a lot more to it than that - characters were well-drawn and interesting, lots of action and tidbits about animals.

This looks like her first book. Great characters, good story well told. As a cat lover and former pet sitter, I really got into this one. Not quite a thriller, but not quite a cozy read either. I hated to put it down. If you like animals, you will probably like this.

The Publishers Weekly blurb on the back called it a cozy. I would definitely NOT call it a cozy.

I really like the book. Kept me guessing along with Dixie. I gave it FOUR stars and look forward to reading more in the series. (when my current TBR shrinks a bit)

fun read - likable sleuth with an interesting job. I want to read more Dixie Hemingways!

A friend here saw my review of "How to Wash a Cat" in which I bemoaned the wishy-washy, spineless, personality-less main character, who was an accountant. (I'm a CPA--we are NOT like that!) Anyway, I didn't much care for that book. What my friend told me was that I ought to try this book, which coincidentally has cats in it as well as a competent accountant (a minor character). This main character, she said, is not spineless, colorless, or anything-less.

OK, I'm up for a book as nicely recommended as that. I ordered it and read it the same day it came in. I usually don't do that. In fact, I had three other books that I was reading at the time. (If you must know, one is in my briefcase that's with me all day; one is in my bathroom at home; and one is on my nightstand. I pick up whichever is handy....)

I LIKED this book. It is compelling, hard to put down, and realistic. It's sort of cozy, but not really. The main character is sympathetic, competent, and smart. I like those things. She is not a wimp, not someone who thinks cats are people, too (a sure way to get me to stop reading and immediately relist the book for trade), or in any other way irritating. Yippee!

Without my friend's recommendation, I would never have ordered this book. Cat-sitter? Definitely not my cup of tea. Titles, however, can be misleading. (Didn't someone once say something about judging a book by its cover?)

From the healthy attitude about pets to the raw emotion of having lost a daughter, from the healthy curiosity to the mostly common-sense way she thinks, from beginning to end, I liked Dixie Hemingway. I could have done without the three (I think it was three) F-words in the book, but they were in fact said in an appropriate context of emotional outbursts when even old fuddy-duddies like me might at least think them.

Read the book. It's good.

This book is about a pet sitter who has lost her family (husband and young daughter) to a tragic accident. She lives close by her brother and his partner. The story is about a murder that she discovers in one of her client's homes and her trying not to get too involved, but of course, she used to be in the sheriff's department, so she ends up getting involved after all. A main character is a young gay man who she befriends and tries to help save from his conservative parents. It is a gay friendly read. There are also explicit descriptions of sexual photographs she finds in the course of her search for the killer. This is something I would have liked to have known before I ordered this book.