Curiosity Killed the Cat Sitter introduced a winning sleuth in Florida pet sitter Dixie Hemingway, and the next books in the series, Duplicity Dogged the Dachshund and Even Cat Sitters Get the Blues, firmly established author Blaize Clement as a new star amongst mystery fans. Now Dixie Hemingway, no relation to you-know-who, is back in this fourth riveting installment.
When Dixie meets Laura Halston, a newcomer to Siesta Key, she recognizes a kindred spirit and believes she's found a new friend. Disarmingly beautiful, Laura confesses that she's in hiding from an abusive husband. Later, when Laura receives threatening phone calls, Dixie is certain the husband is the culprit.
But the more Dixie learns about Laura, the less certain she is about anythingand then matters turn deadly. As she tries to understand Lauras past, Dixie is forced to acknowledge things about herself that she has never faced before.
Fast-paced and gripping, Cat Sitter on a Hot Tin Roof is everything Blaize Clements many fans have come to expect.
From Publishers Weekly
Ex-deputy Dixie Hemingway still mourns the loss of her young daughter and cop husband in a freak accident three years earlier, but takes solace in her pet-sitting job in Siesta Key, Fla., in Clement's thoughtful and at times somber fourth animal-themed cozy (after 2008s Even Cat Sitters Get the Blues). Eager for friendship, Dixie forms an immediate bond with an attractive new neighbor, Laura Halston, who has a cat named Leo. When someone stabs Laura to death in the shower, Dixie suspects Lauras soon-to-be ex-husband, a sadistic surgeon skilled with a scalpel. As Dixies new sweetie, sexy homicide detective Lt. Jean-Pierre Guidry, investigates, surprising information comes to light that will challenge everything she knows about Laura. Some readers may find the subplot involving Maizie, a seizure assistance dog for a boy undergoing brain surgery, more compelling than the somewhat predictable murder story. (Jan.)
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From Booklist
The latest entry in Clements pet-sitter series, starring former Sarasota, Florida, deputy Dixie Hemingway,remains on the darker side of the rather light animal-mystery spectrum. This time, whilecaring for a seizure-assistance dog whose young charge is undergoing surgery, Dixie befriends Laura, owner of an escape-prone Havana Brown cat. Laura tells Dixie she is getting divorced from her sadistic husband and being stalked by a man she met at the hospital. But when Laura is murdered, Dixie discovers her new friend was both a liar and a bank robber. Even so, Dixie feels responsible for finding her killer, even if it means putting herself in danger. Recommend this one for readers who liked the southern setting and animal characters in Joyce and Jim Lavenes The Telltale Turtle (2008), although Dixie, burdened by the accidental death of her husband and young daughter,is not as fun and carefree a lead character as the Lavenes Mary Catherine. Two possible love interests do provide a feel-good secondary plot here, offering a nice counterpoint to the darkness of the main mystery. --Jessica Moyer