Murder She Meowed (Bookshop Kitties Mysteries, Book 2) by Ruth J. Hartman – Review by Lucinda Morton-Phillips

Murder She Meowed is the 2nd book in the BookShop Kitties series by Ruth J. Hartman, but it can easily be read as a standalone book. It is a cozy mystery featuring Christy, a children’s book author who helps to run a bookshop with her Aunt Betty and two very spoilt cats, Milton & Pearl.
The trouble starts after the wedding reception of Aunt Betty & Wallace, whilst helping to clear up after the reception, Christy and her want-to-be boyfriend Micah discover a dead body on the floor of Christy’s friend Janie’s pastry shop, Dreamy Sweets. It turns out that the body belongs to Janie’s ex-husband, Tad, a distant relative to Wallace, and by all accounts, not a very nice bloke.
Janie is the obviously the main suspect, but she is not the only one with a reason to see Tad dead and that leads to several mysteries to be solved. Christy cannot help to try to solve the mystery and clear her friend’s name.
The first chapter or two gives a lot of extra information to help orient you in the story, but then it flows from there into a fast-paced and enjoyable cozy mystery. I am definitely going to go back and read the first book to find out more about why Christy moved back to the small town of Green Meadow, and to find out the back story of Betty and Wallace.