Book Review: Downton Tabby

Miss Cuddlywumps reads the latest in the Pampered Pets series from Sparkle Abbey

Carolina Lamont, or “Caro,” as she prefers to be called, has an interesting life. She’s a lovely redhead who drives a silver Mercedes roadster, a former Texas beauty queen, and though she trained as a people therapist, she’s now Laguna Beach’s top pet therapist. Oh, and she’s also the kind of person who has a homicide detective’s phone number in her favorites.

She has to. Because stuff keeps happening.

Caro shares office space with a realtor, a psychic (who says vaguely unsettling things like “I sense trouble” and “Beware of strangers”), an investment advisor, and two young techie types named Cash and Jake. The techies will be the ones causing trouble in this episode.

It all starts one unfortunate morning when Caro begins her day without coffee. Soon enough, one of the techies, Cash, has popped into her office quite pleasantly to ask her to watch his Scottish fold cat while he runs back home for “a jiffy.” Naturally he doesn’t come back, and Caro decides to drop Toria (the cat) off at home (Cash and Jake’s home) so she can get to an appointment on time. But when she gets to their house she discovers Jake dead in the pool, and there is no sign of Cash.

See what happens when you miss your morning coffee?

Soon Caro is thoroughly mixed up in a murder investigation, she’s being tailed by a dark-colored SUV, and her ex-husband is intruding most unpleasantly on her life. This while she’s taking care of poor Toria as well as her own dog and cats and practicing therapy on her clients…er, I mean on her clients’ pets.

And soon we’re worried over Caro’s safety.

I won’t tell you any more of the plot in this highly readable, quickly paced cozy. You really should read it for yourself, if for no other reason than to read the part where Caro finally gives her ex exactly what he deserves. But then you’ll also want to find out what’s up with this Cash character (innocent bloke, spy, secret royal?), the guy in the secret room, the meddling reporter, the unhappy gardener who wants a basset hound, and of course the client who dresses in fancy pajamas for all occasions.

It’s quite a story! Highly recommended!